Whats up with my game?

JIGS

JIGS

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I guess this is more of a rant, but if anyone has any ideas or advice, please help me! :)
Does anyone have any idea whats going on with my game? I bought my table a little over a month ago and have been practicing quite a bit. I did some minor changes to my stance and stroke for the better. My wrist is lose, my follow-through good, I stroke straight and have a few practice strokes which I've never done before.
I'm doing drills and those are working out fine. I'm learning more cue-ball control etc... my problem is when I bare down to play a normal game of 9-ball.. I can't seem to shoot the ball in the pocket? It rattles in the pockets or I miss altogether... to be honest, I seem to play worse now that I have my table than I have ever been, even though I'm am practicing alot!
I know I'm not giving much info, but I just have no idea what to do anymore! In my mind, I have a better and more powerful stroke.. I was recently told by someone at my last tournament that he has never seen someone shoot with such a straight stroke.. yet my whole game has gone to the dumps...
Could it be the things I changed thats throwing my game? But wouldn't I have gotten over that by now? It has been a month!! Why am I doing great at my drills but choke at a normal game?
ugh! This damn game.... :mad:
 
When ever you change that many things in your game it's going to take time to get use to the changes. Some people tell me it took them six months before they moved to the next level after making a change. But if your that worried about it have an instuctor take a look at how your shooting in case something is way off and you don't relieze it. Johnnyt
 
JIGS said:
I guess this is more of a rant, but if anyone has any ideas or advice, please help me! :)
Does anyone have any idea whats going on with my game? I bought my table a little over a month ago and have been practicing quite a bit. I did some minor changes to my stance and stroke for the better. My wrist is lose, my follow-through good, I stroke straight and have a few practice strokes which I've never done before.
I'm doing drills and those are working out fine. I'm learning more cue-ball control etc... my problem is when I bare down to play a normal game of 9-ball.. I can't seem to shoot the ball in the pocket? It rattles in the pockets or I miss altogether... to be honest, I seem to play worse now that I have my table than I have ever been, even though I'm am practicing alot!
I know I'm not giving much info, but I just have no idea what to do anymore! In my mind, I have a better and more powerful stroke.. I was recently told by someone at my last tournament that he has never seen someone shoot with such a straight stroke.. yet my whole game has gone to the dumps...
Could it be the things I changed thats throwing my game? But wouldn't I have gotten over that by now? It has been a month!! Why am I doing great at my drills but choke at a normal game?
ugh! This damn game.... :mad:
Click to expand...

Nine ball may not be your game. You might be a one pocket player.

That being said, nine ball requires a lot of letting go. YOu can't play top speed nine ball using logic and thinking a lot. Choose the shot, the English if any, the stroke, align your body precisely, get down on the shot, warm up strokes, stop.......focus on the object ball.........two seconds not more not less, pull back a straight, slow final stroke and go forward with a smooth, straight, forwared accelerating stroke WITHOUT MOVING A HAIR ON YOUR HEAD.
Let the final stroke be an ALL IN stroke, letting what may happen happen. You had better not be gripping your cue slightly either or you will be rattling the object ball FREQUENTLY. Watch the cue ball strike the object ball without concern to make the object ball. Your goal is to send the cue ball in a straight path to the necessary contact point on the object ball. You cannot steer the cue ball into the correct contact point on the object ball or you will miss more often than not, especially on longer shots.

P.S. Have someone watch you play 9 ball that knows a little something and they may be able to clue you in on what you are doing wrong.

An if you catch Scott Lee up there in the great North he might give a pretty girl a discount. :)


Good luck.
JoeyA
 
Maybe I am focusing on my arm and stance too much without realizing it.
I know you have to learn to let go when you are competing and let your body and mind do what they are trained to do, but thats easier said than done.
I have my provincial championships in two weeks, so what ever rut I'm in, I hope I snap out of it.. lol

Its possible that I messed something up when I made the changes so I'll try and get some advice asap to help me out. What do you guys think about posting a youtube video asking for advice? Is it worth it or a waste of time? I've seen others do it and have been considering it?
Lessons would be great... when is Scott Lee around again? :)
 
JIGS said:
my problem is when I bare down to play a normal game of 9-ball..
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Here's your first problem. You'd do better if you kept your clothes on.

OK, now seriously. You have gotten some positive feedback despite the fact that you are playing poorly in a public setting. Something doesn't add up here. You are missing a lot of balls and yet an onlooker suggests they've never seen a straighter stroke. That's very unusual, and, most likely, poorly considered, feedback.

