Playing sober, can’t do it

MikeLeClair said:
I hear ya and completely understand. It was always a way out for me. I would show up to a pool hall very nervous sometimes knowing a lot of people are there to watch me play with money on the line. Just knowing that all I had to do was drink would actually help calm me even before I started drinking. It was a bad trend. I did end up drinking every night as I got older. My tolerance got stronger as a result which meant I needed to drink more. Try and stay dry. Believe me when I say you don't want to go through what I went through. I was up to about a litre of vodka per day when I finally had enough and tried to quit cold turkey. Each time I did that I ended up in the hospital with very bad seizures along with the hallucinations and severe bruising all over my abdomen. I was lucky that I was able to finally stop. One more time would've killed me. Please stay dry, your life is worth it!
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That's terrible. When I'm in my drinking phases, I'm drinking about the same amount. Couple screwdrivers in the morning, beers throughout the day, jack and coke until bedtime (I like them strong too). I go through about a case or two of beer and a few bottles of liquor every week. Shutting it off for extended periods of time is easy enough for me, but I always trick myself into coming back slowly... That lasts about two days then I'm at full drinking speed again. If I could snap my fingers and make it so I can only drink two nights a week I would. I'm all or nothing. :(
 
easy-e said:
That's terrible. When I'm in my drinking phases, I'm drinking about the same amount. Couple screwdrivers in the morning, beers throughout the day, jack and coke until bedtime (I like them strong too). I go through about a case or two of beer and a few bottles of liquor every week. Shutting it off for extended periods of time is easy enough for me, but I always trick myself into coming back slowly... That lasts about two days then I'm at full drinking speed again. If I could snap my fingers and make it so I can only drink two nights a week I would. I'm all or nothing. :(
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The problem is your brain and body is eventually going to physically require it. I noticed that when this occurred, it was too late. It slowly creeps in without realizing it. Even at my worst, when I drank I felt better but all I was doing was feeding my nervous system what it needed. This is one of the reasons why quitting cold turkey is so bad (when you drink heavily). If you're able to shut it off without any major physical issues (a bit of shakiness is no big deal) then keep it turned off. Not trying to scare you but that's how I ended up where I was. At one point I was able to shut it off. I'd feel a bit off for a day or too but nothing I couldn't manage. After a few days I thought, "no big deal", I'll drink for a few days and do it again. Eventually, I could no longer shut it off and it wasn't due to the enjoyment of drinking.
 
Funny, I usually see the opposite with good players, they play worse for the most part when drinking more, but the worst players improve a bit. There are a few exceptions but those are not the very top players, there are a few good 650-700 players in my area that are always on something, drinks, snorts, puffs, whatever they do.

I like to keep myself in charge, not some external chemicals. I'm a 2-3 drink limit kind of guy, and even then at times it's to support the place I am visiting not so much that I need to get a drink.
 
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Ol' Johnny Cash said:
"You start drinking out of the bottle. Keep at it long enough & the bottle starts drinking out of you."

24 years without a drop.
I'm 66.
I wish I had done it sooner.

A part of addiction is "ritual".
My wife would get in the car, turn the key and light a cigarette.
Every time.
I'd leave work, hit the deli next door for a tall boy.
Every time.

Ritual is a building block towards mental and physical dependence.
The inability to play well isn't because the drink helps, but more that the lack of a drink is a big distraction.
And then we rationalize the distraction into a reason.
 
rexus31 said:
I don't know you and I'm only going off what you've posted here so don't get insulted...lol. Sounds to me like you are mentally weak and use the alcohol as a crutch to overt the weakness. Don't go running back to the sauce because you are having confidence issues. Stay the course and learn to deal with the nerves and self doubt. You'll be a better player as a result. You might want to try reading some books that deal with performance related thought processes: Golf is not a Game of Perfect, The Inner Game of Tennis and the Mental Game of Baseball are a few good ones.
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Ullshit
 
if you need alcohol for any reason other than a sociable drink with friends then you are basically an alcoholic.

all alcoholics later in life find themselves with health problems and none of them say it was worth it to have to die much younger
or suffer. and as time goes on it gets worse not better.
look at the old time pool players that have died young. they drank and many did drugs. now they are gone.
 
hang-the-9 said:
Funny, I usually see the opposite with good players, they play worse for the most part when drinking more, but the worst players improve a bit. There are a few exceptions but those are not the very top players, there are a few good 650-700 players in my area that are always on something, drinks, snorts, puffs, whatever they do.

I like to keep myself in charge, not some external chemicals. I'm a 2-3 drink limit kind of guy, and even then at times it's to support the place I am visiting not so much that I need to get a drink.
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Let's look at the list of all the pool players that readily abused some form of chemical to enhance their play. Where are they now?
 
