Attn: Dr Bill & Freddy the Beard

pvclou

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14.1 Psych Question …
http://www.onepocket.org/forum/showpost.php?p=118208

In Sunny's thread about psyching out an opponent I explained I can be prone to being sucked into my opponents' negative energy.

Rodney put up some great feedback that I've linked above, and I would like to read more opinions and experiences on this theme. I would especially like to know the thoughts of members who have competed at the top levels, e.g. Billy Incardona, Freddy Bentivegna, onepockethacker, senor, Tom W, etc.
 

pvclou

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Attn: Dr Bill & Freddy the Beard

Wow. I would have thought other people would be interested in this.

Pointless bullshit is more interesting here just as well as AZbilliards I guess.

Go figure
 

tylerdurden

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You addressed the thread to two people.

Not that you care, but I personally think if you are letting your opponent's negative energy get to you, that you need to seriously work on that. What your opponent does simply should not affect you negatively, whether it is a time out, or screaming at the top of his lungs, or throwing the chalk, or asking you to rerack 20 times. IF this stuff affects you, believe me, people will do it to you. I personally feel great when my opponent gets negative, and feel like I have totally lost something to him if I get negative. Think about it like that kid that always got picked on in school. That is exactly what it is like. If people know you will respond to something negatively, they WILL do it to you, rest assured.

Once the above stuff is mastered, I would guess the next step is getting strong when you are watching your opponent play well. I personally don't think time outs are an issue at all. A player should be able to mentally diverge his energy and say something like "great, let me gather myself after that miss" if his opponent takes a time out. Time should NEVER be the enemy, why would it be? The only reason time could be an enemy is a chink in the mental armor of a player. Now, balls flying into the hole can be tough to deal with. It is like a different animal to conquer in my estimation, and the one "shark move" that gives all of us fits I would say.
 

Cowboy Dennis

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Wow. I would have thought other people would be interested in this.

Pointless bullshit is more interesting here just as well as AZbilliards I guess.

Go figure

When you address the thread to two players and ask them to opine on your queries why would you be surprised when nobody else responds?

You specifically asked for players' opinions who've played at top levels as if this gives a clue to the mental aspect of the game anyway. Top players are often just as mentally weak as anyone else and have no special insight into anything except playing well.

Dennis
 

fred bentivegna

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For whatever reason I usually just shoot past Sunnyone's posts. Just too ephemeral for me. I am still not sure of her real gender yet. I would require a body search just to be sure.

Beard
 

pvclou

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Attn: Dr Bill & Freddy the Beard

You are both right about the title of the thread. I can be so clumsy about stuff like that. How can I change it?

I assumed that the best players had to have the best mental games, and not just the best technical games. I still tend to think that. I think I was hoping that one of those top guys had a magic formula for mental toughness. I forget that mental toughness has to be developed with effort (like technical ability), and that it can take time.

I see, Tyler, that the more sharkable a player the more his opponent will try to shark him. You made a great point about being sharked when your opponent doesn't miss. That IS the toughest to fade. How do you stay relaxed and focused when you're getting beat like that?
 

gulfportdoc

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For whatever reason I usually just shoot past Sunnyone's posts. Just too ephemeral for me. I am still not sure of her real gender yet. I would require a body search just to be sure. Beard

Heh, heh. Fred you can use the old-fashioned word "sex". You don't have to substitute "gender" if you don't want to. The forum is not completely 100% politically cleansed... yet.:D

Sunnyone's musings are not for everyone; but she's definitely all woman. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Doc
 

Island Drive

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14.1 Psych Question …
http://www.onepocket.org/forum/showpost.php?p=118208

In Sunny's thread about psyching out an opponent I explained I can be prone to being sucked into my opponents' negative energy.

Rodney put up some great feedback that I've linked above, and I would like to read more opinions and experiences on this theme. I would especially like to know the thoughts of members who have competed at the top levels, e.g. Billy Incardona, Freddy Bentivegna, onepockethacker, senor, Tom W, etc.

Personally, by watching my opponents pattern play and mechanics and cue ball speed, I can choose to either buckle down or work it depending on the situation.
 

Tom Wirth

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14.1 Psych Question …
http://www.onepocket.org/forum/showpost.php?p=118208

In Sunny's thread about psyching out an opponent I explained I can be prone to being sucked into my opponents' negative energy.

Rodney put up some great feedback that I've linked above, and I would like to read more opinions and experiences on this theme. I would especially like to know the thoughts of members who have competed at the top levels, e.g. Billy Incardona, Freddy Bentivegna, onepockethacker, senor, Tom W, etc.

Hey Lou,

There are so many ways people try to shark their opponents. Some work others don't. I guess the most successful way some pull it off is by not doing if very often. The unexpected has the greatest chance of effectiveness. Players who step away from the table for periods of time for bathroom breaks or a cigarette or whatever don't shark me though I might find it annoying. This kind of thing just gives me greater resolve.

The same is true with people who are constantly going out of their way to make their presence felt when I am at the table. I know these people are no threat to me because they need tactics such as this to overcome their own sense of inferiority. Why else would they resort to such tactics? I simple block them out of my conscious mind just as I would background noise or drunken conversations coming from other tables. Can I be sharked? Of course. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or just fooling themselves. These tactics typically fill me with a keener sense of self confidence. Tournaments are a little different. We have Refs. to oversee this kind of behavior.

A famous story of a great golfer putting for the championship of a major tournament in the forties knocked in the six footer with a freight train passing by the green. When asked how he was able to make that putt with that train rumbling through he responded, "What train?"

Tom
 
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petie

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Frank Zummo, a 200+ ball runner and 14.1 World Invitational player once told me that there are a lot of guys who could run 100 but not very many who could run 100 if the opponent had just run 100 on them.
 

androd

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Frank Zummo, a 200+ ball runner and 14.1 World Invitational player once told me that there are a lot of guys who could run 100 but not very many who could run 100 if the opponent had just run 100 on them.

Speed kills, but I always loved it.
Rod.
 

fred bentivegna

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Heh, heh. Fred you can use the old-fashioned word "sex". You don't have to substitute "gender" if you don't want to. The forum is not completely 100% politically cleansed... yet.:D

Sunnyone's musings are not for everyone; but she's definitely all woman. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Doc

Then I demand that she show up at DCC this year and allow me a full body search, cavity's and all. She can even call it a "mercy" search if she wants to.

Beard
 

Cowboy Dennis

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You are both right about the title of the thread. I can be so clumsy about stuff like that. How can I change it?

I assumed that the best players had to have the best mental games, and not just the best technical games. I still tend to think that. I think I was hoping that one of those top guys had a magic formula for mental toughness. I forget that mental toughness has to be developed with effort (like technical ability), and that it can take time.

I see, Tyler, that the more sharkable a player the more his opponent will try to shark him. You made a great point about being sharked when your opponent doesn't miss. That IS the toughest to fade. How do you stay relaxed and focused when you're getting beat like that?

One of the more intelligent things that Artie ever said was along these lines: "If I want to know something that I don't know, I go ask the people who do know".

Top players do not possess superior mental games or toughness by simple virtue of being top players. Many of them simply have nothing better to do for the next 30 years and so have nothing on their minds like most of us do. While most of us are trying to make mortgage payments, pay car insurance, send kids to college, maintain a job, and so forth, these top players have nothing else to do except shoot the next shot. This frees up their minds to play well.

As per Artie's advice, if you want to learn mental toughness or superior thought processes when playing pool or any other sport then go to a person who is expert in the matter. Poolplayers ain't it.

Regarding your question of how to stay relaxed and focused when getting a beating; why would a person do anything else?

Dennis
 
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