Treatise on the subconscious as it applies to pool (and league play)

[AimingVoodoo]

I have been reading multiple threads recently regarding the APA and their player rating system. Through all the posts, I have noticed that a very important part of the equation has been left out.

I first want to look at the mental aspects of playing pool with handicaps. I noticed that APA players often refer to themselves as a "3" or a "4." They will make a remark such as "I'm a 4, and I played a 6 last night."

I want to say that the "essence" of an APA league is the handicapping system. You cannot possibly play through a league night without emphasizing the rating of each player. Now we can assume that a given player's rating has been implanted in his mind. If he is a 5 rating, he will walk into the pool hall knowing that he is a 5.

Now, here is a principle of this discussion. If you are rated a 4, and you are playing against a 6, you are immediately at a disadvantage because in your mind he is a greater number than you. Every time you get down to take a shot, part of your mind will be saying that you are a 4, and you should not beat a 6. It is an unavoidable thought. Even if you are playing well, you are more likely to fall apart because your mind knows that 4's should lose to 6's.

This next paragraph is only for the hardcore readers, some of you can skip it. The key in this is that players are attributed as numbers. The human brain is built to simplify. Think about some things in your life. When you are hungry, you do not need to analyze every type of food before you eat. You will probably settle on the first thing that appeals to you. When you decide to get a girlfriend, you do not need to meet several million girls before deciding to pull the trigger. Now when it comes to handicapping in pool, the rating system is very easy for the brain to comprehend. If you are a 4, and your opponent is a 6, he is a better player than you, and you should not win. Your brain makes sense of that scenario very easily, because it deals with concrete numbers, simple to understand.

Consider if you didn't know your opponents rating. You would then say something along the lines of "he's a good shotmaker, he can't kick, he runs decent patterns, he doesn't have great knowledge of the game, he gets angry easily." With that said, it is now not so easy for your brain to decide who the better player is. Your brain cannot quantify all of those things and decide that he is better than you. This is another key to the puzzle.

This is one of the reasons why when gambling, the better player usually wins, no matter what the spot is. The player getting the weight has it in his mind that he should lose, because he is the weaker player. This is very important to realize.

The weaker player could play well early on. This is because the mind knows that the result is not in question yet. In APA 8-ball, the game cannot be won on the first shot. So the weaker player's mind is not filled with much doubt. But when it comes down to the last few balls, he will begin to realize that he is positioned to win when he really shouldn't be. That is when the doubt creeps in, and he is likely to miss.

I want to go into another related topic of the subconscious while taking a shot. When you get down to take a shot, it is vitally important to actually imagine the cueball striking the object ball, and the object ball going into the pocket, before actually taking the shot. Believe it or not, if you do this, you will raise your chances of pocketing the ball. You will now have a picture in your mind of making the ball, and it will raise your confidence. On the opposite end, if you approach the shot with any sort of fear, you are truly more likely to miss. When you fear the shot, your mind is filled with ideas that you will overcut or undercut the ball. And your arm is likely to follow the thoughts in your mind, and you are likely to miss.

When you see professional players miss a shot, you will see them after the match hitting that same shot 10 times. And you may not realize why they are doing it, (and they might not realize why they are doing it either.) I have a feeling most pros were just taught to do this, without knowing why they are doing it.

The reason you do this is that because if you don't, the next time the shot comes up, you will have the previous miss in your mind. You will approach the shot with fear. Your mind will say that you can't make the shot. You might overcompensate for this fear and miss it on the other side. By making the shot 10 times, you have now reinforced positive thoughts in your mind. The next time the shot comes up, your mind will know that you can make the shot.

There is much more to say about the subconscious in pool, and I am sure the members here will add many good things as this thread develops. What I want to get across most is that the APA ratings hinder the development of the lesser player. I hope that I have made at least a little bit of sense. It can be difficult to put these ideas into words sometimes.

 

[brokenarrowjbe]

I regularly beat higher levels. Don't golfers play using a handicap system? The subconscious in my brain is mean little F(*&*r and I keep it locked up.

 

[macguy]

I have been reading multiple threads recently regarding the APA and their player rating system. Through all the posts, I have noticed that a very important part of the equation has been left out.

I first want to look at the mental aspects of playing pool with handicaps. I noticed that APA players often refer to themselves as a "3" or a "4." They will make a remark such as "I'm a 4, and I played a 6 last night."

