so i practice a lot and...

[RWOJO]

Confidence

I agree with the posts on this. Develop a routine - shoot all of your shots with that routine (easy and hard). The tougher shots should not take much longer of a routine than the easy shots. Same thing with the easy shots - don't rush or skip your routine.

We all want to win, but you can't think about winning. You should be focused on the one shot your are on. To take that a step further you should not be thinking about the pocket or object ball when your down in your stance. Let me explain: With strong fundamentals ingrained in your preshot routine you will already know what shot your taking, where you target is (ghost ball or whatever aiming you use), and you will know the speed and stroke you need before you even get down. So now when you get down you need to trust your routine, aim, alignment to the point where you are no longer thinking about the object ball, but rather all you think about is your practice strokes to find the exact speed and where on the cueball you will hit. Once your practice stroke are smooth and feel at the right speed you just continue your stroke (at the same speed) through the cue toward your target (ghost ball).

If you get use to this and trust your preshot routine then you will shoot with more confidence, smoother stroke and you will jump up less, twist your wrist less and make more balls (because your not anticipating making the object ball). Remember that you cannot "make the object ball go in", the only thing you have control over is delivering a stroke to send the cueball toward your target. Once you realize this and believe it you will see a change in your game.

 

[pooltchr]

RWOJO,
I would only disagree with one point. I do not like the idea of using the warm up strokes to lock in your stroke speed. If you want to do that, I suggest doing it while you are at your port of arms position. The idea of dialing in your speed during warm up strokes requires you to change your stroke. After all, by nature, warm up strokes can only be half a stroke without making contact with the cue ball. Everything will be different when you are ready for a full stroke.

Can you imagine what warm up strokes at speed would look like just prior to a break shot??



Steve

 

[sfleinen]

"Priming the arm" as a possible explanation?

RWOJO,
I would only disagree with one point. I do not like the idea of using the warm up strokes to lock in your stroke speed. If you want to do that, I suggest doing it while you are at your port of arms position. The idea of dialing in your speed during warm up strokes requires you to change your stroke. After all, by nature, warm up strokes can only be half a stroke without making contact with the cue ball. Everything will be different when you are ready for a full stroke.

Can you imagine what warm up strokes at speed would look like just prior to a break shot??



Steve

Yes, I can! I think the Latinos would say, "Ay caramba -- El Spastico!" Or in English, "Quick -- someone get him his meds! He's having a fit of Cueing Tourette syndrome!"

Seriously though, I'm not sure the OP meant making the practice strokes match the actual delivery stroke in cue speed. I'm thinking he/she meant getting the arm "ready" (prepared) and "fluid" for the delivery stroke? Or something along those lines?

I often do this as I'm warming up -- the practice strokes are gentle and not anywhere near the speed that I'll use when delivering the cue. Admittedly, as Scott Lee once observed when watching me play, I don't spend enough time in the Set position. I am a rhythm player, and I'm rhythmically "priming" my arm to the final cue delivery; I'm "sensing" the weight of the cue in flight, and how much force I'm going to apply in the delivery stroke to deliver it at the speed I want. That's my thoughts on what I'm doing, anyway. Doesn't mean it's correct, but could it explain what other folks are doing as well?

-Sean

 

[pooltchr]

True. I was responding to the comment of using practice strokes to find the exact speed. That was my only point of contention. There is a time to find the exact speed...but it's not while doing warm up strokes.
I, like you, use the warm up strokes to maker sure my arm is moving properly, and that the tip is going to make contact where I need it to make contact.

