Concentration

[57varieties]

What do you do to help you keep your concentratioon when you are on a break. Do you have any tips for ways of keeping your concentration.

[Asi]

What do you do to help you keep your concentratioon when you are on a break. Do you have any tips for ways of keeping your concentration.

Keep concentrating on the pre shot routine.

[57varieties]

I do that but sometimes when I'm ready for the shot, even though Iknow the angle etc.. my mind wanders at the vital moment which causes the miss. It doesn't happen a lot but it is a part of my game I keep trying to improve

[davisskeggsm]

Concentration

When felling wrong or have lost concentration when down on a shot ALWAYS get back up take a step back chalk your cue and most importantly breathe , then return to the table and wallop that ball in to the pocket, a bit of reverse side play nicley for the black jobs a gooden ;D

Matt

[Sidd]

Very important question you have posted for the serious player... I also tend to be suffering from lack of concentration all the times. i shall tell you my story and how i am trying to cope with it.

i have two points in my game where i loose concentration and that would relate to you as well i am sure... 1. during the middle of a big break chance. I start off and then would miss at 35 or 45 in the middle of the balls when i am sure that i will get an 80 or 70 from that chance. i know how it feels to be on 49 potting a red and making an excellent and perfect baby black where you can simple play 3/10 power stun shot (simple eh) and make another red and I miss the damn black hahaha and 2. well i also tend to loose concentration whilst playing consecutive frames like i would be dead focused in first 3-5 frames and then after 7 or 7 plus hmm well everyone can spot Sidd has lost it all completely.

One of my mates pointed out to me that when I miss at 38 or 45 and there is a huge chance then on that miss and after that miss he has told me two or three times that Sidd what the heck did you rush through that shot for? who was after you to make it so quick hmmmmm makes me wonder that adrenalyne has to be controlled dear. While developing big breaks one tends to get over excited and hence end up rushing to the shot and miss a simple thing in the process. So in order to calm that down I am trying to focus and concentrate and take every shot seriously be it just rolling something near to the pocket and I agree with the suggestions above pre-shot routine thinking has to be there and also every shot should be taken singularly and independently- if you took a really hard red and placed a baby blue that doesnt mean that the blue is a baby blue and can be potted easily- blue is as hard as the hard red since you have to place another red in potting the blue -- so the concentration has to be the same as it was for the hard red. Keep this in mind and concentrate. Now there is another thing that is a killer here too. OVER-THINKING a SHOT I dont know if someone else faces it or not but then this happens that sometimes you take a shot and whilst down you tend to delay and that is the point where focus is lost, whenever that happens, get up relax take a few breaths chalk on and forget everything and take it again as a new shot. Also sometimes one gets double minded- when down on the shot you wanted to play a stun and then right there during feathering you thin hey if i can stun with a little bit of right hand side i will get an even better position on the red- then your sub-conscious asks you to play it from there man come on its the same shot doesnt matter---- aa aa aa no no no and a big big no here dude! dont get trapped in to this little trick of your sub-conscious mind; get up rethink the shot again and go down again cuz once down the shot you have thought out must be played without any thinking on another option and if there comes another thing in mind get up let the brain work it out properly and then get down..... i have a serious claim that once the pros get confused like that they ask the referee to clean the ball 9without a reason haha) and go and sip some water in the meanwhile.

As for loosing concentration during consecutive play after 5-7 frames there should be a break if not you can make an excuse and have a break for yourself. where i play if it is winner stays on then you have to keep winning to keep playing so if you can win 5 frames the 6th contender has been waiting for his turn and he wont delay... hmmm what i do in this regard is that i make an excuse for the washroom and go wash my face and hands or even step out for some fresh air and request a mate to play a few opening shots for me then I come back and resume... And for this very department WATER is the key... keep sipping cold water on and off to keep the nerves relaxed during a match or extended play. Avoid or limit fizzy drink intake- no full meals I mean stuffy meals as those tend to dull the nerves.. feel fresh and light always!

Another thing that I normally do is to tfollow the principle; if you look good you feel good if you feel good you play well... i always go to the club in proper clothes, shaved, wearing my favourite perfume etc so i feel good about myself and hence thin positive. Another tip would be as folloing:

