We're Too Hard On Ourselves

Johnnyt

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
I think, as above average players with good basics but not pros, we’re too hard on ourselves. When we can’t run 100 balls in 14.1, can’t get out all the time in 8-ball and the rotation games when the table is open we think “missed ball” too often. Then missed ball translates to aiming problems in too many of our minds. Most of the time a good player, but non-pro misses shots for many other reasons. We leave ourselves on the rail with the QB. We leave ourselves jacked-up over a ball. We forget to think ahead for the angle on the third ball. We might just tickle a ball on the way to the next giving us poor position=harder shot.

We see good pros do these things also, but not as often. This part of the game only comes with experience. Pros have saw all the table lay-outs before and knows where there could be trouble on a shot that looks like cake to us. What I’m trying to say is, work on position and speed control. Try to think ahead more of where your going to put the QB for the next shot. Is there a high percentage that you could run into a ball on the path? Will you be able to stroke the shot comfortably or will you have to reach? These are the sorts of things I try to work on and think of before I shoot the shot. I’ve always said that if you can aim good enough to run a rack you can run more than one rack. It’s not your aim holding you back, it’s the little things like I mentioned above holding you back. This is just my opinion after 60 years of playing the game we all love. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
I think, as above average players with good basics but not pros, we’re too hard on ourselves. When we can’t run 100 balls in 14.1, can’t get out all the time in 8-ball and the rotation games when the table is open we think “missed ball” too often. Then missed ball translates to aiming problems in too many of our minds. Most of the time a good player, but non-pro misses shots for many other reasons. We leave ourselves on the rail with the QB. We leave ourselves jacked-up over a ball. We forget to think ahead for the angle on the third ball. We might just tickle a ball on the way to the next giving us poor position=harder shot.

We see good pros do these things also, but not as often. This part of the game only comes with experience. Pros have saw all the table lay-outs before and knows where there could be trouble on a shot that looks like cake to us. What I’m trying to say is, work on position and speed control. Try to think ahead more of where your going to put the QB for the next shot. Is there a high percentage that you could run into a ball on the path? Will you be able to stroke the shot comfortably or will you have to reach? These are the sorts of things I try to work on and think of before I shoot the shot. I’ve always said that if you can aim good enough to run a rack you can run more than one rack. It’s not your aim holding you back, it’s the little things like I mentioned above holding you back. This is just my opinion after 60 years of playing the game we all love. Johnnyt
Click to expand...

Some very good points too Johnny. Al the little things add up and quickly with today's rules too.
On my tour I have seen Jeremy, Gabe, Sylver, all of them get beat by guys they could give the world to. in the same tournament I have seen players have thise guys on the ropes by say a score of 8-7 and then do the absolute unmentionable to lose the game and then go Hill hill only towatch it slip away.
Rotation games get a bad knock when so many claim bad rolls. Often had they had the experience or planed just a littlle better it would have made so much difference in the outcome.
The same for 1 pocket. i don't know how many times I have seen someone go for the big shot, pocket the ball when they have a ball in play and end up in no man's land and not only not have another shot but no shot at the ball in the other guys pocket.
You are right though, no body has to beat me up over it, I don a nice job on myself.
i missed a ball on Don MCcoy in Olathe 21 years ago that haunts me to this day. It was tougher to miss than it wa
s to make, but I managed it. To make it worse, he remembers it to!
But hell pool is really about makin and missin!
 
When I miss a ball , I just think to myself...... I have seen SVB miss
some easy stuff before too..... No need to punish yourself.
Good post Johnny T
 
I consider myself to still be pretty new at this game, and I have to say this is some great advice. Being able to let go of mistakes, not beat yourself up over them, etc is crucial to being successful. I have never once finished out a set when I was constantly angry and talking to myself; putting out all that negativity only breeds more of it.