I want to say that the "essence" of an APA league is the handicapping system. You cannot possibly play through a league night without emphasizing the rating of each player. Now we can assume that a given player's rating has been implanted in his mind. If he is a 5 rating, he will walk into the pool hall knowing that he is a 5.

Now, here is a principle of this discussion. If you are rated a 4, and you are playing against a 6, you are immediately at a disadvantage because in your mind he is a greater number than you. Every time you get down to take a shot, part of your mind will be saying that you are a 4, and you should not beat a 6. It is an unavoidable thought. Even if you are playing well, you are more likely to fall apart because your mind knows that 4's should lose to 6's.

This next paragraph is only for the hardcore readers, some of you can skip it. The key in this is that players are attributed as numbers. The human brain is built to simplify. Think about some things in your life. When you are hungry, you do not need to analyze every type of food before you eat. You will probably settle on the first thing that appeals to you. When you decide to get a girlfriend, you do not need to meet several million girls before deciding to pull the trigger. Now when it comes to handicapping in pool, the rating system is very easy for the brain to comprehend. If you are a 4, and your opponent is a 6, he is a better player than you, and you should not win. Your brain makes sense of that scenario very easily, because it deals with concrete numbers, simple to understand.

Consider if you didn't know your opponents rating. You would then say something along the lines of "he's a good shotmaker, he can't kick, he runs decent patterns, he doesn't have great knowledge of the game, he gets angry easily." With that said, it is now not so easy for your brain to decide who the better player is. Your brain cannot quantify all of those things and decide that he is better than you. This is another key to the puzzle.

This is one of the reasons why when gambling, the better player usually wins, no matter what the spot is. The player getting the weight has it in his mind that he should lose, because he is the weaker player. This is very important to realize.

The weaker player could play well early on. This is because the mind knows that the result is not in question yet. In APA 8-ball, the game cannot be won on the first shot. So the weaker player's mind is not filled with much doubt. But when it comes down to the last few balls, he will begin to realize that he is positioned to win when he really shouldn't be. That is when the doubt creeps in, and he is likely to miss.

I want to go into another related topic of the subconscious while taking a shot. When you get down to take a shot, it is vitally important to actually imagine the cueball striking the object ball, and the object ball going into the pocket, before actually taking the shot. Believe it or not, if you do this, you will raise your chances of pocketing the ball. You will now have a picture in your mind of making the ball, and it will raise your confidence. On the opposite end, if you approach the shot with any sort of fear, you are truly more likely to miss. When you fear the shot, your mind is filled with ideas that you will overcut or undercut the ball. And your arm is likely to follow the thoughts in your mind, and you are likely to miss.

When you see professional players miss a shot, you will see them after the match hitting that same shot 10 times. And you may not realize why they are doing it, (and they might not realize why they are doing it either.) I have a feeling most pros were just taught to do this, without knowing why they are doing it.

The reason you do this is that because if you don't, the next time the shot comes up, you will have the previous miss in your mind. You will approach the shot with fear. Your mind will say that you can't make the shot. You might overcompensate for this fear and miss it on the other side. By making the shot 10 times, you have now reinforced positive thoughts in your mind. The next time the shot comes up, your mind will know that you can make the shot.

There is much more to say about the subconscious in pool, and I am sure the members here will add many good things as this thread develops. What I want to get across most is that the APA ratings hinder the development of the lesser player. I hope that I have made at least a little bit of sense. It can be difficult to put these ideas into words sometimes.

In most sports, the underdog feels the least pressure, always. They have the least expectation of them and have the least to lose and the most to gain. If you even played on league or had a room full of friends betting on you; you know the pressure is much worse if you are expected to win.

Regardless, you are talking about league pool where most matches consist just one game. Anything can happen and even the worst player knows they have a chance to win one game. They actually play quite optimistically in most cases with little worry of ridicule should they lose. They may have the advantage physiologically.

Although you have only been a member of the forum a few days, I have a feeling you have been here before.

 

[AimingVoodoo]

I thought a long time about whether to release this information on a public forum. It's critical to understand how your mind works. What I posted here is worth at least a few bucks to know.

But there has been an apparent lack of interest in the thread. This type of talk might seem boring to some, but it can separate two players when their skills are equal.

And with that, I no longer think it is justified to continue posting free information here.

There seems to be more interest in learning the latest new aiming system, than really understanding how this game works.

 

[Ratta]

I thought a long time about whether to release this information on a public forum. It's critical to understand how your mind works. What I posted here is worth at least a few bucks to know.

