It's possible to be not relaxed yet serious, and it works great for me.
I never let anyone tell me "it's just a game" and I want to be competitive on league night every night. It's never just a social event where I'm chilling with the guys and a pool table happens to be involved.
You didn't choke the 8 because you lacked relaxation exactly, you choked it because you cared about the shot a lot, were overly scared of missing it a certain way, and you overcompensated for that (imagined) problem by hitting the ball in a scared, rigid way. For example I used to hate leaving myself a sharpish side pocket cut on the 8, I never ever wanted to cut the ball too much. I was afraid of hitting it too thin and losing the cue ball, maybe scratching. So even though I needed a certain amount of thinness, I would always aim for a thicker hit, and load up with outside spin (subconsciously hoping to curve or throw it in) and shoot way too slow. Often I would undercut it. Sometimes I would hit so slowly the 8 didn't reach the pocket. Occasionally I'm make it but more often I wouldn't.
But by god I never overcut it, lol.
Now I shoot such a shot like my others, with a specific leave in mind, and use my normal back and forward stroke. I shoot when I'm comfortable and if I see a little tremor in my bridge hand or a little wobble in my warmup swings, I ignore it and somehow it just disappears.
My point in all of this: being more relaxed and carefree and getting more enjoyment out of socializing on league night may not be the answer.
I think the answer is:
-Not beating yourself up and keeping a focused, serious, yet positive mood.
-Commit to every shot and hit it with confidence and authority.
-If you miss, don't make a display (it just perks up your opponent and drags down your mood).
-Figure out and learn what you can from your fcukups, then proceed to forget them completely about 5 minutes later.
I never let anyone tell me "it's just a game" and I want to be competitive on league night every night. It's never just a social event where I'm chilling with the guys and a pool table happens to be involved.
You didn't choke the 8 because you lacked relaxation exactly, you choked it because you cared about the shot a lot, were overly scared of missing it a certain way, and you overcompensated for that (imagined) problem by hitting the ball in a scared, rigid way. For example I used to hate leaving myself a sharpish side pocket cut on the 8, I never ever wanted to cut the ball too much. I was afraid of hitting it too thin and losing the cue ball, maybe scratching. So even though I needed a certain amount of thinness, I would always aim for a thicker hit, and load up with outside spin (subconsciously hoping to curve or throw it in) and shoot way too slow. Often I would undercut it. Sometimes I would hit so slowly the 8 didn't reach the pocket. Occasionally I'm make it but more often I wouldn't.
But by god I never overcut it, lol.
Now I shoot such a shot like my others, with a specific leave in mind, and use my normal back and forward stroke. I shoot when I'm comfortable and if I see a little tremor in my bridge hand or a little wobble in my warmup swings, I ignore it and somehow it just disappears.
My point in all of this: being more relaxed and carefree and getting more enjoyment out of socializing on league night may not be the answer.
I think the answer is:
-Not beating yourself up and keeping a focused, serious, yet positive mood.
-Commit to every shot and hit it with confidence and authority.
-If you miss, don't make a display (it just perks up your opponent and drags down your mood).
-Figure out and learn what you can from your fcukups, then proceed to forget them completely about 5 minutes later.
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