You may need some negative feedback from somebody who will be brutally honest with you. There is a reason you are missing that should be evident to a skilled eye. Are you misaligned? Are you missing because of unintended english? Are you jumping up? Is your grip wrong? Are you hitting the object balls too hard? There are many possible reasons that you are struggling. Ask somebody qualified to watch you. Right now, you are not getting the feedback you need to solve your pocketing problem, and you've made it clear that you don't have the solution.

Good luck with your game, and remember, to bear down is a good thing, but to bare down is considered inappropriate in some poolrooms.
 
sjm said:
Here's your first problem. You'd do better if you kept your clothes on.

OK, now seriously. You have gotten some positive feedback despite the fact that you are playing poorly in a public setting. Something doesn't add up here. You are missing a lot of balls and yet an onlooker suggests they've never seen a straighter stroke. That's very unusual, and, most likely, poorly considered, feedback.

You may need some negative feedback from somebody who will be brutally honest with you. There is a reason you are missing that should be evident to a skilled eye. Are you misaligned? Are you missing because of unintended english? Are you jumping up? Is your grip wrong? Are you hitting the object balls too hard? There are many possible reasons that you are struggling. Ask somebody qualified to watch you. Right now, you are not getting the feedback you need to solve your pocketing problem, and you've made it clear that you don't have the solution.

Good luck with your game, and remember, to bear down is a good thing, but to bare down is considered inappropriate in some poolrooms.
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That must be it... now that I have my own table.. I'm used to playing bare in the privacy of my own home and can't play in poolrooms with clothes on!!! ha ha .. lol.. :p
ok seriously now.. :) I didn't play THAT bad at the last tournament, I just wasn't happy with the results.... but yes I would love the honest feedback.. good or bad.. anything to help me get out of this rut and improve my game!
We don't really have any qualified instructors near me. I could ask some of my friends to help me out or wait until the Provincials in two weeks and see if I can get some time with Alain Martel or Luc Salvas?
 
JIGS said:
I would love the honest feedback.. good or bad.. anything to help me get out of this rut and improve my game! We don't really have any qualified instructors near me. I could ask some of my friends to help me out or wait until the Provincials in two weeks and see if I can get some time with Alain Martel or Luc Salvas?
Click to expand...

Making a video of your stroke to share with a top instructor might be a good idea, even if you had to mail a copy of that video to them for their consideration. You might even use youtube and share the video with the forum, offering forum members an opportunity to offer you feedback on your mechanics.
 
JIGS said:
Maybe I am focusing on my arm and stance too much without realizing it.
I know you have to learn to let go when you are competing and let your body and mind do what they are trained to do, but thats easier said than done.
I have my provincial championships in two weeks, so what ever rut I'm in, I hope I snap out of it.. lol

Its possible that I messed something up when I made the changes so I'll try and get some advice asap to help me out. What do you guys think about posting a youtube video asking for advice? Is it worth it or a waste of time? I've seen others do it and have been considering it?
Lessons would be great... when is Scott Lee around again? :)
Click to expand...

Stance can do a lot of things to your game. The thing about the change in stance is that it might have moved your head position, and you might not be adjusted to the view just yet.

It sounds like you might need to work on your pre-shot routine. Basically, a routine is something you do in sequence before every shot until it is a habit.

Some suggestions: make sure you have the line of aim in your mind's eye before getting down on the shot. I personally would avoid any change in stance that moves my head forward or doesn't allow me to get down low to the cue. I want to look down a long barrel, not a short one, and I like the view close to the cue on long shots. The other thing is I don't want my body to get in the way of my stroke. This can happen if your hips and feet are not at an angle to your line of aim. The last thing is to take one good last look at your point of aim. Once you're sure you're on it, try not to change anything and just stroke the ball as planned.

It's important to know what you're going to do, then commit to it, on every single shot. You will wear yourself out mentally running through the checklist at first, but believe me, it comes in handy once you have it to the point of habit.

Chris
 
I bet if you video taped your stroke and posted the link on here you might get some help. I would not wait till your next tournament to try to change things or try something different without time to practice and get used to your adjustments.
Just my opinion
 
my local pool room closed down last year, i got my home table in may, and id been playing alot and shooting pretty good at home. Then recently i started going out to play in tourneys and my game was leaving me, id have flashes of my old self then id miss shots and not know why. My whole problem was when i was trying really hard and concentrating, i was getting down lower in my stance. This works for some shots and completely doesnt for others. Next time youre trying hard, does everything look and feel the same? Is your sight picture the same?
 