But there has been an apparent lack of interest in the thread. This type of talk might seem boring to some, but it can separate two players when their skills are equal.

And with that, I no longer think it is justified to continue posting free information here.

There seems to be more interest in learning the latest new aiming system, than really understanding how this game works.

Hm ^^

seems that has a little bit to do with, what pool-players use much too often instead of practicing hard.....they re using excuses!
Instead of getting a repeatable and straight stroke they try to learn hundreds of systems.............but none will work without a rocksolid straight stroke.

lf
Ingo

 

[sfleinen]

Somebody's expectations were off

I thought a long time about whether to release this information on a public forum. It's critical to understand how your mind works. What I posted here is worth at least a few bucks to know.

But there has been an apparent lack of interest in the thread. This type of talk might seem boring to some, but it can separate two players when their skills are equal.

And with that, I no longer think it is justified to continue posting free information here.

There seems to be more interest in learning the latest new aiming system, than really understanding how this game works.

AimingVoodoo:

A couple things:

1. If you've been watching these forums for any period of time, you should know that folks here can be quite critical of information posted here, even if it's from an authoritative source. (And I say this with your comment in mind "There seems to be more interest in learning the latest new aiming system" -- your knowledge that aiming systems are a hot topic here shows that you've been watching these forums at least for a while.) That is the very nature of a public forum -- if you post, you should expect your information to be read and discussed, even critically (i.e. being critiqued). If you're only expecting folks to bow their heads and post "oh my gosh, that info was so great" in serial fashion as your definition of "participation," you are sorely mistaken.

2. Taking your marbles and going home because your "expectations" were not met is not exactly indicative of good forum participation, nor is it of someone who can take constructive criticism. In fact, it displays you have thin skin.

3. Your discussion of the subconscious is NOT new. This topic has been talked about extensively here, and with far more detail than the information you presented above. In fact, I myself have written article or two on how to leverage the subconscious:

"Leveraging your subconscious (read: don't let your conscious get in the way!)"
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=216564​

This may be why your impression of "participation" might be a little off -- folks may've seen more detailed information on the topic, so they may think there's not much to comment upon. Your calling your post a "treatise" is not exactly what some of the folks here have seen on the topic.

4. Don't forget that you posted on the weekend, when a lot of families may be away from home or visiting friends. Your expectations of creating this thread at 4:23pm on Sunday, and then saying there's a lack of participation at 2:29am on Monday (only 10 hours later), is a little from the hip, don't you think? You may see more "participation" shortly, as folks get back to the computer, after their Monday workday, this evening.

Is your information important? Sure it is. But I think, with the above in mind, your expectations were a little off.

You are posting some great information. I think if you tweak your definition of "participation" a bit, and then give it some time for folks to get used to your posting style, participation will increase.

-Sean

 

[duckie]

It's hard to discuss something if your really don't know what it is such as the subconscious. It not like a aiming system.

What you are really talking about is a person self imagine. A persons self imagine affects how the subconscious performs.

So what is the subconscious? How does it work? How do you use it, or does it use you? These have been my questions lately that I've been trying to answer.

Real the answer came recently. I found a copy of Psycho Cybernetics I had from 75. The book was written by a plastic surgeon who wonder why some patients had an improvement in personality to go along with the surgery and others had no change in personality.

The concept of the subconscious expressed has been enlightening to me. It also goes into how your self imagine affects everything you do and are in life.

You are referring mostly to a person self imagine. Saying "I'm a 4" is not the same as saying "My current skill level is a 4". You are not your handicap, but your skills are.

Another area discussed is that all skill is learn through trail and error and correction. Once the correct skill is perform, all misses need to me forgotten. Backs up what you wrote.

Its not the APA handicap system but how a person uses it that can cause the system to be a hindrance.

If you use the system for goal setting like," My skill level is a 4, but I'm gonna be a 9" then the system is a means to measure your progress.

It a good, easy read. There are examples on how to improve your performance in anything.

 

[JoeW]

Is the glass half empty or half full?

Another way to look at this problem rests on the idea that the lower handicapped player “knows” they have an advantage and they “only” have to win three versus five games.

Many league players feel that they actually play better than their handicap indicates. In this situation they feel even more so, that they have an advantage and relish playing the higher handicapped player.

Another advantage to the lower handicap (and your team mates will emphasize it) is the fact that the lower handicap player should be more aware of defensive play, two way shots and such. This can often win a game or match.

