Im seriously losing my sanity with this game !!!! HELP !!!!

[vmax4steve]

Question 5 doesn't include the words to beat the opponent

My own answers are

1. Nothing really, my own sense of manhood doesn't need victory over others. Win or lose I'm still six foot two with an ***** inch dick.

2. Hopefully I learned something.

3. The joy of being at one with the game and losing my sense of self however brief.

4. Nothing at all, victory is meaningless to me, it's all about losing myself in the game.

5. No thoughts at all simply a feeling of anticipation.

6. No thoughts at all, I simply look at the situation of the balls on the table and see the shot/s. Thinking gives you conscious thoughts and conscious thought is fatal.

[pottr]

Some good answers there pottr except for this one mate. No one, not even Ronnie plays faultless snooker in a match, mistakes are always made and if your opponent plays equally as well as you there is a damn good chance that you will be beaten. I'm pretty sure this must have happened to you at some time.

Of course if you're talking about practice. But to be honest, I never really care how I play in practice. I never dip below a certain standard. Anything above it is always welcome.
But in my matches I play on a Monday and Thursday, they are never any longer than two frames. Faultless snooker for two frames in a row isn't anywhere near a stretch of the imagination... 5 or 6 in a row would be beyond human.

I have never lost at snooker when I have made no mistakes. I did lose £250 in a game of pool once best of 7 where there were 7 break dishes in a row, I lost the toss. Have to be honest, I was ****ed off to the max.

I'd much rather play terribly and win than cue well above average and lose. If that wasn't the case then I wouldn't keep score.

BTW if you get a kick in the balls carry on through the pain

[alabadi]

I'd much rather play terribly and win than cue well above average and lose. If that wasn't the case then I wouldn't keep score.

Me and u are terribly different . To me my ambition is to play well, by playing well I will obviously win my fair share of games. Although I love winning its not the ultimate satisfaction.

Just last week I won and the scoreline suggested comfortably, however I didn't play well at all. It was just a case my opponent played worse.
I wasn't pleased with my self after the game at all. Don't get me wrong delighted I win but not my performance .

Players can have very high standards and lose in a game . We here about pros having potting percentages success 94%-95% and safety in the high 80s and still lose to someone who's percentages are much lower

I think you can argue that although they lost they played well. Sometimes the difference is so small the tiniest of errors can cost a frame .

Alabbadi

[vmax4steve]

I did lose £250 in a game of pool once best of 7 where there were 7 break dishes in a row, I lost the toss. Have to be honest, I was ****ed off to the max.

Was it the money or the defeat ?

[pottr]

Me and u are terribly different . To me my ambition is to play well, by playing well I will obviously win my fair share of games. Although I love winning its not the ultimate satisfaction.

How do you guage whether or not you're playing well if not by the results you generate?

Just last week I won and the scoreline suggested comfortably, however I didn't play well at all. It was just a case my opponent played worse.
I wasn't pleased with my self after the game at all. Don't get me wrong delighted I win but not my performance .

So you would have rather played well and lost against your opponent who played worse? I find that a tad oxymoronic.

Players can have very high standards and lose in a game . We here about pros having potting percentages success 94%-95% and safety in the high 80s and still lose to someone who's percentages are much lower

You are talking over the course of a professional match. Yes you can win a battle and lose a war, I was talking over the course of the matches us amatuers play in which, invariably are only one or two frames in duration. We can only draw little comparison to the pro game.

I think you can argue that although they lost they played well. Sometimes the difference is so small the tiniest of errors can cost a frame

I would argue that the majority of amatuers simply underestimate the amount of errors they make.

[pottr]

Was it the money or the defeat ?

It was more the feeling of helplessness. I genuinely could not have improved my performance. I was flawless and that wasn't enough.

I'd have rather missed a couple of balls and won, I know that much.

Then again... Pool is mickey mouse stuff compared to the big table anyway... I still enjoy it though.

[nrage]

So you would have rather played well and lost against your opponent who played better

I suspect.

[nrage]

How do you guage whether or not you're playing well if not by the results you generate?

Same way you do, by looking at how many errors are made. Easy balls missed, bad safeties, etc. The difference is that our standards are lower i.e. hitting the snooker at all (vs leaving it safe afterwards) or playing safe and leaving the white at the right end of the table (vs leaving it snookered)

So you would have rather played well and lost against your opponent who played better?

With the above change my answer would be "yes". I'm trying to get better at snooker, winning is just one measure of that. Against a really good opponent, someone I will learn a lot by playing, I won't win but I might still play my best game of snooker and that would be a "win" in terms of the primary goal of getting better.

