Waiting your turn, do you have a mental battle while watching your opponent run out?
- Thread starter justnum
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middleofnowhere
Registered
Ever play straight pool? Short rack games there is no problem waiting to shoot. Try sitting there playing a slow player who can run balls. Lassiter would sometimes put on dark glasses and pretend to be asleep.
One rack no, two racks no, three racks in a short race tournament, I start getting a little antsy.
Hu
Hu
That was you?
8intheside
Well-known member
you are supposed to keep your eyes on the table, and play each shot in your mind. its to keep you focused.
I have two modes there. If I am feeling comfortable, I just relax and enjoy their good shooting. If I’m getting behind and really want it, I kind of do the same but I also build a hate for my opponent. Nothing that will manifest in my behavior but an intensity starts welling up. The kind of thing that makes me leap out of my chair if they give me a chance at the table.
Good question, as much about life as it is about pool. An old saying is that you should always plan for the inevitable. In pool, the inevitable includes long trips to the chair. Embrace that it's part of the game and keep your focus so that you're ready when your turn comes. After all, even though your next turn may be ten minutes away, it also may come thirty seconds from now. Best to assume that your opponent will have stretches of brilliance so that when it happens you're not bothered much by it.
The ability to stay in the moment even while opponent has you stuck in the chair is part of pool's mental game.
The ability to stay in the moment even while opponent has you stuck in the chair is part of pool's mental game.
I agree it’s important to pay attention to what’s going on. If your opponent is a good player, you can always learn something new by watching. The only time I find it hard is if I’m playing an agonizingly slow player, then it’s very hard to watch their entire pre-shot routine.
Of course anytime I’m not playing well and frustrated with my own game, that always makes it harder waiting and hoping for your next chance at the table, to try to turn things around. Sometimes you get that chance and sometimes you don’t.
The other thing that is tough while in your chair, is seeing your opponent get lucky on a key shot with either slopping in a ball or getting a perfect snooker leave when that was the last thing on their mind. You have to try to not show any outward frustration when that happens, and sometimes that’s hard to do when it happens numerous times in the same match.
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Trouble is, if there is a well filled pair of yoga pants within eye range, that advice goes bye-bye.
There is no reason to be anxious when you can do nothing about it.
people dont understand how much fun a league can be even a tournament
It must have been before the incident. Pool players are so grumpy!
Sometimes I feel a wave, as if my memory is fading or connecting.
For my younger self, practicing taking turns is like practicing what you want to practice later.
I never wanted to watch other players until I saw world class players in world class events.
Its easier to watch players of less skill, everyone is just trying to get "noticed"
For my younger self, practicing taking turns is like practicing what you want to practice later.
I never wanted to watch other players until I saw world class players in world class events.
Its easier to watch players of less skill, everyone is just trying to get "noticed"
Staying "in the game" seemed to cost me! It was enough to make me believe in telepathy. When I visualized the balls falling in the pockets and the pattern to run, seemed like that was exactly what my opponent did most of the time! Of course it was the right thing to do but still ... I started visualizing misses and getting out of shape and that seemed to hurt the other player's performance!
When I was young and in my nacheral prime I watched the table like a hawk when I wasn't shooting. If the other player missed I was down on my shot before my opponent came to his chair. When I put in eight or ten hours shooting pool I noticed I was as tired or even more tired than I got working the same amount of time.
A change of plan was needed tp deal with a handful of small issues before they became big. I learned on my own to do the same as Lassiter, act a bit bored and kick back in my chair when I wasn't shooting. Now I was resting and getting stronger physically sitting in the chair and twelve hour sessions were a breeze. I credit learning to shift gears and rest when I wasn't at the table as one of the huge pillars my game is built on.
I have played 35-40 hours on the natch. Crushed chemical players when their mix got wrong. While that was pushing things a bit far, that was about three times what I could do max, if I didn't relax in the chair!
Hu
When I was young and in my nacheral prime I watched the table like a hawk when I wasn't shooting. If the other player missed I was down on my shot before my opponent came to his chair. When I put in eight or ten hours shooting pool I noticed I was as tired or even more tired than I got working the same amount of time.
A change of plan was needed tp deal with a handful of small issues before they became big. I learned on my own to do the same as Lassiter, act a bit bored and kick back in my chair when I wasn't shooting. Now I was resting and getting stronger physically sitting in the chair and twelve hour sessions were a breeze. I credit learning to shift gears and rest when I wasn't at the table as one of the huge pillars my game is built on.
I have played 35-40 hours on the natch. Crushed chemical players when their mix got wrong. While that was pushing things a bit far, that was about three times what I could do max, if I didn't relax in the chair!
Hu