Perhaps This Is My Problem

D

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i always complain about bad rolls, tough spreads, etc, etc. i have noticed a trend regarding this dilemma, i think.

seems like what usually happens is that on nights where i just am going to rack and break, if the balls start out rolling bad, with tough spreads, i usually start to get ticked off, get mad, give up, and at times say out loud "Well Here We Go Again! Another Night Of This Crap", and it usually just steamrolls after this.

then, when i do have a decent chance to run out, and i mess up, the problem just intensifies. and if i mess up another chance to run out, perhaps at that point in time i should either just quit playing racks and start to practice, or leave and come back an hour later, or just not play anymore that night.

last night was an example of this. i ran a few racks, but for the most part the balls just didnt roll good the whole night long, i just always seemed to have tough chances after the break. plus i just felt out of sync because of the poor beginning and as a result messed up several chances to run out.

it frustrates me when the balls just dont roll good after the break, but it is even worse when i see chances to run out and just cant get the job done. i sometimes say to myself "Earl Would Have Got Out There, No Doubt About It"

but i intend to keep trying. as Winston Churchill said during the height of World War II, "Never Give Up. Never Never Ever Give Up." rest assured, I'm not giving up either.

DCP
 
You should stop focusing on what had previously happened good or bad... And just play your shot. If you just keep getting madder and madder about the way things are going, you wn't concentrate on what you need to do.
At this point go take a 5-10 minute breather and clear your mind. then go back tot he table. I honestly believe the problem is not your stroke or your game. Its all mental and you're quick to point blame on bad luck..
 
In his best VAP voice.

P R A C T I C E

... LOL ....

You should just shoot for the hell of it. Don't notice the rolls just shoot for kicks.
This helps me when i am having a tough time.

MUXY
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
i always complain about bad rolls, tough spreads, etc, etc. i have noticed a trend regarding this dilemma, i think.

seems like what usually happens is that on nights where i just am going to rack and break, if the balls start out rolling bad, with tough spreads, i usually start to get ticked off, get mad, give up, and at times say out loud "Well Here We Go Again! Another Night Of This Crap", and it usually just steamrolls after this.

then, when i do have a decent chance to run out, and i mess up, the problem just intensifies. and if i mess up another chance to run out, perhaps at that point in time i should either just quit playing racks and start to practice, or leave and come back an hour later, or just not play anymore that night.

last night was an example of this. i ran a few racks, but for the most part the balls just didnt roll good the whole night long, i just always seemed to have tough chances after the break. plus i just felt out of sync because of the poor beginning and as a result messed up several chances to run out.

it frustrates me when the balls just dont roll good after the break, but it is even worse when i see chances to run out and just cant get the job done. i sometimes say to myself "Earl Would Have Got Out There, No Doubt About It"

but i intend to keep trying. as Winston Churchill said during the height of World War II, "Never Give Up. Never Never Ever Give Up." rest assured, I'm not giving up either.

DCP
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Dr. Cue's Protege, I think your expectations might be a little to high at this point. If you're thinking about Earl Strickland when you play, how the hell are you going to make a ball? I'm sure Earl isn't thinking about YOUR game so who, might I ask, is keeping house up there in your head? Earl Strickland is a world class champion BECAUSE he's concentrating on himself and himself alone.

You're getting on this board day after day, week after week, complaining about one thing or another. The fact is, you have your whole life to learn about this game and you have a choice as to how you're going to preceive it. You can look at it as an exciting journey or a painful struggle. Either way, it's your choice. You think none of us have gone through what you're going through now? You think the first time I picked up a cue, I ran out? Unfortunately, you have to make a mistake before you can learn.

Take, for example, a simple three ball out. I always offer this to my students as a test of their knowledge. Often times, they'll set themselves up perfectly straight on the first shot EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THEY NEED AN ANGLE! It takes courage and discipline to tell yourself to make the shots a little tougher in order to make THE OUT easier. A lot of players much better than you'd think, have to fight these beginner-instincts every time they pick up a cue. It is, afterall, natural to try and get easy on a shot rather than "shape".

