Ternament shakes

Popeye31

Popeye31

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
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?
 
Yer fukced!

Just kidding. Stevie Moore and nick Varner play real well with the shakes.

And why do you thing they call mccready 'Earthquake'? More kidding. I doubt he knew fear could happen at a pool table, till he saw it on his opponents' faces.
 
DTL said:
Your likely an alcoholic and suffering from withdrawal symptoms.:sorry: A serious form of this is called Delirium Tremors (DTs)........happens to alcohols when they quit cold turkey or are hospitalized > 3-4 days for some other illness and don't get any alcohol. DTs have about a 50% fatal outcome.

Advice: get help.......AA.
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To ****in funny!!!!!
 
For one thing your problem may be do to experience, or the lack there of. Many years ago a very good tournament player told me that to be a successful tournament player you must become tournament seasoned.
Another thing. The only problem alcohol will solve is a bad marriage so ease up on the drinking.
And, if you have a problem with shaking, try to time yourself where your stroke occurs between the shakes. I gave this same advice to a guy I play golf with who has Palsy and was having trouble putting. It didn't help, however, so he took up drinking. :smile:
 
I never had problems with shaking, but I use to get uncomfortably nervous when a lot of people watched me play (i.e. bigger tournaments). As I got older, I realized it was because I put too much pressure on myself. I was more concerned with winning or impressing others than I was enjoying the game. Once I matured some, and kept pool in perspective as a game to be enjoyed, my nervousness went away. It's funny, as it went away, I started playing much better too.
 
You need to look inside yourself to determine the cause of your nervous issue. It is likely that you always had it but it was masked while playing under the influence.

I don't know how long this has been going on, but it has been my experience, that in time with more play, this issue will lesson. You have to condition yourself to overcome it. For myself, when I get too nervous I relax myself by yawning which is a trigger I developed over the years to relax. Some players chew gum, some like yourself compensated with other enhancements. (which I DO NOT recommend)

One thing to remember is that everyone gets nervous (even pros), and it is not a bad thing. It shows you are human, I have found for me the nervous anticipation helps keep me me sharp and focused.



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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I used to get really nervous and get the shakes in tournaments, especially when there was a gallery. The piece of advice that helped me most was to change my attitude regarding the situation and learn to enjoy playing in those kind of situations. I always had a fear of making a fool of myself in front of other people, but now I realize that I was the one putting pressure on myself and I know that my focus is much stronger than that pressure.

I get weak and can still feel the anxiety building up at times, but I take a second to let it out instead of fighting it and take a few deep breaths and come out strong again. It usually works, but sometimes it's overwhelming and I'll need more time or even a short break to get composed.
 
a very good natural cure for this is to eat a banana about 45 minutes before you start playing. bananas contain a natural beta blocker, very mild, and are used by many performers in theater, music, etc. i've used them in that domain myself, and the symptoms are exactly the same as those in pool.
 
fjk said:
I never had problems with shaking, but I use to get uncomfortably nervous when a lot of people watched me play (i.e. bigger tournaments). As I got older, I realized it was because I put too much pressure on myself. I was more concerned with winning or impressing others than I was enjoying the game. Once I matured some, and kept pool in perspective as a game to be enjoyed, my nervousness went away. It's funny, as it went away, I started playing much better too.
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There is two solutions to your problem.
One: When you play, wear a Halloween mask. I prefer the Richard Nixon mask, but most any will do.
Two: Play the tournament buck ass naked. This will more than take care of any self-consciousness problems your having. An added bonus is that you may get a few phone numbers. :smile:
 
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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Popeye, You have no reason to be nervous. If you are truly playing sober, you have already beaten the toughest opponent of your life. The rest of it will take care of it self in time. STAY SOBER MY FRIEND
 
Kinda funny. I was thinking of nerves last week. Why? I was wondering if I would be more nervous of my opponent at the EXPO or someone from AZB watching me play. I don't generally get nervous but out of nowhere nerves will pop up. Usually in a team setting where my match counts. No one likes to feel nervous but it has helped me in the past. Good fundamentals helps. Don't have high expectations for the EXPO so maybe that will help. I like my liquid courage when I shoot but it doesn't always help.
 