So, in a sense, the handicapping system can be an equalizer depending upon one’s attitude.

A female friend of mine who happens to be a four handicap loves playing the five and better male players as many of them are (still) intimidated when playing a “mere” woman. They just can't stand losing in front of their buddies.

In my thinking the handicap system is what you make of it. If you follow your reasoning as originally posted then lower handicaps should very seldom win against a higher handicap and it just ain’t so, so there must be “other” things going on as well.

PS If you are interested in learning about the sub and unconscious processes and how they work pick up Leslie M. LeCron's work titled Self Hypnosis: The technique and its use in daily life. It is out of print so you will have to search for a paperback copy of it. LeCron provides a lucid introduction to the sub / unconscious that is useful in many ways. There are more technical and more advanced works but LeCron continues to be the work I recommend for the average person with an interest.

Hereis a link
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=leslie+m+lecron&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=3486364061&ref=pd_sl_6nl6dskt2f_e

 

[AimingVoodoo]

Is the glass half empty or half full?

Another way to look at this problem rests on the idea that the lower handicapped player “knows” they have an advantage and they “only” have to win three versus five games.

Many league players feel that they actually play better than their handicap indicates. In this situation they feel even more so, that they have an advantage and relish playing the higher handicapped player.

Another advantage to the lower handicap (and your team mates will emphasize it) is the fact that the lower handicap player should be more aware of defensive play, two way shots and such. This can often win a game or match.

So, in a sense, the handicapping system can be an equalizer depending upon one’s attitude.

A female friend of mine who happens to be a four handicap loves playing the five and better male players as many of them are (still) intimidated when playing a “mere” woman. They just can't stand losing in front of their buddies.

In my thinking the handicap system is what you make of it. If you follow your reasoning as originally posted then lower handicaps should very seldom win against a higher handicap and it just ain’t so, so there must be “other” things going on as well.

PS If you are interested in learning about the sub and unconscious processes and how they work pick up Leslie M. LeCron's work titled Self Hypnosis: The technique and its use in daily life. It is out of print so you will have to search for a paperback copy of it. LeCron provides a lucid introduction to the sub / unconscious that is useful in many ways. There are more technical and more advanced works but LeCron continues to be the work I recommend for the average person with an interest.

Hereis a link
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=leslie+m+lecron&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=3486364061&ref=pd_sl_6nl6dskt2f_e

Thank you for the input, and I do agree with what you have said.

I have one rebuttal.

You say that the lower handicap wins quite a bit against the higher handicap. My feelings are that the higher handicap wins most of the time, but it's not noticeable when they do. When the lower handicap wins, it stands out and you are likely to remember it for a longer period of time. Think of it as the casino slot machine player. 99 out of 100 times he loses his bank roll. But every so often he wins a jackpot. When you ask him how he has faired at the casino, he will likely say he wins jackpots all the time. His memory of winning jackpots is stronger than the memory of him losing his bank roll. And I think the same applies in pool. We remember when the lower handicap wins, and forget about when he gets beaten most of the time.

 

[Mikjary]

Here is an update of JoeW's link...http://www.amazon.com/Self-Hypnotism-Technique-Daily-Living-Signet/dp/0451159845.

Best,
Mike

 

[nkro]

ehh

Thank you for the input, and I do agree with what you have said.

I have one rebuttal.

You say that the lower handicap wins quite a bit against the higher handicap. My feelings are that the higher handicap wins most of the time, but it's not noticeable when they do. When the lower handicap wins, it stands out and you are likely to remember it for a longer period of time. Think of it as the casino slot machine player. 99 out of 100 times he loses his bank roll. But every so often he wins a jackpot. When you ask him how he has faired at the casino, he will likely say he wins jackpots all the time. His memory of winning jackpots is stronger than the memory of him losing his bank roll. And I think the same applies in pool. We remember when the lower handicap wins, and forget about when he gets beaten most of the time.

In my opinion the lower handicap wins because they are better players than the higher handicap players. In APA 8-ball, the handicap is only in the form of games spotted. You can spot a 3 a hundred games and the 7 will still win every one of them.

I also believe that when you ask a casino slot machine player, and many gamblers in general about their performance, they tell you they win all the time because they do not want to be perceived as losers.

Plenty of players do get caught up in their rankings and their own ability to play, and plenty of others don't. Some percieve it as an advantage, others a disadvantage. Not everyone experiences guilt when they are about to beat a better player.