Pressure

[Boxy]

Ive recently been asked to join our local pub team & last night was my 1st game and i lost on a black ball! Pressure got to me i think cos apparantly i am ' the ronnie of the team' and expect me to win every game, therefore i miss. How can i cope with the pressure & play my natural game?

[bongo]

If we knew that then we would be all champions! You just have to simply try to get into some sort of routine for each shot and settle yourself into a rhythm for what you're doing.

bongo

[Boxy]

Makes sense, thanks

[tallguy]

Keep playing under pressure until you get used to it.

One easy way of building up pressure is playing with money on the line. The more money at stake more the pressure. When you start winning give a handicap to your opponents.

If you follow this long enough you will be steady under pressure. Or broke.

Good Luck !

[MattCash]

i know exactly what you mean, first match of my pool league i was one black away from a 7 baller, i was left an awkward cut that i was sure would make the white go in off. I played it safe, left the black on the pocket next thing i know the guy i'm playing has cleared up and fluked the black, i couldn't get over it cos i had pressure on me to win also. But you have to just try to enjoy the game as much as you can forget about winning or losing, as long as your enjoying the game you'll be fine.

[checkSide]

The first thing to do is to realise you're not the 'Ronnie of the team' if you can't handle the pressure.

You're more like a Joe Perry. Decent player, but pressure gets to him at the end of the match.

When you realise you're not that good, you subconciously don't put as much pressure on yourself. In fact, you may find you perform better if you consider yourself the underdog.
At the end of the day, pressure comes from within. YOU are the source of the pressure, therefore YOU can control it.

[tallguy]

What checkside says actually works !

I play much better when I consider myself the underdog but somehow it goes all wrong once I get a sizeable lead against an equal or slightly better player. Say 2-0 in a best of 7 and up by 25 odd in the 3rd. Then I can't keep up the underdog mentality anymore. I start trying to protect my lead and keep thinking I shouldn't mess this up from here. More often that not I promptly do just that and I soon find myself playing a deciding frame.

[Boxy]

Cool, thanks guys. I dont see myself as an amazing player or a "ronnie", nor am i cocky or arrogant, I just like compliments, lol.

Tonight is my next match, hopefully Il forget about the pressure and cue straight & WIN

[Piston]

I started playing in a league team for the first time last September, and initially I felt the same. Luckily I won one of my first 2 frames, so that settled me down a bit. I'd only ever played at my club before and it was strange going to other clubs and playing on other tables.

I know it's easy to say, but I now just try to play my usual way, and if you can get a couple of good wins under your belt then that'll make you feel better.

Black ball games can go either way, I've won a few and lost a few. One that always stands out for me though is when I beat a guy 2-0, both on black ball games , and he did a dissapearing act afterwards, and his team mates had to apologise for him!

Good luck in your next game.

[spike]

I can only echo what others have said, which is just concentrate on your game and believe in your own ability which i'm sure you do. When i have been under pressure i try and think about occasions when i cleared up to win a frame or match regardless to if it was a league match, friendly or in a tournament. It reminds me that i have had the bottle to do well when being under pressure before and that i can do it again. Good luck to you anyway

[noel]

All good advice except...

richguy's

One easy way of building up pressure is playing with money on the line. The more money at stake more the pressure.

True... but... LOL.

Another "good" way to up the pressure would be to advertise and stage your own "Boxy's Exhibition",
charge people an arm and a leg for the privilege of seeing amazing, near impossible trickshots.
Then, when you don't make a single one, try and get out of the theatre with both arms and legs.

On a more serious note...

How many frames are won on the last couple of reds plus a colour run? Many!
I practice "needing" 3 blacks plus a run of the colours for a win so often that no matter who I play if I can keep less than a 30-40 deficit I know I have a good chance to win... that confidence, the reduced pressure earlier in a frame from the run-out card-up-my-sleeve has helped me win many World Championships
(in my mind), and a few club matches.

Good luck Boxy!


=o)

Noel

[checkSide]

Cool, thanks guys. I dont see myself as an amazing player or a "ronnie", nor am i cocky or arrogant, I just like compliments, lol.

Tonight is my next match, hopefully Il forget about the pressure and cue straight & WIN

Good luck tonight dude!

Imagine yourself as the youngster of the team, the beginner. The other guy obviously believes he's going to kick your ass!
But you'll show him a thing or two!

[matoski]

I play 4 years in our national american pool league and i still feel the pressure. Pressure may be positive, to keep you focused and keep you out of careless behaviour on the table. But it's strange that i never feel the pressure when i play for money or drink or something. I only feel it in league matches and tournaments.

[Boxy]

As it goes, it went down to a black ball game and he smashed the black around the angles & fluked it I was gutted cos i was the better player. Ah well, I made a 39 in a match afterwards, for fun

[RocketRoy1983]

Hey Boxy as a coach I find that helping players with "pressure" is nigh on impossible as I find it to be a natural thing. Either you have it or you dont. That being said the one exercise I swear by, as my friends Noel hinted at, is that a lot of frames are decided late on so place all the colours on their spots and a red somewhere around the black spot. Pot the red along with a black or pink or even blue to start with if you prefer before potting all the colours in sequence. This will give you REAL confidence in a match if you are presented with an opportunity on the final red and if you can do it in practice shut out everything in the match scenario and you can do it there as well. Good luck!