I used to have this problem from time to time.

My solution was, to sh*t my pants right as I was lagging. This will do one of two things.

Either most of the patrons in the immediate area will leave, or people will be laughing so hard, that all the tension in your arm and shoulders will be gone.
They call this being "Loose as a Goose"

The important thing to remember, is to pick out a designated person in the room and keep pointing them, as you circle the table.
 
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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Try meditation. You obviously are shaking from an irrational fear. Pool is not stock car racing, you don't get killed if you make a mistake. There is no real basis for fear. In fact it should be the opposite, you should be excited to play.

You should not be able to wait to get out there and show what you can do. Having said that, there are many famous people from Laurence Olivier to Johnny Carson who suffered stage fright.

Although their fears were based in the reality they were being judged and could be hurt by a bad performance. You are just playing a game of pool and it is supposed to be fun. Your fears have no real basis beyond the importance you give them.

You should do some reading there are some good books on the subject.
 
I've given up on trying to psychoanalyse the reasons why I get nervous. Instead I've just accepted that it's going to happen and actually I've grown to enjoy the challenge of having to play like this.

I really can be exhilarating to be so full of nerves but yet find a way to get the job done.

I'm no longer waiting for the day that I will play nerve free. What fun would that be? At least when I get nervous I know that I'm living life and doing something I care about.

My advice is to just accept the challenge and enjoy the thrill.



On a side note....From a physical standpoint, I've noticed that the only thing that really compares to playing nervous is playing in the cold. It may sound funny but in the winter my basement can get pretty cold if I don't heat it up. I'll occasionally practice for a bit in that cold just to simulate that nervous feeling. Not sure how realistic that is so I'm just throwing that out there.
 
BasementDweller said:
I've given up on trying to psychoanalyse the reasons why I get nervous. Instead I've just accepted that it's going to happen and actually I've grown to enjoy the challenge of having to play like this.

I really can be exhilarating to be so full of nerves but yet find a way to get the job done.

I'm no longer waiting for the day that I will play nerve free. What fun would that be? At least when I get nervous I know that I'm living life and doing something I care about.

My advice is to just accept the challenge and enjoy the thrill.



On a side note....From a physical standpoint, I've noticed that the only thing that really compares to playing nervous is playing in the cold. It may sound funny but in the winter my basement can get pretty cold if I don't heat it up. I'll occasionally practice for a bit in that cold just to simulate that nervous feeling. Not sure how realistic that is so I'm just throwing that out there.
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What you are saying is to an extent the answer. It is only by facing our fears we can over come them. Now this is not to say some fears are real. I would not force myself to go cliff diving. But when the fears are self imposed, by facing them we expose them for what they are, irrational.
 
There is a quote from a movie I like to use "too much mind". You keep your mind on the people watching, on what will happen if you make a mistake, on the opponent, on what you have to do tomorrow at work. Too much mind.

I'm sure you have had games when you finished and did not even realize the game was over, remember what that felt like and try to recreate it.
 
All good Ideas and reasoning . All the jokers if yall are like that all the time I would not be nervous playing yall , I would be to busy laughing to worry about being nervous. Part of the problem is my skill level I really don't know where I stand as far a skill level goes. When I walked in a friend of mine says take your time tonight there are some good players in here like 7s,8s,9s and three of them are going to Vegas . That didn't help my confidence any. I guess I will just have to keep playing till it goes away. I will have to try the Bananas maybe a banana smoothie before the tournament.
 
Why are you there to enjoy and have a good time. It is a pool match not major surgery, it is what it is. Life is so short lighten up my friend. :)
 
There is lots of good advice in the previous posts.
What it comes down to is figuring out why you are
stressed and then how to handle it. This can be a
little complicated.
I play better in front of large crowds, the more
people watching the better. I play well for the cheese
and in the final rounds of a tournament. What used to
ruin my play was having expectations of how I should
play. Now I have no expectations of how I should play.
I just play and let the balls drop where they will.
This was my solution, you just need to find yours.

Joe
 
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