Ternament shakes

I have only been playing for a few years now but I had this problem during league and tournaments. I think its adrenalin. The hardest thing for me was trying to get those real small cheap, small, flexible, plastic Chinese racks off of the balls on an 8 ball rack without bumping a ball. :mad: For around the last year or so I do not suffer this problem anymore, I think the "seasoning" finally cured me. The problem is that I actually think I played better that way.
 
I was the same way for many years. Alcohol was the cure. Or so I thought.

The real cure comes in two ways...
1- Experience. Play more leagues and tournaments.
2- An understanding that it is just a frigging game. You are not playing against an opponent, you are playing against a table. You will win some and lose some. Nobody wins them all.

Lighten up Francis, life is short. Have some fun.
 
Popeye31 said:
Man what do you guy do to calm down for a tournament ,league, etc. I get the shakes like a old man with Parkinson disease. Its so bad . My head shakes my arms shake. this never use to happen but I was usually buzzed by the time I played. Im trying to play sober. Im playing two tournaments a week and league and just don't have the money to drink that much . but the nervous shakes are really Fing me up. any advice?
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Control your breathing. When you feel the anxiety getting out of control, take a deep breath, hold it for a second or two and then let it out. Repeat this several times. Controlling your breathing will help your heart rate and your brain, and then you can simply focus your thoughts on something more positive and rational, like having fun.
 
Lots of good tips so far on the mental side of things.

I get anxious in the early rounds of tournaments, so I understand (to some degree, at least) what you are going through. There are some supplements/herbal remedies that can help as well. While I have not used these things to help me play pool, I have found them to have a calming effect that can be useful for performance anxiety such as with public speaking.

Valerian Root
Skullcap
Motherwort

Magnesium supplements can also have a very powerful calming effect, especially if you are deficient, which is quite common.

I would recommend trying just one of these things at a time. There are benefits to the natural adrenalin edge, and shotgunning 4 treatments at once could have too much of a calming effect.

Best of luck,
Aaron
 
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Some excellent advice in here. Wouldn't hurt to print the thread and take it with you. I'll share a story with you.

Before I learned about stance, stroke, etc. and I was playing in bars all the time, I was no different. Couldn't play without a few beers in my system. After learning proper fundamentals, I actually play worse the second I take a sip, so I prefer to stay sober when I play, which in turn has effectively killed my drinking habit. Once I started competing, I couldn't play in tournament or singles league matches without shaking due to adrenaline or performance anxiety. A great piece of advice I received was to just accept it and incorporate it into my game. It took some time, but I just checked rankings and I'm 12th in my singles league right now, and I expect I'll be rated a B at a minimum by the end of the year. And all those higher-level players? Playing them is what made my game skyrocket. Once I knew that I would be punished for my mistakes, it completely changed my approach every time I got a turn at the table. Now I look forward to those opportunities to play those B+ and above players. So... in short, my advice is to stick with it, and seek out those challenges. Learn something from every match you play, and you'll never lose again. And go to David Sapolis' facebook page and read his "Blackjack's random thoughts" posts.
 
When I was young, people would tell me to concentrate but I just drew a blank because I didn't know what to concentrate on.
I broke my shot down into small parts:
PRS ( planing, chalking , pre stroking, pre aimig, etc)
Prep Basics ( foot position, arm, cue, head alignment)
Basics ( aiming, stroking, pause, follow through, etc )
This makes concentrating much easier.
Gives you less time to be nervous :)
 
Play pool with an attitude. I will gladly play Shane. Sure, he will kick my rear but I will play him.

If Chuck Lidell gets in your face, punch him in the mouth.

Lose your fear of losing.

A few weeks ago, I watched Corey get stomped. Last weekend, he won 20K. Its a game.
 
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