Neil said:
This might be what's happening.- During your drills, the last thing you are actually concentrating on is your aim; but in the games, you might be concentrating less on your aim, and more on the things you changed. Or worse yet, on the fact that you want to show others how much you have improved. Then, when things start to fall apart, you get mentally confused and it all falls apart.

Remember that your game will go down for a while when you change things. This is due to the shift in what you are focusing on. When you get the changes to become automatic, your game will go up from where it was.

In the meantime, when in a game, make sure that the last thing you are focused on is your aim.
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I agree with this post and kind of disagree (if thats allowed!). I personally have the most trouble pocketing balls when I am thinking about mechanics. Maybe you are taking to much of your drills to the game itself. If I just concentrate on pocketing the ball and disregard any thoughts regarding mechanics my accuracy goes up tenfold. Forget the bs man.. just fire em in and ask questions later!
 
JIGS said:
That must be it... now that I have my own table.. I'm used to playing bare in the privacy of my own home and can't play in poolrooms with clothes on!!! ha ha .. lol.. :p
ok seriously now.. :) I didn't play THAT bad at the last tournament, I just wasn't happy with the results.... but yes I would love the honest feedback.. good or bad.. anything to help me get out of this rut and improve my game!
We don't really have any qualified instructors near me. I could ask some of my friends to help me out or wait until the Provincials in two weeks and see if I can get some time with Alain Martel or Luc Salvas?
Click to expand...

By the way, SJM right here is the perfect gentleman to ask about your game. He is quite qualified to review your video and offer some coaching help.

Chris
 
sjm said:
Making a video of your stroke to share with a top instructor might be a good idea, even if you had to mail a copy of that video to them for their consideration. You might even use youtube and share the video with the forum, offering forum members an opportunity to offer you feedback on your mechanics.
Click to expand...

That's going to be a hit and a miss as Christine apparently needs a trained eye to watch her under pressure. She isn't hard to look at so a trained eye won't have a hard time staring at her. :D

Seriously, she believes she is doing much better in the confines of her home and private table which is probably normal for most so she has to be evaluated under pressure. No need for videos there, unless she is going to share some of the bare videos with me. Yikes, I think I hear my wife walking down the hall. :D

JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
That's going to be a hit and a miss as Christine apparently needs a trained eye to watch her under pressure. She isn't hard to look at so a trained eye won't have a hard time staring at her. :D

Seriously, she believes she is doing much better in the confines of her home and private table which is probably normal for most so she has to be evaluated under pressure. No need for videos there, unless she is going to share some of the bare videos with me. Yikes, I think I hear my wife walking down the hall. :D

JoeyA
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well it was definitely worth a try:D
 
JIGS said:
In my mind, I have a better and more powerful stroke..:
Click to expand...

A hard shot is more likely to rattle in the jaws than a slightly slower one. When I start doing this, I am tending to rush the stroke. I deliberately trying to slow down the stroke and use as little side spin as possible until the smooth stroke comes back.
 
TATE said:
By the way, SJM right here is the perfect gentleman to ask about your game. He is quite qualified to review your video and offer some coaching help.

Chris
Click to expand...

A very generous comment, Chris, but not accurate. I am not qualified to make this type of judgment. Game theory and tactical play are my areas of specialty. I am not, and never have been, a stroke mechanics guru.
 
Not to belabour this point, but there is a chance that with the new table, renewed enthusiasm (my sense from your posts) and new practice opportunities, you have injected some new wrinkles into your stroke. As you say your technique and practice sessions seem better, so something has changed ... but I think you have yet to prove these changes to yourself in a match situation. Take the opportunity at provincials to put full trust in your stroke, don't worry about a thing, just play the game.

One little crutch is to imagine the sound of the ball dropping while visualizing your next shot .... rattled balls do not go WHACK into the back of the pocket :D

Dave
 
Hey Jigs, I started to take lessons with our own good ol' Alain Martel and I like it, he really advices me on what I need to focus to improve my game. I'm also gonna play in the provincial championship in both B and A. You wanna shoot some games when you get in the area?
 
Thanks everyone for all your advice... :) I'm going to try and find someone that could help me out or give me lessons because I'm sure I'm doing something wrong and need to make some adjustments....

Jimbojim... I'll be arriving Saturday morning at the Provincials.. just come up and introduce yourself. I'm also playing in the B class and womens open.
 
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