Playing to level of your Opponent

T

tulsayankee

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I tend to play at the level of my opponent alot when I know them. How can I stop this? I went to BCA NAtional and did very respectable because I didn't know any of my oppenents. I don't understand that if I know I'm better than someone, I tend to ease up, but if I'm not supposed to win I play very competive. Why is this?
 
Maybe you don't feel worthy.
Maybe you feel the opponent is worthy.
Maybe you don't want to beat the opponent so badly they won't come back.

But whatever the reason and rationals, quit doing it. Treat the opponent like P.T. Barnum would treat a patron {take them for all they are worth.} If you are good at it, the opponent will enjoy the beating.
 
tulsayankee said:
I tend to play at the level of my opponent alot when I know them. How can I stop this? I went to BCA NAtional and did very respectable because I didn't know any of my oppenents. I don't understand that if I know I'm better than someone, I tend to ease up, but if I'm not supposed to win I play very competive. Why is this?
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You might want to check out a really cool post by our very own akaTrigger about this topic:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=3652907&highlight=winning+ugly#post3652907

It's a mental thing, and you *can* get past it, if you make some tweaks.

-Sean
 
tulsayankee said:
I tend to play at the level of my opponent alot when I know them. How can I stop this? I went to BCA NAtional and did very respectable because I didn't know any of my oppenents. I don't understand that if I know I'm better than someone, I tend to ease up, but if I'm not supposed to win I play very competive. Why is this?
Click to expand...

Maybe the following will help..

"Humans have a code of ethics," says Marc Bekoff, (a pool player) behavior expert at the University of Colorado. "If I don't play a certain way, you won't play with me. Some (pool players) have the same code."

Scientists recently discovered that (pool players) who (play) in groups, such as (As), (Bs), and (Cs), are especially likely to follow rules. If they don't, and each does its own thing, the group might break apart. Group members would be forced to (play) alone. Then they'd have a harder time hunting and raising their (teams).

That's probably why a traveling (pool player) stopped and waited to let its limping leader catch up. Similar social ties may have prompted a captive (stakehorse) to save her friend from drowning. Selfish reasons certainly motivated the (stakehorse), who wanted to keep playing.

Sometimes, though, (pool players) go out of their way to do what's right, even when there's nothing in it for them. Nobody knows why. "It might simply feel good to be kind, just as it does for humans," says Bekoff.

Read on for four surprising stories about nice behavior in the (pool) kingdom.

(APA) Friends

If your friend wasn't nice to you, what would you do? Maybe you would just walk away. That's exactly what a (APA player) did when she was (playing) with another (APA player). The larger (skill level), a male, began pushing too hard. The little female didn't like roughhousing. She trotted away.

"He still wanted to play," says Marc Bekoff. So the male (APA player) ran after his playmate, bowed down, and (racked) over. His body language meant, "Don't leave, I'll play nice." The female gave him another chance, and the male (played) more gently this time.
...

You can read more stories here.
 
With pool EVERYTHING is up top. Pool is a head game. The best stroke in the world with the truest of aim, means nothing if you left your head in your case.

Some people need competition to bring out there best game. Some need to be able to turn their brain off and "free wheel" The best (like SVB) can turn it on at the flip of a switch. If the cue is in his hand his brain is switched to pool mode. This is the absolute hardest part of pool. You will see guys psyche themselves out before the first break.

The long and short of it is this, gotta get you head straight to shoot straight. If you cant put you head in the right gear, don't even bother picking up your cue.


just my little $.02,

Justin
 
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