Killer Instinct in one pocket

Mkbtank

Mkbtank

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Apr 22, 2013
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Philly Pa
Can it be developed? Worked on?

At times, I would still rather "have fun" than win. I have the ability, yet not the mental discipline to consistently win as often as I should.

Example- I played a guy last night (getting weight) and decided on my way there to play tight and not to give up shots. I move just as well as my opponent but he shoots straighter. Match starts and I am moving, playing great. I win 3 out of the first 4 games while moving really well and am hearing the rail birds commenting that I am going to kill my opponent. That's when I start loosening up.

When I make a few balls and want to take a lower % shot to "keep the run going" rather than look for a good safety while maintaining control of the table. Or, since I am such a lover of 1p, if I see a shot that is new, or I think just looks like a great one pocket shot, I just want to see the shot executed, like I can't resist. My joy for the game causes me to do dumb things lol.

This is an enormous mistake of mine obviously which needs to be corrected. Maintaining control of the table must be of paramount importance, over the, "fun shot", hero or pride feeding thoughts that jump in my head and will take me off course if/when I let them. If I'm up, I tell myself it doesn't matter, and take dem flyers, which I did last night, giving my straight shooting opponent the chance to shoot at his hole, and break even, which he did last night.

So it annoys me that while I know I have the skill to notch more "W's", I need to work on the desire, or the discipline, to stay smart, stay patient, and take them.

Anyone else struggle with these issues and overcome them??
 
tylerdurden

tylerdurden

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All I can say is get bit in the ass enough by letting up just a little, and after a long while you don't ever want to give up even a single game no matter the score.
 
jrhendy

jrhendy

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5,717
From
Placerville, CA
Mkbtank said:
Can it be developed? Worked on?

At times, I would still rather "have fun" than win. I have the ability, yet not the mental discipline to consistently win as often as I should.

Example- I played a guy last night (getting weight) and decided on my way there to play tight and not to give up shots. I move just as well as my opponent but he shoots straighter. Match starts and I am moving, playing great. I win 3 out of the first 4 games while moving really well and am hearing the rail birds commenting that I am going to kill my opponent. That's when I start loosening up.

When I make a few balls and want to take a lower % shot to "keep the run going" rather than look for a good safety while maintaining control of the table. Or, since I am such a lover of 1p, if I see a shot that is new, or I think just looks like a great one pocket shot, I just want to see the shot executed, like I can't resist. My joy for the game causes me to do dumb things lol.

This is an enormous mistake of mine obviously which needs to be corrected. Maintaining control of the table must be of paramount importance, over the, "fun shot", hero or pride feeding thoughts that jump in my head and will take me off course if/when I let them. If I'm up, I tell myself it doesn't matter, and take dem flyers, which I did last night, giving my straight shooting opponent the chance to shoot at his hole, and break even, which he did last night.

So it annoys me that while I know I have the skill to notch more "W's", I need to work on the desire, or the discipline, to stay smart, stay patient, and take them.

Anyone else struggle with these issues and overcome them??
Click to expand...

I have had a bad habit of relaxing with a big lead in games or sometimes balls in a single game my whole pool playing life.

It reared its ugly head yesterday and cost me $50 when I had a 6 to -1 lead, got careless and tried to end the game too early and he made some great shots after I allowed him a chance to go for his hole and I lost the game.

For some reason I don't have this bad habit in short race tournaments. If I play cheap, $10/20 a game, I am almost giving my $$ away because I love to shoot skyrockets and try and invent shots.

Hard habit to break after doing it for so long, but when one of the skyrockets works, it seems worth it.
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

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Jul 31, 2008
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1,447
Mkbtank said:
Can it be developed? Worked on?

At times, I would still rather "have fun" than win. I have the ability, yet not the mental discipline to consistently win as often as I should.

Example- I played a guy last night (getting weight) and decided on my way there to play tight and not to give up shots. I move just as well as my opponent but he shoots straighter. Match starts and I am moving, playing great. I win 3 out of the first 4 games while moving really well and am hearing the rail birds commenting that I am going to kill my opponent. That's when I start loosening up.

When I make a few balls and want to take a lower % shot to "keep the run going" rather than look for a good safety while maintaining control of the table. Or, since I am such a lover of 1p, if I see a shot that is new, or I think just looks like a great one pocket shot, I just want to see the shot executed, like I can't resist. My joy for the game causes me to do dumb things lol.

This is an enormous mistake of mine obviously which needs to be corrected. Maintaining control of the table must be of paramount importance, over the, "fun shot", hero or pride feeding thoughts that jump in my head and will take me off course if/when I let them. If I'm up, I tell myself it doesn't matter, and take dem flyers, which I did last night, giving my straight shooting opponent the chance to shoot at his hole, and break even, which he did last night.

