Tightening Up

hilla_hilla

hilla_hilla

I'd rather be foosing it!
Silver Member
When I practice by myself, I free wheel, shoot lose, and real relaxed. When I practice with people, play a tournament or a cheap set, I tighten up (I realize that this could be a mental problem) and can't make a ball.

The house pro told me that I should practice shooting tight since that is how I play against an opponent. I don't like my game when I tighten up and that is not the way I want to play or shoot. Any suggestions on how I can learn to play against opponents the way I practice?
 
hilla_hilla said:
When I practice by myself, I free wheel, shoot lose, and real relaxed. When I practice with people, play a tournament or a cheap set, I tighten up (I realize that this could be a mental problem) and can't make a ball.

The house pro told me that I should practice shooting tight since that is how I play against an opponent. I don't like my game when I tighten up and that is not the way I want to play or shoot. Any suggestions on how I can learn to play against opponents the way I practice?
Click to expand...
Honestly the way to play loose is to not care. Easy to say and hard to get there. You gotta stop being afraid to lose.
 
I have had the same problem. An older but very good player told me that you have the same opponents in practice you have in competition, yourself and the table. Pool is not like tennis. You are at the table alone. Play the way you practice but practice the way you want to play. It has changed the way I think about practice and competition. I have become more serious at practice and less nervous in competition.
 
pulzcul said:
Honestly the way to play loose is to not care. Easy to say and hard to get there. You gotta stop being afraid to lose.
Click to expand...


I strongly agree with your observation. Any of the top players, money players in particular, I've observed over the years seem to have this quality in their playing behavior. Mike Carella (long departed) comes immediately to mind.

_Rick
 
pulzcul said:
Honestly the way to play loose is to not care. Easy to say and hard to get there. You gotta stop being afraid to lose.
Click to expand...

I disagree.

I think there is an important and dangerous subtlety in all this.
There are two very different approaches to dealing with pressure that look the
same to a casual observer. Both work for a while and seem valuable.
One really is valuable, imo, and the other is a suicide mission.

The Suicide Mission:

The easiest way to deal with pressure in the short term is the way that
will send you crashing into the wall when it really matters. This
approach includes everything designed to get rid of the pressure,
everything designed to make the match or shot matter less to you so that
the anxiety is relieved. Having a few drinks to relax you is in this
category. Playing $30 entry tournaments so that you'll be more relaxed in
the $10 weekly tournament you've been having trouble in is in this
category. Gambling $20 a game some of the time so that your usual $5
games will be easier to handle is in this category. Convincing yourself
it doesn't really matter so much in any of a number of ways is in this
category. And repeatedly putting yourself in the same situation until the
unusual becomes normal might be in this category,
depending on how you approach it.

The problem is you're not learning to
deal with the pressure; rather, you're pushing it away, like hiding the
bottles for the alcoholic in your family. Yet like hiding the bottles,
it works in the short term. The problem is we can never make playing in
the finals in a big tournament for the first time "usual." We can never
make gambling for more $$ than ever before "usual." We can never make
playing with more people watching than ever before "usual." Yet these are
the most important situations to us. If we've practiced the above
techniques, we will eventually find ourselves in a situation where they
don't work. And then we will crash big time, like the alcoholic's lost
weekend binge. If the olympic figure skater who competes 30 times a year
learns to "deal" with the pressure of a performance by consoling herself
with the fact there's always next week, she will not be prepared during
the olympic finals.

The natural course of events is that some games/situations are more
important to us than others, and we feel more pressure. Your mileage may
vary, but consider these situations.

A. practicing alone
B. playing a friend
C. playing a friend with another friend watching
D. playing league
E. gambling cheap
F. playing a small tournament
G. playing finals in a small tournament
H. playing league championship
I. gambling the rent
J. finals in a big tournament
K. gambling for your life


The pressure you feel goes up with the letter. Suppose it goes like this:
(this could be a logarithmic scale like the Richter scale).

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. 5
F. 6
G. 7
H. 8
I. 9
J. 10
K. 11


Imagine plotting the pressure you feel versus the situation. So the horizontal axis
is the letters A through K and the vertical axis is the pressure (1 through 11),
and imagine it's a straight line aiming up at a 45 degree angle.

The way I see it, baring insanity, the ends of this scale are pretty much
fixed. The two approaches to dealing with pressure situations have to
do, imo, with changing the shape of the curve in the middle. The suicide
approach I mentioned above is about trying to lower this curve in the middle.

Success comes not from dealing with pressure, but rather from avoiding
it. You then do fine on the A - F stuff, but you are unequipped to deal
with the G - L stuff.

The better approach, imo, is to try to raise this curve in the middle such that you feel *more*
pressure during every day events. Very naturally
competitive people have an edge here, because they've been doing this
daily all their lives. When you FEEL the pressure regularly, you can
EMBRACE the pressure and learn strategies to deal with it.

