Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

krupa

krupa

The Dream Operator
Silver Member
I'm a weekly league player and my record is pretty bad this session. As of today, I'm 3 - 6.

When I look back at all my matches, I'm not actually playing that badly, I just make late-game mistakes that cause me to lose. Last night for example, I managed to win hill-hill but 3 out of the 4 games I lost I feel I should have won. Breaking it down...

* In one game I miscued, leaving my opponent a simple shot on the 8. This is not necessarily a "should have won"... I still had four balls on the table and I wasn't guaranteed to leave him safe if I didn't miscue.

* In the other two games, I left myself difficult shots on my key ball, missed those shots, and my opponent (who only need a ball or two in each case) got out.

All the other matches have been similar. For example, I scratch when my opponent is on/near the 8, I play bad safeties near the end of the rack, etc.

So my question is... is this just a matter of practice? Obviously more/better practice is always good but are there mental/procedural techniques I could employ that might also help, such as taking extra decision-making time towards the end?

thanks
-matthew
 
No, pre-shot routines are a Pool, Golf, Bowling thing.
SPF refers to your stroke.

randyg
 
Ah. I can't say that I've seen anything about multiple pre-shot routines. Can you elaborate?
 
krupa said:
Ah. I can't say that I've seen anything about multiple pre-shot routines. Can you elaborate?
Click to expand...

Sure.

THINK..The Analytical time of the game.
SEE......The Visual part of the game.
DO.......The Execution part of the game.

Three seperate routines that should flow together.

randyg
 
Matthew, one thing about pressure is that it is self-inflicted, and the most common time for players to inflict pressure on themselves is in the end-game.

First, you have to eliminate the source of the problem, which is to not allow yourself to put pressure on yourself at the end of the game.

Once you accept that it's OK if you make a mistake, you'll start making less mistakes. Acceptance is a huge pressure-reliever. You don't have to get careless, but you also don't have to try to perform perfectly just because it's the end of the game.

Remember to have fun. Buddy Hall once told me, "You can't play well unless you're having fun." He was absolutely right.
 
randyg said:
Sure.

THINK..The Analytical time of the game.
SEE......The Visual part of the game.
DO.......The Execution part of the game.

Three seperate routines that should flow together.

randyg
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm still working on solidifying my pre-shot routine. And I admit that I'll give up on a shot when I get frustrated... exactly the time when I should bear down instead.
 
FranCrimi said:
Matthew, one thing about pressure is that it is self-inflicted, and the most common time for players to inflict pressure on themselves is in the end-game.

First, you have to eliminate the source of the problem, which is to not allow yourself to put pressure on yourself at the end of the game.

Once you accept that it's OK if you make a mistake, you'll start making less mistakes. Acceptance is a huge pressure-reliever. You don't have to get careless, but you also don't have to try to perform perfectly just because it's the end of the game.

Remember to have fun. Buddy Hall once told me, "You can't play well unless you're having fun." He was absolutely right.
Click to expand...

Thanks Fran. There's definitely a lot to this. At different times in the night, I was having plenty of fun, shooting easy, and just enjoying watching the balls roll around. At those times, I was making difficult (for me) shots without much problem. And, as I got towards the end, I started to feel more pressure because I knew that that has been my problem lately.
 
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