Play Pool without Fear
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| Fear – Turn it OFF! |
I posted a couple lines on this subject on Facebook and got more comments than anything else I’ve ever posted, so I thought it deserved a more detailed exposition. And this applies to all games, so don’t let the example from straight pool scare you off.
I play in a straight pool league once a week and I’ve noticed that a number of the players there will often pass up a good break shot and instead play safe. I’m not talking about the situation where the shot is low percentage; I’m talking about having a good break shot and purposely passing on it, playing a safety instead.
I think this is playing scared and I think it’s a big mistake. When you know what the right shot is, you must have the courage to shoot it. Sure the pressure is higher in a league match than in a friendly game. So what! The pressure’s higher when you play in a tournament or play for a few bucks or even when a couple of railbirds are watching you play. Do you want to be afraid in all of these cases, passing on opportunities to kick butt? I hope not.
When you know what the right shot is, you have to have the courage to shoot it.
Success on the big shot, the one where the game is on the line, is one of the sweetest, most gratifying moments in pool. If you play scared, hoping to win off the mistakes of your opponent, even if he does screw up your victory will seem hollow, robbing you of the pleasure of knowing that you won rather than he lost. And you won’t ever get better under pressure. On the contrary, if you give in to fear it will get stronger and eventually own you. Pool will become less fun and you’ll either stop playing where the pressure’s highest, or quit the game entirely.
As in all of life, the first step to fixing this problem is to recognize it. Take a step back and take an honest and critical look at how you play, especially in pressure situations. Do you pass up good shots because if you miss you leave your opponent a chance to win? Do you shoot easy shots that lead nowhere instead of tougher shots that lead to run outs? Do you leave your problems until the end of the game instead of attacking them early? These are all strong symptoms of playing scared.
Although you want to become fearless at the table, you don’t want to become reckless. Don’t take low percentage shot to prove you have no fear. This approach leads to ruin. One good way to prevent this is to have a very good understanding of your actual ability. Using progressive practice techniques on your weaknesses will lead not only to improving them, but to an honest appraisal of your skills that will come in very handy when you assess in a game what shot to take or whether to play safe.
If you give in to fear it will get stronger and eventually own you.
The next step is to call yourself on it, every time you start to slip. “Always take the right shot” should become your new mantra. And notice I said the “right” shot. I am not advocating an all offensive approach. When a safety is the best shot, play the safety.
The third step is to make a note (mental is OK but a written note is more likely to be acted on), every time fear attempts to make an appearance. What was the circumstance under which it showed its ugly face?
Fear can affect your game in many subtle ways, often not recognized as fear at all. Here are a few examples that will help you see what I mean. I’m sure you can think of many more.
Asking too much of a shot to get perfect shape on the next ball, rather than taking the shot as it lies and taking a little longer, but much more achievable, position on the next shot (don’t be afraid of a little longer shot).
Remove the underlying weaknesses in your game that allow fear a chance to affect you.
Playing the position route you’re comfortable with, even though there are obstacles in the way, rather than a safer route you’re not as comfortable shooting.
Not putting the right cueing on the CB for fear of missing the ball, even though it leads to not getting shape on the next ball.
The last and most important step is to remove the underlying weaknesses in your game that allow fear a chance to affect you. Those are things that you should work on in your practice sessions. You won’t fear things you’re confident about.
For example, if you find yourself trying to kill the cue ball off the rail instead of going across and back, then set up a few examples of those shots and practice them until you are both proficient and comfortable. The next time it comes up in a game, and you go across and back with ease, you’ll have a small epiphany. Savor that “aha” moment, but remember what got you there, because you’ll want to do more of it. Not more repetition of the across and back drill, but more iterations of the whole process of fear elimination. By recognizing and correcting the underlying issues that give rise to fear you can conquer it and play fearlessly.
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7 Responses to “Play Pool without Fear”
Martin
- October 20th, 2009
Nice article, I linked to it from my website!
John Biddle
- October 20th, 2009
Martin, thanks for the kind words; and links are always appreciated!
Pool Minnow
- October 21st, 2009
Great article…More often than not, when I play with fear, and pass up the right shot in favor of something safer, I may get one more chance at the table, but still end up losing. At that point, its like something inside of me knows I don’t deserve to win.
Lothar Bergeest
- October 21st, 2009
John, I enjoyed your article a great deal. I’m especially gratified that you’re getting good responses to your posts. Congratulations! I have a few observations to share, ‘tho. Everyone has a different skill level, and a different “comfort zone.” But when the stakes get raised, each player makes a personal choice about the risk/payoff ratio. I can’t personally judge what some other player’s comfort zone or confidence should be, but I have no problem putting a “W” next to my name (or money in my pocket), b/c my opponent thought he could make a shot and didn’t. By the same token, I’m not happy when I miss a shot I was sure I’d make, and he or she runs out – and I have to live with the “L.” Having said all that, we’ll never get really better until we challenge ourself to stretch our comfort zone, whatever the situation. I would really like to get together with you to play. Call me soon, and let’s compare calendars. Keep strokin’ ‘em in!
