Whats wrong to me, and how to adjust.

A

asbani

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So as some of you know. I used to play pool 5 years ago. then I joined army and stopped playing for like 3 to 4 years. and now i'm back playing since a month or two back. Casually playing with friends, and people I know. I play good. I can run 2 or 3 racks in a row of 9ball, or some 8ball. having fun with friends. I don't miss easy shots. but yea usually playing people I know.

yesterday our room has an 8ball tournoment. and I decided to join that tournoment. First matchup for me was versus a guy who hardly can handle his cue. he can't take 3 balls & the black. he misses alot.

What happened to me here? I couldn't even make a straight ball. couldn't run out an easy open rack. misses alot of simple & routine shots. I was so down.. first 2 or 3 games and I already misses alot of balls. here I started going down from myself. Playing ridiculously bad. people that knows me start asking me "Whats the matter with me?" Me myself i didn't know whats wrong. I just miss balls! haven't played tournoment for like 4 yrs, and its my first since this long long break from pool. but yea I got so mad & angry & sad at the same time... I lost my first match against this kid that can't run 3 balls in a row. then i came back home after this game and kept thinking alot about it.. I really hate it.

why did this happen to me? I know i play good.. but there in the tournoment i was like a guy who never played this game before.. help

-asbani
 
Hi Asbani,

Read Joe Waldron's column found on the home page of AzBilliards.com, entitled 'Competitive Anxiety: How to avoid choke shots' . This is just a starting point, but you've definitely experienced the stress of competition. Don't feel too badly, most of us have at one time or another. The good news is that you can train yourself to overcome it. There's another very recent thread below about the mental game, and some of the recommended reading is:

The Mental Edge
The Inner Game of Tennis
The Pleasures of Small Motions
A Mind For Pool
Mental Toughness Training For Sports

IMHO, as you continue to practice and refine your game, and especially match up and experience the stress of competition, this will bother you less and less.

Hope this helps...Tom
 
A lot of times if your playing someone that you know you can beat you dont focus as much because you know you will get another chance at the table. After a while doing that you find that you can't focus. It starts at the begining of the match, knowing you can win and staying mentally sharp. just my opinion
 
i found myself doing similar stuff after a long layoff. My problem was in a tournament situation, i felt more pressure and i wanted to do well, so i tried harder. Well i figured out later that for me, trying harder equated into me getting down lower in my stance so i could realllllllly aim, the problem was it was throwing off my mechanics, my normal stance im up off the cue stick by a foot or more, im too tall and longarmed to get right down on my cue like you see some players do. When you find yourself shooting good, make note of everything youre doing ( i keep it in a log). Then when you arent doing good, make note of what youre doing, i bet something's changed. I like to refer back to my log occasionally if i get out of sorts, it helps me get right back in.
 
asbani said:
why did this happen to me? I know i play good.. but there in the tournoment i was like a guy who never played this game before.. help

-asbani
Click to expand...

1. Competitive anxiety

2. Overconfidence

3. Trying to hard to do well
 
I really appreciate all the comments guys. all what you said is true. I try to hard to do well. I'll improve myself in the next tournoment.

by the way I don't want to start new thread about this, but there was a guy here in AZbilliard that saw an old post of mine about improving my game. then he sent to me a nice book & CD to my house. it was really nice from him he did that for free. he said if I like it i can pay for him, and I really do like it and he's a nice guy. I can't remember his AZ name. but on cd and the video his name is joe tucker. if your here joe please send me a private msg on how to send you the payment, thanks again man.

yours asbani!
 
asbani said:
So as some of you know. I used to play pool 5 years ago. then I joined army and stopped playing for like 3 to 4 years. and now i'm back playing since a month or two back. Casually playing with friends, and people I know. I play good. I can run 2 or 3 racks in a row of 9ball, or some 8ball. having fun with friends. I don't miss easy shots. but yea usually playing people I know.

yesterday our room has an 8ball tournoment. and I decided to join that tournoment. First matchup for me was versus a guy who hardly can handle his cue. he can't take 3 balls & the black. he misses alot.

What happened to me here? I couldn't even make a straight ball. couldn't run out an easy open rack. misses alot of simple & routine shots. I was so down.. first 2 or 3 games and I already misses alot of balls. here I started going down from myself. Playing ridiculously bad. people that knows me start asking me "Whats the matter with me?" Me myself i didn't know whats wrong. I just miss balls! haven't played tournoment for like 4 yrs, and its my first since this long long break from pool. but yea I got so mad & angry & sad at the same time... I lost my first match against this kid that can't run 3 balls in a row. then i came back home after this game and kept thinking alot about it.. I really hate it.

why did this happen to me? I know i play good.. but there in the tournoment i was like a guy who never played this game before.. help

-asbani
Click to expand...

Well, you have two problems I can see:

1) you're normal.

2) you shoot pool.

Every serious pool player goes through this - it's basically stage fright. It's takes a certain amount of competition to develop true confidence and poise at the table to perform better under pressure.

Does this sound familiar?

You are very nervous and it's your turn. Your heart is beating fast and you feel like you just drank a gallon of coffee. You have a long cut shot that is medium difficult but you know you should make it. You realize if you miss this one, it will leave an easy table for your opponent. You get down on the shot, take a couple of strokes. You adjust your aim a little because you're not sure of the line you should be on, but decide to add a little spin, maybe add a little more. Now, your mind is racing, you move the aim again, wonder if you're going to miss and who's watching. Then you think about the speed and shoot a fraction of a second later.


