What to do to get out of a slump?

tashworth19191

tashworth19191

Pool will make you humble
Silver Member
Everyone has them from time to time. I usually try to focus on fundamentals (Stance, Stroke, Bridge) and play my way out. Sometimes it takes me awhile to figure out what I am doing wrong that caused me to get in a slump.

Last night I played a tournament and found myself shooting way too soft all the time. Several times I rolled the object ball up to edge of the hole and it did not go in, since I did not touch a rail, it was a foul. Then I started shooting with more speed and my position suffered. The table was slow, humidity was high and even my breaks sucked.

Do you have a technique that works to get yourself out of a slump?
 
I try to focus less and just play. The more I focus on everything the worse I get. If that don't work. I try a different tip. Lol
 
tashworth19191 said:
Everyone has them from time to time. I usually try to focus on fundamentals (Stance, Stroke, Bridge) and play my way out. Sometimes it takes me awhile to figure out what I am doing wrong that caused me to get in a slump.

Last night I played a tournament and found myself shooting way too soft all the time. Several times I rolled the object ball up to edge of the hole and it did not go in, since I did not touch a rail, it was a foul. Then I started shooting with more speed and my position suffered. The table was slow, humidity was high and even my breaks sucked.

Do you have a technique that works to get yourself out of a slump?
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99% of the times we miss because the last muscle that moved , moved a bit wrong. 1% reserved for aim. So slow your back and forward swing and shorten your stroke to ensure you are 100% straight, most importantly follow through. good luck.
 
tashworth19191 said:
Everyone has them from time to time. I usually try to focus on fundamentals (Stance, Stroke, Bridge) and play my way out. Sometimes it takes me awhile to figure out what I am doing wrong that caused me to get in a slump.

Last night I played a tournament and found myself shooting way too soft all the time. Several times I rolled the object ball up to edge of the hole and it did not go in, since I did not touch a rail, it was a foul. Then I started shooting with more speed and my position suffered. The table was slow, humidity was high and even my breaks sucked.

Do you have a technique that works to get yourself out of a slump?
Click to expand...

I think it's almost always pre shot routine. If you don't have one you can go erratic at any time.
 
The best way to get out of a slump is to get your mind right. Put the cue down, walk away from the table, take your lady friend for dinner, drink some booze, play with the kids, go do anything else besides play pool. Two days works best for me.
 
DAVE_M said:
The best way to get out of a slump is to get your mind right. Put the cue down, walk away from the table, take your lady friend for dinner, drink some booze, play with the kids, go do anything else besides play pool. Two days works best for me.
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I agree, It seems like the more I try to play my way out of a slump, the worse I get. I over-think things badly.
 
Learn something new to you in pool.

Go out and find the "corner five" kicking system.
That or anything else will bring your mental state around.

randyg
 
Other than pre shot routine I will sometimes spend an hour or so on the 3 cushion table. It seems to help with my speed. I highly recommend this if you have access to a billiard table and I think it will surprise you.
 
naji said:
99% of the times we miss because the last muscle that moved , moved a bit wrong. 1% reserved for aim. So slow your back and forward swing and shorten your stroke to ensure you are 100% straight, most importantly follow through. good luck.
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This is good advice, (everyone's speed is different, so coming out of an individual's slump is of course relative to our ability).

Whenever I feel I'm slumping, I try to shorten my backstroke, and slightly exaggerate my forward stroke with a longer follow through. This conscious effort seems to help me.

Also, for me, slumping has soooo much to do simply with desire to play. I never really was able to practice because I get bored out of my mind quickly and just start banging balls, but even playing against someone, I often don't have any desire to really play the game. Laying off the game for a while helps that a lot for me.
 
randyg said:
Learn something new to you in pool.



Go out and find the "corner five" kicking system.

That or anything else will bring your mental state around.



randyg
Click to expand...


I like that. Sometimes people say a new technique or gizmo (new tip, new book/video) improved their game, and it's just a kind of placebo effect. Well, even if it is a placebo effect, use it to your advantage!

Here's something else. Slumps are sometimes more perception than reality. If you generally miss 5% of your shots, sometimes you'll go for a few matches where you miss only 3% and sometimes you'll miss 7%. That can be the difference between winning and losing a lot of matches, but it may just be random chance rather than having any real basis, like your stroke is off. Maybe just understanding that fact, and not beating yourself up or reading too much into it could help.
 
Most slumps are caused be the eye and we don't know it..

The brain does a pretty good job of sorting this out. The dominant eye and the non dominant eye being in the correct position.

When we are a little tired the brain just can't do this as well.

If we are distracted the brain is disrupted also.

When we are in a pressure situation the brain sometimes has trouble functioning also naturally.

Knowing where these eyes are manually and getting them there will eliminate most slumps.

If you were chopping wood with an axe how often would you have a slump. EXACTLY. Now if you moved your head to the right or the left a little so the eyes were a little out of line with the axe and body you would have trouble hitting the spot with the axe that you want. You could say I am having a slump with the axe today. How ridiculous would this be? Just move the head back and were right back to hitting the spot we need to and get good results. .

It's just as simple with a pool shot and these eyes except nobody in the whole world has figured out conclusively how to manually get there for sure until now. The ones that have learned this know. The ones that don't or havn't can't even imagine.

Just like shooting a gun, if you put the sight on the target correctly you can hit the target pretty consistently. If you don't know how to line up the sights it will be a little consistent to say the least.