So the solution is not to convince yourself it doesn't matter; rather the solution is learn to play when it seems like it matters, and to learn this you've got to convince yourself it matters more frequently.
 
mikepage said:
I disagree.

I think there is an important and dangerous subtlety in all this.
There are two very different approaches to dealing with pressure that look the
same to a casual observer. Both work for a while and seem valuable.
One really is valuable, imo, and the other is a suicide mission.

The Suicide Mission:

The easiest way to deal with pressure in the short term is the way that
will send you crashing into the wall when it really matters. This
approach includes everything designed to get rid of the pressure,
everything designed to make the match or shot matter less to you so that
the anxiety is relieved. Having a few drinks to relax you is in this
category. Playing $30 entry tournaments so that you'll be more relaxed in
the $10 weekly tournament you've been having trouble in is in this
category. Gambling $20 a game some of the time so that your usual $5
games will be easier to handle is in this category. Convincing yourself
it doesn't really matter so much in any of a number of ways is in this
category. And repeatedly putting yourself in the same situation until the
unusual becomes normal might be in this category,
depending on how you approach it.

The problem is you're not learning to
deal with the pressure; rather, you're pushing it away, like hiding the
bottles for the alcoholic in your family. Yet like hiding the bottles,
it works in the short term. The problem is we can never make playing in
the finals in a big tournament for the first time "usual." We can never
make gambling for more $$ than ever before "usual." We can never make
playing with more people watching than ever before "usual." Yet these are
the most important situations to us. If we've practiced the above
techniques, we will eventually find ourselves in a situation where they
don't work. And then we will crash big time, like the alcoholic's lost
weekend binge. If the olympic figure skater who competes 30 times a year
learns to "deal" with the pressure of a performance by consoling herself
with the fact there's always next week, she will not be prepared during
the olympic finals.

The natural course of events is that some games/situations are more
important to us than others, and we feel more pressure. Your mileage may
vary, but consider these situations.

A. practicing alone
B. playing a friend
C. playing a friend with another friend watching
D. playing league
E. gambling cheap
F. playing a small tournament
G. playing finals in a small tournament
H. playing league championship
I. gambling the rent
J. finals in a big tournament
K. gambling for your life


The pressure you feel goes up with the letter. Suppose it goes like this:
(this could be a logarithmic scale like the Richter scale).

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. 5
F. 6
G. 7
H. 8
I. 9
J. 10
K. 11


Imagine plotting the pressure you feel versus the situation. So the horizontal axis
is the letters A through K and the vertical axis is the pressure (1 through 11),
and imagine it's a straight line aiming up at a 45 degree angle.

The way I see it, baring insanity, the ends of this scale are pretty much
fixed. The two approaches to dealing with pressure situations have to
do, imo, with changing the shape of the curve in the middle. The suicide
approach I mentioned above is about trying to lower this curve in the middle.

Success comes not from dealing with pressure, but rather from avoiding
it. You then do fine on the A - F stuff, but you are unequipped to deal
with the G - L stuff.

The better approach, imo, is to try to raise this curve in the middle such that you feel *more*
pressure during every day events. Very naturally
competitive people have an edge here, because they've been doing this
daily all their lives. When you FEEL the pressure regularly, you can
EMBRACE the pressure and learn strategies to deal with it.

So the solution is not to convince yourself it doesn't matter; rather the solution is learn to play when it seems like it matters, and to learn this you've got to convince yourself it matters more frequently.
Click to expand...
Ya know,after trying for years to"not care" in an effort to play better it has netted me exactly what you just described. I do fine on the A-F stuff but hit a wall on G-L.Sorry to jump someone elses thread but thanks Mike. I'm about to evolve. Don
 
Great post, Mike! You always break ideas and methods down in a way that makes them more clear and more useful.
 
teebee said:
Great post, Mike! You always break ideas and methods down in a way that makes them more clear and more useful.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

It's funny that the subject of pressure came up. One of my league teammates (age 56) used to play some on the road 30-35 years ago. When somebody mentioned last night, regarding Shane, about the pressure of playing in the finals of the US Open, my teammate, who was born with his cap lock stuck on, said,

"PRESSURE?

THE US OPEN AIN'T PRESSURE!

I'LL TELL YOU WHAT PRESSURE IS. PRESSURE IS COMING BACK FROM VIETNAM AND GOING RIGHT OUT ON THE ROAD WITH FORTY BUCKS IN YOUR POCKET. PRESSURE IS BEING BROKE IN 38 STATES AND HAVING TO WIN JUST TO GET TO THE NEXT TOWN. PRESSURE IS HAVING A WIFE AND KIDS BACK AT HOME WHO NEED TO EAT.

PRESSURE?

YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT PRESSURE?