In sum, you have to learn to stop complaining. None of us play perfect yet we all strive to. The game is a constant tease because of its child-like simplicity. Understand that there are fears, expectations and anxieties that are associated with every single situation. Every single shot. Learn to let go of these feelings and what's left can be a truly euphoric experience. You're not going to get it right and on a day-to-day basis, you might now always see improvement but if you can enjoy the game and be willing to learn, you can only get better. If I were you, I'd hunt down a few books on the mental game. Zen And the Art of Archery and Play Your Best Tennis come to mind.
 
Muxy said:
In his best VAP voice.

P R A C T I C E

... LOL ....

You should just shoot for the hell of it. Don't notice the rolls just shoot for kicks.
This helps me when i am having a tough time.

MUXY
Click to expand...


thanks muxy......saves my voice........LOL.

i would like to take the time to say, based on your posts........you definitely don't practice right.

i would advise seeing and instructor.....but you've already done that, and you still just do whatever you want to do.......whether it be right or wrong.

in the end.........you reap what you sow.........if you don't practice right........you're aren't going to be a good player.......and vice versa.

you need to sit down and figure out what you want to do.........do you want to be a social player/banger, just a good player, or a world class player? all three have different levels of commitment and intensity.......are you willing to do what it takes? so far you haven't.

VAP
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
i always complain about bad rolls, tough spreads, etc, etc. i have noticed a trend regarding this dilemma, i think.

seems like what usually happens is that on nights where i just am going to rack and break, if the balls start out rolling bad, with tough spreads, i usually start to get ticked off, get mad, give up, and at times say out loud "Well Here We Go Again! Another Night Of This Crap", and it usually just steamrolls after this.

then, when i do have a decent chance to run out, and i mess up, the problem just intensifies. and if i mess up another chance to run out, perhaps at that point in time i should either just quit playing racks and start to practice, or leave and come back an hour later, or just not play anymore that night.

last night was an example of this. i ran a few racks, but for the most part the balls just didnt roll good the whole night long, i just always seemed to have tough chances after the break. plus i just felt out of sync because of the poor beginning and as a result messed up several chances to run out.

it frustrates me when the balls just dont roll good after the break, but it is even worse when i see chances to run out and just cant get the job done. i sometimes say to myself "Earl Would Have Got Out There, No Doubt About It"

but i intend to keep trying. as Winston Churchill said during the height of World War II, "Never Give Up. Never Never Ever Give Up." rest assured, I'm not giving up either.

DCP
Click to expand...

This could easily be the root of many problems. You need to shoot one shot at a time, and concentrate solely on that shot. If you find that your attitude degrades as you miss more balls/shape you are slipping down the slope to poor play. Understand that nobody makes everything, and that you are mortal yourself. Forgive yourself immediately for missing. If it is shape you missed, just shoot whatever is left to the best of your ability. Dwelling on what should have been will only distract you from the current shot. It is difficult to do, but it helps to have a very short memory ... um, what were we talking about ?

A suggestion, keep track of your practice session but do not analyse the session during the session, instead wait until afterwards when these thoughts will not interfere with the practice. From the sounds of it you really do think too much when shooting, and you are even forecasting your own problems. This will become a self fulfilling prophecy.

Dave
 
You have allready been given some good advice in this thread. Jude touched on what I believe to be a very important point. You need to enjoy playing. I think I read this quote in The Pleasures of Small Motions. ''A miserable player is a miserable player. From reading you posts I gather that you are a miserable player.

Nothing in pool happens overnight. A better player once told me that it was like growing as a child. You can look in the mirror every morning and not realize that you are growing, but look at a picture from six months or a year ago, and you can see a measurable difference.

You must also understand that your best game is not how you play. You have to average in the bad days to. Even the best players have a swing in their game from the best to worst. If you have not allready done it, you should try the Q-Skill drill. Not only will it give you a good average of your playing ability, it will also give you something to use for setting goals that are actually achievable.

The fact is you can probably forget about ever shooting like Earl. You are letting unrealistic expectations ruin your playing experience.

All the talk about bad luck is a cop out. If you aproach a shot expecting the worst you will get it. Lucky for us, (pun intended) it works both ways. If you will aproach a shot decide what you want to do, and visualize a positive outcome, your luck should improve.