Steve

 

[Scott Lee]

marco...You have much more important things to worry about than your pool game confidence. It is only natural that when outside influences in your life(job loss, divorce, family death, etc) present themselves, the brain goes on autopilot, having only enough energy to "deal" with immediate things (like the possibility of losing your home). I can sympathize with you, having experienced an unexpected loss recently myself. It's difficult to think about anything else, at the time. Don't worry about your pool game...it will always be there for you, when you have time for it. Best of luck in better things to come!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I am also out of work and went thru the same thing you are going thru. It will take some time to work it self out, but you have to stick to it. The problem is not my game its my head. I have been the top shooter in my league for 4 years running, when my captain kicked me off the team to bring in some shooters from out of town thinking it would make him look better(my confence shot). then i lost my job had to sell my table fighting to keep my house it just keeps going(my stress). my point is you are practicing to get better but the things happening out side of pool are wieghing on your confedence, stress,and your thought process. I have been fighting with this problem for a few months now and still cant kick it, but as things get better outside of pool, my game is getting better, i think you are stessed out have fun at the table it's not your job, it's were you relax. and if at all possible leave every thing outside of pool away from the table.

 

[skip]

Of course you could always take up golf. :grin-square:

 

[justadub]

Yes, I can! I think the Latinos would say, "Ay caramba -- El Spastico!" Or in English, "Quick -- someone get him his meds! He's having a fit of Cueing Tourette syndrome!"

I know that guy! :grin::grin:

(Actually was on my previous team, heh. Boy does he pound out the practice strokes. Funny to watch his opponent when he gets going... zzzzzzzz)

 

[Moharley]

Right wrong or indeferent but works for me is after standing and deciding angle speed and spin. When i drop into my shooting position is I start whistling. For me this cuts out my mind from second guessing or doubting myself.

 

[JoeW]

Here are a couple of ideas for you to consider.

Self confidence is obtained when we like ourselves, who we are and what we are doing. With self confidence you can play your best. To build that feeling and to make playing enjoyable you need to do a few things.

First, figure out why you play. What do you get out of it and why do you want to play?

Second, learn what your usual game is. Do you usually run 3,4,5,6,7,8 and out in a match? Your usual game is what you do about 50% of the time. If nothing else you can simply play the ghost and calculate your averages. One of the better ways to do this is to play ten games, throw out the top and bottom games and divide the summed result by 8. Later you can refine this average by adding more games and always throwing out the top and bottom ten percent before calculating your average.

Third, and this may take some thought on your part. You are really playing against the table, not against an opponent. Playing pool is an individual sport and your opponent is only a block to your best game. When this has occurred to you it does not make any difference who you play because you are always playing against yourself. When you can see this is true the only expectation that you have of yourself is to play your average game under any circumstances. That is a very doable goal because you have been doing it for awhile.

With this realization you can be pleased with a missed shot. One in which you did much better than you expected. You can be pleased with a lost match when you ran more tables than your average. When you know, absolutely know, that it is your game and you are in control your self confidence comes way up and ironically you begin to win many more games and matches because you have better control of yourself and the outcome.

Just the other day I won a match in a lopsided victory but the only thing from that match that comes to mind is a length of table masse with a six inch curve that pocketed the ball and gave me position for the win. I knew I could make the shot from my practice sessions but it is a 20% probability at best. I was so far ahead in the match that I just said, “What the heck, lets take a flyer.” It dropped and I was quite pleased with my shot making and the pool gods. Like Efren says, with confidence you tend to get lucky more often.

Know why you play, how well you play, and your confidence will come up because it only you and the table. When you take these ideas to their logical conclusion nobody one can really mess with you at the table because your concentration is on playing your usual game. A little help from the pool gods is always appreciated.

 

[RWOJO]

practic

Practice practice practice
And not just hit a lot of balls, but do purposeful practice. Get the preshot routine down so it becomes natural.

We all want to win but if you focused on winning (or losing) then your taking some focus away from what you should be doing. You should have complete focus at the one shot your are on.

complete focus on determining the correct shot and position you need for the next shot. Determine how to shoot the shot (amount of english and speed of the stroke). Then take care when aligning yourself to your shot. When you get down you should be in line and have confidence in the one task you have to do - execute a smooth crisp stroke. You can't make the object ball go in, but rather all you have control over is your body and the stroke of your cue. Practice that so that all you think about is smooth crisp stroke with a good follow through and the rest will just happen.