So it annoys me that while I know I have the skill to notch more "W's", I need to work on the desire, or the discipline, to stay smart, stay patient, and take them.

Anyone else struggle with these issues and overcome them??
Click to expand...
Who says winning is most important? Unless it's your sole source of income, keep having fun. If it's your sole source of income... well, sorry about that.

pj
chgo
 
V

vapros

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May 24, 2004
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baton rouge, la
It is embarrassing to look back at all the games I have lost by passing up the shot I knew I should take, to go for something else. When there is a ball in the jaws of your enemy's pocket, it is almost always correct to grit your teeth and knock it down. Unless you are a Filipino, and can end the game and leave that ball hanging, knock it down.

This is a truism that the good players have always known. It's what enables them all to drive Lincolns. :eek: :D
 
Tom Wirth

Tom Wirth

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Delray Beach, Florida
If you wish to develop a killer instinct all you have to do is get a big lead over a couple players and loss it a few times. Then on other days when you play the same guys and those guys get you stuck like a pig they just keeps on plugging away and snap you off, you will remember all those times when you let up and your opponents came back on you and got even. You won't be doing that again will you? You will continue to do the things that got you that big lead and love watching it grow.
Go by one rule... You owe it not only to yourself to give your best effort on every shot but you owe it to your opponent as well. How does it make you feel when you just beat a good player you have never beaten before and he tells you how bad he played or that he didn't feel like trying that day?

Tom
 
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Mkbtank

Mkbtank

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Killer Instinct in one pocket

Fantastic replies. Thank you, guys. Nice to know it's not just me. And great point Patrick (and definitely not my only income)
 
mr3cushion

mr3cushion

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Cocoa Beach, FL
The "killer" instinct will come out in anyone, when they're playing $50.00 a game, and you only have $25.00 to your name! ;)
 
Mkbtank

Mkbtank

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Killer Instinct in one pocket

Hahahah. Awesome, Dustin. By the way when I wrote the original post it was broken into paragraphs.
 
lfigueroa

lfigueroa

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Mkbtank said:
Can it be developed? Worked on?

At times, I would still rather "have fun" than win. I have the ability, yet not the mental discipline to consistently win as often as I should.

Example- I played a guy last night (getting weight) and decided on my way there to play tight and not to give up shots. I move just as well as my opponent but he shoots straighter. Match starts and I am moving, playing great. I win 3 out of the first 4 games while moving really well and am hearing the rail birds commenting that I am going to kill my opponent. That's when I start loosening up.

When I make a few balls and want to take a lower % shot to "keep the run going" rather than look for a good safety while maintaining control of the table. Or, since I am such a lover of 1p, if I see a shot that is new, or I think just looks like a great one pocket shot, I just want to see the shot executed, like I can't resist. My joy for the game causes me to do dumb things lol.

This is an enormous mistake of mine obviously which needs to be corrected. Maintaining control of the table must be of paramount importance, over the, "fun shot", hero or pride feeding thoughts that jump in my head and will take me off course if/when I let them. If I'm up, I tell myself it doesn't matter, and take dem flyers, which I did last night, giving my straight shooting opponent the chance to shoot at his hole, and break even, which he did last night.

So it annoys me that while I know I have the skill to notch more "W's", I need to work on the desire, or the discipline, to stay smart, stay patient, and take them.

Anyone else struggle with these issues and overcome them??
Click to expand...


Yes and yes.

I think you know you've arrived as a 1pocket player when you pass up a relatively easy shot, to instead freeze your opponent to the back of a ball and make a sellout of the whole table a high probability. There's nothing boring about manufacturing a game-winning defensive shot that brings your opponent to his knees :)


Lou Figueroa
 
B

bstroud

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Winning is everything. Nothing else matters.

Nothing forces you to win more than losing.
You can not sleep. You can't look at yourself in the mirror.
You can't talk to anyone. You don't forget.

It is this fear that keeps you winning. Embrace it.

A great line to remember from the auto racing movie Grand Prix.

"When it rains I put my foot down hard because everyone else is lifting theirs."

I once gambled with a man in a wheel chair. Everyone else had eased up on him and got beat. I made sure I never gave him a shot.

Bill S.
 
sappo

sappo

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Tucson AZ
Mitch i read something the artie posted several years ago and I've tried to play by it. He said when playing you must do EVERYTHING you can to win!! i like that thought and when I'm faced with decisions like you described many times i think of artie's statement and play the correct shot. maybe you should try to develop that mentality. keith
 
Mkbtank

Mkbtank

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Killer Instinct in one pocket

sappo said:
Mitch i read something the artie posted several years ago and I've tried to play by it. He said when playing you must do EVERYTHING you can to win!! i like that thought and when I'm faced with decisions like you described many times i think of artie's statement and play the correct shot. maybe you should try to develop that mentality. keith
Click to expand...