I liked to drink and moderation was no part of it. In my peak pool years I usually worked very physical jobs in the daytime. My arms would be tight and sore when I started play. I noticed about three beers in the arms softened up. About twelve beers in most everything softened up!

I was a winner drunk or sober but I started noticing my style changed when I was drinking heavily. At the start of the night I would be shooting hard and moving the cue ball a lot. A sixpack in and I was shooting soft and smooth not wasting any effort. I realized I would be better off playing my "drunken game" drunk or sober. It was hard but when I managed I was pretty stout on the table.

To the OP, I would bring a can cozy in the place and try to limit myself to one beer every x number of games. A little beer but a lot less than you are drinking now. Likewise if another tipple is your drink of choice, don't try to cold turkey things but cut way back. You will probably find you can cut back more and more.

I quit drinking a few decades or so back because my drinking partner was getting an ulcer! I had moved to another area and only had one drinking partner. When he had to keep cutting back more and more on his drinking I did too. One day I looked in my icebox and realized the beer in there was a year old. I said to myself, that's it, I am done. I have been tempted a bunch of times since then but I haven't touched a swallow. I don't have an addictive personality towards anything else, but alcohol is my nemesis. I know I could easily go from a beer now and then to full tilt boogie. I used to favor Turkey or 151 straight from the bottle and kept a bottle of one or both in the freezer. I quit the hard stuff due to my stomach and the beer due to my drinking partner's stomach. I think I was pretty lucky!

For those drinking more than they want to, I don't have a magic formula. I think we all have to find the road that works for us. For those drinking for their pool game, kinda silly isn't it? One thing to try, aspirin in quantity is a mild tranquilizer without the buzz. Might try buffered aspirin at the rate of four to six full strength Bayer aspirin and see if it does anything for your game. DON'T mix the aspirin and alcohol. I heard that is what killed Hank Sr and quite a few more people. They would start a drinking session with a tin of aspirin then chase that with maybe a bottle or more of hard liquor.

Good luck to all with their pool games and drinking game!

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Good luck to all with their pool games and drinking game!
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They'll win or lose a lot of pool games.
Will only lose at the drinking game.
I had a pool player friend that died from alcoholism at 73 back in 2018. Wasn't a pleasant way to go! Renal shutdown is excruciatingly painful until you do die.
Another friend died of alcoholism at 55. He was hospitalized around Thanksgiving one year and was told if he drank again he would die. He quit until a few days before Christmas and died just after.
 
It’s all in your head. You will actually play better sober if you really give it a go. It seems to me that you are just giving this a token effort. You have to buckle down and concentrate on kicking the alcohol just like buckling down and working on the game itself. Wish you the best!
 
When I got out of the service, I was a heavy drinker. So much so that after a few years, you end up with quite a tolerance for it and it just took more and more to actually feel it. Just drank beer. Got to where it was affecting my job and future marriage. Went to work many mornings where I'm sure if I was pulled over, I would get a DUI from the night befores drinks. Knew it was getting out of hand, but all my friends drank as much or more than I did and it was tough to make the move to quit. Finally in the mid 80's I fell asleep at the wheel coming home one night and wrecked my new truck into some woods close to home. Lucked out and just received an inattentive driving ticket. Told my future wife that was it and I was going to try and quit. Quit cold turkey, wasn't actually hard to do, hardest part was all my so called friends didn't want anything to do with me anymore. I had no problem being out with them at bars, didn't bother me at all drinking soda, but it wasn't fun anymore and they kept trying to get me to drink with them. Ended up moving on from them and remained drink free for about 30 years. Probably about 8-10 years ago I missed having a drink when out to eat or with friends. Talked to the wife about it but decide to let it ride for a few years. After about three more years the wife and I were out for dinner, and I told her I would like a beer. She didn't say anything and trusted my judgement. I have been careful since, usually have two beers on my one league night, and three or four on the other. Also have a couple if I go out at our summer house, or if we go out for dinner, I might have one. I really like beer, but the excessive cravings and perceived need I had when I was young has never come back. It's a good feeling.
As to a drink or two for pool. Not sure if it really helps or hinders my pool game, but I am more relaxed after a beer, yet I don't feel the need for a beer at home to play pool, and actually not when out either.
 
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easy-e said:
I was saying Canada is the same as Maine. I definitely drink too much. I've been dry for March so far just to make sure I don't die, but I would drink every night if I could. I certainly feel it when I'm playing lately. One or two drinks would definitely make me play better, it's a weakness of mine. In the pool rooms it's difficult for me to focus on the game when I'm staring down everyone's drinks.
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Ahh, good times.
 
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