The magical mind

HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This may sound a LITTLE "Confucius-like" to a LOT of people, insane to SOME people, or even COMPLETELY LOGICAL to players who have "ever" entered the "Zone" a few times and ESPECIALLY to those that have entered and stayed in it for LONG periods of times,, THEY WILL PROBABLY RELATE TO IT IMMEDIATELY.

It concerns the MENTAL aspect of pool. If you have played pool well enough or long enough you will know that your game CHANGES EVERY TIME YOU PLAY. Sometimes you are BETTER and sometimes you are WORSE. It could be by hardly identifiable measurements up or down, or you could go from being Earl one match into rather the "different" Earl the very next match.

What is different in SVB, Earl, Biado, Orcullo, or any other pros game from day to day? One day they can run many racks in a row and the next day they can't run a 2-pack. They are on the SAME table, using the SAME equipment, under almost identical playing conditions.

Some may say their opponents are DIFFERENT, but unless you make a MISTAKE you are ONLY playing the TABLE...the OPPONENT is SITTING down (hopefully...and not ranting and sharking). NO MATTER where your opponent leaves you, if you have played enough pool you will "real eyes" that you have seen "this shot" or a very similar shot...OVER and OVER. Other than an equipment error (miscue, tables falls on you,etc.) why do you feel "COMFORTABLE with the shot one time and make a MISTAKE on it at other times?

I "THINK" that the KEY to playing "consistent" pool at whatever level you may be at has more to do with the BRAIN than many people think. When the BRAIN works like a machine then things work out more consistently because it is using a "code" (if you will) that tells the rest of your body what to do.

If you play pool at a HIGH level your body should ALREADY be "programmed" for this "code" through the muscle memory, stance, line up, pre-shot routine, etc. IMHO, I think the MAIN reason people make mistakes in these situations is that the BRAIN has sent DIFFERENT information to the body. It has either sent TOO MUCH information (you don't know what to do because you are overloaded with choices), TOO LITTLE information (causing you to leave a KEY part of the process out of the shot) or CORRUPTED data (which in its most serious form could be called a "melt down".

What causes this data to change and how can it be fixed? Normally a machine (computer, your brain, your car, etc.) operates at the SAME level until some "outside" stimuli affects it.

Your car wheel started squeaking because an "outside" stimuli affected it...FRICTION. You fixed it by putting some lubrication on it and it works PERFECTLY until it is affected again.

Your computer worked FINE until an equipment malfunction occured or you got some outside stimuli (virus, corrupted file, etc., etc,) that affected its BRAIN (the CODE).

Your MENTAL game worked fine until it was CHANGED by SOMETHING! That could be anything from a fight with your spouse, a worry about something other than the game at hand, you drank too much the night before, you slept less, a distraction in the middle of your shot, etc, etc. etc.

Like the very used line from the 1967 movie, "Cool Hand Luke" starring Paul Newman goes. This was a line from the Captain (Stother Martin) to Luke (Paul Newman)

"You run one time, you got yourself a set of chains. You run twice, you got yourself two sets. You ain't gonna need no third set 'cause you're gonna get your mind right. And I mean RIGHT. [To the other inmates] Take a good look at Luke. Cool Hand Luke?"

What I am saying is, "that if you can GET YOUR MIND RIGHT" then things will go according to PLAN if EVERYTHING else is the SAME.

HOW you get YOUR mind right is DIFFERENT than the way other people may do it. Some meditate between shots, some look completely away, and some stare right INTO their opponents game as though they are studying it. Others have resorted to alcohol or drugs in order to "get their mind right".

When you start seeing improvement in your game and can't contribute it to anything other than being in the "zone" it is YOUR MIND for the MOST part...NOT your EQUIPMENT. Forget finding the magical cue...what you need to be able to control MORE is your MAGICAL MIND!

Most people don't need AIM, they need consistent FOCUS!
 
This is true even at my low level of play. In fact, my range between Best and Worst Day is probably much bigger than a pro's range.

I think it's because the game's two major elements are focus and fundamentals. A pro might lose his focus...but he's still got pretty strong fundamentals to draw from.

When I lose my focus, my fundamentals aren't there to rescue me.
 
Great Post. Totally agree, Once you have the fundamentals all else is in your head my biggest problem is split minded and shooting anyway !
 
You can attempt to find that zone (that frame of mind) every time you're at the table, but not everything is controllable at that moment. Everything from too little or too much sleep, the wrong or too much or too little food, whether your diabetes or hypoglycemia is acting up, whether your shoes fit right or your shirt is too restrictive - the list is never-ending. You cannot simply divorce your mental processes from any of those things no matter how hard you might try.

Magic is as near to a correct descriptive as any when you occasionally find that zone. Age makes it all the more fleeting.
 
bdorman said:
This is true even at my low level of play. In fact, my range between Best and Worst Day is probably much bigger than a pro's range.

I think it's because the game's two major elements are focus and fundamentals. A pro might lose his focus...but he's still got pretty strong fundamentals to draw from.

When I lose my focus, my fundamentals aren't there to rescue me.
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Such is the life of a C player. There are days that we shoot so well that we can't seem to miss, and we place the white ball exactly where we intended to. It all seems so natural and easy that it can't be real. Then the next day we wake up and can't hit the end rail with a shotgun. If I could consistently play even close to my very best days I'd be a very happy camper.

I think there is a third element aside from focus and fundamentals that leads to inconsistency and that element is confidence. You have to believe you can in order to play at your highest level. Yet another aspect of the mental game that is a big hurdle to get past, especially for low-level players. It may be the biggest thing that keeps us in our place.
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
I think there is a third element aside from focus and fundamentals that leads to inconsistency and that element is confidence.
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Confidence to ME sort of fell under the category of "focus". To ME, I CAN'T be "confident" unless I am ALREADY focused. It may be kind of interchangeable, but they both are part of the process no matter how you understand it or try to explain it.

