To Be a Better Player

jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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Silver Member
I am going to tell you something you may not ever hear from an instructor or learn from a book. You play your best pool in a semi conscious state. When your analytical mind is on standby. We used to calll that "in stroke," when you no longer had to ponder over the next shot. You were playing on automatic pilot. None of that walking around and pointing your cue. Just letting yourself play pool, free and easy. All that thinking does is slow you down. See the shot and shoot! Your first instinct is always the best. Think long, think wrong! The only time you slow down is when you must stop and think about a kick shot, jump or safety.

Watch the Filipinos sometime. I love AJ Manas. They don't waste any time clearing the table. They don't worry about the perfect angle or pefect anything. They just do their job, which is getting the balls off the table.

Get out of your head and into your game, and you'll do better!
 
jay helfert said:
I am going to tell you something you may not ever hear from an instructor or learn from a book. You play your best pool in a semi conscious state. When your analytical mind is on standby. We used to calll that "in stroke," when you no longer had to ponder over the next shot. You were playing on automatic pilot. None of that walking around and pointing your cue. Just letting yourself play pool, free and easy. All that thinking does is slow you down. See the shot and shoot! Your first instinct is always the best. Think long, think wrong! The only time you slow down is when you must stop and think about a kick shot, jump or safety.

Watch the Filipinos sometime. I love AJ Manas. They don't waste any time clearing the table. They don't worry about the perfect angle or pefect anything. They just do their job, which is getting the balls off the table.

Get out of your head and into your game, and you'll do better!
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Most of today's matches are unwatchable to me.

I like gunslinger pool...fast and loose.
 
Quesports said:
Dead Stroke, the balls seem to find the pocket on their own….

It’s a wonderful thing!
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There are several posts in here on how to reach flow state and several books recommended by Bob, Garczar and others to help you gain that potential.
It's not easy at first, but if you put in the work, like everything else, it comes. And players know about the work!!!
 
I know a few players that play like God when they play fast and loose. But in a big money match or tournament, they try harder, play slower, and over think everything. They play a shadow of the speed they do when they're fast and loose. I'm guessing they don't know.
 
jay helfert said:
I am going to tell you something you may not ever hear from an instructor or learn from a book. You play your best pool in a semi conscious state. When your analytical mind is on standby. We used to calll that "in stroke," when you no longer had to ponder over the next shot. You were playing on automatic pilot. None of that walking around and pointing your cue. Just letting yourself play pool, free and easy. All that thinking does is slow you down. See the shot and shoot! Your first instinct is always the best. Think long, think wrong! The only time you slow down is when you must stop and think about a kick shot, jump or safety.

Watch the Filipinos sometime. I love AJ Manas. They don't waste any time clearing the table. They don't worry about the perfect angle or pefect anything. They just do their job, which is getting the balls off the table.

Get out of your head and into your game, and you'll do better!
Click to expand...
Book for beginners....
"The Inner Game of Tennis"
Watch the clips on youtube...
teaching people to return in tennis....Had Never held a racket before
 
Duane Remick said:
Book for beginners....
"The Inner Game of Tennis"
Watch the clips on youtube...
teaching people to return in tennis....Had Never held a racket before
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Great read, working on my game tonight and dogged a couple shots I shouldn't have, I noticed I was thinking while down on the shot and remembered the book, made the conscious decision to do ALL my thinking before getting down on the shot, once I was down on the shot I stopped thinking, I only concentrated on moving the cue in a straight line, nothing else,and it was like night and day, I found myself sticking to the routine for awhile and then going back to my old ways, at least I found what I was doing wrong so I can focus on correcting it.
 
jay helfert said:
I am going to tell you something you may not ever hear from an instructor or learn from a book. You play your best pool in a semi conscious state. When your analytical mind is on standby. We used to calll that "in stroke," when you no longer had to ponder over the next shot. You were playing on automatic pilot. None of that walking around and pointing your cue. Just letting yourself play pool, free and easy. All that thinking does is slow you down. See the shot and shoot! Your first instinct is always the best. Think long, think wrong! The only time you slow down is when you must stop and think about a kick shot, jump or safety.

Watch the Filipinos sometime. I love AJ Manas. They don't waste any time clearing the table. They don't worry about the perfect angle or pefect anything. They just do their job, which is getting the balls off the table.

Get out of your head and into your game, and you'll do better!
Click to expand...
That kind of play was often knocked as "Free wheeling". It works good gambling but you do often make mistakes or miss balls. Playing like that in tournaments that are essentially sudden death is risky.

Earl had a free wheel that was off the charts but even he was a bit more controlled in tournament play. Mosconi, forget about it. I saw him play many times. When he got going he could hardly wait for the balls to stop rolling.

The wing shot in an example of how you can make balls without even aiming. You just do it by instinct. One of the hardest parts of pool is it is not at all reactive. Unlike hitting a baseball or tennis in pool nothing happens till you make it happen, like a golf putt.

Once your mind starts with the negative self talk, it gets hard no matter who you are.
 
My entire dialogue can be summed up in one sentence. 'Get out of your head and into your experience.' This actually is good advice in life as well.

Most of the time we are walking around thinking of something that happened in the past or something that will happen in the future. Try living entirely in the present moment, seeing and observing everything that's going on around you. Now you are truly alive. Also can be summed up in one sentence, 'Be here now.'
 
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JohnnyOzone said:
That is GREAT advice. It is also easier said than done, especially for us OCD types.
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You know how to play. Just get up there and let yourself go. Look at the shot, see the angle and hit the ball. Don't waste any time over anayzing it. Try it for awhile. You won't go back.

An addendum to the above. This did not mean to rush your shots. Play at the pace that feels comfortable for you.

Yes, there is a learning curve for this, like anything else. Practice makes perfect!
 
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jay helfert said:
My entire dialogue can be summed up in one sentence. 'Get out of your head and into your experience.' This actually is good advice in life as well.

Most of the time we are walking around thinking of something that happened in the past or something that will happen in the future. Try living entirely in the present moment, seeing and observing everything that's going on around you. Now you are truly alive. Also can be summed up in one sentence, 'Be here now.'
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Just Do It. 👍
 
HawaiianEye said:
I call the method that today's players use "the point and DON'T shoot" style.

There is more time spent pointing, looking, surveying, getting down, getting up, and walking around than there is shooting.

I can't watch that style for long, even if they never miss.
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Agree!
 
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