Lothar
John Biddle
- October 22nd, 2009
Lothar,
It’s good to hear from you and get your seasoned feedback. I fully appreciate the Win / Loss issue, but I want to clarify my point to make sure that what I’m trying to say is what’s understood.
In a game I think it’s important to try to advance your relative position against your opponent with every shot you take. There’s nothing simple about this, though. If I’m running out in 8 Ball, each ball made is moving me toward my goal, but if I fail along the way I may wind up worse off than when I started, maybe much worse off. So the big picture needs to be balanced against the individual details.
A person’s ability will play a significant roll (or should) in the thinking, planning and shot making decisions, and I’m not in the least suggesting there’s one right answer. If, for example, I see an opportunity for a safety that I’m very confident will yield me ball in hand with an easy runout and my other best choice is a makable shot with some risk and a makable runout, I’d go for the safety.
I’m not suggesting or encouraging an all offensive mindset. But people can and do go too far with this approach, using it to kid themselves that they are being strategic instead of afraid. I’m trying, maybe awkwardly and unsuccessfully, to call attention to that and get a few folks to take a hard second look. I think the benefits are enormous, both in terms of the increased personal satisfaction one gets from the game as well as one’s ability to significantly improve. Yes, even to win more often.
And I’ll give you a call about playing at Biddle’s nonsmoking pool hall.
BrooklynJay
- October 27th, 2009
Hi John,
There are plenty of reasons why someone may pass up on what, in your opinion, is the right shot and I’m not sure if it’s fear.
In your 14.1 example your opponent may pass on the break shot because he lacks the confidence in his abilities to execute it. Passing on the break shot is playing to his honest evaluation of his abilities and the safety, for him, is “the right shot”.
Having no faith in your abilities to execute and still taking the break shot would result in selling out so, in this situation, the safety is the right call.
It’s hard to tell without knowing more about ther person. (More on this in a bit.)
It also could be a lack of knowledge. Maybe the person didn’t see the breakshot. I’ve seen that a lot a times especially with a complicated game like 14.1.
A lack of confidence and a lack of knowledge – both can be corrected with practice. I don’t know if fear, real fear, is so easily fixed.
I think to recognize if a person is playing with “fear” you have to have seen that person play before tp get a baseline and then watching thier overall strategy.
For example – in a recently league match where the winner would propels thier team into the finals I saw a guy who had ball in hand, who is more than capable of running out the wide open table of balls, opt to play a safety instead and try and 3 foul the opponent.
He played, imho, “scared”. He changed his strategy to one where he’s hoping for his opponent to lose rather than him, trusting his own abilities, and going for the win.
I’m not sure what the fix is for someone who’s suddenly lost faith in themselves.
John Biddle
- October 27th, 2009
Jay,
I want to be clear that I do not in any way think I know the right shot for everyone. Hell, I don’t even claim to know it for me. And I don’t even think there is one right shot, as different people with different skills will want to approach the same situation differently. Same is true for people with similar skills but different levels of knowledge.
My main point is in this line from the original post: “When you know what the right shot is, you have to have the courage to shoot it.”
The “when you know” part is very important. It isn’t fear if you do what you genuinely think is the right thing, whether it’s a safety or an offensive shot. It’s when in your own mind (heart) you know what the right shot is, but you let fear get the best of you, and cow you into doing something else. I certainly can’t make the call, the shooter has to make it, although it sure does seem obvious to me sometimes.
I believe that if a player lets fear guide them to alternate paths, they will become increasingly likely to let it happen every time similar situations arise, and they will shy away from (what they themselves consider to be) the right shot. This downward spiral will begin to include other shots as well, further weakening their game, especially their mental game.
I think your example of the guy who played safe on an open table is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about. By yielding to the fear, he becomes much less confident in his ability to get out going forward, which is a big mistake.
As to what the solution is, I don’t know that my proposal will work for everyone, but I think it could, if given a fair attempt. Recognizing the problem is the 1st step to correcting it, with any problem, and pool is no different.
At the very least, a person who feels the need to play the second best shot, should make a note of that fact, and work on the issue the next time they get to practice. Another approach is to recognize that you have a twinge of fear, but push through it, being careful not to overhit or underhit the ball, which ever is the thing you do most often when you are in that situation.
This blog is all about getting better, not about maximizing one’s wins today. Those are different goals, each one laudable. My approach here may sacrifice the latter a little in support of the former, though I think that as one gets better the improvement in ability will be a bigger factor and result in more wins later down the line. And, if sacrificing wins is too steep a price, you can punt in the league/tournament/money game now and work on the issue in practice.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment; we students of the game can learn a great deal from each other.
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