I would argue that the majority of amatuers simply underestimate the amount of errors they make.

Given your definition:

Nope, if you stick a long red up and your opponent knocks it in, you have made a mistake.

Pro's make mistakes/errors all the time. More than 50% of every break off shot is an error by this standard. I think it does just come down to expectations. The better you are, the higher the bar.

[pottr]

Oh dear nrage, you mis-quoted me

I think it does just come down to expectations. The better you are, the higher the bar.

Nrage gets it.

[nrage]

Oh dear nrage, you mis-quoted me

Yeah I don't think it's actually possible to play well and lose to someone who played worse. That is, unless they got really lucky. In that situation I would be a little annoyed. The point is, that I don't mind losing, provided I play ok and they played better. The deserve the win in that case, that's the key.

[Belloz22]

With this thread quickly going off track....... how do you play a match without thinking of technique if you cant trust yourself to consistently do the technique every shot when you dont think about it, I.e. keeping grip loose, shoulder still etc

[pottr]

Ironing out your technique in an ideal world should be done when you're playing on your own.

That way, you can replicate the same shot and work out what works for you and what doesn't. Try not to focus on more than one or two things at a time. If you alter too much, there will be fallout and collateral damage to what might have already been sound.

Get some pointers from a coach in person. I don't believe any of this coaching talk translates from the written word. Perhaps some of the psychological stuff? But physical changes to your technique need to be supervised to reduce the impact on the rest of your action.

[throtts]

1. What do you get out of the game when you win= Confidence.

2. What do you get out of the game when you lose= Emptiness.

3. What do you get out of the game when you play well but lose= I take the positives.

4. What do you get out of the game when you play badly but win= Still confidence.

5. Before starting a match what are your thoughts/expectations/wishes= To start very strong from the start, boss the play and let the player know they will get punished for mistakes. For me the start is the most important. If I win the first I will attack for the second.

6. When actually playing in a match and at the table what are you thinking= Now just play your natural game.

For me number 5 is the one I take serious. Obviously though I have fallen behind, in these situations I tend to relax and believe in my match play..

[Belloz22]

As everyone else is answering it - il do the same i guess

1. What do you get out of the game when you win

The sense of enjoyment, pride and the feeling i've succeeded at something i struggle with

2. What do you get out of the game when you lose

The sense i've done something wrong to lose, sometimes the increase in fight to win, but more often, fustration at losing as i want to win all the time

3. What do you get out of the game when you play well but lose

I dont feel as annoyed, i'd rather play well and lose, than play bad and win - if i play well, i know that the things i can control, i'm doing well

4. What do you get out of the game when you play badly but win

Fustration with myself, especially if im missing easy shots, deep down i know for me to miss etc, i'm doing something wrong, and because im a perfectionist, i feel disheartened. Although i've won, it feels like i loss still

5. Before starting a match what are your thoughts/expectations/wishes

Normally i start off feeling motivate and feeling like i can play like any professional, i wish to play well, and i mean just cutting down the amount off misses and botched break attempts etc. Normally i expect to win, but i also expect/know im going to mess up

6. When actually playing in a match and at the table what are you thinking

Normally about keeping shoulder still, grip loose, look at BOB etc - but also im constantly telling myself not to screw up

[itsnoteasy]

Then it's clear that this is indeed what you should be doing but anxiety of playing in matches is making you forget these simple basics.
You have to ask yourself why you have this anxiety in matches.

Answer these questions

1. What do you get out of the game when you win,as mr myagi would say, win lose no matter
2. What do you get out of the game when you lose,win lose no matter
3. What do you get out of the game when you play well but lose, happiness
4. What do you get out of the game when you play badly but win, nothing
5. Before starting a match what are your thoughts/expectations/wishes, try my best but i know im the worst player there so no pressure
6. When actually playing in a match and at the table what are you thinking, i can knock that impossible red in and get on the black .

Answering these questions should give you an insight into the anxiety you feel when involved in a match situation that gives you conscious thoughts that overide your subconscious and make you play badly.
Lose this anxiety and you should be able to relax and concentrate only on the one thing that keeps everything together, looking at the contact point on the object ball when lining up the shot, when getting down into the stance and when striking the cue ball.

I have found in most sports the better you get the more winning is all important, at my standard it performance rather than results, and the people i play, most are 80-100 plus players so i can play out my skin(for me)and lose every game.
I think you can lose without a mistake, say you break off and leave the long tempter he knocks it in and makes a 70 plus, you lose but its not a mistake its a deliberate strategy.
didnt know how to put my answers in a different colour