Playing your best game all the time

[mnShooter]

My best game is pretty good while my average game is not what I would like it to be. I would say I play my best game about 40% of the time. I would like to make it more like 90-95% of the time.

For those players who rarely have bad days-what is it that makes you so consistant. Is it your eye movement, your stance, your preshot routine or is it the whole package?

 

[Klopek]

I'd say it's my "whole package", at least that's what the ladies tell me.

Seriously, all of the above, but you left out the single most important thing once all the fundamentals are covered. Focus. When you can easily tune out the drunks next to you and the nasty inner dialogue in your head and just play, that's when the bad days become less common. Having the ability to stay with the shot and believe you can make any shot if you just focus clear enough will take you to the next level.

EDIT: Having a great break helps too.

 

[mnShooter]

I guess I left out the most important thing and definitely one of my weaknesses. I miss, I get mad, then I miss some more. Overcoming this will definitely help.

The other reason I have bad days is I just feel off. I can't tell if the cueball is going to contact the object ball exactly where I am trying to hit it.

 

[Klopek]

The other reason I have bad days is I just feel off. I can't tell if the cueball is going to contact the object ball exactly where I am trying to hit it.

What I'm about to say will most definitely throw your game off forever.

I used to experience "feeling off" just like you. I discovered the real culprit was I wasn't lining the cue up consistently under my dominant eye. I know, the dominant eye thing again, but really, if you suffer from this do some reading up on it and try some of the tests to see if you might be neglecting your natural sighting.

I now just stroke naturally and straight and let the cue sit where it wants to sit. For me, under my right eye, beside my jaw. Once I started doing this I started drilling them in the heart of the pocket from any angle.

 

[TrickyRicky]

One of the most important things that I do to keep myself mentally sharp is to ALWAYS play with something on the line, even if it's just a small amount.
Look around your pool shooting community and I'll guarantee you that 95% of the "A" players (myself included ) there don't play others--even their friends-- just "for the hell of it".
Extra incentive and material reward helps keep us at the high mental level we need in order to compete at our best on a consistent basis. Thousands of people worldwide can shoot "the lights out of" pool balls, but only a small percentage of these players have developed the mental "killer instinct" required to do it consistently. The physically talented, or "B" players, are the ones that can run a couple of racks in their basement and then lose in the first round of a $5 entry fee local bar 8-ball tourney.

You must ALWAYS play for something, even in "practice", if you ever want to move on to the true "A" level of consistency.
Becoming an "A" level status player isn't cheap-- you're going to literally have to "pay your dues" and play "A" players until your mental game rises to the next level. Then, with time and patience, you should be able to get your money back-- maybe even get well!
Good luck!

Rick P.

 

[Snapshot9]

Not just with Pool

but other activities I have done in my life have contributed to my ability to focus, and be able to turn it on and off.

Meditation techniques used when younger.
Martial Arts training (3 different ones).
Development of large scale Computer systems (always gettiing interrupted by
co-workers or users). This was my chosen profession.

I think these 3 things, along with Pool, contributed to my ability to concentrate and focus on a goal at hand.

 

[acedotcom]

One of the most important things that I do to keep myself mentally sharp is to ALWAYS play with something on the line, even if it's just a small amount. Rick P.

I with you there, 100%. I see so many guys who play every day with nothing on the line. Then, they wonder why in tournaments they choke on the cheese. One guy down here who shoots pretty decent when he's practicing practically takes divots when he's shooting the nine in tournaments.