Attn: Dr Bill & Freddy the Beard

Cowboy Dennis said:

Yes Tom, and she may also have acute butt.


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Sacre Bleu!

pvclou said:

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.

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Hola pvclou - Negative energy from an opponent never really bothered me. I was more prone to the accidental shark (a weekend warrior walking between tables kind of thing).

A strong mental aspect of the game that I was lucky enough to learn is (it sounds very cliche) that your opponent is the table and nothing else really matters. Personally, one of the things that really helped me play well was I would always think about the table layout, even if it wasn't my shot...kind of a what would I do if I were shooting. I think it helped me stay focused and zoned in and a byproduct was not really paying attention to the yelling, cussing, or body language of my opponent.

Hope this helps !

P.S. I don't want to sell short the fact that I spent a lot of time in the pool hall and practiced, a lot. It was easy to do because I was good at the game, I was improving constantly, and I was getting a lot of action.

I don't play any pool anymore and play golf about once a week, hitting balls on the range 2-3 times a week. This equates to probably 10-15% of the time I used to devote to pool. My mental fortitude at golf is a hugely deficient compared to pool. I think if I spent as much time around golf as I did around pool I would improve in this regard.

What I'm trying to say is I do not take lightly how difficult it really is to block out all the distractions for someone who does not play pool full time. It's something that needs to be developed and nurtured.

petie said:

Sacre Bleu!

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Internal affairs has confirmed your imput....More later.

pvclou said:

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?

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It is very hard to fade good play. I guess the best way is to get beat up on as much as you can and attempt to deal with it.

I don't have an answer to that question, but I will say I have often thought that if you are able to give the weight you are really supposed to give to players, then you are at a point where fading your opponents skills is at a healthy level. That has just been my barometer to judge how well I am doing with it. I think giving weight is a much more difficult skill than many suppose, because there is more pressure on you to perform, and it is kinda a mind bender. If you run 8 balls average in straight pool, and your opponent 4, that means you should be able to give him half the balls, but i think in reality the guy giving that spot will lose much more often than he "should". That is because of the psychology of giving your opponent something during battle. So, when you get to the point where you can in fact give half the balls, you have the toughness imo, because you are just executing the truth at that point.

I like the quote about the "how many guys can run 100 after it has just been done on them...". So true.

Island Drive said:

Internal affairs has confirmed your imput....More later.

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You're a gas.

Its not the actual sharking that bothers me , it's the fact that the creep I am playing thinks it is ok to do it to me.
I often wish I had just smashed a cuestick over the first couple of guys teeth and gotten a reputation for being someone you might not want to pull it on.
I did not , I got mad at myself for getting in a game with a lowlife.
As far as someone sharking you by making everything they shoot at, it happens.
If it is in a tournament, there is nothing you can do but say great shooting.
If I were gambling I would do what 99# of all the people I have watched do, and that is, find another opponent.
I have seen people pull moves when playing for fun, I just got bad racked the other night because I was playing too good for my opponent and his ego and lack of morals wouldn't stand for it.
I then have to wonder what this type of person is capable of behind closed doors?

Attn: Dr Bill & Freddy the Beard

Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and wisdom on this topic. I had a nice talk with Rodney yesterday over the sharking and playing 'your' game, among other things. I think it is easy to come up with the answers to these questions. A lot of it seems like common sense. The hard part is doing it. I've seen Rodney and other experienced players 'do it' almost every time in competition. So I guess that part is the wisdom that comes with experience. I am getting better

pvclou said:

Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and wisdom on this topic. I had a nice talk with Rodney yesterday over the sharking and playing 'your' game, among other things. I think it is easy to come up with the answers to these questions. A lot of it seems like common sense. The hard part is doing it. I've seen Rodney and other experienced players 'do it' almost every time in competition. So I guess that part is the wisdom that comes with experience. I am getting better

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Yes Lou, you have really improved. I heard you won the big one pocket tourney last Saturday. A lot of talent in that tourney and one world class player who you beat twice and not short races.
Congrats Lou, you've hit the big time.
Rod.
P.S. Nice to see one of our members playing so well.

Attn: Dr Bill & Freddy the Beard

Thanks a lot Rodney.

-Lou

P.s. it was a 9 ball tourney

pvclou said:

Thanks a lot Rodney.

-Lou

P.s. it was a 9 ball tourney

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Whoops ! Nice win anyway.
Rod.

tylerdurden said:

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.

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I take it you have never played Henny some? He can push any ones buttons!