What do you say to yourself after losing a match?

[mchpddl1]

Do you encourage yourself to try again next time, or try to find out root cause of losing, or just give up the game?


And how to turn these negatives into positive mentality?

[mattyshinobi22]

well i got cained last night 3 zip and was giving alot of start, av decided not to enter anymore comps and just play for fun.
it just does your head in at times, am thinkign of swtiching to doms lol

[mchpddl1]

This is exactly what i said to myself after a heavy defeat last night. Absolutely could not perform at all and felt like it was a job rather than having fun.

[wildJONESEYE]

i dont play board games without saying im going to get you next time ......never give up always use it as motivation to find a way of winning....

losing is a challenge without that challenge you cant get better.

remember that series Davis and Hendry played during the 80s and Hendry got thumped every night very easily at times....he went away and came back better than Davis thats the challenge you get from losing.

[wildJONESEYE]

i dont play board games without saying im going to get you next time ......never give up always use it as motivation to find a way of winning....

losing is a challenge without that challenge you cant get better.

remember that series Davis and Hendry played during the 80s and Hendry got thumped every night very easily at times....he went away and came back better than Davis thats the challenge you get from losing and use it as motivation.

[Tom Read]

If I lose I tend to work out why I lost. If I know I played my best and was beaten by the better player then I just accept that. If I've lost through silly shot choice then I will ensure that when in a similar position in another match, that I just take a bit longer to work out what shot to play. Giving up is a no-no.

[LukasHCFC]

I rage but promise to myself that it won't happen again

It does though.

[CoachGavin]

Immediately after the match look for all the positives you can from the match. However small. Maybe you won 1 frame? Maybe you potted a long red? Maybe you played a good safety?

After you have calmed down just ask yourself if you could have done anything better. Remember that you cant control if you win or lose but you you can make it more likely that you win by improving your attitude and game. If you get on well with the other player then perhaps even ask their opinion of your game and why they beat you. Making mistakes and losing is not a sin but making mistakes and not learning from them is.

[CoachGavin]

Immediately after the match look for all the positives you can from the match. However small. Maybe you won 1 frame? Maybe you potted a long red? Maybe you played a good safety?

After you have calmed down just ask yourself if you could have done anything better. Remember that you cant control if you win or lose but you you can make it more likely that you win by improving your attitude and game. If you get on well with the other player then perhaps even ask their opinion of your game and why they beat you. Making mistakes and losing is not a sin but making mistakes and not learning from them is.

[thelongbomber]

well i got cained last night 3 zip and was giving alot of start, av decided not to enter anymore comps and just play for fun. it just does your head in at times, am thinkign of swtiching to doms lol

Attitude is Altitude. Even if you miss a shot and your opponent runs a bunch of points, it's still possible to come back and win (assuming remaining points allow it of course). So then, if "in theory" you can still win, how come more of us don't? Well, we all know at least part of the reason is that it's in the head and we beat ourselves up and then lose faith in our abilities and then it shows up in our match play. The other big reason we lose when could have won comes down to technical skill. In my opinion, I say it's more than 50% of the secret to this game - become a master cueist and you can beat anyone because it will boost your self belief in knowing and understanding the act of cueing. I say skill (being your total cueing ability defined by the summary of all the shots you can and cannot play) is probably the deciding factor in most match play.

How do you improve the technical side of the game? Education, Practice and Coaching. Go see Terry or anyone else he recommends. Period.

How do you improve the mental side of the game? Especially important, how do you get form and mental attitude back when all evidence is pointing to a loss?

Here is what I do: Focus on myself. Focus on cue action, ball striking, shot choice. Focus on perfect chalking, perfect stance, perfect stroke. Focus on the table and not your opponent. Focus on cueing well and picking the right shot (like as if you were being watched by your coach). Don't worry about points, games, frames, loss/win. If you cue well and do your best, then the rest will take care of itself. Have faith that playing properly and in your own individual way is enough and that even if you win/lose you went out approaching the game with a positive attitude and doing your best. Nothing is worse than losing when you knew you could have won.

Doing the above, has a lot of benefits. Foremost, you are focusing on the one thing you have control over - yourself. You also get the added benefit of calming down and lowering your heart rate. Remaining calm is an integral part of successful snooker. Finally, most of all you get an opportunity to bring your A game to the table. Hopefully, all else being equal (the opponent getting a fair handicap and the table conditions being decent), you can win.

Hope that helps!

[thelongbomber]

well i got cained last night 3 zip and was giving alot of start, av decided not to enter anymore comps and just play for fun.
it just does your head in at times, am thinkign of swtiching to doms lol

Oh forgot to mention, DEFINITELY go back and play another tournament!!! Nobody wins every time in snooker - NOBODY. Loss is natural, normal, and part of the human experience. The better you become, the lower your risk of loss. It's just mathematics

[mattyshinobi22]

cheers mate for that, just gonna have some time off now for a bit and see how i feel later, to be honest in the game it felt like i was not meant to win, his flukes, unintentional snookers and i went in off on a black ball game.
maybe it just disheartening to lose to players who dont possess the ability of yourself , but for some reason you just cant perform.
got a m8 whos a quite talented player, had first ton at 11 who just one day decided to jack in. he ant picked up his cue now for a year or 2. and asked him lately to come back and he still ant interested.

[thelongbomber]

cheers mate for that, just gonna have some time off now for a bit and see how i feel later, to be honest in the game it felt like i was not meant to win, his flukes, unintentional snookers and i went in off on a black ball game.
maybe it just disheartening to lose to players who dont possess the ability of yourself , but for some reason you just cant perform.
got a m8 whos a quite talented player, had first ton at 11 who just one day decided to jack in. he ant picked up his cue now for a year or 2. and asked him lately to come back and he still ant interested.

What kind of cue he has? I call shotgun.

[deant1982]

What do I say after losing a match???

Oh hey, s**t happens... I'm going for a smoke, then the bar, anyone want a beer whilst I'm there.

I play every game to win, and I HATE losing, but when it does happen, I just don't care any more. I congratulate the opponent for playing well, and by the time that is finished, I've stopped caring that I lost.

Lifes too short to sit and analyse every defeat, especially if you are not a pro. A missed red here, a missed blue there. Doing this kind of thing takes the fun out of the game. Pro's probably should analyse the game, as it is their living at stake, but amateurs who play down the club??? At the end of the night, the lads talk about snooker for about 5 mins max (that covers all 5 or 10 frames) then chat for the best part of an hour at least about everything else, no snooker mentioned.

I don't bother having my entire life be dictated by a game, so I don't intend to spend hours analysing a disappointing result. Sorry if this isn't helpful, but its honest. This is what I say after I lose, and also after I win.