Tip Of The Week

Number: 16 Jim Tellier May 2011

TOPIC: Mind Games

CATEGORY: All Skill Levels

INTRODUCTION:

At the beginning, when people first start playing pool, its mostly a physical challenge: developing skills like aiming, speed control, using English, etc. As time goes on, you realize that there are things that you (and your opponent) can do to influence the outcome of the game, that are more mental than physical. Some of these are positive actions, and some are quite negative. An important phase of your development as a pool player is to first recognize the mental parts of the game for what they are.

TECHNIQUE:

There are 3 types of situations you can encounter when playing pool: 1) practice, 2) fun pool and 3) pressure pool. I like to think of fun pool as times when you can just hang out with friends and whack the balls around the table without much concern over whos going to win. If what youre doing doesnt fit that description, then it must be one of (1) or (3), not fun! With both practice and pressure scenarios, I like to think of them as almost the same: serious effort. The one big difference with practice however, is that you can give yourself more freedom to experiment push the envelope with trying shots that you simply shouldnt even think about in an actual match. Once you identify this distinction in your mind, and adjust your mental attitude to fit, you will have a mental advantage over those people who simply go through the same motions every time they pick up a cue, no matter what the situation.

Sometimes, fear seems to affect peoples ability to play well. Fear of missing, fear of scratching, fear of their opponent (whats he gonna do anyway?! hes sitting in a chair watching YOU run the rack!), fear of what their teammates will think, fear of.whatever!!! The best advice Ive ever heard was: youre playing your game against the balls, not your opponent: play the table! Concentrate on your technique and doing what needs to be done with one shot at a time, without worrying about the outcome. The best you can do will come out. Remember that how you think about the times that youre on your best game, will have a big impact on your progress and development as a player. Playing well is giving yourself positive reinforcement enjoy it, take advantage of it, strive for it, and it will happen more often. Confidence is simply believing in your abilities. The abilities are built on practice and experience.. To play your best game, you need to be strongly confident about your game. Practice is the time to develop the understanding of what your abilities are, and what your limitations are. Competition is the time to say, I know I can pull this off, because Ive done it 85% of the time in practice, or I know I cant do this, so Im going to be conservative and play safe. Either way, youre playing from a confident attitude, that youre making the right choice. Thats what it takes to build mental strength.