That really is a mentality that I need to develop. When I "know" that the shot I like is the wrong shot...... But cannot stop myself.
 
sappo

sappo

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Simple solution

Simple solution

Mkbtank said:
That really is a mentality that I need to develop. When I "know" that the shot I like is the wrong shot...... But cannot stop myself.
Click to expand...

okay mitch, if you really want to stop playing shots YOU KNOW are not the best/correct shot that will lead you to win the game, then you have to motivate yourself to change. heres my suggestion and I'm serious. every time you are in that situation and you still shoot the poorer selection send me $10.00. I'm willing to bet that after a while you will stop shooting the wrong shot.

the solution is simple, you just need to really want to solve it. also every time you send me the money you must post about it here for everyone to see. keith
 
androd

androd

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New Braunfels tx.
sappo said:
okay mitch, if you really want to stop playing shots YOU KNOW are not the best/correct shot that will lead you to win the game, then you have to motivate yourself to change. heres my suggestion and I'm serious. every time you are in that situation and you still shoot the poorer selection send me $10.00. I'm willing to bet that after a while you will stop shooting the wrong shot.

the solution is simple, you just need to really want to solve it. also every time you send me the money you must post about it here for everyone to see. keith
Click to expand...

Git Er Done.
Rod.
 
Island Drive

Island Drive

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Depends on the bet and the situation....Losing is not in my DNA. From sailing to ice skating to ping pong to badminton to tennis, losing does NOT enhance my day, only makes me become More aware of the situation.
 
gulfportdoc

gulfportdoc

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Gulfport, Mississippi
Mkbtank said:
Can it be developed? Worked on?

At times, I would still rather "have fun" than win. I have the ability, yet not the mental discipline to consistently win as often as I should. ...

... So it annoys me that while I know I have the skill to notch more "W's", I need to work on the desire, or the discipline, to stay smart, stay patient, and take them.

Anyone else struggle with these issues and overcome them??
Click to expand...

Mitch, I think it's a matter of a guy's purpose in playing 1P, or pool in general. There's nothing wrong with being a recreational player. If there weren't recreational players, there wouldn't be any pool at all. If it there weren't, it would be a sport limited to only a select few-- like African big game safari hunters.

It's a lot of fun to play around. That's undoubtedly what attracted the vast majority of us to pick up pool in the first place: the fascination of balls rolling around the green baize and dropping into pockets. I've played for almost 60 years, and I still like to just throw some balls out and bang them around, or maybe just try shots just to see what happens.

And lots of people can play games of pool with opponents, and not really care who wins or loses. They're playing for fun. And they enjoy that.

I spent a lot of time in my youth bashing balls around with an opponent, not really caring who won. Even into my 20's, I'd play "shoot at every ball" 9-ball, no safeties, just for the fun of slapping balls in the hole.

I recall the great Hollywood Jack, when he was running Chopsticks Billiards in the L.A. San Fernando Valley, telling some sneering gamblers who were trying to hustle some of his customers, "Hey, leave those guys alone. They're not like you, they're just trying to have a good time."

But the difference comes in when a guy wants to win, to the point that it eats him up to lose. Now he has to take steps to become a better and better player. And when he plays an opponent, he's going to want to have the skill level and the knowledge to be able to beat him. When he beats him, he wants to be able to beat an even better player, and so on-- to the maximum.

So if a guy really has the desire to win, then he must play real serious, with intense concentration, and do everything he can to prevail. He can never let up.

And gambling is not necessary to become a better player. It depends upon a guy's mind set. If a guy can't play his best without money on the line, then that's what he must do to become better. I've also seen lots of guys where gambling has a diminishing returns effect. They play for stakes that they really can't afford, and their games go down hill. Then there are others who are worse than that...

I hate losing. So when I play, I'm as serious as a heart attack. If I lose (and sometimes even when I win), I analyze what I did wrong. Sure, once in awhile it's because the opponent got a lucky roll or something like that, or perhaps I've just tangled with a better player in a game I really couldn't win. But invariably if I lose to a player who's roughly the same speed as I, it's because I've let up in concentration, or have taken the wrong shot (often when I knew better).

So playing well is a matter of degree, but it's mostly based upon the reason a guy is playing pool in the first place. Playing for recreation and playing for the rent are two different propositions. But there's nothing inherently wrong with either of them.

~Doc
 
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