when you play a bad shot, forget about it and try to keep it out of your mind and throw it away as quickly as you can... if you play ten bad shots forget all ten of them man everybody does that no big deal ... dont keep a bad shot feeling in mind and progress in the frame, it will follow you like a ghost and drown you in to that thought trust me... best thing is to forget and keep concentrating on the POSITIVE.. have you ever won a frame from pink black two snookers down and having the black stuck in the middle of the side cushion; well dude I have recently won a best of 21 final- be competitive !!! that single match has earned me high respect in the club and even now if i play bad they know who they are dealing with you must have heard the commentators at times saying oh he missed the last black and lost the frame; i wonder til what time would this black haunt him. in the next frame he would again comment, after missing that black i dont know how he will play and forget that miss... so it happens at all levels. ronnie once potted a pink with a deep screw and took a black (i think it was masters final 2008 against selby) he made a funny face after potting the black and went for a mid session break cuz he was over running with confidence.. in the next frame the commentator said hmmm well ronnie would be a killer now after that pink. So positive throughts and concentrating on positive things helps. Also you must have heard commentators saying after a long century break or at the end of a 147; he kept his nerves, he kept his control, he kept his emtions at bay--- they said so after Hendry made a 147 in 2012 WSC cuz he hadnt any practice and had flown back from china and just did it in his opening match... ! What is meant here is that the person has kept his nerves in control means controling the adrenalyne rush and not rushing in to any shot and just taking every shot as a new one and well yeah yeah not playing like Sidd at a 47 break LOL

Hope that helps dude... How I wrote that long; well I kept concentrating that I am also a blog writer !!!!!

Enjoy the game cuz its many a times frustrating and keep your nerves in control

[Reptile1]

Hi Sidd

Thank you for the above you make some excellent points, I shall be trying them out in the near future. Brilliant!!

Regards Repy.

[cantpotforshíte]

Quote from Geet Sethi, former World Billiards Champion:
'The best definition of concentration that I have come across is, “the intellect supervising the mind to remain in the present.” '

Use your intellect (your thinking self) to decide what you need to achieve for the current shot, ie. Exactly where to leave the white, the pace required, line of aim, where to hit the cue ball.
Then visualise the shot and let yourself (your inner self, your mind) do it. As soon as your intellect wanders onto something like: "what if I miss?" or "if I pot this I'll be in with a chance of a break" your mind will wander too and more than likely you'll miss the pot or the position.

[Sidd]

Hi Sidd

Thank you for the above you make some excellent points, I shall be trying them out in the near future. Brilliant!!

Regards Repy.

Most welcome Reptile1... I am glad I could be of some help CHEERS

[cyberheater]

Quote from Geet Sethi, former World Billiards Champion:
'The best definition of concentration that I have come across is, “the intellect supervising the mind to remain in the present.” '

Use your intellect (your thinking self) to decide what you need to achieve for the current shot, ie. Exactly where to leave the white, the pace required, line of aim, where to hit the cue ball.
Then visualise the shot and let yourself (your inner self, your mind) do it. As soon as your intellect wanders onto something like: "what if I miss?" or "if I pot this I'll be in with a chance of a break" your mind will wander too and more than likely you'll miss the pot or the position.

Thank you. I will try that.

[57varieties]

Well thanks for that Sidd, you really have given it some thought. If I can remember your points I will try and put them into good use.
I also think that the comments Cantpotfor****e says are really good advice and it is one I remember a coach trying to drum into me, the trouble is until you can get into a perfectly set rythm including appraoch stance aim etc, its very hard to remember everything you have been told especially at my level ( 30s and 40s). Thanks for all the comments, got a game tonight will try harder.

[57varieties]

Well thanks for that Sidd, you really have given it some thought. If I can remember your points I will try and put them into good use.
I also think that the comments Cantpotfor****e says are really good advice and it is one I remember a coach trying to drum into me, the trouble is until you can get into a perfectly set rythm including appraoch stance aim etc, its very hard to remember everything you have been told especially at my level ( 30s and 40s). Thanks for all the comments, got a game tonight will try harder.

[Sidd]

57 varities: you are quite right. Its easier said than done. What cant****e said is very true indeed however imagine yourself trying to achieve that or asking your mind to do that in this situation:

you are 4 frames down against 7 in a best of 17 match you just CANT. the pressure in that situation is so immensely huge that it becomes impossible to keep your nerves under smooth control. but thats the way this game is so embrace it as it comes ...!!!

in fact what cant***e has written comes as a result of what I have explained one has to be AWARE of oneself and thats so true however small tips help one to refocus... Some would add deep breathing exercise during matches and while waiting for your turn and others would even go to the extremes of yoga and other tactics... everything works fine but its upto you how you train your mind to relax and remain calm... but again easier said than done!

You know what... if I am 4 frames down against 7 in a BO17... well i would be under such a pressure that whatever i have preached above; I might not practice it myself this is how hard it is to keep things in mind and put them to practice while in a match situation!

[57varieties]

I played my game last night and won. Whilst it wasn't the best performance I have had, I did keep my composure and I think I got back to the basics of walking into the shot etc, taking my time, imagining the shot and where the white would go. I know these are all the things you should do but to do them consistently is another thing. Keep trying. Thanks for your comments

[Giggity1984]

Check out "The pleasures of small motions" by Bob Fancher. Really good book on the concious and unconscious mind and cue sports.

[misspentoldage]

Stray thoughts (doubts, change of mind) at the last moment before hitting the shot is a problem for me too. Another aspect of poor concentration comes when my foolish brain thinks I've already won the frame and I start just going through the motions. What do you know, the player who needed 2 snookers is suddenly back into contention. It's an unforgiving game.