I thought it was impossible to watch too many videos of the pros. I thought it would help. Boy was I wrong! Went to the pool hall and thought I learned through osmosis. Never have I shot so poorly!!
Watching too many pro matches!
- Thread starter RichSchultz
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Yeah, doing is definitely the best teacher because you learn to play inside your abilities.
I love watching pro matches as well and studying what they do. The problem with that is that I'm not as good as they are. I can't depend on hitting the perfect spot with the cue ball like they can, especially on some of the more complicated multi-rail position shots. Instead I need to try and find the best positions I can consistently achieve and that also gives me outs where applicable. When I do that I play much better.
I know what you mean! Watching those pro bangers screws my game up too! 
Messes me up when I watch svb. That pause is not for me.
Watching earl go through a rack does do it for me though. That is one purpose-built man.
Watching earl go through a rack does do it for me though. That is one purpose-built man.
I try to ignore the fundamentals, stance, stroke, etc. of the players and just pay attention to position routes. That is a major weakness for me, and watching how it's supposed to be done has helped me. It does matter who I watch though; trying to incorporate 5 rail shape from Earl's power game would make me break things.
I took a lesson from Jose Parica once. I asked him to show me how to feather a ball. He would demonstrate it and explain it and I would butcher it.
I said, "Jose I see you do it, I understand what you are saying but I can't do it."
It was not until a few years later that I got it after a whole day of practicing safeties where I had to feather the ball. It's a certain type of hit where you need to develop the muscles for it otherwise you will often overhit the cue ball or jerk it and underhit it.
I think it's hard to watch pros and get anything from them if trying to take it all in at once. I have found that watching them and being alert for particular moves works better. When I see something that I didn't know how to do I will rewind it and watch it several times and then go practice it. This way you build your game from small but effective blocks.
I even remember who I got moves from and will sometime recall the shot in the video when using it in a game. Did that two days ago playing in a money match using a shot I learned from Bustamante's matches.
I am the opposite. I have been told by a pro I play with that my game improves when watching. I am very visual, and the more I watch the more ingrained shots become in my mind. This process is much like the Power of Compounding used in Hypnosis.
You might want to read up on the study of people practicing free throws versus those that just visualized, and those who didn't practice. You mind does not know the difference between reality, and imagined. Remember you do not see with your eyes, or feel with your hands, you do both with your mind.
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You might want to read up on the study of people practicing free throws versus those that just visualized, and those who didn't practice. You mind does not know the difference between reality, and imagined. Remember you do not see with your eyes, or feel with your hands, you do both with your mind.
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Awesome story and advice. Thanks!
asiasdad
Banned
When watching pros play, it's important to remember a couple of things. First, they do a lot of things extremely well. Trying to duplicate everything about their game all at once is probably not going to work out too well. So try to pick things one at a time to learn and master. Second, remember that the reason why pros do things so well is because they've spent a lot of time mastering them. It probably took them at least a month of solid practice and maybe more. So be prepared to invest the same amount of time or more and don't get discouraged when you haven't duplicated their results with your first practice session.
Bottom line then is; the reason it looks easy is precisely because they are PROFESSIONALS.
Watching the pros always makes me thankful that I kept my day job. Their retirement plan sucks. :smile:
I agree that watching great players play only makes me play better. While I can't execute their "let out the stroke" shots which they do when practicing, I can learn from how they tone it down to fairly simple shots and positions during real games.
Also, I hear the pureness of their "hits" and marvel at how easy and soft they execute the shots. I think this is similar to how pros in golf often hit the sweet spots on their swing. Watching pros play help to tone down my "banging".
Tramp, I hate it when you're not posting...lotsa good threads going.
...but I feel watching videos or watching live matches has to be beneficial......
....players come from players.
If a viewer is not getting any benefit from watching, I think it's a personal problem.
regards
...your friend, pt
Oh, I agree with you. I've watched countless matches on YouTube, and every now and then I'd see something new and put it to memory. My comment was more of a sarcastic aside.
I haven't been well, lately.
