Sarah ?

[The Milk Man]

Sarah:

I watched you match up a couple of times at the DCC this year. Once in the bar and once in the main room. The main room was the night that Jeese B played Ronnie W in one hole. Not sure how those sessions turned out, but after watching I walked away truly impressed with your game. Which leads me to my question, do you find your mind set different when matching up as oppossed to playing in tournaments? Lately when playing tournaments I seem to find some way to give it away. However when matching up I seem to close the deal more times than not. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appericated.

The Milk Man aka The Rhino Chaser

 

[sarahrousey]

Milk Man,

Sorry it took so long to get a reply. You have a good question and a problem that I think everyone faces. There could be a few reasons for playing better gambling than you do in tournaments. One of those reasons could be the fact that when you are gambling it is an instant reward. You know that you are guaranteed to win or lose money after one set. You don't have to pay an entry fee and win multiple matches to win a good amount or anything at all. That leads to the next point.

When you play in a tournament you have to deal with the pressure that there are only two chances to "screw-up". When you gamble you can choose to keep flipping the coin and starting over as many times as you want or if you are playing an ahead set, you can get down multiple games bu† still come back to win. It is all about sticking it out. When you get bad rolls in a tournament and lose...it hurts, there is no starting over. I have seen a lot of really great gamblers absolutely crumble under tournament pressure.

Another cause could be that when you play in a tournament you don't get to choose who you play. You may get nervous because you have to play the best player in the tournament first round. You mentally beat yourself going in. When you play a good player in a tournament and you start to beat them you might start thinking, wow, I'm not supposed to beat this person, then you end up giving the match away. Just treat everyone the same. If it is a bad player, don't take them for granted and if you play the best player, don't take yourself for granted. You practice hard too and you deserve to win.

I have had the same problem as well. I'm not completely sure of a cure for it. I just try to think of it as doing extra work for my money when I play in the tournaments. I also try to think of the fact that it feels really good to win a tournament or do well in a tournament. It boosts your confidence. You have to try to take nothing and no one for granted. Also, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just have fun.

Hope that helped a little bit.

Sarah

 

[The Milk Man]

Thanks for your thoughts. Everything you said made sense to me. Not being able to chose your opponent is a big one for me. While I don't fear any player. I have found myself going, you only need these three balls and you beat the favorite. Form here the tournament is laid out for you. Then I lose focus give the set away and beat myself up for a while. Staying focused on the moment and not seeing the future is something I need to work on. That's one reason I think sometimes gambling is easier. The moment is all you see, just you and your opponent until someone gives.
Thanks again and maybe down the road are paths will cross and I can let you know how it worked out.


The Milk Man

 

[sarahrousey]

Milkman,

I'm glad everything made sense. I hope it helps a bit. Hopefully I will run into you sometime and will get a chance to hear a success story.

Good luck,
Sarah