If you will learn to take on a more positive attitude, you will enjoy this game a lot more.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Dr. Cue's Protege, I think your expectations might be a little to high at this point. If you're thinking about Earl Strickland when you play, how the hell are you going to make a ball? I'm sure Earl isn't thinking about YOUR game so who, might I ask, is keeping house up there in your head? Earl Strickland is a world class champion BECAUSE he's concentrating on himself and himself alone.

You're getting on this board day after day, week after week, complaining about one thing or another. The fact is, you have your whole life to learn about this game and you have a choice as to how you're going to preceive it. You can look at it as an exciting journey or a painful struggle. Either way, it's your choice. You think none of us have gone through what you're going through now? You think the first time I picked up a cue, I ran out? Unfortunately, you have to make a mistake before you can learn.

Take, for example, a simple three ball out. I always offer this to my students as a test of their knowledge. Often times, they'll set themselves up perfectly straight on the first shot EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THEY NEED AN ANGLE! It takes courage and discipline to tell yourself to make the shots a little tougher in order to make THE OUT easier. A lot of players much better than you'd think, have to fight these beginner-instincts every time they pick up a cue. It is, afterall, natural to try and get easy on a shot rather than "shape".

In sum, you have to learn to stop complaining. None of us play perfect yet we all strive to. The game is a constant tease because of its child-like simplicity. Understand that there are fears, expectations and anxieties that are associated with every single situation. Every single shot. Learn to let go of these feelings and what's left can be a truly euphoric experience. You're not going to get it right and on a day-to-day basis, you might now always see improvement but if you can enjoy the game and be willing to learn, you can only get better. If I were you, I'd hunt down a few books on the mental game. Zen And the Art of Archery and Play Your Best Tennis come to mind.
Click to expand...


Oops, I mean "The Inner Game of Tennis". Cappelle has got me all mixed up! However, Cappelle's book, "The Mental Game" is also a good read.
 
RichardCranium said:
Not to nit pick...but isn't it "Mind for Pool" .... I could swear thats the tiltle of the book at my house....
Click to expand...


YES! THAT'S IT! My mind works today. It's just taking a little time to warm up, that's all!
 
Yeah you always seem that they are "bad rolls" all the time. Bad rolls do happen but I would say 94.393% of them are brought onto you by yourself. If you feel the game is going to screw you over it probably will. For this instance I will tell you a story. I was at 8ball weekly tourney my night was going bad (not just pool wise) Anyways I was down 2-1 in a race to 4 for me and 3 to her. I had perfect angle to get onto the eight ball. I looked at it and said the way might night is going I will land right on top of that eight ball. Yep sure enough I did. I think you have the skills maybe you don’t. But you seem to focus on the "Pool gods" way to much. I know they aren't out to get just you. Sure they do bite us in the ass once and awhile but I think in your case you try to blame other people for your mistakes i.e.: bad rolls. Didn't you get your cloth changed because you couldn't make a ball? Thinking that is the problem. I don't know. Maybe I am off by 100 miles. Anyways hopefully something hit the spot

-Muxy
 
BrianK74 said:
When you make a great shot, do you call it "Good Luck"?. No, you call it "Skill".
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Actually, you have no idea how many times I say aloud, "Sometimes, even I am unaware of my own genius!" Occasionally, my opponents think I'm being obnoxious but I simply mean that I had no idea the shot would turn out so well.
 
LOL, yeah I can see how an opponent might not like to hear that! :D I like "Pleasures of Small Motions" for reading on the mental game of billiards.
 
BrianK74 said:
Firstly, I want to say I am not making any comment on your game as I've never played you, so take my post with a grain of salt.......

If I was your opponent I would love to hear those words coming from your mouth. It would make me think that you have very poor self-confidence in your shot making ability and creativity at the table. I would also feel that if you did in fact pull off an amazing shot and were surprised by it, maybe it doesn't happen very often and I have nothing to worry about.

I only tell you this for one reason. If you are playing for money and utter those words, you are going to get your clock cleaned. Hustlers wait around poolhalls waiting to hear guys like you say those words. It's like throwing meat into a lions' den.

Then again, if you are a world class quality shooter, this would be a great way to attract weak hustlers and bilk them of their money.

Either or, good shot or bad shot, take a lesson from Johnny Archer and say nothing that will give your confidence level away. Think of pool like playing poker, always maintain a calm collected demeanor and you will intimidate your opponents more than you will with weak bragging.
Click to expand...


