Useful Instructional Phrases That Help You Play Pool Better

The power of the positive.
My psychology training taught that the subconscious does not parse the negative in the "Don't miss." Guaranteed miss. And the "Don't scratch" was likely my league opponents swing thought last night as I was awarded ball in hand on the 8 ball more than once in 5 games.
 
Well it comes under, make you play better".
Basic training 101. 😉
The quiz (which comes under study. You know the 3 legged stool of study practice compete. Right?)
How long did Willie Hoppe practice with one ball, before he got object balls?
 
"Hold my beer and watch h this." Is a favorite.
There's a song too. "There's none so blind as those who will not see."
Oh and then "Doctor! DOCTOR , give me the news.," You have been giving the Snooker the views. 😉 (kinda rhymes).
Shrug 🤷‍♂️
Kyren and Judd could have Both, "come over to the dark side"
Don't don't dotty da oh man the speel correct is messing with me. You know the tune.
Take A Walk on the Wild Side.
"Look at whitey while you whack it."
 
"Great resolve is his trademark "
Is the gem from commentary.
Wst.tv should be required to maintain the rank....right Doctor? 😉
 
"Blink and you will miss it"
Is a favorite Ronnie O'Sullivan comment. Well his by line as he is The Rocket.
Tomorrow's finals could be epic.
Wow, just wow.
 
My World Class little league coaching as catcher was, "if you blink, you can still be a good catcher. If you Don't Blink you can be as good as Yogi or Johnny Bench.(Well Johnny came well after this coaching. ).
Remember to find a coaching phrase that doesn't have a negative.
You know like in the movie.
"Can't have No negative vibes."
Can't remember the name.....maybe Hogan's Heros.
 
So in little league my resolve thought....well uh watch this, it could be fun.
Hmmmm my childhood memories of watching my 5 years senior uncles do ing Little Rascals stuff.
The hold my beer pre fix came many years later.
 
gregcantrall said:
My psychology training taught that the subconscious does not parse the negative in the "Don't miss." Guaranteed miss.
Click to expand...
This is what I was referring to in an earlier post in this thread where I stated the conscious mind, that little voice in our head, has NO place being anywhere near a pool table while playing this game.

It’s also why I don’t believe in the premise of the initial post in this thread regarding “helpful phrases” or little “positive mantras” people repeat to themselves, and lastly, with the misguided mental performance coach’s who preach and prescribe “positive self talk” as a way to better performance.

You have to spend the time to develop the skills required to play this sport through rote repetition. Once you have developed those skills, the goal is to achieve “flow state” in practice and competition, this is done through visualization.

We are nothing more as humans than advanced computers. Every shot you have ever hit, is a file within your subconscious mind. When players have “those magical days”, where they couldn’t miss, couldn’t put a foot wrong, are then perplexed when during their next session that it’s gone. If you play like that once, then you can play that way EVERY TIME. It’s a matter of understanding how to access this flow state. That is done through complete visualization of each shot prior to dropping on the ball, seeing it in it’s entirety, from dropping on the shot, to it’s successful execution, to the cue ball traveling the path you intend to proper shape on the next shot. This is how you pull up that file from your subconscious, seeing it in your mind, feeling it in your hands, trusting in the practice and training you have put in to develop the skills required to perform it. See it, don’t THINK about it, your hands are smarter than your head is ever going to be. And as you allude to in your post I quoted, our subconscious isn’t directed by language, that little voice in your head. It is directed by pictures, visions, silently seeing it in your mind. It really is that simple.

EDIT for one final thought,
Get out of your own way.
 
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Frosty said:
This is what I was referring to in an earlier post in this thread where I stated the conscious mind, that little voice in our head, has NO place being anywhere near a pool table while playing this game.

It’s also why I don’t believe in the premise of the initial post in this thread regarding “helpful phrases” or little “positive mantras” people repeat to themselves, and lastly, with the misguided mental performance coach’s who preach and prescribe “positive self talk” as a way to better performance.

