When Are You Playing Your Best Pool?

Flakeandrun said:
Me either...


(says the guy who's biggest game was a 7-set for 500RMB :ROFLMAO:)
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I was not joking actually. Finland does not have very much gambling action. Normally if we bet it is 20-200. For me it is also hard to get game.
Back in days i was not known so well and i was often involved cash games as a stake horse. 3000 was biggest set but normally one set of 500 was bet. I never lost those matches.

Couple very good memories. One time i was not ranked at all and i played race to 7 for 500 matches vs rank 1 player of Finland that time. He was not best player but had good tournaments lately and was rank 1.I won 7 sets in row and last set i gave 3 on wire..
49-2 frames. He quit pool for few years after that.

Another one was where i played solid player who likes to gamble. I gave him 1 on wire for 50 we start. Then we play more and bet more and he lost 550. Then he want one more game and double or nothing and he wants 3 on wire. Format was flip coin, race to 7, winner breaks.
I refused and said he can get it 2 on wire but if he want 3 we bet only 300. Then come another man who said he takes 250 side bet vs my opponent so we get game.
He win flip and run out 3 from start to go 6-0. Then he played perfect safe.
I don't have good kick and ball is middle of table. I kick with low reverse to bend cueball path to curve back and make ball and position. Then i run the set out.
Guy pays and say i will not speak to you never again..
:LOL:
That was around 2006 and he talked me last year.. 😲
 
Poolmanis said:
I was not joking actually. Finland does not have very much gambling action. Normally if we bet it is 20-200. For me it is also hard to get game.
Back in days i was not known so well and i was often involved cash games as a stake horse. 3000 was biggest set but normally one set of 500 was bet. I never lost those matches.

Couple very good memories. One time i was not ranked at all and i played race to 7 for 500 matches vs rank 1 player of Finland that time. He was not best player but had good tournaments lately and was rank 1.I won 7 sets in row and last set i gave 3 on wire..
49-2 frames. He quit pool for few years after that.

Another one was where i played solid player who likes to gamble. I gave him 1 on wire for 50 we start. Then we play more and bet more and he lost 550. Then he want one more game and double or nothing and he wants 3 on wire. Format was flip coin, race to 7, winner breaks.
I refused and said he can get it 2 on wire but if he want 3 we bet only 300. Then come another man who said he takes 250 side bet vs my opponent so we get game.
He win flip and run out 3 from start to go 6-0. Then he played perfect safe.
I don't have good kick and ball is middle of table. I kick with low reverse to bend cueball path to curve back and make ball and position. Then i run the set out.
Guy pays and say i will not speak to you never again..
:LOL:
That was around 2006 and he talked me last year.. 😲
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I'm very new to gambling... very green behind the ears. I never had this feeling before, as when playing snooker as a youngster, it was either tournament play or getting smashed to pieces by my dad. So naturally, I am happy to win, and suffer at the hands of pressure when things don't go well. I am slowly learning.
Have also a few memories made already... lots of steep learning curves. Learned to keep alcohol out of the picture... :ROFLMAO: that much is for certain.
Thanks for sharing your stories! Been watching some of your old videos since I started playing. Where in Finland are you based? Maybe you can DM me and we can get a game? (not for cash haha) I'd love to pick someone's brain who is as dedicated to the game as you. I am currently working out some options that are in my flight path home, and Helsinki is a common stop. I have a long winter holiday coming up.
 
When the wife watches The Amazing Race on TV. We record most all shows to play back later so we don't have to listen to commercials. In the evening when she starts watching her Amazing race, I just go downstairs and have 40 minutes of uninterrupted pool, it's great.
A beer or two seems to help also, or maybe I just like having a beer or two, who knows. I do know that on the rare occasion I have more than 3, mistakes start to creep in on my game.
 
Make me think, there could be a fight. "The taste of blood excites me" is a favorite quote.
A favorite memory is the night the big Samoan wanted in our $10 ring game, making him 4th. On My break. He was acting uh Very aggressive. So I broke and ran 3 to say, "welcome to the game". 🤷‍♂️
 
I can think of 5 instances when I play my best. Four are motivational; one is not.
The non-motivational is tops, and thats on the home-table with no-one watching. No pressure and (not so) fast & loose. 🙂
Sometimes it is tough getting motivated. 🙃
 
To get into 'dead stroke', a player has to have complete confidence in himself. Nothing else matters. Nothing affects him. Sharking by his opponent only sharpens his senses. He knows he can do anything he desires with the white ball. He cannot miss.
 
lfigueroa said:
You play best when all the little movements you use to get into shooting position align you for perfect execution.

