Playing well when having a bad day

justnum

justnum

Billiards Improvement Research Projects Associate
Silver Member
Pool was a great recreational tool. Playing more competitively its changed.

Instead of just relaxing and enjoying the match, sometimes I let the events of the day eat away at me during a match.

I notice my mechanics and timing completely fall apart. I used to think more practice would correct it.

Now I think its my attitude, can you have a lousy day (which causes loss of focus) and still play great?
 
justnum said:
Pool was a great recreational tool. Playing more competitively its changed.

Instead of just relaxing and enjoying the match, sometimes I let the events of the day eat away at me during a match.

I notice my mechanics and timing completely fall apart. I used to think more practice would correct it.

Now I think its my attitude, can you have a lousy day (which causes loss of focus) and still play great?
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Recognizing the distraction/tension is the first thing. Separating yourself from it is the hard part. You learn that putting extra pressure on yourself doesn't help. We all gotta go with the rolls good or bad. Sometimes you just lose...especially 9 ball.

As long as you are improving and enjoying yourself most of the time it's worth playing...when it isn't you gotta change something. Play other people or other games.
 
To me, pool is a haven from the real world.

Of course, one must acknowledge the real world sometimes. It is more important than the pool world and deserves attention.
 
I read the title as "Playing well when having a baby" and was like damn thats some dedication
 
If I have a bad day... like anxiety/worrisome... I wont play at all that evening as I know my head will not be there.

If it's just any other shit day at work, with nothing on my mind after work then I have no problem shooting.
 
A bad day to me is when you are driving behind Hells Angels and your horn is stuck. I try to relax and have fun when playing. Not always easy but that’s the beauty of pool.
 
relaxing

after work, I like to come home, toss some balls on table, and hit em to empty my head. for me, doing that was therapy.

during my divorce, if my ex and I had a disagreement before I left for league play I had a tough time playing.
 
Practice helps this a lot. Not necessarily practicing shooting balls. Practicing mental control.

In any form of competition, I think of missing a ball as a drill. Its an opportunity to feel the disappointment, think about the cause, and then most importantly to set it aside for later. Every miss is an opportunity to practice that. See how fast you can reset your mind to be ready for your next inning at the table as if you never left.

I think if you can control your mind well enough to pull yourself out of a downward spiral from missing balls then you have what it takes to separate a bad day from your time at the table.

Unless it was a really bad day. And then you probably shouldn’t be playing and should be dealing with that instead.
 
desi2960 said:
during my divorce, if my ex and I had a disagreement before I left for league play I had a tough time playing.
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Exact same thing happened to me for the same reason. Typically, only issues at home will affect my game. Thankfully my second wife is a LOT different from the first :thumbup:
 
There's a great little book titled, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) 2.0, by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. It's a great read that really helps you learn how to handle/deal with the emotional baggage we sometimes carry to the pool table.
 
Thanks for that, Brian. I just bought the book. Need all the help I can get...
 
Pro

I do not remember what Pro said this
" It is easy to win when your playing good the Key is to win when your playing bad "

Last week right before I was to start a game of straight Pool I noticed my tip was about to fall off, it was barely hanging on. I had no second shaft so was forced to play with that shaft.
It was on my mind every shot , I was forced to use nothing but middle ball and feared it would come off when chalking . I am happy to say I won the match but it took a lot of concentration on 100% of the shots which is not easy for me.
 
Playing well when chit is up to your eyeballs is not easy and is also one of the big differences between a good player and a great player.

Rake
 
If it's outside BS, home, family, GF, finances... I won't play. Those nagging thoughts will
keep rattling around in your head... start punching at the balls.

Now, if it's something to do with pool, to me the "mind over matter" scenario comes into play.
 
justnum said:
Pool was a great recreational tool. Playing more competitively its changed.

Instead of just relaxing and enjoying the match, sometimes I let the events of the day eat away at me during a match.

I notice my mechanics and timing completely fall apart. I used to think more practice would correct it.

Now I think its my attitude, can you have a lousy day (which causes loss of focus) and still play great?
Click to expand...

At the PBT "Florida Flare Up" event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in what I believe was 1996, Efren Reyes was having a really bad day even before the beginning of his first round match against big-breaking David Howard. Shortly before the match, Efren had been told that his father had died, and many of his thoughts turned to how he would get to the Philippines at the end of the event.

Efren would lose that opening match to David Howard, but then something remarkable occurred. Efren won match after match after match to reach and got to the final against Johnny Archer. The final was a beat down of the highest order, with Efren winning the title by a score of 11-2, shortly after which he boarded a plane to the Philippines to attend his father's funeral.

I've always remembered this occasion, and have used it to remind me that if you are true to your pre-shot routine, focus on your fundamentals, maintain your commitment to superior decision making, and keep believing that you can execute your shots, you can play through virtually anything.

Hence, I think you've reached the right conclusion in suggesting that it's your attitude that is getting in the way. On the other hand, your introspective post shows that you are trying to address the problem, and that's admirable.

Yes, perhaps there are days when you shouldn't play, but Efren's effort at the PBT "Florida Flare Up" reminds us that playing well is possible even when your are carrying a lot of psychological baggage.
 
When you go to the pool hall put all your real world trouble in a box and leave it by the door before you go inside. Pick it up on your way out later. You will have a better time that way as will anyone else you happen to interact with inside.
 
sjm said:
At the PBT "Florida Flare Up" event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in what I believe was 1996, Efren Reyes was having a really bad day even before the beginning of his first round match against big-breaking David Howard. Shortly before the match, Efren had been told that his father had died, and many of his thoughts turned to how he would get to the Philippines at the end of the event.

Efren would lose that opening match to David Howard, but then something remarkable occurred. Efren won match after match after match to reach and got to the final against Johnny Archer. The final was a beat down of the highest order, with Efren winning the title by a score of 11-2, shortly after which he boarded a plane to the Philippines to attend his father's funeral.

I've always remembered this occasion, and have used it to remind me that if you are true to your pre-shot routine, focus on your fundamentals, maintain your commitment to superior decision making, and keep believing that you can execute your shots, you can play through virtually anything.

Hence, I think you've reached the right conclusion in suggesting that it's your attitude that is getting in the way. On the other hand, your introspective post shows that you are trying to address the problem, and that's admirable.

Yes, perhaps there are days when you shouldn't play, but Efren's effort at the PBT "Florida Flare Up" reminds us that playing well is possible even when your are carrying a lot of psychological baggage.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this very interesting piece of pool history! How do you remember stuff like this?
 
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