Playing your best pool at all times

[bluewolf]

There are two shots I almost never make on my home table but I make in a match at about 50%. Here is the first one.

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I am stripes. I have a long cut to the left upper corner. The ball is 2 diamonds about away from the pocket, surrounded by green which makes it a difficult shot. If the ob is closer to the pocket, it is an easier shot, even though it is slightly longer.

Here is the second one.

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%KJ5P7%LJ5N2%MK6Q4%NJ5R0%OJ5M0%Pg1I6%WE0D3%X`3E5%]c5F9%^f3I1
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This is a long cut with the ob about 2-4 inches from the long rail. This is harder for me than if the ob is frozen to the rail or almost touching the rail


When I am in a match, I am not worried about how many games I have won or lost or how many I need to win. It floats through my mind fleetingly, if at all, right before the break. During the game, I am in this superfocussed state, where everything seems to be kind of in a 'floaty' state and the spectators, other pool tables, etc cease to exist. I do not hear their conversations or anything. If I do hear, it is like a distant drum that I hear for a fleeting second and then it vanishes. All that exists is the balls on the table and shooting them for pots and safes.There are no emotions within me and no pressure. That ceases to exist also. That is why what others call pressure, does not affect me anymore.

It seems in my last 8 matches, this is a pretty regular state to me.I think that this happened when my sl did not matter much. I do ocasionally think about it but more with humor than anything else these days.

The two above shots, which I almost never make at home, I make a little more when I am practicing teamates before the match but not nearly as much as I make them in the match. Since these shots which are resonably difficult for me, I make 50/50 in a match, I conclude that I am capable of making them and if I could get so that I could make them at home, that would make my potting better.

Is there away to go into my 'match state' while practicing. I am not playing my best pool in my practice.

Laura

btw, I saw a good sl3 miss this shot last night. I said she will make it and she did not. I did not understand why because it is an easy shot.

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[Popcorn]

The first shot may be just a little better then a 50 /50 shot for most average players, but it is a common enough shot and you should work on it to build some confidence in it. The second shot is a little more of an odd shot that you may not come up all night. Why do you worry about specific odd shots, when there are dozens of fairly easy shots and situations that you need to be proficient at to play consistent pool? Shots like these and many like them, deserve your attention:
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)END
They come up in every game and you need to never miss, or screw them up, as well as many, many others that come up over and over. That is where you time should be spent, perfecting the simplicity of the game. I have a feeling you think like a lot of other players, why waste time on practicing easy stuff, well good pool is just doing simple things consistently. You will be surprised also, that when you are in the habit of hitting all shots as well as you can, even the simple ones. You will make a lot of the very hard shots regardless of whether you practice them or not, because you are improving your accuracy and it will apply itself to any shot that comes up automatically, that is where you begin becoming a real player. Your game is no longer an out of tune bunch of fragments and inconsistencies, but a symphony. I am sorry for seeming to say so much when you just mentioned a couple of shots, but I think know where you are coming from. I used to sit with my feet up and watch players practice all kinds of stuff and two years later they are still doing the same thing. They don't seem to be able to build a game with any kind of consistent basis. One week they are practicing this, the next week they are practicing that, but never any cohesion of a game. Again I am sorry, none of this may even apply to you.

[bluewolf]

Thanks popcorn. I try to practice everyday. I spend the majority of time on straight ins and short cuts. But when I detect a weakness, I do work on it at least a little everyday.

Thanks again for the shot.

Laura