Once we know how to manually get the eyes right, the trouble that we had before becomes pretty obvious. It really was the eyes and you couldn't tell. They really do a marvelous job but sometimes just can't get there by themselves naturally.

Be sure to make that call for the free phone lesson and I will show you how to take this too the next level. Slumps will be a thing of the past for sure.

You made the right move here to find out some valuable info. Following through and making the call is very important so that you totally understand how this all works. There is new info that isn't in the video that is very important and helpful to know.

Be by a table and make sure you have at least a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to spare. I will take you to a place in your game that you have never been before.

Good Luck and looking forward to your call.
 
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3andstop said:
Also, for me, slumping has soooo much to do simply with desire to play. I never really was able to practice because I get bored out of my mind quickly and just start banging balls, but even playing against someone, I often don't have any desire to really play the game. Laying off the game for a while helps that a lot for me.
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Wow!!! That is completely opposite of how I feel, although I am at only my 4th year of playing now, maybe I will feel differently in a few years. As soon as I started playing I found out I really liked it (I subbed on a friends team and they made me a permanent player) I went out and got a table within a month, found out it was a POS, then burned that table in my burn barrel 2 months later when I found my GCII. I play at least 5 nights a week at home, usually 6, my 1 night off is reserved for my Weds. nite league.
 
Personally, I don't want to think or focus on anything that would be negative. Not even & actually especially on what I 'might' be doing wrong or not doing right.

I know my ability & I know that any 'slump' in is an enigma & my game will return. So... I just shoot my way out of it. Perhaps I bear down a bit or focus a bit more but I don't really give it any real thought (I don't even want to acknowledge it) other than the fact that I don't like the current results that I'm getting.

It's sort of like when Babe Ruth was in what was probably his worst hitting slump. He had just struck out for the umpteenth time & was smiling a big grin when he walked back to the dugout & one of his teammates asked him, 'Babe, you just struck out AGAIN & you're in the worst slump of your life, why are you smiling?' Babe answered, 'Because, I'm one more swing closer to my next Home Run.'

Everyone has there own way of dealing with them & each individual has to find what works best for them.

Best Wishes to Everyone,
Rick
 
sometimes my "slump" is a little "burn out",try taking about a week away from the table and see how hungry you are be to get back to the table with enthusiasm.
 
Stop Playing Pool For 2 Weeks

If you can handle it, just stop playing pool.....for 2 whole weeks....that's 2 weekends and Mon- Fri twice. During this period, visit every pool room you can, not just where you normally play. Go hang out ........go have a couple of beers......watch the best players.......get interested again in the game....and absolutely no play.

Now don't just return and start playing again after 2 weeks......get a protégé to teach.....find a newbie that needs help.......take the time to explain how to play......how to hold the bridge, distances, stroke, shot selection, etc......you will quickly return to a competitive mind set......the teaching freshens your knowledge base and also pays it forward.......you start thinking about what you're saying/teaching and remind yourself of the little details that can screw up your stroke.....what to avoid and the right way to stroke the cue ball.


Renew your commitment to be the best you can.......start doing drills the first 30 mins of practice.....then play 14:1 and keep track of your run rate......if you're decent, you should be able to run a rack (15 balls), break open the next rack and at least run 20 balls consecutively.....if you can't do that, then accept the fact you either aren't committed to improving or else your skills are rudimentary and accept mediocrity. Now you don't need to average 20 balls per inning but if you don't have the ability to run more than a rack after hours of practice of playing staright pool, then go pay a pro for some lessons because there's obviously major flaws in your game.
 
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Like others said, revisit fundamentals and pre-shot routine.

When I slump or perform badly, it's usually because I've gotten sloppy with a certain aspect of my pre-shot routine which led to a slight break down in my fundamentals/mechanics.

On a side note, every few months I get into a fitness mood and go to the gym. I have to be careful to allow time for my muscles to recover. It seems like my muscle memory gets erased and I have to consciously make sure I follow my pre-shot routine and fundamentals. A friend of mine said it has to do with the human nervous system and how the body rebuilds muscle tissue worn down from exercise.
 
The only reasons people even get in slumps is two-fold. 1. They don't have their head into the game at all, just going through the motions. 2. They play by feel only. Meaning, they have not solid PSR. They don't understand what makes their stroke go straight. So, when one little thing gets off a little bit, they tend to cascade downward trying to guess what is wrong. Instead of knowing what went wrong, and thereby fixing only what the actual problem is.

If you don't intimitaley know your own stroke, you will inevitably fall into a slump at some point. Once you learn just what your stroke and PSR are like, you won't fall into slumps anymore.
 
This has been a very good discussion and all the ideas are great. I play in several league teams and cannot take a week off (team needs me), but I do feel that would help...
 
fastone371 said:
Wow!!! That is completely opposite of how I feel, although I am at only my 4th year of playing now, maybe I will feel differently in a few years. As soon as I started playing I found out I really liked it (I subbed on a friends team and they made me a permanent player) I went out and got a table within a month, found out it was a POS, then burned that table in my burn barrel 2 months later when I found my GCII. I play at least 5 nights a week at home, usually 6, my 1 night off is reserved for my Weds. nite league.
Click to expand...

This is why I say we're all different. I've been playing over 50 years, so maybe some of the fire is out for me. :smile:
 
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