When I concentrate I play poorly, when this frustrates me I play fast and can't miss

[ace man]

Just to share:

Yesterday played best of 5 frames with a better player than myself. My opponent breaks and I hit a break of 32 (4blacks) at first go. Then, that feeling is back and I knew I was in the "zone". I can feel the cueball and pace of the table (Wiraka M1). I took 2 frames with the highest break of 51. Then at the start of 3rd frame, I lost the plot again. Thinking too much of the shot even when I'm feathering. Indecision on where to hit the cue ball. Start to overdoing shots to recover which make matter worse. Lost final 3 frames with my own palm-face expression. My opponent then told me that I was smooth at the first 2 frames but got over aggressive with my cue action and too much tindering with my cue timing.

My lesson learnt for that day was, I need to define my "smooth" and trust my instinctive positioning and stop all "stylish" cue action.
It's VERY IMPORTANT that we fully enjoy each and every stroke of the cue (potting or safety), else we will lost the plot of the game and lost the thrill which got us started in the very first place.

I can relate to this as I've done what you did many times. I congratulated myself far too early, even secretly celebrated if I played a really good frame. Sure enough disaster struck after that.
Nowadays I expect a drop in performance after a good game. I no longer have illusion that my top game is what I'm normally capable off. To some degree, it helps.

About thinking when down on the shot...let's say you want to completely ruin your game, what would you think about during feathering? Of course, every single aspect of technique...from your feet to grip strength! Be as slow and as methodical as possible, fully robotic. And don't forget to feather 20 times at least adjusting aiming points of course!

[vilkrang]

Cheers for similar stories, I have been following your replies and all advice is appreciated, many thanks!