Oh where, oh where

fasted71465

fasted71465

Fast Ed
Silver Member
I have lost all confidence, my stroke, my whole game is caput. I have tried to shoot my way out and I took a three week break and I can't run out 4 balls. Taking lessons is going to be the next and last thing I try before I quit playing competitive pool. I will stay at home and torture myself for free. I am looking forward to see Scott Lee.
 
fasted71465 said:
I have lost all confidence, my stroke, my whole game is caput. I have tried to shoot my way out and I took a three week break and I can't run out 4 balls. Taking lessons is going to be the next and last thing I try before I quit playing competitive pool. I will stay at home and torture myself for free. I am looking forward to see Scott Lee.
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Man, you live in a good area of the country for pool. I found my game improved after watching really good players. I'd sit on the rail for hours watching an action game.

Also, the old-timers in my pool room would share shooting strategies and tips. I loved that, like the best 9-ball break or how to bank a ball in the side pocket, the differences between hitting it hard which cuts down the angle or soft, et cetera.

Best thing to do is work on one shot and hit it over and over again until you master it. Even if it's a straight-in shot, keeping hitting that shot until you can make it from anywhere on the table. Spot shots are good for experimenting with english.

Best of luck to you. Wish I lived in Beautiful Dixie like you! :)
 
We've all been there. You'll pull out of the slump eventually. Just remember that pool is fun, try to find that feeling that drew you into the game to start with and you'll be back on your game. Every player I have ever met has beat them selves up over "how bad they are playing" at some point...If you continue to beat yourself up (negative thoughts) you'll likely end up deeper in your slump...Find a way to turn it around and make pool a positive again.
 
You are right, the more I play bad and doubt myself the worse it gets. I am not having fun, I have went from stringing a few racks to not be able to get out with 3 balls on the table. It is like I miss easy shots because of fundamentals run through my mind while down on a shot. Things like stay down and stoke straight and a moment of self doubt. I think I would benefit from an instructor tell me what I do wrong when I miss and how fix it.
 
As noted above--practice the same shot over and over and build upon it--I practiced straight in shots to a point that I had the cueball on the rail and the object ball halfway across the table straight in --and making everyone of them every time,,Later is was so ingrained that I could duck my head after set up and then hand my cue to a person beside me and he would hand it back to me(while my head was still ducked down) and shoot the ball in, all the way across the table from corner to corner straight in.. Flipped Earl out when he saw me do this 5 time in a row..:wink:
 
fasted71465 said:
I have lost all confidence, my stroke, my whole game is caput. I have tried to shoot my way out and I took a three week break and I can't run out 4 balls. Taking lessons is going to be the next and last thing I try before I quit playing competitive pool. I will stay at home and torture myself for free. I am looking forward to see Scott Lee.
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LIghten up on yourself. U are going through waht almost everyone has. in the past 40 plus years I have quite about 9000 times. Sometiumes yoyu just have to stop all the thinking and let it happen.
 
Go back to the basics of the game, keeping your head down till you hear the object ball fall in the pocket and everything[ the cue tip, your bridge, your eyes, your elbow, your hand] are all in a line. Don't practice real hard shots, remember this practice is to ingrain confidence in you making balls.--Smitty
 
I agree. Happens to everyone. It'll come back. Also- if you want- get "pleasures of small motions". Best pool book I ever read and would help I think.

One point I love from the book..... [remember why you started playing in the first place....... We just like to watch the balls move. ]
 
This will sound crazy.
It might actually be crazy.
I, like everyone else, have been through the same thing. In the past, I did the same things most people do, and went back to basics, starting with my bridge, stance, etc.
What it really boils down to, is lack of confidence in your shot.
Now I have come up with a routine of simple shots to restore my confidence. At the first sign, that I am not trusting my shot, I go through the "routine". The first thing I do is remind myself, that it's the stupid shit again. I think back to what I have done in the past, and that it has always come back to lack of confidence. Then I believe myself on that point. The next stop is to shoot a couple of simple shots that are always the same. I will put an object ball on the rail, just on the far side of the side pocket, and the cue ball on the head spot. I will then shoot it in the corner pocket, without regard for cue ball position. I will shoot the shot without thinking about anything. Repeat 3-10 times with out a miss. If I miss, I will laugh about "how bad I have it this time" and start over. Then I will move the object ball out 1/2 a spot and do the same thing, until I have worked out to the middle of the table.

I simply let myself shoot the shots, without thinking, until my mind is clear, and I can laugh at myself about trying to screw my mind up with the confidence boogeyman.

The bottom line, is that the one thing that screwed up your game, was the lack of confidence. The sooner you let that go, the better off you are. What I do, is the best for me, but I suggest you come up with your own "confidence routine". For the next couple days, shoot the routine before you do anything else, and then laugh about how that boogeyman tried to nail you again. Yow will know when the moment is past.