Pocketing the ball and position play.

You come back the next day and you've unconsciously altered a component and you suck.

Lou Figueroa
it's that simple
but not really
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Absolutely. A game with lots of over the top analysis, when really we should be able to see ball-hit ball. Our brain will over-complicate any reasoning for missing in a game. A game where we can all visualise perfect, know what good looks like and have probably performed the shot successfully before.
 
lfigueroa said:
You play best when all the little movements you use to get into shooting position align you for perfect execution.

Pocketing the ball and position play.

You come back the next day and you've unconsciously altered a component and you suck.

Lou Figueroa
it's that simple
but not really
Click to expand...
And sometimes it takes several sessions to find out what component was altered exactly. Sucks even more. (spoiler alert: lot of times Mr. Elbowdrop paid a visit)
 
When I am "In the Zone" I have minimal memory of how I got to victory. Usually the last shot is all I remember at the handshake. Once my opponent complimented the shot I had made on the 5 ball. I had no memory other than I had made them all. Another time at the handshake, my opponent said, "wow you shot that 9 ball left handed." I looked down at my cue in my left hand and replied, "I guess I did." 🤷‍♂️
If I catch myself feeling good about a single shot, My self to self includes, "if you don't get out That Shot didn't happen."
 
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Sharivari said:
I often remember days or matches where I was playing my best possible pool and ask myself what the actual difference was on that specific day. And it's always the little things, like being awake and fresh, feeling good, being hungry for playing pool, and just enjoying playing, that eventually lead to just letting everything happen automatically. In those moments, I am just deciding what outcome I want to have, and the rest is automatically done by my body.

I've tried to capture this in a video to help other players: youtu.be/Tfk8cRHmhTQ

But I also would love to hear from you: When you are playing your best possible pool - what's different?
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The pleasures of small motions addresses these concepts quite well in my opinion:

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com
 
Sharivari said:
I often remember days or matches where I was playing my best possible pool and ask myself what the actual difference was on that specific day. And it's always the little things, like being awake and fresh, feeling good, being hungry for playing pool, and just enjoying playing, that eventually lead to just letting everything happen automatically. In those moments, I am just deciding what outcome I want to have, and the rest is automatically done by my body.

I've tried to capture this in a video to help other players: youtu.be/Tfk8cRHmhTQ

But I also would love to hear from you: When you are playing your best possible pool - what's different?
Click to expand...
Usually it's almost 100% to do with my mind state that day. If I play my best it's usually with a nice supper the night before and 8 hours of sleep. This helps with focus.

At times I just basically have to trick myself into playing right. If a tournament allows a single earbud in the ear I'll usually blast heavy fast music loud enough to drown out any thoughts. If it's too quiet I (over)think too much. That dude in my head is a real bastard so it's best to shut that guy up when playing serious pool. I already got one guy in the match wanting to beat my brains in, best not to have another one in my own head against me too. ;)
 
gregcantrall said:
When I am "In the Zone" I have minimal memory of how I got to victory. Usually the last shot is all I remember at the handshake. Once my opponent complimented the shot I had made on the 5 ball. I had no memory other than I had made them all. Another time at the handshake, my opponent said, "wow you shot that 9 ball left handed." I looked down at my cue in my left hand and replied, "I guess I did." 🤷‍♂️
If I catch myself feeling good about a single shot, My self to self includes, "if you don't get out That Shot didn't happen."
Click to expand...

While I have had times I just rolled and remembered little, most of the time it is the opposite in the zone, I remember every detail.

I was in the zone firing a pistol three to four times a second, hearing protection on of course. Two friends of mine were discussing an issue one was having with his pistol in normal low voices. They were at least ten feet behind me. I heard this, however it or nothing else bothered me in the least. My mind effortlessly shuffled the inputs needed to perform the task and the things not needed now.

After my run I walked back to Bob. "Your recoil spring is wrong. Try a two pound lighter spring. Should be a move in the right direction. This is the result you are looking for." Bob was amazed to say the least especially since it was well known that I am hard of hearing.

In the zone I can hit 100% of my physical and mental capabilities. My senses are functioning 100% too. I am taking in ten times or more information than normal, and sorting it without effort. This is where seeming magic happens. What would be maybe twenty percent shots are a given. I know that the balls are going in the hole before I shoot, everybody watching knows it too.

Interestingly, a man once told me about all his senses becoming more acute like when I enter the zone. However, his mind didn't deal with all of this increased input and he freaked, totally blowing his run. I wanted to tell him how close he had been to a magic place but while we were friendly we weren't close friends so I didn't go space cadet on him.

Hu
 
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