Playing to your opponent's level

Junkyarddog

Junkyarddog

Kelly
Silver Member
Perhaps some of you have had trouble with this. It is a complete mental block for me to be able to turn on the switch and play all out against someone who isn't as good (or bad) as I am. I seem to play to the level of my opponent to a certain extent and I don't know how to get around it. I usually play good enough to win, but lately if I go into a match with a good player it takes me a couple games to bear down and start playing like (I hope) I am supposed to. If I play in a tourney with the big boys I usually get beat but for some reason I play better when I am playing against the best in the world...I even get lucky every now and then(just one or two matches of course). Do any of you have any drills or do anything to give you that killer instinct against anybody when you need it? I can't seem to find any motivation. Money for me hasn't ever been a motivating factor even though it helps. I gamble as much as I can but usually get bored if I am not playing someone better than me giving them weight or not. I don't know if it is something as crazy as changing my poor eating habits all the way to not playing lower level players. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Help!
 
What a great question! I think it might have a lot to do with what skill you are at. I, too, have had and still have this issue. Sometimes, I think it is my excuse for not running out when I should have. It really has a lot to do with where my game is at. I don't consistently run-out when the opportunity is there. The A or better players that I have played against don't have the same issues. Is it playing down, plain boredom or is it that my game is not at that point where I run-out consstently and is vulnerable to a lesser player? That would be my opinion. I have the same issue when I play ring games.

1on1 you can jump into this anytime! Would love to hear what you would say! :)
 
The fear isn't there when you're playing against a lesser opponent. That "fear" can be translated as pressure.

You can slack off when you know that one miss isn't going to cost you a couple racks.
 
kath13 said:
What a great question! I think it might have a lot to do with what skill you are at. I, too, have had and still have this issue. Sometimes, I think it is my excuse for not running out when I should have. It really has a lot to do with where my game is at. I don't consistently run-out when the opportunity is there. The A or better players that I have played against don't have the same issues. Is it playing down, plain boredom or is it that my game is not at that point where I run-out consstently and is vulnerable to a lesser player? That would be my opinion. I have the same issue when I play ring games.

1on1 you can jump into this anytime! Would love to hear what you would say! :)
Click to expand...

There are several reasons that we sometimes do not play up to speed when playing a lesser player, and to be flat out blunt the main reason is ego, and that leads into laziness while at the table. We feel like no matter what we do it is going to be really tough for us to lose, and usually that is the case.

However, it is not good for your game to have this attitude. First of all, don't ever play pool when you are not prepared to devote 100% to the game. If you are disinterested while playing then you should not be playing. All this teaches us to do is practice bad habits which, sooner or later will show up in your game when it means something. I know it is tough, but we should always play the table and not the opponent and treat every game like it is the last. This is the greatest challenge for me. I like to look at every layout like a puzzle and figure out how to solve it.

I've got to taste a bit of this over the past couple months. I do not have anywhere to play where I live so 2 to 3 times a week I try to devote the whole day to playing pool and spend 2 hrs round trip doing so to the closest poolroom. I have found that it makes my time on the table a lot more effective even though I'm not playing as much as I want to. The quality of my time playing is well served even though the quantity of time is lacking. So, no matter if I'm playing a guy that can't make two balls or playing a world champion, the same amount of effort and focus is going into every moment at the table.

I have spent lots of time around several dedicated players and this is more or less the advice they have given me. If I could stress anything it would be the quality over quantity issue.

Hope this helps.
 
object of the game

Hard to answer in a post, pm me if you want to talk sometime. The long and short of it, though, is that as long as your only mission is to win the set or game that you are playing, you will begin to get lazy playing weaker players as you can play bad and still achieve your goal. The way that you can overcome this is to shift your focus to a different goal. For example, if your goal is to go home saying that you gave your best on every shot all day, you are much closer to the path that will allow you to get over this hurdle.

It goes a bit deeper than that, but for a forum post that's where this bus stops...
 
thx

1on1pooltournys said:
There are several reasons that we sometimes do not play up to speed when playing a lesser player, and to be flat out blunt the main reason is ego, and that leads into laziness while at the table. We feel like no matter what we do it is going to be really tough for us to lose, and usually that is the case.

However, it is not good for your game to have this attitude. First of all, don't ever play pool when you are not prepared to devote 100% to the game. If you are disinterested while playing then you should not be playing. All this teaches us to do is practice bad habits which, sooner or later will show up in your game when it means something. I know it is tough, but we should always play the table and not the opponent and treat every game like it is the last. This is the greatest challenge for me. I like to look at every layout like a puzzle and figure out how to solve it.

I've got to taste a bit of this over the past couple months. I do not have anywhere to play where I live so 2 to 3 times a week I try to devote the whole day to playing pool and spend 2 hrs round trip doing so to the closest poolroom. I have found that it makes my time on the table a lot more effective even though I'm not playing as much as I want to. The quality of my time playing is well served even though the quantity of time is lacking. So, no matter if I'm playing a guy that can't make two balls or playing a world champion, the same amount of effort and focus is going into every moment at the table.