You can say you are confident because you are focused, or you are focused because you are confident. Either way it is something to strive for.

Thank you for your input.
 
HawaiianEye said:
Confidence to ME sort of fell under the category of "focus". To ME, I CAN'T be "confident" unless I am ALREADY focused. It may be kind of interchangeable, but they both are part of the process no matter how you understand it or try to explain it.

You can say you are confident because you are focused, or you are focused because you are confident. Either way it is something to strive for.

Thank you for your input.
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i think confidence helps you achieve focus or the ever elusive zone so to speak.

i took a 20 year break from playing and got back into pool quite heavily 3 years ago playing several leagues.

many a time i have come on here posting woe is me for being so inconsistent ...until the last 6 months. i used to lament the fact sometimes i miss shots i have made a 1,000 times before. now i play a lot more consistent and at a higher level than i ever have before.

what turned my game around was going to vegas. when my team went out there they absolutely sucked. everyone had that deer in the headlight look.

in our 1st round we were down 48-32 after 4 matches and i was pissed and thinking i did not come all this way to get embarrased like my teamates were doing. i played the 5th match against another 5 and won 20-0 and our team won 52-48.

i continued playing at that level the rest of the time there until i lost to a 3 lol. my fault for losing because i was not focused like the other 3 matches i played there.

on the flight home i did a lot of reflecting on why the big difference in my level of play from one day to the next. it dawned on me my mental state at the time i played.

well i became more determined to play at that high level all the time. determination is the key word . the more determined i became the better i played . the better i played the more confidence i got. the more confidence i got the more i reached that elusive zone.

this past session i reached #1 in top gun , had a higher win % than i have had in a long time, and have had higher scores in 9 ball...beating a few 5's by 18-2 who used to win more than me before. won against a 7 17-3 who i never beat before. and last tue night i beat the strongest 7 in town in 8 ball by a score of 3-3 with 1 of his wins due to me having a brain fart busting out a cluster making an early 8.

the only thing i have changed about my game is my way of thinking.

like i said i reached that elusive zone several times this year. i have made a few b%r's this session and not even realize it until my scorekeeper told me. i have played several racks and did not remember anything about it until i made the last ball and then it seemed like i snapped out of a trance . i mean i blocked everything and everyone out until the last ball dropped. thats kinda strange but i like the results. :grin-square:
 
everyone is a pool god, stuck in a human body

The mind is engineered to recognize, organize, and decipher patterns and/or repetition.
There's joy in repetition.:cool:
This is how we learn; the mind is constantly comparing what it already knows with what it is currently experiencing, looking for the most efficient way to deal with whatever task is at hand.

Problem is, this is a subconscious task, and generally speaking, humans are typically distracted with hundreds of things, from the temperature of the room to the texture of the carpet. So, the average Joe is more or less unable to tap into the mind's computational mode at will, and these mental processes simply continue on their own in the background of one's conciousness. This of course is why muscle memory is so important, and its also why, even an average Joe can train him or herself to make balls reliably with enough time and practice.

The zone, or Zen, as the case may be, is a place, or better yet, a mental condition in which your conciousness has tapped directly into the deep analysis mode, or subconscious functions of the mind. A good comparison might be a left-brain person operating in right-brain mode, or vice versa. But usually its not on purpose, and there's actually a reason for that. Simply put, its dangerous, and your mind knows this.

Concentrating on subconscious functions is what makes perfectly intelligent people walk out in front of cars, or experienced carpenters take a finger off with a saw. It takes training and practice to tap into the zone, on purpose, safely.

However, there are times, under certain types of stress for example, or when the body is performing menial repetitive tasks, that your mind knows that your body (and conciousness) are safely occupied, so it does indeed tap into the higher subconscious functions and operates like a machine, perfectly and undistracted, and usually with no conscious effort on your part at all.

Therein lies the challenge of excellent, consistent pool. One must train like an Olympian to develop muscle memory, to the point of being able to make any ball, anytime, any where. Or, one must find a way to intentionally and repeatedly induce the trance-like state that gives your mind the greenlight to relax and let the subconscious take control of the motor skills needed, on demand. And either way, its not easy, or everyone would be a champion.
 
Reaching your potential comes from developing 3 areas... conscious, subconscious, and self image.

To develope the conscious mind you read, watch, & listen.

To develop the sub you physically practice.

To develop th ed self image you think.



The magic happens when all three are fully developed and working in unison.

When your self image allows you to see yourself performing flawlessly you send the correct program for your sub to execute, when you have practiced the skill numerous times the skill becomes automatic and you trust in your ability to allow it to happen without the need to consciously control the action, and when you have studied the game you know the right shots, the right patterns, how the balls will react, that is when the magic happens.

When you know how to play, when you trust your body to perform,and you believe in the outcome, the magic of the mind is evident.
 
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"Breathing is the key to unlocking the mental mysteries of pocket billiards"

'Zen in the Art of Archery' is the best book I ever read on getting into "The Zone"...it inspired Tim Gallaway in his "Inner Books" (Inner Tennis, Inner Golf, etc)
zen-art-feat.jpg


The other technique that is incredibly powerful is ANAPANA - if someone really wants to "change their mind" this one is sure to "rock your mental world". ;)

"Breathing is the key to "unlocking the mental mysteries of "The Zone" in pocket billiards" - CJ Wiley

"He breathes in experiencing the whole body, he breathes out experiencing the whole body": that is, with well-placed mindfulness, he sees the beginning, the middle and the end of the two phases, the in-breath and the out-breath. As he practices watching the in-breath and the out breath with mindfulness, he calms down and tranquilizes the two functions of in breathing and out-breathing.
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