You have to spend the time to develop the skills required to play this sport through rote repetition. Once you have developed those skills, the goal is to achieve “flow state” in practice and competition, this is done through visualization.

We are nothing more as humans than advanced computers. Every shot you have ever hit, is a file within your subconscious mind. When players have “those magical days”, where they couldn’t miss, couldn’t put a foot wrong, are then perplexed when during their next session that it’s gone. If you play like that once, then you can play that way EVERY TIME. It’s a matter of understanding how to access this flow state. That is done through complete visualization of each shot prior to dropping on the ball, seeing it in it’s entirety, from dropping on the shot, to it’s successful execution, to the cue ball traveling the path you intend to proper shape on the next shot. This is how you pull up that file from your subconscious, seeing it in your mind, feeling it in your hands, trusting in the practice and training you have put in to develop the skills required to perform it. See it, don’t THINK about it, your hands are smarter than your head is ever going to be. And as you allude to in your post I quoted, our subconscious isn’t directed by language, that little voice in your head. It is directed by pictures, visions, silently seeing it in your mind. It really is that simple.

EDIT for one final thought,
Get out of your own way.
Click to expand...
Frosty seems to agree in general with my post in this thread. He just does not mention rhythm, which is important and very helpful to have and maintain in competition.
 
gregcantrall said:
Cool!
I concur. 😉
In the zone is quiet time.
For ALL the voices in my head.
Parallels the Tin Cup coaching.
Click to expand...

For me the zone is far more than a quiet time. Trying to describe it gets into some areas that some see as hokum. Those that have never been in the third and possibly highest level of the zone sometimes have a hard time believing it. Expanded consciousness is part of it but along with the expanded consciousness is an expanded ability to use all of the information coming in that aids the situation while effortlessly sorting out the things that aren't needed for later consideration.

A man that I didn't know well had a bad stage at a pistol match. Afterwards he told me that his senses all exploded and he was overwhelmed by the additional information coming in. I started to explain to him that he was a few degrees off from pure gold but he didn't know me well enough to hear it from me.

One of the common beliefs by those experiencing the zone is that you can't experience it on demand. I'm not too sure about that. I have entered the zone on demand, used it to set a record that had been chased for fifteen years. Something I just read lately indicates that surgeons that routinely do long and difficult surgeries enter the zone during surgery although I haven't seen the state called the zone in relation to surgery.

One place I was always able to enter the zone was circle track racing, the same thing repeated over and over with slight variations. If a person can enter the zone on demand it would be huge not just for competitors but surgeons, fighter pilots, all the things that demand maximum output. The zone is one more thing that some consider supernatural that will be considered quite natural when it is better understood.

Hu
 
I am guessing my sayings would not be considered helpful. Yesterday was a particularly rough day for me as far as getting balls to go into pockets. If someone was recording me they would have heard:

Holy crap you suck!
How on earth can you miss a pocket by that much?
Why the fuck did you buy all this shit?
How the hell do you snooker yourself with three damn balls on the table?
 
Sooner32 said:
I am guessing my sayings would not be considered helpful. Yesterday was a particularly rough day for me as far as getting balls to go into pockets. If someone was recording me they would have heard:

Holy crap you suck!
How on earth can you miss a pocket by that much?
Why the fuck did you buy all this shit?
How the hell do you snooker yourself with three damn balls on the table?
Click to expand...

I am going to take you serious that you say such things about yourself. If so it is the wrong move. Watch old video of Efren. When he missed a shot he grinned, rubbed the back of his head, and reset. The miss and the thoughts about it were behind him. Seemed like a great idea but I'm not much on grinning and the bald spot on the back of my head was growing fast!

I couldn't do it in exactly the same manner but I could do the same thing. I acknowledge to myself that I had just made a dumbass move, then I follow-up by saying that isn't my normal and I move on.

Two things are important: First I bash what I did not the entirety of myself. I need mistakes to carry a penalty so I put in that one second or so of punishment. Now the mistake has been acknowledged and dealt with, I move on. If I left it hanging unresolved, I can't move on.

I shot a sixty round weekly pistol match for a few years.
 
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