riding (playing over my head)

obclassicut

Percentages
Silver Member
Playing some nine ball tonight against a guy who quit our league from the lack of competition a few years back. ive never played well around him or against him, bad leaves, lack of speed control. ( granted even if i did my chances of winning a set arent the greatest). All i want to do tonight is play how im capable of playing and show him i have skills, so he will actually play with me more often. 2nd in my 8- ball league is not showing much to him. ? anyone else have trouble with consistency in there game? mine is all over the place sometimes depending on who im playing. how do i bring at least my b game tonight?
 
Nerves? Just smoke some bud...

I kid, I kid!

But it probably is nerves. If you want to impress then you have overcome the nerves. Some people settle their nerves with a few beers, others a cigarette. But for me I just take my time. Really concentrate and visualise (or atleast try) the speed of a shot.
 
For me, confidence is a key ingredient in playing my best. Without confidence I am tentative and my stroke doesn't work right. The way I build confidence is effective practice.
 
Finishing 2nd in your 8ball league indicates that you can play some or you are the luckiest sun of a gun in the league:eek:

9ball is a different game, but still pool.

If he runs out like water-slow him down with safes or two-way shots. At some point though, you have to shoot to win.

If it is clear that you can't hang with him-change the dynamics-ask him to show you a certain shot that he came with, or advice on a situation, or pattern that you messed up.

If he is that much better, if he is willing to share some knowledge or advice-both you and he may benefit. You may get to know him differently-instead of being nervous about your game, maybe he will recognize your goal of improving, and show you some stuff.

Or beat his ass, so he asks you stuff.:eek::eek:

remember-its just pool.
 
how do i bring at least my b game tonight?
I play my best when I'm playing each shot for the sheer enjoyment of it, without any concern for (or even, sometimes, awareness of) how I'm doing, who's winning, who's watching, etc.

So try to enjoy yourself.

pj
chgo
 
Finishing 2nd in your 8ball league indicates that you can play some or you are the luckiest sun of a gun in the league:eek:

9ball is a different game, but still pool.

If he runs out like water-slow him down with safes or two-way shots. At some point though, you have to shoot to win.

If it is clear that you can't hang with him-change the dynamics-ask him to show you a certain shot that he came with, or advice on a situation, or pattern that you messed up.

If he is that much better, if he is willing to share some knowledge or advice-both you and he may benefit. You may get to know him differently-instead of being nervous about your game, maybe he will recognize your goal of improving, and show you some stuff.

Or beat his ass, so he asks you stuff.:eek::eek:

remember-its just pool.

Thanks, we went and played on some 9 footers. it was sweet, played shitty at first then started getting in the flow. played three sets and he gave me a two game spot ( i had to win 5 vs his 7) i won one of the three sets, 5-6, so he had to pay for the table time at the pool hall. He has 10 years of experience on me so i was content with how i performed last night. wow what a difference between 9 footer and my table, got to my table later that night and couldnt miss. need to practice on the big tables more often, lol. so fun!!!!!!!!!
 
I'm somewhat in the same boat as the OP. I have an opponent that I just can't (or couldn't) get past.

I have some inconsistency in my game, like most (if not all) amateurs. But, I'll agree with one of the other posters, practice, practice and more practice is a great prescription for that. You just have to see the shots. I mean literally go to the table after your opponent and say to yourself, "Ok, I've seen this one 1000 times, let's make it and move on." Because sometimes you get to the table and you think, "Uh oh, I've not quite seen this one before." And that's where people get nervous. They shoot fast and hard. Because they're uncomfortable and there's something in our psyche that makes us want to just get it over with. So, you have to get acquainted with every kind of shot you can. So, you can "own" THAT shot.

ANYWAY, I had to have been 0-50 lifetime against a particular guy. I had never, ever beaten him in a set, over the past 2 years, till a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't that I felt particularly great that night, but I just had more confidence than I'd had in a while. I knew I was playing better. I treated every shot with respect, but instead of thinking, "....if I miss this shot.......",...... I approached things different. I thought, ".....after I make this shot, I need to......".

Point is.......confidence can make a huge difference in your game. That's why when I'm practicing, I always start off with very easy shots, as they develop confidence in that session very quickly. Then I'll ease into harder and harder shots, which are much easier to "accept" when you eventually miss. Converserly, I'll end the session with shots that I'm comfortable with, so that when I unscrew my cue it's on an upbeat, good note.

I've studied my opponent for the past 2 years. I made it my mission to beat him, as he's the best player in the area. I made it a point to watch him when he played other great local players. I watched him lose. I watched him become "human". Every time we play, I make it a point to learn something. To make one more shot. To make one less mistake. I kept telling myself that it was a war of attrition (Google it). I was gonna wear him down one day at a time. And I did. And you know what? He start to backpeddle a bit. He began to play safe. Took two-way shots. Things he didn't normally do against ME, because he could always basically freewheel on me in the past. I made it work to my advantage however, because I gained even more confidence from that. I knew I had him on the ropes and had forced him to take me seriously as an opponent. I always felt mildly disrespected that he figured he could just play offensively 90% of the time and breeze past me. Now, I like the guy, so it wasn't anything that affected us off the table. It was just a mental state I put myself in when we were on the table together. I've learned to separate that.

I'll probably play the guy tonight. There's still a stronger chance that he wins than if I win. But, ya know what, EVERY single time I play him, my odds of winning go up. That's the way I look at it.

Good luck. Have fun. Be confident. And as someone else said.....it's just pool.
 
You are mentally weak...that's what it boils down to. It's not a slam, so am I, but I'm learning how to overcome that. The book, "The inner game of tennis" is a big help. If you're serious about getting better, you have to overcome the mental part.

As for the guy and your story, there will always be people that have "your number". No matter what, you just can't pull it together or they play so over their head you're doomed. Get mentally tough and this too can subside...It's nothing more than a mind thing.
 
Not to be a downer, but how do they decide that rank in 8b league?

We have an APA 3 who made top gun... she just kept winning all the close ones. That's certainly not a bad thing, it means you perform great under league pressure... but nothing she does is going to impress the 6's or 8's out there.

If the gap in skill is too big, you may find that even if you bring your A game, you lose every rack.

If your goal is to get this better player to shoot with you more often... ask him if he'll play with you and give you advice on each shot. You'd be surprised, for a lot of players, this is a big ego stroke. Players actually enjoy teaching because it's like... out of all the people at the pool hall, you singled out this dude to help you with your game. Now he's The Man. You'll not only get to shoot with him, you may actually learn something. And you may actually bring your B game when you're forced to focus on what you're doing for every single shot.
 
There used to be certain players that I know I would always lose too when playing them, its sucks but it was justified! I would always think I choked against these people, but in reality, they were always at least a half ball better than I was. Now that I have improved, I go out there with the confidence that these people have to beat me now and not that I have to beat them. If you can’t beat them your just not good enough, yet!
 
Enjoy the challenge of you against the table.. It's not tennis, nobody is hitting the ball back to you..Doesn't matter how he spells his last name, he can't do anything to you from the chair. If you have to....imagine that he is someone that you beat all of the time.

My No Time For Negative DVD with it's eighteen easy access chapters, is available on Ebay for $29.99, and it will get you past this guy and many more!

Best of Luck
 
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