Or how's this?

You see a medium difficulty cut shot your opponent left you with natural shape to your next ball. You see your next couple of shots are open and think about the speed you will need to achieve your position. You realize if you make this ball, you'll likely run out.

You stand behind the shot and look at your line of aim, and carefully get down on it in shooting position. Your eyes and your mind see the shot line, the object ball, and the cueball. You make minor adjustments with your mind focued on the aim line. You now are satisfied you are lined up and take your practice strokes, and then you mentally commit to the shot. You hold the tip for a second at the cueball, know exactly at your object ball contact spot, and stroke the exactly as planned.

See the difference?

One of the better golfers on the boards here calls it "commit to the shot". Make up your mind, then shoot it that way. It keeps your mind on positive thoughts.

Chris
 
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Asbani, lots of good advice here for you. I'd definitely recommend you read Joe's column on the AZB front page, that alone has been a big help to me, and not just for playing pool!

Of course, the other thing I think you should do is go right back & enter the next tourney. Give yourself chance to get used to the pressure in that situation. When I played my first weekly event a year ago after 12 years out of the game I was shaking like a leaf, I couldn't believe how bad it got me. Now I still get a little nervous before I play but it's the kind of feeling that lets me know I'm ready to go!

Go for it & good luck, sir!
 
First thing is, how good did you really play before? Against what kind/how strong competition? If you played well before, and took 3 to 4 years off, it may be a while before you get up to speed. And you won't get up to speed playing friends. It's just too hard to bear down and play well against your friends. Too much emotional attachment. You probably need tournament/heads up competition against better players to get your focus back. And, since you haven't played for a while, maybe you need to revisit the fundamentals.
Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the comments guys. I really do appreciate it AZers. you guys are the best - I got alot of ideas of what might of happen to me, and Now i can move on, and as one of the replies said i'll go for the next tournoment, and the tournoment after that too.. I'll keep joining, and will fix that in no time.
 
pool

asbani said:
So as some of you know. I used to play pool 5 years ago. then I joined army and stopped playing for like 3 to 4 years. and now i'm back playing since a month or two back. Casually playing with friends, and people I know. I play good. I can run 2 or 3 racks in a row of 9ball, or some 8ball. having fun with friends. I don't miss easy shots. but yea usually playing people I know.

yesterday our room has an 8ball tournoment. and I decided to join that tournoment. First matchup for me was versus a guy who hardly can handle his cue. he can't take 3 balls & the black. he misses alot.

What happened to me here? I couldn't even make a straight ball. couldn't run out an easy open rack. misses alot of simple & routine shots. I was so down.. first 2 or 3 games and I already misses alot of balls. here I started going down from myself. Playing ridiculously bad. people that knows me start asking me "Whats the matter with me?" Me myself i didn't know whats wrong. I just miss balls! haven't played tournoment for like 4 yrs, and its my first since this long long break from pool. but yea I got so mad & angry & sad at the same time... I lost my first match against this kid that can't run 3 balls in a row. then i came back home after this game and kept thinking alot about it.. I really hate it.

why did this happen to me? I know i play good.. but there in the tournoment i was like a guy who never played this game before.. help

-asbani
Click to expand...

The other night playing in-house league, 9ft. tables, I played 17-games of nineball, won most of them, ran 4-racks, and didn't miss any reasonable shots. Afterwards I went to a different pool room to practice and couldn't make a ball. What's with this pool? Was it the $500.00 one pocket game going on 12-feet away, I don't know.
 
asbani said:
So as some of you know. I used to play pool 5 years ago. then I joined army and stopped playing for like 3 to 4 years. and now i'm back playing since a month or two back. Casually playing with friends, and people I know. I play good. I can run 2 or 3 racks in a row of 9ball, or some 8ball. having fun with friends. I don't miss easy shots. but yea usually playing people I know.

yesterday our room has an 8ball tournoment. and I decided to join that tournoment. First matchup for me was versus a guy who hardly can handle his cue. he can't take 3 balls & the black. he misses alot.

What happened to me here? I couldn't even make a straight ball. couldn't run out an easy open rack. misses alot of simple & routine shots. I was so down.. first 2 or 3 games and I already misses alot of balls. here I started going down from myself. Playing ridiculously bad. people that knows me start asking me "Whats the matter with me?" Me myself i didn't know whats wrong. I just miss balls! haven't played tournoment for like 4 yrs, and its my first since this long long break from pool. but yea I got so mad & angry & sad at the same time... I lost my first match against this kid that can't run 3 balls in a row. then i came back home after this game and kept thinking alot about it.. I really hate it.

why did this happen to me? I know i play good.. but there in the tournoment i was like a guy who never played this game before.. help

-asbani
Click to expand...

Maybe you should be on a spelling bee contest or something!! :p j/j loser! :D

But seriously, if you really want to improve greatly, try other forms of billiards (if they are available, of course) that is not Pool (for right now).

Carom (the pocketless table) will improve your speed control, your angles, the way you hit balls, and your stroke. It is amazing what a red, a white, and a "black" (which can be either a white ball with a black dot or a pale yellow ball) slightly oversized balls can do to increase your game. Carom Cafe

Snooker will improve your shotmaking, your stroke, and your stance by a large margin. click here and enjoy

Have any questions, don't hesitate to throw a PM!
 
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