Yes we sometimes goof up and change our mechanics, but 99% of the time we just "change our confidence".

Good luck.
 
fasted71465 said:
I have lost all confidence, my stroke, my whole game is caput. I have tried to shoot my way out and I took a three week break and I can't run out 4 balls. Taking lessons is going to be the next and last thing I try before I quit playing competitive pool. I will stay at home and torture myself for free. I am looking forward to see Scott Lee.
Click to expand...

What was your level of play before? Players go into slumps but they can still play, they don't become completely helpless. Many time in a slump you are the only one who really knows. You look fine to everyone else but you know how you feel on a shot, the lack of confidence.
It is hard to believe you went from a run out player to can't make a ball. I think you need a reality check about what is your real speed.
 
Sell me all your gear cheap, I'll buy it :wink: Then in a month or 2 you can buy it back along with all my gear cuz that's when I'll be quitting :wink: You're not alone brother.
 
fasted71465 said:
I have lost all confidence, my stroke, my whole game is caput. I have tried to shoot my way out and I took a three week break and I can't run out 4 balls. Taking lessons is going to be the next and last thing I try before I quit playing competitive pool. I will stay at home and torture myself for free. I am looking forward to see Scott Lee.
Click to expand...

Nice, you wanna play $ome, before Scott visits?:grin-square:
 
Highmiles said:
This will sound crazy.
It might actually be crazy.
I, like everyone else, have been through the same thing. In the past, I did the same things most people do, and went back to basics, starting with my bridge, stance, etc.
What it really boils down to, is lack of confidence in your shot.
Now I have come up with a routine of simple shots to restore my confidence. At the first sign, that I am not trusting my shot, I go through the "routine". The first thing I do is remind myself, that it's the stupid shit again. I think back to what I have done in the past, and that it has always come back to lack of confidence. Then I believe myself on that point. The next stop is to shoot a couple of simple shots that are always the same. I will put an object ball on the rail, just on the far side of the side pocket, and the cue ball on the head spot. I will then shoot it in the corner pocket, without regard for cue ball position. I will shoot the shot without thinking about anything. Repeat 3-10 times with out a miss. If I miss, I will laugh about "how bad I have it this time" and start over. Then I will move the object ball out 1/2 a spot and do the same thing, until I have worked out to the middle of the table.

I simply let myself shoot the shots, without thinking, until my mind is clear, and I can laugh at myself about trying to screw my mind up with the confidence boogeyman.

The bottom line, is that the one thing that screwed up your game, was the lack of confidence. The sooner you let that go, the better off you are. What I do, is the best for me, but I suggest you come up with your own "confidence routine". For the next couple days, shoot the routine before you do anything else, and then laugh about how that boogeyman tried to nail you again. Yow will know when the moment is past.

Yes we sometimes goof up and change our mechanics, but 99% of the time we just "change our confidence".

Good luck.
Click to expand...

It's funny what we do to ourselves between the ears...your
routine is the same as mine...I do a few other drills as well.
but I keep them simple , then build on them as my confidence
comes back..an yes I do laugh at myself..I'm not a run out player
but I can run a few every now an then..it's when I lose that
feel good feeling while strokeing that my mind starts looking
for reasons its gone..oh boy..here I go again..I'm a nut case ; just
not as bad as some..lol. yeah confidence is a killer.
 
Get yourself videotaped. You'll see quite a few things that have crept into your shooting that weren't going on when you were stringing racks together. Changes in stance, alignment, head position, # of rehearsal strokes, nature and position of grip, upper arm movement, eyeing CB last instead of OB, backstroke speed, time between shots, etc.

Arnaldo
 
I just went thru the same thing you are and hopefully I'm on the other side of it now. I am not sure how it started but very quickly I'm missing shots that are pretty easy and I normally make. I played thru it by really paying attention to fundamentals. It was so bad that I would be standing at the table looking at a simple cut and I'm not sure where I should be aiming to pocket the ball.:o
 
I've been there too. It's tough. The saving grace is it can lead to massive improvement overall once you work through it. I was in the same kind of slump as you a month ago and it lasted for about a month. I worked hard on my game both mental and mechanical and now i am playing better than before my slump. Stick with it and use this as an opportunity to work on your game from the ground up.
After spending time on fundamentals, there comes a time when you must forget all that and focus on making the shot. That's when your game will take off. Try playing the ghost, but play very fast, it might help do try that a couple racks and see if your unconscious mind takes over.
Thinking about every detail is important to practice sometimes but just shooting is how we play our best. You can not think the balls in, you just have to fire at them. Good luck!
 
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