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

[alabadi]

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

1)not missing silly shots
2) by making reasonable breaks i know i am capable of.
3) playing good safety that makes my opponent make mistakes,
4)as long as i can be satisfied that i didn't gift the game i can be pleased.

i have to admit this is playing my mates so the games are part practice part fun. and don't mean too much. nevertheless i still want to win, its just when i don't as long as i played well i don't go home miserable.

in league matches where the win is important for the team, i guess in those circumstances i am pleased to win no matter how i have played.

[vmax4steve]

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

See how, like Sidd, you have contradicted yourself with answers regarding how you feel when you win or lose to how you feel when you play well or badly despite the result.

Question one contains nothing about playing well, yet you answer it as if it does, meaning that winning is really important for you as you state in your answer to question two.

Then again your answer to question four is at odds with your answer to question one showing that level of performance is really important to you as you feel no pride in winning when playing badly.
Which do you want the most ?


Look at your answer to question five and compare it to mine.
You must appraoch every match with no conscious thoughts about how well you "can" play and no feelings about how badly you "expect" to play. If you do then if you start off playing well the reasons why will come into your mind and you will lose your focus, the reason behind you playing well. If you start off playing badly your mind will look for reasons why and you will never be able to focus.

Look at you answer to question six and compare it to mine and pottr's.
You must have no conscious thoughts in your mind when playing other than seeing the shots and letting the subconscious take over.
Pottr just sees where he needs the cue ball to go, I see the shot and focus on the contact point of the object ball. Everything else you already know as it's ingrained into you subconscious and happens naturally providing you give your brian the information it needs by looking where you should be looking at the correct time and having no other conscious thoughts.
You can already play the game, you don't have to think about anything other than where you should be looking.

[Sidd]

A question for Vmax

Dear Steve,

Thank you for initiating this important discussion. I find that i am in need to answers to some of these things given that i have this problem of getting in to thoughts no matter how hard I try. So please help me with this aspect.

While talking about winning and loosing I felt good when won and really bad when lost but then you are right I contradicted these two by stating that I feel good to play well even if I loose and feel down when I play bad even if I play good.

This clearly states perhaps that playing well and proper snooker is what I like the most. If I play well and win as well- well there is nothing like it. But please do illustrate what this means about me.... where to go in terms of the mental thought process.

I am asking this because this normally happens to me... at the start of a frame I keep thinking that i need to play well. If I have had a bad day say yesterday then the next day while starting the game I keep stressing myself to play well and to do anything but repeat the performance of the day before. I think this keeps building pressure on me ? Similarly if I played well yesterday the next day I would start thinking that I NEED to or HAVE to play like yesterday and retain that form and even that keeps me under a self-induced pressure....

How to get rid of this and not to do the donts in snooker.

Your elaborated response shall be of great help I know.

Thanking you in anticipation.

[lesedwards]

Confidence. What's that I have slumped to an all time low. Through a bunch of reds out on the table last night and the most I could run was three so I figured I would do the line up drill and I tried 8 times to make the red below the black before I made it and then when I made it I missed the black put my cue away and shut off the lights. This is where my problem lies and where my confidence has disappeared. I have been trying to run blacks of the spot and I cannot run more then 5 and most of the time 3. Move up to the pink and I can run as many as I need to off the pink spot. I am sure my 5x10 table is not helping with my blacks. Anyone have any idea how to bring back my confidence, I have a tournament this weekend. Thank god it is a handicap tournament.

[nrage]

Confidence. What's that I have slumped to an all time low. Through a bunch of reds out on the table last night and the most I could run was three so I figured I would do the line up drill and I tried 8 times to make the red below the black before I made it and then when I made it I missed the black put my cue away and shut off the lights. This is where my problem lies and where my confidence has disappeared. I have been trying to run blacks of the spot and I cannot run more then 5 and most of the time 3. Move up to the pink and I can run as many as I need to off the pink spot. I am sure my 5x10 table is not helping with my blacks. Anyone have any idea how to bring back my confidence, I have a tournament this weekend. Thank god it is a handicap tournament.

Did you try the things I mentioned earlier:
http://www.thesnookerforum.co.uk/boa...810#post714810

Specifically, are you aiming to the correct part of the black pocket?

[Belloz22]

But this is where the issue lies for me - if i try just to think about where i want the white, and BOB, and dont think about technique, my technique goes completely. It is like i have to conciously tell myself to do the things correctly. The only way i can describe it is as if my brain decides to switch off every other shot, and on those shots, it feels like ive completely forgotten how to play the game. So when i dont think of technique, my technique goes. This is why im at odds, i literally cannot just clear my thoughts, coz it feels like i cannot trust myself to do the technique right it i dont conciously tell myself to do it

[Terry Davidson]

belloz:

This is the reason all coaches advocate SOLO PRACTICE. The only way to make a specific technique a natural habit which you don't have to think about is to practice it during solo practice which is when you can concentrate on thinking about technique.