PRESSURE IS PLAYING A TEN DOLLAR GAME OF POOL WITH FIVE DOLLARS IN YOUR POCKET.

THAT'S PRESSURE."
 
A wise man said "no nonchalantin at the pool table."

Practice like it matters. Bear down on every shot. There is no such thing as a shot that doesn't matter. Practice tight, get good playing tight. Talk to Ralf... see if he practices tight. No wingdingin!
 
1. Play the table, not the person

2. If all else fails try hypnotism / hypnotherapy. It worked wonders for me when playing in tournaments. It won't improve your skills, but it will teach you to relax. I did it on the advice of Sarah Rousey, and it was the best $100 I ever spent!
 
mikepage said:
The better approach, imo, is to try to raise this curve in the middle such that you feel *more*
pressure during every day events. Very naturally
competitive people have an edge here, because they've been doing this
daily all their lives. When you FEEL the pressure regularly, you can
EMBRACE the pressure and learn strategies to deal with it.

So the solution is not to convince yourself it doesn't matter; rather the solution is learn to play when it seems like it matters, and to learn this you've got to convince yourself it matters more frequently.
Click to expand...

Acclimating ones self to pressure situations can be beneficial, but simply exposing yourself to pressure will not solve the problem.

How the player responds to pressure will either improve their game or destroy it. Great players respond to pressure by stepping up their game to meet the challenge. They know they have what it takes, and focus on successfully accomplishing the task. Others simply crumble under the pressure. They often feel that even if they give it the best they have, they won't succeed.

One of the big differences between the two players is confidence. Confidence comes from knowing that you have the skills necessary for the task at hand. If it's a task that you know you can accomplish, you can use the pressure to apply yourself so that you do perform the task successfully.
 
mikepage said:
The better approach, imo, is to try to raise this curve in the middle such that you feel *more*
pressure during every day events. Very naturally
competitive people have an edge here, because they've been doing this
daily all their lives. When you FEEL the pressure regularly, you can
EMBRACE the pressure and learn strategies to deal with it.

So the solution is not to convince yourself it doesn't matter; rather the solution is learn to play when it seems like it matters, and to learn this you've got to convince yourself it matters more frequently.
Click to expand...

Acclimating ones self to pressure situations can be beneficial, but simply exposing yourself to pressure will not solve the problem.

How the player responds to pressure will either improve their game or destroy it. Great players respond to pressure by stepping up their game to meet the challenge. They know they have what it takes, and focus on successfully accomplishing the task. Others simply crumble under the pressure. They often feel that even if they give it the best they have, they won't succeed.

One of the big differences between the two players is confidence. Confidence comes from knowing that you have the skills necessary for the task at hand. If it's a task that you know you can accomplish, you can use the pressure to apply yourself so that you do perform the task successfully.
 
Do the Tighten Up

You might want to ask Archie Bell about this. Opps, sorry hilla_hilla, you're too young to remember him. Ask your parents about him.:D
 
8ballEinstein said:
You might want to ask Archie Bell about this. Opps, sorry hilla_hilla, you're too young to remember him. Ask your parents about him.:D
Click to expand...

I can't stop dancing!
 
Believe it or not, I actually understand what you are saying. I have never played for much money, but decided to give it a try. The pressure was huge. I tried to convince myself that I didn't care, that it was no big deal. The result was a very poorly played game and a confused player. I lost a pretty good chunk of change trying to figure this out. The truth is, you cannot make the anxiety go away. You have to play with it and in spite of it. I would like to offer a happy ending to the story, but it's not finished yet.
 
Jimk said:
Believe it or not, I actually understand what you are saying. I have never played for much money, but decided to give it a try. The pressure was huge. I tried to convince myself that I didn't care, that it was no big deal. The result was a very poorly played game and a confused player. I lost a pretty good chunk of change trying to figure this out. The truth is, you cannot make the anxiety go away. You have to play with it and in spite of it. I would like to offer a happy ending to the story, but it's not finished yet.
Click to expand...

You can't teach toughness, you either have it or you don't. SVB is stone cold.
 
not tonight honey "I have a headache"

tgspool said:
You can't teach toughness, you either have it or you don't. SVB is stone cold.
Click to expand...

My title has as much to do with toughness as your answer. tough "LOL" IMO Even the nicest little girl can learn toughness if she's been on the road long enough.
Its heart you can't teach.

Back to the original question. Focus Focus Focus any way you can. If that means gambling on air by all means. There have been many good answers to this thread. To put it more consisley sp Almost the entire game is between your ears. Skill is important of course, So is practise. But the main game is in your head. Clear it, steer it. Don't see or hear anything except the out. Watch the ball going in the hole during your practise strokes.. When you stand up from this game ya should be out or leave em hooked. Good shooting. Just a little girls point of view.
 
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