There is No Opponent... Only The Table

[SnookeredYou]

I constantly find myself playing new people either at league nights or just on a regular outing. One thing I noticed in my game, is that I just plane sucked against anyone that I hadn't played before. I couldn't figure out why this kept happening and it got extremely annoying. One of my buddies always said, that it doesn't matter who you are playing, just play the table and yourself. That any form of billiards is like a dance between yourself and the table. After working on my mental thinking a bit, I don't seem to have that problem nearly as much. It hasn't completely gone away yet, but I am confident that with time it won't matter if I am playing Ronnie or Shelby, because all I will see is the table and the rack. Does anyone else have the same problems and have found any solutions?

[CoachGavin]

There is No Opponent... Only The Table

your friend was right. In theory it shouldn't matter who you play because they can't do anything whilst you are at the table and you can't do anything whilst they ate a t the table. If you start worrying about who they are when you ate playing you will lose focus. just concentrate on trying your best in whichever situation the balls are in.

[thelongbomber]

Think of your opponent as your partner rather than your adversary. By playing well, he demands that you raise your game to match. In the same way, when it's your turn at the table, it's your duty to make winning as difficult as possible for him - so that he too can learn and improve. Both you and him/her improve as a result of good play and playing the game to your best ability. Since only one person is at the table at any one time, it really is the game's inherent difficulties as well as your past performance that are the real challenges being presented to you. The opponent faces these same adversaries as you do.

A little mind trick I have been trying...

When you first approach the table, say this to yourself: "I am now determining what the shot is", or, "I am now potting this ball" .. or "I am now playing safe". Doing this is NLP stuff that will knock you out of your past/future thinking (I'm playing against someone I haven't met), into absolute and total presence in the moment (I am now planning/potting/playing safe). This stops the mental chatter around what he did, he said, crowd noise, etc, all the little distractions that can put added pressure on you.

[Byrom]

Well to a certain extent that is correct but I don't fully agree here is why -

I think it helps to spot a weakness in the other guy - maybe he twitches or maybe he shakes his head at something - I look for signs of weakness all the time when I play someone.

Therefore if we can notice that some players have weakness you can play into it to improve your chances of success - some might not be as good at potting from a certain side of the table - some also might not be as good at long potting but are great in the balls.

If you then deliberately leave them half chance long pots from a certain side of the table then they attack - miss and leave you in. I did this regularly with a player who is better than I am and I beat him first to five a half a dozen times at least.

I noticed he also had a head problem and was the type that loved to bully the table and liked to dictate play to a very fast rhythm and he had a low attention span and did not like slow play - so I played slower deliberately mapping the table at every chance I got like Robertson does at times. This did his head in and the more he complained the more I did it. He was very confident at clearing up too so when in front in a game I would always look to put a colour on the rail or pot and roll behind a colour as I knew he could not handle it upstairs.

Best player does not always win - sometimes the craftiest.

[vmax4steve]

Well to a certain extent that is correct but I don't fully agree here is why -

I think it helps to spot a weakness in the other guy - maybe he twitches or maybe he shakes his head at something - I look for signs of weakness all the time when I play someone.

Therefore if we can notice that some players have weakness you can play into it to improve your chances of success - some might not be as good at potting from a certain side of the table - some also might not be as good at long potting but are great in the balls.

If you then deliberately leave them half chance long pots from a certain side of the table then they attack - miss and leave you in. I did this regularly with a player who is better than I am and I beat him first to five a half a dozen times at least.

I noticed he also had a head problem and was the type that loved to bully the table and liked to dictate play to a very fast rhythm and he had a low attention span and did not like slow play - so I played slower deliberately mapping the table at every chance I got like Robertson does at times. This did his head in and the more he complained the more I did it. He was very confident at clearing up too so when in front in a game I would always look to put a colour on the rail or pot and roll behind a colour as I knew he could not handle it upstairs.

Best player does not always win - sometimes the craftiest.

I would never use gamesmanship as I want the other blokes best game, otherwise winning means nothing. The ultimate opponent is the game itself which just can't be beaten and I have trouble playing within my ability, always trying that super shot that's just out of reach.