If I miss a shot, I assume it's because I lined up wrong, failed to execute my stroke, took my eye off the ball, something like that... not because I couldn't see the shot. Like Petey said, everyone misses shots probably for all the same reasons too. ;)
 
Johnnyt said:
I think, as above average players with good basics but not pros, we’re too hard on ourselves. When we can’t run 100 balls in 14.1, can’t get out all the time in 8-ball and the rotation games when the table is open we think “missed ball” too often. Then missed ball translates to aiming problems in too many of our minds. Most of the time a good player, but non-pro misses shots for many other reasons. We leave ourselves on the rail with the QB. We leave ourselves jacked-up over a ball. We forget to think ahead for the angle on the third ball. We might just tickle a ball on the way to the next giving us poor position=harder shot.

We see good pros do these things also, but not as often. This part of the game only comes with experience. Pros have saw all the table lay-outs before and knows where there could be trouble on a shot that looks like cake to us. What I’m trying to say is, work on position and speed control. Try to think ahead more of where your going to put the QB for the next shot. Is there a high percentage that you could run into a ball on the path? Will you be able to stroke the shot comfortably or will you have to reach? These are the sorts of things I try to work on and think of before I shoot the shot. I’ve always said that if you can aim good enough to run a rack you can run more than one rack. It’s not your aim holding you back, it’s the little things like I mentioned above holding you back. This is just my opinion after 60 years of playing the game we all love. Johnnyt
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Johnny. As a not yet above average player I will try to keep these things in mind. Even at my level I think I'm pretty hard on myself when I do any of the things you mentioned, especially when I feel like I could have done better if I had only thought ahead. But as you said, it only comes with more practice and experience.

Vlad
 
Johnny you said something there that I think about a lot. I have been off work and on crutch's around the house for almost a month, I cant play right now so I watch DVDS, ESPN, live streams and recorded match's. After weeks of this what you said makes much sense because every once in awhile I watch someone who will shoot an entire match and play perfectly.

Most of us don't play eight hours a day or big money match's that may last for days. This doesn't mean we have not played near perfect pool a few times in our lives, most of us have at one time or another. I cant wait to be able to stand on two legs and shoot some pool. After the last month of watching great players it is hard not to pick up on a few things and to notice the differences between what they do and what I do.
 
Last edited:
I still recommend especially to new players, that going to and watching the PROs play is an educational experience.

New players notice right off... those Pros don't hit anything hard, only the BREAK and it is amazing that Whitey stays in the middle of the table so often.

The more experienced players notice the different speeds of the shot for shape, more often than not.

What is most often noticed is the composure while competing. With few exceptions, these Pros compete with a controlled emotional experience.

Trust what you know, Accept the results and remember to go through your preshot routine.

Everyone needs to see the Pros play. It will improve your game and maybe your attitude.
 
Most of the time when I miss balls it's not because of my aiming or how I stroke/deliver the shot.

It's often a result of bad position-play, giving me a longer shot/wider angle etc which increases the % of missing the ball.

I recommend people to practise their position-play instead of reading for hours about aiming-systems
 
Roy Steffensen said:
Most of the time when I miss balls it's not because of my aiming or how I stroke/deliver the shot.

It's often a result of bad position-play, giving me a longer shot/wider angle etc which increases the % of missing the ball.

I recommend people to practise their position-play instead of reading for hours about aiming-systems
Click to expand...

Amen to that. Johnnyt
 
My wife gives me hell all the time for this...I expect to hit every ball perfect. It's not going to happen! Sometimes you have to remind yourself you play this game not for money or fame but for the pure joy of playing one of the greatest games on the planet!
 
Johnnyt said:
I think, as above average players with good basics but not pros, we’re too hard on ourselves. When we can’t run 100 balls in 14.1, can’t get out all the time in 8-ball and the rotation games when the table is open we think “missed ball” too often. Then missed ball translates to aiming problems in too many of our minds. Most of the time a good player, but non-pro misses shots for many other reasons. We leave ourselves on the rail with the QB. We leave ourselves jacked-up over a ball. We forget to think ahead for the angle on the third ball. We might just tickle a ball on the way to the next giving us poor position=harder shot.

