One pocket woes

1pRoscoe said:
I pride myself as being a great one pocket player. I have beat a lot of people in my area at this game, many being highly talented players. There are a handful as well that give me a serious run for my money. Point is, this is my game of choice. With that being said, here is my problem...

I played a guy last night that is a very good player as well. He asked if I wanted to play for anything, I said, "sure, how about $20 a game?" Deal accepted.

We played for about 3 hrs total. The first 4 games I beat him 8-1, 8-0, 8-3, 8-6. Of course, I was pretty mentally tired after this, as it was a pretty fierce game. On the next few games, I got REALLY sloppy. Not intentionally, but I just seemed to have a problem missing safes, simple banks, etc. I wouldn't say I completely sold out on every shot, but I left him more than I should have. The next 3 games he beat me 8-6, 8-7, 8-7. The last two, we were down to one ball.

How can you increase your stamina (mentally) for this game? It seems that once I get some great competition, I shoot PERFECT the first 5-6 games, then it all goes downhill. This never used to happen to me up until about a year ago. I have played 9 ball for 14 hours straight and no worries, but when it comes to the "chess game" it kills me after a few hours, only when playing very talented people.

Any advice?
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I have a couple of questions -

How well do you know this person?
Do you consider him a friend?
Is he a good guy?

My thought is that you might be letting up without realizing it.
 
Banker Burt said:
I have a couple of questions -

How well do you know this person?
Do you consider him a friend?
Is he a good guy?

My thought is that you might be letting up without realizing it.
Click to expand...

Yup, he is a friend that I have been playing with for years, and a good guy. Maybe subconsciously I was?

My new buddy has shown me not to let up on anyone at all. :D
 
1pRoscoe said:
That post was ~6 months ago. Since then, I have found a "mentor" who has been playing 1p for 30ish years and has a wealth of knowledge.

In the time between that post and this one, my game has doubled and can play for hours on end without getting mentally exhausted.

:D
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That's good news! :)
Sorry, I just saw recent replys and did not realize. :o Can you give some insight into how you improved your mental endurance?

Tracy
 
1pRoscoe said:
That post was ~6 months ago. Since then, I have found a "mentor" who has been playing 1p for 30ish years and has a wealth of knowledge.

In the time between that post and this one, my game has doubled and can play for hours on end without getting mentally exhausted.

:D
Click to expand...

I just realized sonia brought this thread back from November 0'4. What a crackhead.
 
would someone mind sending me a PM or posting it right here on the rules to one pocket? i've grown up only knowing 8ball and 9ball.. i just recently learned how to play straight pool from a buddy and reading.. also, learned how to play 15 ball rotation... from this forum.. how do you play 1 pocket?
 
To make a very long story short, he showed me that I was playing WAAAAY too safe and conservative. I put more than enough effort into every shot when I didn't need to.

I have been a very good "safe" player, but "he who is too safe, loses".

He broke it down pretty simple. There are three objectives to every shot:

1: Make the ball
2: Lag your hole and play safe
3: Play safe

Of course you always want to make a ball, so just ask yourself the first question. If the answer is "no", do the second one, and so on.....

He showed me a multitude of shots that I had never seen before that come on instinct from a proficient one pocket player.

Also - risk pays off quite often. I learned that as well, however there is a fine line between playing riskful and just plain stupid.

I guess that's the easiest way to put it into words.
 
Here are the newest and best rules ---
http://onepocket.org/one_pocket_pool_rules.htm That site also has quite a bit of info on One Pocket.
You may also want to get a copy of "Upscale One Pocket" by Koehler. It's a fairly good basic starter book on the great game of One Pocket.

Troy
ManifestEcstacy said:
would someone mind sending me a PM or posting it right here on the rules to one pocket? i've grown up only knowing 8ball and 9ball.. i just recently learned how to play straight pool from a buddy and reading.. also, learned how to play 15 ball rotation... from this forum.. how do you play 1 pocket?
Click to expand...
 
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thanks troy, i'll definitly look in to it... the only problem is finding someone to play with... not to many pool afficianados around where I live :( but i'm sure i can find someone to play
 
1 Pocket Ghost said:
I've been in the pool halls for a lot of years playing one pocket at a pretty strong speed and here is how I see it...Regarding the physical side of the game, at some point (a different length of time for different players), after many hours of play, if you're human, you're going to get fatigued and you're game will go down - that's just physical reality.....But as for mental focus, it's about wanting it more, or it's about $$$....An experienced, strong one pocket player plays at a very high level, where he understands and mentally calculates every possible option available to him every inning that he is at the table, and then he has to carefully and with great skill execute his choice perfectly, all of this requires total focus and concentration that can never stop/let up for a second - after playing for many hours against a strong opponent this can be extremely exhausting....That said, in my opinion there are two ways to achieve keeping this kind of focus and concentration....The first way is by having the kind of personality that has ultimate killer instinct, ultimate will to win, usually a huge ego, and can not accept losing - many champions in many sports have this - here's an example of what I mean : there's a guy in my pool room who totally has this - if he's ahead of you 7 games after five hours, and he's got you 7 balls to 1 ball in the current game, he'll concentrate totally on a 3 inch non-important safety like it was a hill-hill shot in a tournament final game - this guy is brutal --- The second way to keep your focus and concentration is to bet high enough to make winning the games very important to you from a financial standpoint - this amount will vary from person to person.....And as for me - Unfortunately, I don't have enough killer instinct, so to keep myself totally focused, I'll just have to keep on betting more $$$ than I can afford to bet ^_^
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LEISURELY LOOK OVER THE SITUATION ON THE TABLE, THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY TENSION, OR FORCED CONCENTRATION. THERE IS NO TIME CLOCK. NOR SHOULD YOU ADOPT A FORCED FOCUS. THIS IS THE TIME FOR CALMING YOUR MIND. UNWIND FROM TOTAL FOCUS AND TOTAL CONCENTRATION. BEGIN TO RELAX. YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO NOW. YOUR WORST ENEMY IS INDECISION, AND THAT MAKES YOU NERVOUS AS TO THE OUTCOME. TOTAL CONCENTRATION AND TOTAL FOCUS LEAVES NO ROOM FOR BEING TOTALLY RELAXED, IN FACT THEIR SPECIALTY FORCES YOU TO HAVE TUNNEL VISION, TIRED THINKING, AND AN OVERWHELMING DESIRE TO GET THAT FIRST SHOT OVER WITH. BIDE YOUR TIME UNTIL THAT OVERWHELMING DESIRE CALMS DOWN.