[pottr]

Just play the percentages... don't worry about what the other guy's doing.

[thelongbomber]

Well to a certain extent that is correct but I don't fully agree here is why -

I think it helps to spot a weakness in the other guy - maybe he twitches or maybe he shakes his head at something - I look for signs of weakness all the time when I play someone.

Therefore if we can notice that some players have weakness you can play into it to improve your chances of success - some might not be as good at potting from a certain side of the table - some also might not be as good at long potting but are great in the balls.

If you then deliberately leave them half chance long pots from a certain side of the table then they attack - miss and leave you in. I did this regularly with a player who is better than I am and I beat him first to five a half a dozen times at least.

I noticed he also had a head problem and was the type that loved to bully the table and liked to dictate play to a very fast rhythm and he had a low attention span and did not like slow play - so I played slower deliberately mapping the table at every chance I got like Robertson does at times. This did his head in and the more he complained the more I did it. He was very confident at clearing up too so when in front in a game I would always look to put a colour on the rail or pot and roll behind a colour as I knew he could not handle it upstairs.

Best player does not always win - sometimes the craftiest.

I think many snooker players - myself included - keep their opponent's strengths/weaknesses in the back of their head. It does certainly play a role in my decision making. If I know an opponent can't string a 50 break, I'm just slightly more likely to take on long shots or open the pack. Knowing a player's skill, or lack thereof is an important thing to know, from a SKILL level.

But intentionally breaking the opponent's rhythm because they like to play fast I'm not a fan of. In fact, someone did that to me last night and he won't be getting another game from me. I don't mind someone taking my long shots away, but constantly trying to break my focus with off table antics, is not cool. Life is too short for me to waste my precious life energy having to work through another man's weakness and inability to improve himself.

[rimmer10]

Doing this is NLP stuff that will knock you out of your past/future thinking

Have you got experience in NLP, and if so how do you find it?

[thelongbomber]

Have you got experience in NLP, and if so how do you find it?

Just informal learning. I'm no expert, but I do understand some methods and strategies for snooker - something I'm hoping to write a book about eventually.

[Sir Ivanhoe]

I constantly find myself playing new people either at league nights or just on a regular outing. One thing I noticed in my game, is that I just plane sucked against anyone that I hadn't played before. I couldn't figure out why this kept happening and it got extremely annoying. One of my buddies always said, that it doesn't matter who you are playing, just play the table and yourself. That any form of billiards is like a dance between yourself and the table. After working on my mental thinking a bit, I don't seem to have that problem nearly as much. It hasn't completely gone away yet, but I am confident that with time it won't matter if I am playing Ronnie or Shelby, because all I will see is the table and the rack. Does anyone else have the same problems and have found any solutions?

A traditional saying 'play the table not the opponent. When you are at the table concentrate on the shots, when the shots are not there play safe making it difficult for opponent to score. If playing along match best of sevens etc . I used to not even watch the opponent whilst sitting out close eyes and shallow breathing to conserve mental energy. All other threads on this topic are sound and thoughtful. All the best.

[rimmer10]

Watch the bit where Ronnie interviews Robertson, goes hand in hand with what Byrom was saying.

[SnookeredYou]

Thank you everyone for all your input it is greatly appreciated .

[rimmer10]

Fact is, wherever there is an opponent there's competition. Be it sports, business, politics or whatever. And in competition you always play to your strength and your opponents weakness. If you don't, he will. Sure you've heard of the saying that nice guys finish second.

[SnookeredYou]

Fact is, wherever there is an opponent there's competition. Be it sports, business, politics or whatever. And in competition you always play to your strength and your opponents weakness. If you don't, he will. Sure you've heard of the saying that nice guys finish second.

This is very true. If I am playing a guy that is 3 balls better than I am and I have played him many times. I always find that I play my best game against a hard opponent because it forces me to play my absolute best game. If I am playing someone I know I am better than and can beat, I am more willing to take risk because I know what shots he can and can't make.

[9outof10]

Opponents only have one rule to win.. Don't leave them up!