We see good pros do these things also, but not as often. This part of the game only comes with experience. Pros have saw all the table lay-outs before and knows where there could be trouble on a shot that looks like cake to us. What I’m trying to say is, work on position and speed control. Try to think ahead more of where your going to put the QB for the next shot. Is there a high percentage that you could run into a ball on the path? Will you be able to stroke the shot comfortably or will you have to reach? These are the sorts of things I try to work on and think of before I shoot the shot. I’ve always said that if you can aim good enough to run a rack you can run more than one rack. It’s not your aim holding you back, it’s the little things like I mentioned above holding you back. This is just my opinion after 60 years of playing the game we all love. Johnnyt
Click to expand...

Great post Johnny. The pro's make it look easy because they put themselves in the best position for the next shot. For some of us, position not aim is the hard part.
 
Johnnyt said:
I think, as above average players with good basics but not pros, we’re too hard on ourselves. When we can’t run 100 balls in 14.1, can’t get out all the time in 8-ball and the rotation games when the table is open we think “missed ball” too often. Then missed ball translates to aiming problems in too many of our minds.
Click to expand...

Thanks for bringing this up.

I think that most of us consider the process of aiming and delivering the CB to the OB a single process. It is not! And this is where the threads on aiming systems leave me hanging.

There are two different processes going on, here. One is conceptual the other is mechanical. The conceptual part I call aiming, and involves determining where to make contact with the OB, and where to ultimately poistion the CB when it comes to a stop. There are sub-processes here that determine how much and of what kind of spin to impart on the CB so the whole scheme hangs together. The mechanical part involves, body position, bridge, shaft position, and the stroke; which should impart the proper direction and proper spins to the CB to achieve the overall goals of the shot.

One can just as easily miss a shot due to poor conceptualization (of the current or the previous shot) as easily as one can miss due to poor mechanicals of the current shot. Separating why misses happen into at least two bins (conceptual, mechanical) should end up driving future practice sessions.
 
When I miss an easy shot I whip out my ceramic blade super sharp knife and hold it to my wrist threatening to cut off the offending digit or arm or slilt the vein... but have always reconsidered..... and smiled a wry smile and moved on.... moved on to poker on line where I can blame the deal and/or dealer. :groucho:

That's a lie. I never play poker.. I REALLY suck at poker and at pool I just sort of suck.
 
Last edited:
Johnnyt said:
I think, as above average players with good basics but not pros, we’re too hard on ourselves. When we can’t run 100 balls in 14.1, can’t get out all the time in 8-ball and the rotation games when the table is open we think “missed ball” too often. Then missed ball translates to aiming problems in too many of our minds. Most of the time a good player, but non-pro misses shots for many other reasons. We leave ourselves on the rail with the QB. We leave ourselves jacked-up over a ball. We forget to think ahead for the angle on the third ball. We might just tickle a ball on the way to the next giving us poor position=harder shot.

We see good pros do these things also, but not as often. This part of the game only comes with experience. Pros have saw all the table lay-outs before and knows where there could be trouble on a shot that looks like cake to us. What I’m trying to say is, work on position and speed control. Try to think ahead more of where your going to put the QB for the next shot. Is there a high percentage that you could run into a ball on the path? Will you be able to stroke the shot comfortably or will you have to reach? These are the sorts of things I try to work on and think of before I shoot the shot. I’ve always said that if you can aim good enough to run a rack you can run more than one rack. It’s not your aim holding you back, it’s the little things like I mentioned above holding you back. This is just my opinion after 60 years of playing the game we all love. Johnnyt
Click to expand...


The problem for most of us is that we watch the pros in person, or on television, or perhaps on an Accu-Stats tape, and we see the good players at our local room and they make it look so easy. They make it look *so* easy we lose sight of how crushingly difficult the game actually is and we become disappointed in ourselves when we can't do this simple thing. I recall watching Willie Mosconi run a 100 and I literally rushed to my pool hall thinking, "Well, that's so easy -- anyone should be able to do that!" Of course when I got there and couldn't run more than 10 balls...

Lou Figueroa
 
Not to sound sentimental... but damn bro that's exactly what I needed... I've been playing pool since February and I'm on an APA pool league (listed as a 4 but I'm 6-1 right now lol.. w/l) and I'm also on my schools pool team... we just came back from a pool tournament (intercollegiate) and we got our ass's handed to us... this is exactly what I needed to hear =]}. Pick yourself up, and do some real training, none of that just shoot to hit stuff deal. DRILLS
 
Roy Steffensen said:
Most of the time when I miss balls it's not because of my aiming or how I stroke/deliver the shot.

