Shot clock doesn’t seem to be a distraction

dquarasr

dquarasr

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I’ve never played with a shot clock.

Whenever I watch matches with one, I get anxious for the player as the audible alert counts down the last seconds. In all the videos I’ve watched I can’t recall a player missing while the alert is blaring. I try to imagine it’s me down on the shot and I can’t help but think I’d be adversely affected.

In anticipation of a future event I might be in, what do people do to stay focused while the audible alert is counting down? Is it just something you needed to experience and got used to, or are there mental techniques that can be learned?
 
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I know that a lot of pro players actively practice playing with shot clock. It's not just about the beeping, the whole shot process needs to be optimized to fit into those 30 seconds. I'm sure they also practice shotmaking while some beeping is on, but I don't think the beeping is their main concern.

If you watch the match between Filler and Fefilova from last years WPC, you'll see that Margaret obviously has her problems with the shot clock early on. In some cases her thought process takes a bit too long and she doesn't seem to have her inner clock just right. As for most pro players, judging and using those 30 seconds is pretty much natural by now.
 
I've yet to play a match with a shot clock and probably never will but have timed myself. Almost always under 30 but have hit a few 45 second limits at the beginning while looking for the out. I don't have a beeper but if I glance at the clock and see 8-10 seconds left I panic and usually miss even though that's a ton of time.

In general though most men don't need a clock though I'm glad it's there cause the ones who are slow are slooowww! Majority women on the other hand definitely need a clock LoL. I was at a tournament recently where the womens tournament was mixed in with the open. Race to two 8 ball and men's matches last approx 20 min from shaking hands at beginning to shaking hands at the end, women 1 - 1.5 hours and what's weird about that is these girls are really good players, run out often... 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
dquarasr said:
I’ve never played with a shot clock.

Whenever I watch matches with one, I get anxious for the player as the audible alert counts down the last seconds. In all the videos I’ve watched I can’t recall a player missing while the alert is blaring. I try to imagine it’s me down on the shot and I can’t help but think I’d be adversely affected.

In anticipation of a future event I might be in, what do people do to stay focused while the audible alert is counting down? Is it just something you needed to experience and got used to, or are there mental techniques that can be learned?
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You could try practicing with a timer like this, and try to get use to it. Have a friend call out 10 (ten seconds) before time runs out. You can practice for Matchroom US Open.

 
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There is a carom player who seems to time his final strokes by the beeping of the clock. He is the slowest top player.
 
PracticeChampion said:
I've yet to play a match with a shot clock and probably never will but have timed myself. Almost always under 30 but have hit a few 45 second limits at the beginning while looking for the out. I don't have a beeper but if I glance at the clock and see 8-10 seconds left I panic and usually miss even though that's a ton of time.

In general though most men don't need a clock though I'm glad it's there cause the ones who are slow are slooowww! Majority women on the other hand definitely need a clock LoL. I was at a tournament recently where the womens tournament was mixed in with the open. Race to two 8 ball and men's matches last approx 20 min from shaking hands at beginning to shaking hands at the end, women 1 - 1.5 hours and what's weird about that is these girls are really good players, run out often... 🤷🏻‍♂️
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The women took an hour or more to play a race to two? That does not sound possible unless there was a lot of extra time not spend playing. I have seen where lower level women take much more time to decide on what to do in a game than guys, maybe because guys are trying to show how good and fast they play and the women are worried about doing the right thing and not messing up more. But on the higher level, with a few exceptions, they play about as fast, certainly not 3 times slower. Women in general play a much more cautious and deliberate game.
 
hang-the-9 said:
The women took an hour or more to play a race to two? That does not sound possible unless there was a lot of extra time not spend playing. I have seen where lower level women take much more time to decide on what to do in a game than guys, maybe because guys are trying to show how good and fast they play and the women are worried about doing the right thing and not messing up more. But on the higher level, with a few exceptions, they play about as fast, certainly not 3 times slower. Women in general play a much more cautious and deliberate game.
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Trust me it's possible. I didn't watch every single match but the 3-4 I did, it did take over an hour for a race to 2.
 
PracticeChampion said:
Trust me it's possible. I didn't watch every single match but the 3-4 I did, it did take over an hour for a race to 2.
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I have unfortunately seen it in apa leagues more then once. an hour and a half to play a race to 2 . Lol 30 minutes a game.

A friend played in a couple pro tournaments last year with a shot clock. He’s not a slow player but he told me it was really tough to not think about that clock and just play. It was always in the back of his mind.
 
trob said:
I have unfortunately seen it in apa leagues more then once. an hour and a half to play a race to 2 . Lol 30 minutes a game.
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Oh hell yes... nothing worse then watching a couple of ladies APA 2's battling it out. I usually avoid the gender profiling, but I simply can't in this instance.
 
The_JV said:
Oh hell yes... nothing worse then watching a couple of ladies APA 2's battling it out. I usually avoid the gender profiling, but I simply can't in this instance.
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What's weird is I've played most of them over the years just screwing around and these women can play damn good, be nothing surprising about them running out kinda thing on a bar table so no ideal what happens when a tournament gets in there head
 
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