what do you do when....

Pushout, I would love to see that. PM is fine, if you can.

Lou, Krupa and Icon....do you guys stop and write this stuff down in the middle of a match, when it happens? Yes, I remember the most recent shots and their set ups pretty well, as they were near the end of the game with little left on the table. I agree, I should (and will) go back and shoot them over and over, and get that into my brain.

But scenarios in early/midgame with more complex table layouts... after you miss one of those, do you jot them down when you go back to your chair? In the middle of a match? Hopefully I can make it a point to remember the basics of the table in those instances, and get back to drilling those, too.

Not sure if shortening my stroke is gonna help, Lou. If anything, I'm afraid that I err on the side of too short, ie poking and not stroking, too often. Not getting through the ball... I will bear it in mind, and see if I can get one of my friends to watch for it. As usual, I could very well be wrong.

The more this thread continues, the more great input I get, the more I try to process it all. And I believe that a great deal of goes back to managing "me" better. I'm quite certain that there are mechanics issues, of course, but the greater issue is all in my head. Hopefully I can make corrections to both areas.

Thank you again, folks. This is very helpful.
 
justadub said:
Pushout, I would love to see that. PM is fine, if you can.

Lou, Krupa and Icon....do you guys stop and write this stuff down in the middle of a match, when it happens? Yes, I remember the most recent shots and their set ups pretty well, as they were near the end of the game with little left on the table. I agree, I should (and will) go back and shoot them over and over, and get that into my brain.

But scenarios in early/midgame with more complex table layouts... after you miss one of those, do you jot them down when you go back to your chair? In the middle of a match? Hopefully I can make it a point to remember the basics of the table in those instances, and get back to drilling those, too.

Not sure if shortening my stroke is gonna help, Lou. If anything, I'm afraid that I err on the side of too short, ie poking and not stroking, too often. Not getting through the ball... I will bear it in mind, and see if I can get one of my friends to watch for it. As usual, I could very well be wrong.

The more this thread continues, the more great input I get, the more I try to process it all. And I believe that a great deal of goes back to managing "me" better. I'm quite certain that there are mechanics issues, of course, but the greater issue is all in my head. Hopefully I can make corrections to both areas.

Thank you again, folks. This is very helpful.
Click to expand...


I just have a good memory for remembering which shots I goofed on.

On some shots I know I misjudged or, occasionally, just dogged it :-) As to the rest... after a session of 1pocket I can usually recall the three or four shots that really cost me or I really screwed up. Those are the ones I set up first the next practice session.

Same with great shots I see. I watched the Efren v SVB 1pocket match and just remembered them and set them up the next time I practiced. Same after I played Jose at the DCC this year. He shot one shot that I knew I could not shoot. So I went to the practice table when I got home I set it up until I could make it with a high percentage. Overall, I think the shot memory thing is a skill, just like anything else, that you have to develop -- kinda like chess players who can remember board positions from matches they've played, often long ago.

Oh, and I wasn't the guy who recommended the shorter bridge.

Lou Figueroa
 
I don't do anything in the middle of the match. There are usually two or three shots or situations that really stick in my head that I remember and write down. If I wrote down everything I think I would overload myself.

A lot of times, I walk away from the table thinking about why I missed the shot. I can think, for example, that I shot too quickly or was thinking too much about where the cue ball was going to go, or that I *always* overcut that shot, etc. Last week, I remember, I dogged a more-difficult shot because I was too busy thinking that if I made it, the rest of the table was pretty easy and wouldn't it be great to break-and-run in the hill-hill match and oh shit I just missed the ball.

In those cases, it's easy to remember what to write down. Other times, I don't remember anything useful and don't write anything down.
 
I'll take a stab at issue #1 (knowing what you are doing wrong).

I think this is the most important variable to understand when it comes to improving your game. I can say for me, I played for a long time before I really started knowing immediately after a miss why it was that I missed.

My misses are usually due to one of these five things:
1. Alignment error. This is simply judging the shot line wrong before I get down on it.
2. Over squirting a ball. This happens when I don't judge my cue ball squirt right. This happens on firmer hits with English (mainly center ball and above so not much swerve).
3. Swerve error. This is similar to the squirt error but these shots are softer (lot of times below center ball) and I sometimes fail to properly account for everything.
4. Cueing error. These shots I judge everything right but I just don't cue properly. I don't deliver my cue straight. For me, it's most often a grip hand tension issue.
5. Didn't stay down. I sometimes need help on this one from someone that's watching me play.

That's about it for me. The key is knowing what causes the miss. I usually know right away. If you really don't know why you miss that’s probably the nut you need to crack.

I think it's an absolute necessity that we know why we miss. Just saying, "I dogged it!" doesn't really help.
 
pm me your email, it won't let me post the pdf, too large, it seems. Also, it's no longer on Mediafire where it's been for the last couple of years, at least.
 
lfigueroa said:
Oh, and I wasn't the guy who recommended the shorter bridge.

Lou Figueroa
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Oops :p

How can I possibly remember a shot when I can't even remember who said what, right?

:-)

Again, my thanks. Everyone. Pretty funny, two nights ago I didn't want to play, and now I cant wait to get there tonight. That's part of what makes this game so great.
 
justadub said:
Oops :p

How can I possibly remember a shot when I can't even remember who said what, right?

:-)

Again, my thanks. Everyone. Pretty funny, two nights ago I didn't want to play, and now I cant wait to get there tonight. That's part of what makes this game so great.
Click to expand...

Have you videoed yourself playing since your 'have at me' thread? It would be good to see your improvement.
 
Pathetic Shark said:
Have you videoed yourself playing since your 'have at me' thread? It would be good to see your improvement.
Click to expand...

No, I haven't. A fine idea. Though I suspect that I haven't improved all that much, sadly. At least I don't feel that I have. Perhaps I'm wrong. I shall try to get to that, if I can arrange it at the room I play in, sometime.

Thanks for the suggestion.

*** edit *** I think that I will wait a few weeks, until my new glasses arrive and I get a chance to get used to them. I'm pretty excited, though I'm trying to temper my expectations a little.
 
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justadub said:
No, I haven't. A fine idea. Though I suspect that I haven't improved all that much, sadly. At least I don't feel that I have. Perhaps I'm wrong. I shall try to get to that, if I can arrange it at the room I play in, sometime.

Thanks for the suggestion.

*** edit *** I think that I will wait a few weeks, until my new glasses arrive and I get a chance to get used to them. I'm pretty excited, though I'm trying to temper my expectations a little.
Click to expand...

Bruce,

Please let me know how the glasses work out.

When my son was playing high school golf, I gave him one of those WWJD rubber bracelets. I asked him if he knew what it meant. He answered, 'Yeah, it means What Would Jesus Do?'. I said, 'No...it means What Would Jack Do?', Nicklaus that is.

I am now on the lookout for a bracelet for you. It willl be a WWED bracelet.

You can consider it as What Would Earl Do?

Or... you could consider it as What Would ENGLISH Do?:wink: A bit of Spin not me.

Good Luck tonight & just try to stay 'focussed'. The celebration fun starts when the job at hand has gotten done.

Best Regards,
 
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