Let's start the New Year off right

[lesedwards]

Les, don't give up, find someone nearer your level to play so you are left in amongst the balls as much as he is when you miss, if your playing someone better than you, play a plus 7 minus 7 handicap system and things will level themselves out. Every time you get beat your handicap goes up 7 and down 7 when you win. I play this with a mate and we have played this for 20 years. There was a time when I would give home 49 after beating him 7 in a row but then he would win a few back because of the start. The games are always close playing this way and remember to go for your shots and try and be positive. This year he was giving me a 14 start and I was shocked but that's the fairness of this system. Les you have a fantastic set up it would be a shame to see you quit. Chin up les keep at it. I think you have to say to yourself that your going to approach the game more positive even although you lose. I have had plenty of beating but still come away positive because of a few pots I took on that were successful.
Cheers Ricky

Thanks for the kind words. I cannot get out of this tentative jab stroke I use when playing anything other then just potting balls for the hell of it. That's when I drive them in. Setup 4 reds, pink n black and watch me turn into this whimp. Look like I am afraid I am going to hurt the balls. Somehow I will get through it. I have some of the greatest players around me all wanting me to play well. Floyd text me to see how I made out and Cliff called me to see how I made out. Neither one of them have an answer as they cannot control my mental part of the game. Negative, doubt, I am gone miss, what happens if I miss cue, holly, no wonder I cannot hit anything with any authority.

[tedisbill]

You cleared the colours yet, Les?

[Ricky2112]

Les you have a 73 in line up and 52 in match play, be proud of that. Try slamming some balls in, so what if you miss keep trying big shots with pace using top and screw, if you miss it does not matter then come back to playing shots at a more steady pace, play at the speed you are comfortable with. I occasionally raise my pace depending on who I am playing but this is just for fun, my natural play is quite slow although I see the shots very quick I tend to get stuck over the shot.
Good luck les , have fun
Cheers Ricky

[lesedwards]

You cleared the colours yet, Les?

No I have not tried since that day. Another problem I have. If i don't sucseed you don't try try again you just move onto something else and when I can't do that you move onto another routine and another and another. I was going through my Nic Barriw how to make a 100 break and 3/4 through the brown chapter it says do a colour clearance like I should be able to do that easily. The only thing I can do is pit balls from anywhere when it does not mean anything.

[lesedwards]

Les you have a 73 in line up and 52 in match play, be proud of that. Try slamming some balls in, so what if you miss keep trying big shots with pace using top and screw, if you miss it does not matter then come back to playing shots at a more steady pace, play at the speed you are comfortable with. I occasionally raise my pace depending on who I am playing but this is just for fun, my natural play is quite slow although I see the shots very quick I tend to get stuck over the shot.
Good luck les , have fun
Cheers Ricky

Thanks Ricky I will try. I really don't why I can't just get down over the ball and drive them in.

[tedisbill]

To be honest, Les, it's because you're not trying to get better. You're wasting your own time.

How can you be confident when you're not confident? The only reason I fancy clearing the colours or making breaks in tournaments, is because I've done it hundreds of times in practice.

[lesedwards]

To be honest, Les, it's because you're not trying to get better. You're wasting your own time.

How can you be confident when you're not confident? The only reason I fancy clearing the colours or making breaks in tournaments, is because I've done it hundreds of times in practice.

Yes I agree with you 100% I jump from Routine to routine and after two years I am getting worse.

[tedisbill]

Yes I agree with you 100% I jump from Routine to routine and after two years I am getting worse.

Come on then! You're going to clear the colours this week more than once. You've got a fresh start tomorrow. It's Monday. By next Sunday I want several colour clearances please

[alabadi]

I have some of the greatest players around me all wanting me to play well. Floyd text me to see how I made out and Cliff called me to see how I made out. Neither one of them have an answer as they cannot control my mental part of the game. Negative, doubt, I am gone miss, what happens if I miss cue, holly, no wonder I cannot hit anything with any authority.

