Confused

[Pagan220]

Hi,

I have noticed that when I am playing a good player I play really well, but when I play against a much weaker opponent I seem to play well below my normal level. This is most frustrating.

Advice welcome please.

[sfmcar]

Hi,

I have noticed that when I am playing a good player I play really well, but when I play against a much weaker opponent I seem to play well below my normal level. This is most frustrating.

Advice welcome please.

Ive had this very problem in pool.Getting beat by players I think I should be winning against and playing well against equal or better players.What helps me now is I will go for less against the poorer player. Say in the first frame Im left with a tough finish,one I would finish 50% of the time,I refuse it on the grounds of If I think Im the better player and its a 50/50 how may times will my opponent finish it 3/10? probably less.More often than not you will be left mopping up the scraps after he has failed on his last or second last ball.Once you get a few ahead and your opponent is killing himself from his missed finishes I would maybe take on the 50/50s. The last thing you want to do is miss a couple of finishes early in a match and go 2 or 3 nil down .Your opponent now has his tail up and your under all sorts of pressure.When playing better players I would def go for 50/50s and try put pressure on them by taking my chances.If you go a couple down so be it after all you are playing a good player and the pressure of losing against a mug isn't there.Hope this helps

[jim evans]

Welcome to snooker its that type of game lol.

[SnkrRef]

Hi,

I have noticed that when I am playing a good player I play really well, but when I play against a much weaker opponent I seem to play well below my normal level. This is most frustrating.

Advice welcome please.

Ha, I get this all the time. I seem to play really well when I'm playing so-called good players. Maybe I put myself under more pressure to win those games. I gave up playing for one league pool team, partly because I really wasn't finding any time to practice (or anyone to practice with, a lot of the time!) but I performed really quite poorly when I was with them. They were a very weak team, and they only won two games all season: there was never any pressure to win my frames because the rest of the team were always losing theirs, and I lost games which I really should have won.

[coomsey76]

Just a thought mate but It could be to do with your level concentration.....

I know I've done it before, playing someone who you think you should beat and you start to take easy shots for granted which you miss and you get frustrated...... And then we all know where to goes from there.lol!!

[8ball83]

Ive done that before. When you are playing a better player you know you can't afford to miss so you concentrate more than you would against the weaker player.

[alabadi]

i'm the same. i think the lesser players go for everything and end up messing the balls, you find no colours on there spots or all gathered in baulk, lots of reds on the cushions so its really difficult to get into a rhythm or make any type of break.

this frustrates me so i end up going for elaborate shots which inevitably when missing leaving easy pots for my opponent to score.

when i play the better players they play the correct way, only go for reds when there is an opportunity to get on a colour and many times than often when they miss you will find you are on the next ball on.

and obviously i take more care and plan my shots better too.

Alabbadi

[Pagan220]

some GREAT replies here, which really helps.

Happy New Year to all forumites.