I think you're taking my quote a little out of context (not that it was in context to begin with but it was related to the previous post). It's strictly reserved for what is obviously a fortunate roll. My point is, I'm humble enough to admit when the Gods have favored me.

As for a "weakness", I'm an A-level player. At this point, players can use all they want to try and build their confidence. I don't care. I'm still going to fire back at them no matter how good they might feel.
 
its a head game, fueled by knowledge and confidence. if you feel like its all going wrong and negative you have virtualy lost already. enjoy.!
 
thecyclone@btin said:
its a head game, fueled by knowledge and confidence. if you feel like its all going wrong and negative you have virtualy lost already. enjoy.!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the fortune cookie.
 
I will try to help

DCP, I have been reading your post for a while now. I would like to suggest that you read this:
1) Throw: Friction between the object ball and cue ball that changes the path of the object ball. English can throw a ball. Contact can also throw a ball.

2) Deflection:Caused by using English . It throws the cue ball onto a different course.

3) Curve: What happen when you hit down on the cue ball with english.

4) Outside english: Applying side spin on the opposite side of the cue ball than the object ball is traveling.

5) Inside english: Applying side spin on the same side of the cue ball as the direction of the cut shot.

Pocketing balls using english takes lots of practice to learn how to aim properly, which compensate for throw, deflection, and curve. It’s best to start with fairly simple shots using center ball. After you’ve secured aim by shooting a given shot with center ball, you’re ready to begin applying English to the cue ball. Use ½ tip of outside English at first ( you may be wise to confine your side English to this amount for the vast majority of shots that require English). Use a soft stroke. This will teach you the effects of throw. Then begin by gradually increase your stroke speed. As your speed of stroke increases you’ll find you will need to compensate for more deflection and less for throw.
As your skill with English grows, you can begin to shoot longer shots and apply as much as one tip of side spin. Nearly all players find it much easier to use outside English, so you should concentrate on mastering it first. When you begin to feel comfortable using outside English you can begin to run through the drills discussed above using inside English.
I didn't write it. I don't remember where all I got it either. I sent this to one of my students when she asked about English.
Try and hit the cueball with just enough ball speed to put it where you want.
Give it a shot and let me know what you think.
Purdman
Any comments on this are welcome. Again, I do not take credit for writing this. Just trying to help a frustrated player.
 
BrianK74 said:
Really?...if comments like that are reserved for fortunate rolls, why do you think it's a reflection of your "genius"?. .
Click to expand...

It's a joke. It's meant to mean that I didn't think that would happen.

BrianK74 said:
I too am humble enough to admit when the gods have fevored me, but I keep it to myself since it's pure cheese to gloat about good fortune.
Click to expand...

No, some times it's fun banter. The game's color is full of banter. Besides, I was trying to be amusing but for you, that appears to be hard to do!

BrianK74 said:
Maybe instead of stating how "Brilliant" you are you should say something like, "Wow, got lucky on that one" or "I'm running straight to the lotto outlet after that shot".
Click to expand...

I'm brilliant and the whole world should know, dammit! Besides, lotto is the moron's tax.

BrianK74 said:
If you need to comment at all, try to be sympathetic to your opponent as you just cheese-balled him, don't be a cocky fool, after all luck can go both ways.
When tennis players get lucky off the net cord they wave apology towards their opponent, not go, "Wow, even I don't realize what a genius I am".
Click to expand...

Why in the world should I ever have sympathy? Now THAT is weak!

BrianK74 said:
BTW - I never said that you were a "weak" player, read my first sentence where I siad I am not judging your playing ability. I meant your comment was "weak bragging"..... and if you feel differently, than you are not just an "A-level player", you are an A-level player who is also arrogant.
Click to expand...

OMG, my point is that I don't get into the whole head-game thing. You're reading between lines that aren't there! I mentioned that I'm an A-level player because I don't think you can get to that level without putting those issues behind you and I don't think I'm suddenly going to be the fish of all fishes because I said I was lucky.

Chill dude. You're scaring me.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
MY GENIUS COULD NOT FORESEE THIS MOST FORTUNATE EVENT!


there, I said it! You got action!
Click to expand...

DM, who you like here ?

Dave
 
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