I have spent lots of time around several dedicated players and this is more or less the advice they have given me. If I could stress anything it would be the quality over quantity issue.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

It does and thanks for the reply. I knew you would have some good thoughts on this topic. I would agree with what your analysis.
 
That makes a lot of sense. I think I will try what was mentioned by making a concious effort to be committed but more importantly make another goal instead of just beating who I am playing. I was talking to a buddy of mine last night and he had a good suggestion to only play tourneys for awhile and just play the ghost in between. Thank you all for you responses.
 
Pool is a solo game. Why does it matter who's sitting in the corner? Not like you are both shooting at the same time. Just focus on you.
 
Junkyarddog said:
Perhaps some of you have had trouble with this. It is a complete mental block for me to be able to turn on the switch and play all out against someone who isn't as good (or bad) as I am. I seem to play to the level of my opponent to a certain extent and I don't know how to get around it. I usually play good enough to win, but lately if I go into a match with a good player it takes me a couple games to bear down and start playing like (I hope) I am supposed to. If I play in a tourney with the big boys I usually get beat but for some reason I play better when I am playing against the best in the world...I even get lucky every now and then(just one or two matches of course). Do any of you have any drills or do anything to give you that killer instinct against anybody when you need it? I can't seem to find any motivation. Money for me hasn't ever been a motivating factor even though it helps. I gamble as much as I can but usually get bored if I am not playing someone better than me giving them weight or not. I don't know if it is something as crazy as changing my poor eating habits all the way to not playing lower level players. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Help!
Click to expand...

I know what you are saying, I have the same problem, either I play decent against a good player if I can get started. Or if I play someone less skilled I find myself playing just good enough to get by to win.. I don't try against them like I should, I guess it come from playing some regulars I play all the time and don't try as hard against them cause then they get mad and dont play anymore. Then this hurts me in the long run when I need to turn it up a notch I just fall back into the just enough to get by and sometimes it is not !!<<ED
 
When/If you get a chance, I suggest "The Pleasures of Small Motions". It REALLY nails the mental aspects of our game. I highly recommend it.

But, after having read it 3 or 4 times .... I still play DOWN to the level of my competition. On the brighter side: I play UP to the level of my competition, as well.
 
LoGiC said:
Pool is a solo game. Why does it matter who's sitting in the corner? Not like you are both shooting at the same time. Just focus on you.
Click to expand...

It does matter though. I think sometimes just the rhythm of the match and watching our opponents abilities cause us to play better. But what I see more than that is excellent players playing badly against someone who plays just a tad better than them. Especially at the advance and pro level. It seems that speed kills speed. What i mean by that is when you play someone who is better than your speed in pool, your game goes down. I have played nearly world champion players who never miss when playing me. But let them play a tournament agains a bonifide champion like Archer or Alex or Shane, and they don't play nearly to their capabilities, missing shots and position plays that are automatic to them when playing a lesser player.

As far as why we play down to our opponents level, that question has haunted me for my entire pool career. I wish I knew why. :smile:

Mike
 
Once you miss a simple shot and one of those "lesser" players runs out on you, you will get over it and learn to treat every opponent like they are a run out player. Even a banger can get lucky!

Steve
 
Junkyarddog said:
Perhaps some of you have had trouble with this. It is a complete mental block for me to be able to turn on the switch and play all out against someone who isn't as good (or bad) as I am. I seem to play to the level of my opponent to a certain extent and I don't know how to get around it. I usually play good enough to win, but lately if I go into a match with a good player it takes me a couple games to bear down and start playing like (I hope) I am supposed to. If I play in a tourney with the big boys I usually get beat but for some reason I play better when I am playing against the best in the world...I even get lucky every now and then(just one or two matches of course). Do any of you have any drills or do anything to give you that killer instinct against anybody when you need it? I can't seem to find any motivation. Money for me hasn't ever been a motivating factor even though it helps. I gamble as much as I can but usually get bored if I am not playing someone better than me giving them weight or not. I don't know if it is something as crazy as changing my poor eating habits all the way to not playing lower level players. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Help!
Click to expand...


Do you do this when you're gambling?
 
Play the table!

I here ya Junkyard, sometimes I play down to my opponent, but when I get lazy and miss a shot or two and they get out for the win a few times, it doesn't take long for me to turn up the burners.

I really like to watch a good tape of a couple pro's running out like (Buddy Hall/Efern Reyes) to get into stroke before going out or to a tourney, that seems to pick my game up and have my mind set on "run out pool."

Pool is weird, I can ketch a gear and hold it a few hours, days, weeks, or a month, then it leaves me as mysterious as it appeared!


David Harcrow
 
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