Winning first tournament then going blaaa

StormHotRod300

StormHotRod300

BigSexy
Silver Member
OK, last week Thursday Aug-5th, i played in one of the weekly money tournaments that is held at the pool hall that i frequent, and i ended up winning it :) YEA ME and really only one person gave me a challenge and that was the guy i faced in the finals. I mean i was smoking players left n right only three people won any games against, me,, the first girl i played, she won the first game cuz i missed on the 9ball. and then the guy i played to get into the rocking chair, won 2 games against me cuz i either scratched on the 8ball or missed on the 9ball. And the guy i faced in the finals went up 3-0 on me before i won my first game, and then when he was up 4-1, i won 4 straight to win the match. So here i am all geeked about it, and stuff

Well monday comes around for the monday nite tournament, i win my first two matches, and then lose a match on the hill, no biggie, the next guy i face i am up 3-1 on him and ended up falling apart, i would break, run the rack, and miss on the 9ball. i did this 3 times, and he ended up winning the match, 4-3( it was loser breaks style) so after i lose i am pretty pissed, so i pack my stuff up, and leave, well the next day i am playing another tournament at the other pool hall in town, well first guy i play, i have beaten a couple times, well its 2-2 in a race to 4. well same thing happens, i would get to the table, and run the rack and then, miss on the 8 or the 9ball. and end up losing when it was hill-hill, on a 6rail hit as hard as u can and pray shot.

So that makes me even more pissed lol. Well the next guy i hafta play i know, and he just started playing, like 3 weeks ago, and he beats me 3-0 on the loser side. I mean it was the same stuff over n over again.

I am just wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them.?

dave

PS i think i need to practice some more lol
 
Congratulations on winning the tournament!

I had a period of playing well, then being "overconfident", recklessly banging in the 8-ball or 9-ball, and missing the shot. So I started taking extra time on the last ball to be darn sure I would make it. Even if it was straight in and one diamond away. Actually especially if it was straight in and only one diamond away. Other players look at me funny when I take 15 seconds to line up and shoot such an easy shot, but I'm not missing them any more.

Also there is "afraid to win syndrome". The cure for that is to miss the 8-ball or 9-ball on purpose for a few tournaments. Or lose a few games on purpose. This is along the lines of trying to scratch on purpose [to learn not to scratch], or trying to get the cue ball to follow the object ball into the pocket on purpose [to learn how to keep this from happening].

When I won my first few tournaments, I was quite happy to say the least!

I suddenly realized I was capable of winning tournaments and the winning came much sooner than I had thought possible. I took a step back and re-evaluated my situation.

1. I realized that the wins I had were in tournaments with lesser skilled players and that there are tournaments out there with much higher skilled players in which I would be lucky to win even one match.

2. I congratulated myself for the design of my practice sessions since I was getting results sooner than anticipated. Since it was working so well, I decided to do more of the same.

3. I realized that since I was now a "winner", other players would be "gunning" for me and this would make winning in future tournaments much more difficult. (A few nights ago, another player ran the table on me and was almost jumping for joy that he beat *me*! I kind of chuckled to myself since in the past, many people playing me would just assume that they would win. So I take it as a big compliment when someone brags that they beat me.) Anyway this guy was trying extra hard to beat me since I am a player ranked near the top for my league, but I was *not* trying extra hard to beat him, as I have left him in the dust recently. So I am now a "target".

4. I realized that while I may be good at a lot of shots, I need to work extra hard on getting in those one or two "troublesome balls" that many games seem to have. And that while it was relatively easy to get to this point in my playing, improving my game from this point forward will be a lot more work and will take a lot longer, probably years.

5. So I decided to take time out from "winning tournaments" and work on my game more to get it to the next higher level. I took a few months off and experimented with different cues/tips, etc., as I now understand what I need from my cue for a variety of different shots. This made my game go downhill for a while, but now I'm back and playing better than ever. I Also found the toughest money tournaments in my area with the best players and have started playing in those tournaments. So I'm back to losing every single tournament and am lucky to win even one match. Am I happy? You betcha! I love nothing better than an impossible challenge....
 
Well, i know that i havent been practicing like i should be or was for the past month, i mean before then i was playing and practicing like 2 or 3 times a week besides the days i was playing, and trying to still figure out the best time to use what type of english n stuff.

Alot of my problems also arise in the fact that i tend to beat myself at this game, when i go n run a rack and miss on the 8 or 9 ball. or leave the 9 ball in the pocket.

But its like i tell alot of the guys i play with, give me till this time next yr, and i should be a B or A rank player.

Although i guess it doesnt really help that all the tournaments in my area are on 7footers, and yet when i play on a 9ft i play better lol go figure lol.

But anyways i myself think i just need to get back to practicing on the 9footers

dave
 
Bill, thank you for your reply. You bring up many great points.

Dave, congrats on winning the tournament. That is an accomplishment to be proud of. Don't worry, you are not the only person that this happens to. I have the same problem sometimes. I do well in a tournament and then the next tournament is a big let down.

To me it sounds like you are playing in tournaments with all of the same people. You describe each of them as people you are "supposed" to beat. You may be taking them for granted. Just because you beat someone nearly everytime or even once, does not mean you will be them everytime. Things happen, you have off days, you get unlucky, it happens.

Another thing you said is that you have trouble with the last couple balls on the table. Alot of people make the mistake of thinking the last couple balls are the easiest and they don't have to take their time. It is just the opposite. You should take more time on the 8 and 9. After all, you don't want the other person to win by you making a careless mistake.

As Bill said, people are now starting to realize that you can play. As he said peole are now "gunning" for you. You have to be careful, everyone is out to beat the favorite. You just have to decide how you are going to deal with the situation. Being the favorite is a tough thing to get used to.

I hope this helps a little. You are right about practice, it does help. It doesn't matter if you are only playing on 7ft. tables. If that is all there is available to you then that is what you have to do. Just keep in mind, no matter what size table it is you are still getting the opportunity to play pool.

Take care,
Sarah
 
StormHotRod300 said:
So that makes me even more pissed
Click to expand...

There in could be some of the problem SHR300. My stepson has a similar problem. If he loses a match he thinks he should have won or even just misses a shot he thinks he should have made he gets POed, agitated, frustrated, etc and his game goes to hell in a handbag. Hard to do but you got to be able to go on without lookin' back. We must learn from our mistakes without dwelling on them. I guess that is one reason I am very hard to rattle. I love to win but if I lose it is not the end of the world. Then again, I'll be 60 in November. I have reached a point in time where I truly understand that there are things that are more important than pool :p . Of course, my stepson would never agree :D .

Later, Pel
 
Good point Pelican. Learning to let things go is a huge part of the game. I too get a little frustrated when things aren't going my way. I think everyone gets that way. You just have to try to remember that you are doing something that "luck" is a part of. There are things you cannot control (unless you have some kind of magic powers). Staying calm and relaxed can elevate your game. Just worrying about what you are doing rather than the bad luck, bad rolls, or opponent that doesn't ever miss, will help. Sounds so easy doesn't it? It gets easier with time and practice, don't worry.

Take care,
Sarah
 
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