It's often a result of bad position-play, giving me a longer shot/wider angle etc which increases the % of missing the ball.

I recommend people to practise their position-play instead of reading for hours about aiming-systems
Click to expand...

{devil's advocate}
Well, there's another side to that too... just because you left yourself long shouldn't mean you're going to miss the shot. Assuming you can see the ball, and you know how to aim... then if you miss it's either an alignment or stroke delivery issue. If the stroke was clean, then you aimed wrong.

I guess I'm saying that unless you need pin-point position for a partially hidden ball, perfect position isn't as important as being a good shot-maker; which is all stroke.
{/end}

I do agree though that position play is probably the focus of most practice sessions for everyone that has learned to stroke and aim already.
 
Cuebuddy said:
Johnny you said something there that I think about a lot. I have been off work and on crutch's around the house for almost a month, I cant play right now so I watch DVDS, ESPN, live streams and recorded match's. After weeks of this what you said makes much sense because every once in awhile I watch someone who will shoot an entire match and play perfectly.

Most of us don't play eight hours a day or big money match's that may last for days. This doesn't mean we have not played near perfect pool a few times in our lives, most of us have at one time or another. I cant wait to be able to stand on two legs and shoot some pool. After the last month of watching great players it is hard not to pick up on a few things and to notice the differences between what they do and what I do.
Click to expand...

Even when you can play perfect sets, it is still not a gauranteed win.
I played perfect last night and lost. We traded B&Rs until the match was over. But he had the 1st one.
Still feels good to play at that speed, But a loss is a loss and a win is a
win. It is all in a day at the poolroom LOL
Good luck
Petey
 
I'm happy to say that position play is a very strong part of my game. That said, no one, pros included, are gonna get great shape every time. So, of course, knowing exactly what to do when you leave yourself not-so-good, is key to being successful. Whether it means having to play a good safety or making a tough shot.

Of paramount importance to me is that when something goes wrong, either missing a shot or position wise, that I am able to isolate the reason why it happened. I always want the chance to learn from my mistakes and at least have a plan to better deal with it if it comes up again.

Being able to focus on correcting problems that occur in my game distracts me, very nicely, from being too hard on myself. It's the old 'lemons into lemonade' deal.

Nice thread Johnny.

Best,
Brian kc
 
Last edited:
stljohnny said:
{devil's advocate}
Well, there's another side to that too... just because you left yourself long shouldn't mean you're going to miss the shot. Assuming you can see the ball, and you know how to aim... then if you miss it's either an alignment or stroke delivery issue. If the stroke was clean, then you aimed wrong.

I guess I'm saying that unless you need pin-point position for a partially hidden ball, perfect position isn't as important as being a good shot-maker; which is all stroke.
{/end}

I do agree though that position play is probably the focus of most practice sessions for everyone that has learned to stroke and aim already.
Click to expand...

That's funny. I was just thinking the same thing. After assessing where my game actually was I realized that my cue ball control vs. shot making ability was out a wack. Actually, I don't think my shot making has improved all that much since the first few years I started playing. I do know how to control the cue ball though. I think a lot of guys run into this problem as they learn to control the cue ball more - you really don't see as many difficult shots. Well, needless to say I have been working hard on my shot making and seeing quite a bit of improvement.
 
I hear this story ever so often about Willie Mosconi. It seems he was doing a exhibation some where. Story goes someone made the comment to him " But, Mr. Mosconi, you never had a hard shot."

There's the secert. Never have a hard shot.

I've done myself in more times than not when I did not get the position I wanted. My games are 14.1 and 8 ball and at times 1mm out of shape can mean a loss.

But I will pass on the words of wisdom from the Stranger to the Big Lebowski "Somedays you eat the Beaaar and somedays the Beaaar its you."

If you look at your pool playing as a life long endevour, there will be ups and downs, that's just the rythm of life and the same goes with pool playing.

FWIW.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top