NOW IS THE TIME. THE ADRENALIN RUSH HAS RETREATED, FOCUSING AND CONCENTRATION HAS DONE ITS JOB. THE MIND IS CLEAR. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO NOW. BEND DOWM, ADDRESS THE SHOT, SHOOT THE SHOT.
EVERYTHING YOU DO IN POOL MUST BE ONE THING AT A TIME, ONE THING AT A TIME, ONE THING AT A TIME. ALL YOUR GAME IS ONE THING AT A TIME. ONCE YOU LEARN HOW TO DO THAT, POOL BECOMES A WALK IN THE PARK, A NO BRAINER, NO BIG DEAL. ANYONE CAN DO AND THINK ONE THING AT A TIME, CAN'T THEY?

THE THING THAT TIRES PLAYERS THE MOST IS TOTAL FOCUS AND TOTAL CONCENTRATION. THEY ARE BOTH KILLERS. WE MUST DO THINGS IN MODERATION.

HAL HOULE
 
To the original poster:

Even though you may often practice for many hours at a time, and this does help.

I suggest practicing as you play in competition, with the same intensity, focus and speed. This will increase your stamina, though it is much harder work to begin.

It may be hard to find a good practice partner as most don't like playing against someone who is so serious all the time. That is one reason I did most of my practice alone and refused to play in social games, where such intense focus seems inappropriate.
 
Isn't it possible that he figured you out a little bit and started playing a little tighter... You say that you were missing the same shots and stuff like that, but ahem the shots are never the "same" someone posted the millions of possible shots on a pool table on this board a while ago... Yada Yada.

People tend to think that they lost due to their failures as opposed to the good play of their opponents... maybe he started to see what your tendencies are... some shots that you go after that might be risky and played into that... leaving the window slightly open so you jump out yourself instead of locking you down on a safe play...

Just a thought...
 
another opinion

Hello Ross,

Just got your PM today

I had the same problem...for several years.

I call it lack of motivation or playing lazy. If I beat a guy (any guy, any bet) easily, I lost my motivation to continue to play to my capability. I actually overcame it by playing the game not the opponent and something similar to what Sonia wrote about. I realized I was wasting energy (more prescious to me today) first when I wasn't at the table (can't do anything about that) and later between shots. I was squandering my strength at innappropriate times because I hadn't learned how to "turn it on" and "turn it off". It became an exercise in applying just the right amount of focus so I was neither too keyed up (where I might overlook something at the table or in my stroke) or too relaxed (unable to deliver). I have discovered that my arm is atteched to my head. Additionally, the strategy of one pocket emphasizes deliberate creative process, risk assessment and forward thinking as translated thru my arm.

I agree with one of the responders who suggested giving the weaker player some weight...particularly if you know the player well and look at your game as practice (with teeth). This is effective because it decreases the likelihood of success while it increases the demand to perform at a specified level.

In effect, the answer lies between your ears. I suggest reading Sun Tzu's - "Art of War" for a concise treatise on the myriad of ways to overcome an enemy (opponent). It is an amazing conflict analysis and directly relates to sports, billiards, one-pocket. There are several versions available on the web.

Just my opinion...you be the judge.

Andy
 
It's all mental in my opinion. I played pool (9ball, but I play all games) saturday and before I started I felt like shiit physically. I had a very stressful week, stayed up Friday night and had 7 beers. and I felt like I had a mild fever when I started playing and I was very tired.

My opponent is a good player, about one notch below myself, so I knew I had to play well to beat him. The first set was very close, because I made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes, but I eeked it out. The second set was also close and he pulled out the win. So, know it's even and I still feel tired and I am contemplating quitting for the day.

The next set my opponent misses a couple shots he wasn't missing earlier and I get a chance to start getting in stroke. I pull out the set a little easier.

We played 3 more sets and with each set I played better and won by a bigger margin. In the final set I won 5-0 and my opponent called it quits. I couldn't blame him, he had that look like he wasn't going to win another set. I love when my opponent has that look.

When we finished I noticed something. I didn't feel tired at all. I felt really good. During the last three sets I didn't remember any sluggish feelings whatsoever. I played myself out of the dooldrums.

The game is mostly mental. I definately proved it to myself on this occasion. And yes I do have a very strong killer instinct.

My advice: Concentrate harder on the game and less upon the physical surroundings. You are always going to have ups and downs in a long match and against a player near your level, you will lose a game/set here and there. Just don't let it get to you.
 
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