Les unless you get around this i'm afraid you may never discover if you can play well.

i mean why do yo care so much if you didn't play well, as you say you are playing against better players so you should have nothing to lose. you should just go for it, at least if you lose you can take heart that you gave it a go, rather than playing too tentatively and scared of missing your shots.

fear and doubt are two things you cannot take into a game, you should just try and play without fear and see how you play. just as an experiment tell yourself that you are going to play without care if you win or lose and you are just going to have fun.

i mean lets face it, its just a game, not life and death, if every time i played someone i was scared of losing or too nervous it made me not play well , i wouldn't play at all. i need to enjoy playing snooker even if i lose.

i myself don't like losing either but i have to face the facts, i'm not going to always win and probably not play my best all the time too. so i give it my all and if i lose i try to analyse what i did wrong and learn from my mistakes, then i go to the practice table and try and correct these errors and so on.

you need to do the same, learn from your mistakes, play with freedom and don't expect anything

[lesedwards]

Come on then! You're going to clear the colours this week more than once. You've got a fresh start tomorrow. It's Monday. By next Sunday I want several colour clearances please

Okay maybe that's what I need is a mentor. I am being serious.

[lesedwards]

Les unless you get around this i'm afraid you may never discover if you can play well.

i mean why do yo care so much if you didn't play well, as you say you are playing against better players so you should have nothing to lose. you should just go for it, at least if you lose you can take heart that you gave it a go, rather than playing too tentatively and scared of missing your shots.

fear and doubt are two things you cannot take into a game, you should just try and play without fear and see how you play. just as an experiment tell yourself that you are going to play without care if you win or lose and you are just going to have fun.

i mean lets face it, its just a game, not life and death, if every time i played someone i was scared of losing or too nervous it made me not play well , i wouldn't play at all. i need to enjoy playing snooker even if i lose.

i myself don't like losing either but i have to face the facts, i'm not going to always win and probably not play my best all the time too. so i give it my all and if i lose i try to analyse what i did wrong and learn from my mistakes, then i go to the practice table and try and correct these errors and so on.

you need to do the same, learn from your mistakes, play with freedom and don't expect anything

My problem is everything is a mistake then I come home and bang them in like nothing until I try a routine or a friendly match. Like I have said many times over when I go to see Cliff he cannot belive I am not winning. He always says there is something missing when I play matches and routines and when I find it I will start to win match after match.

[alabadi]

My problem is everything is a mistake then I come home and bang them in like nothing until I try a routine or a friendly match. Like I have said many times over when I go to see Cliff he cannot belive I am not winning. He always says there is something missing when I play matches and routines and when I find it I will start to win match after match.

you've just answered your own question. you need to play a match as if it was practice. just don't put too much pressure on yourself by thinking too much and worrying about how you play. i know is easier said than done but you just need to find a way to relax during a match.

[lesedwards]

you've just answered your own question. you need to play a match as if it was practice. just don't put too much pressure on yourself by thinking too much and worrying about how you play. i know is easier said than done but you just need to find a way to relax during a match.

Thanks guys for all the pointers.

[ace man]

...then I come home and bang them in like nothing until I try a routine or a friendly match...

But everything is about practising routines and playing matches. The game isn't about mindless potting.
Try to be creative. Don't always look into that instructional material. Improvize a little. Setup your own routines. Invent them.
If you were your own coach, what would you suggest to yourself for practise?

[9outof10]

Match practice is the most important thing. I fell in with a good crowd of decent players, and we meet every evening to play games. Solo practice is great for technique but yeah, once you reach a point and you have the fundamentals you really have to be playing matches. It's not about potting balls, its not about getting position, its about playing your best game in a match and winning. I read earlier in the thread that you set the line-up up and fall to pieces, that means more line up till its second nature. Pot and get position in solo practice, and cant do it in a game, match practice is needed.

And getting your matches up with your solo practice isn't a quick process. It took me when I started out a good 8 or 9 months to convert those little 30 breaks at the time in solo practice to match conditions. It's not easy, but its just practice. THEN, you got social games compared to competition games! LOL Play too many social games to competition games and you're going the long pot and not playing safe, etc. But, its not even really that, its a game that has the potential to fall to pieces as soon as you're under a little pressure.

Handling the pressure and actually thriving in it is again, just practice.