Although there are a lot of finer points regarding technique, there are only really 5 that matter and they are not difficult:

1. Drop the head straight down on the line of aim while keeping the eyes on the object ball. Then start 2-3 feathers MAX.
2. Keep the upper body absolutely still on the shot, from when the hand hits the table until the object ball drops.
3. Nice loose and relaxed grip.
4. SLOW and STRAIGHT backswing (the speed should be slow enough that you can control it and keep it straight). Backswing length should be proportional to the amount of power you want.
5. Accelerate through the cueball, do not tighten the grip and STAY DOWN until the shot is finished. The eyes should be locked on the object ball at the time of strike (you may think you're locked on but a lot of players actually aren't as their eyes don't have a chance to move from the cueball to the object ball).

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

Les:

You had better make it up here on Friday so I can show you how to pot the black consistently (and probably a few other things as well). With your technique there is absolutely no reason for you to be under confident at the table.

Terry

[lesedwards]

Thanks, somehow I missed your post. I will work on that tonight. This is by far my biggest problem on the table. I will take a fine cut on the pink to the side or a long blue and for go the almost dead in black. I know this is bad but just no confidence in making it. Now when I look at you post it is making sense. I played professional golf in the early 80's and when my putter left me I would got the putting green and start with 1' and after making a dozen I would move to 2' and so on and if I missed I had to start over. Also I would put a golf ball on both sides of the hole leaving a ball n half opening then when I took them away the hole looked like a bushel basket.

[throtts]

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

Hi Belloz,

The mind set above is your problem, big time too. It was apparent too when you stated, jokingly, "I could punch a small child". haha.

I use to play a mate and the results were so one sided in my favour. However, there was not much in it standard wise between us. It was just that he was not a confident individual at all and that was in all situations too.

Change you mind set towards snooker next time you go down there. Just really relax and enjoy yourself and play with zero fear..

[lesedwards]

Hi Terry you really think so? I have made all the necessary arrangements to come up Friday morning if you are going to be around. How much is this going to cost me...lol I planned on just coming up to do some practicing with you. But my game has gone for a **** and I know not having anyone good to practice with does not help.

[Belloz22]

Hi Belloz,

The mind set above is your problem, big time too. It was apparent too when you stated, jokingly, "I could punch a small child". haha.

I use to play a mate and the results were so one sided in my favour. However, there was not much in it standard wise between us. It was just that he was not a confident individual at all and that was in all situations too.

Change you mind set towards snooker next time you go down there. Just really relax and enjoy yourself and play with zero fear..

I understand what your getting at, the thing is i want to play well and i want to win and enjoy it, but how can you stop being frightened if deep down you cant stop the thoughts that you will mess up....... i feel like im broken lol - i do try to not think technique etc, but if i dont think about gripping grip loose, it will always tightened, if i dont think about putting foot on the aim line, i wont do it - even if for hours i practice and practice it, if i go into just play mode, it will not happen

It feels as if i have to think of technique to make sure i do it, but then i get to frightened that i will mess up - vicious circle

[cantpotforshíte]

Still not read the book then mate? It could have saved you a lot of heartache ... still could.

[Belloz22]

Still not read the book then mate? It could have saved you a lot of heartache ... still could.

The inner game book??

[vmax4steve]

Just have to see how things go - went back down for practice on my own today and concentrated on keeping eyes on BOB and keeping grip very loose etc - and i potted brilliantly - no doubt tomorrow be back to rubbish though lol

I understand what your getting at, the thing is i want to play well and i want to win and enjoy it, but how can you stop being frightened if deep down you cant stop the thoughts that you will mess up....... i feel like im broken lol - i do try to not think technique etc, but if i dont think about gripping grip loose, it will always tightened, if i dont think about putting foot on the aim line, i wont do it - even if for hours i practice and practice it, if i go into just play mode, it will not happen

It feels as if i have to think of technique to make sure i do it, but then i get to frightened that i will mess up - vicious circle

I think you'll find that you are only doing one thing wrong when your anxiety gets the better of you and that is taking your eye off the contact point of the object ball at the moment of the strike.
What Terry says is absolutely true, a lot of players think they are doing it but that anxiety is making you keep your eyes on the cueball or switching them to the pocket to see if the object ball is on its way there.

Trust in your technique and concentrate only on keeping your eyes on the contact point of the object ball. It's an easy thing to remember to do but very hard to actually do it. I cannot do it on a consistant level yet I absolutely swear by it as the most important thing to do. I can play badly for hours believing that I am doing it and blaming all sorts of other reasons why I am so poor, but the only time it all comes together for me is when I relax and stop thinking and then it just flows, unfortunately not for very long but in that time I pot some great balls and make high breaks.