World Championship

I have been spending many sleepless nights watching the snooker championship live, that I have not been practicing much.
That Cope game and that Ding game was nice.
Davis played real bad, making Robertson play bad for a while.
It is very interesting to see how pressure can change a player's shot selection and the game in general. It is what I have been working on, and is nice to see live example of that happening to the top players of the game.
Marco played good, but it seemed that he is not cueing the long balls well. He seems to be punching everything in, and he cue ball feels dead. I am not sure if that is a good thing.
Ding was playing well in the beginning, then lost it, then got it back. Liang was playing real well, then failed to cross over the finish line.
Perry could not handle Cope, when he looked to be just awesome among the balls once he had a chance. I think that did something to Perry's confidences, that he seemed to lose his sharpness at the last part of the game. Cope was handling well, although I could tell he was nervous.
In today's snooker, if you cannot pot under pressure, you will not win against the top players. And it seems that a lot of players are letting the pressure got to them to the point of affecting their potting. Lots of balls were missed, black off the spot, and so on.
Pressure is something that only exists when you allow it to, it is like fearing the dark. It is created by the person and manifested by himself. It is like a monster one creates. It is easy to say this, but very difficult to handle it.
If you keep thinking about what could go wrong, and keep dwelling on the negative, you will keep getting more and more scare. But another person in the same situation might not feel that pressure at all if he does not think too much about it.
For me, I now practice thinking of my ability and telling myself I can pot these balls. I try to imagine I am in a game, but I still pot balls after balls, even though I am playing the perfect player.
It is a training of the mind, to not get scared afraid of missing and thinking too much of what would happen if I miss and so on.
My long potting is getting really well now, but my cut shot is still not consistent. I cannot really see that spot consistently still. But I will.
Going back to watching the championship. Peace out.

not played for one week

Did not play for almost a week until Sat, played N and ran a 43. But lost the tournament, came third. Missed a few key shots and shapes.
Later on practiced with D, played alright but not consistent. Only won 2 games and he won like 4 or 5.
I have learned something very important though.
I have realized that when I played D I felt fear and I was afraid of missing and making mistakes. My heart almost stopped beating sometimes when I am at the table and I guess that is what you would call choke.
So, I have to stop the fear and play my game. When I am at the table, it is mine, and he cannot do anything to me, just do at the table what I know I can d in practice.
Also, i noticed that I am using this new aiming system and loser grip ad it is good and I am making more thin cuts but my thick shots are suffering and I might be too "all over the place" with my new stroke.
I went to practice on Sunday, and worked on keepin gmy rhythm like I used to, but to keep the grip a bit more relaxed yet firm. It felt much better.
I certainly need to keep training my eyes to see the angle at home, that aiming training board I made is very good, so I should not be lazy. I still cannot see half ball and the close fractions to half ball very clearly.
Also, the super fine cuts, and the just off straight pots, those are the troublesome ones.
Anyway, i love the cue, and the shorter length. My bridge is not as long now, and it feels just right.
Need to work on the right mentality with a more offensive mentality through practicing with better players.

Afraid of winning

I have been thinking a lot about the 9 ball I missed. To be honest, after I crossed bank the pink, which was a fluke, I did not expect t be so nicely on the black. The cue ball did not travel the way I expected so I got lucky on position as well. At the moment, I was looking at it, and said, "I dont deserve it, I might win this from here, but it is too good to be true."
I hate to admit it but that is what I had in my mind. Besides, I looked at the shot, and then I changed my mind to cut it a but thicker, because I have missed the shot too thin before.
It is all in the mind.
Afraid of winning; feeling guilty about my luck; not comfortable with my potting angle and did not bother to work it out; not believing that I could win.
I need to know that everyone can get lucky, but not everyone can capitalize on luck--it takes skill to do that.
Winning is what I strive for--losing sucks no matter how you try to rosy picture it.
I need to have the will to win, and have the confidence to execute this objective.
Memory can help greatly when it comes to potting under pressure, because if I am confortable and confident in my angle, that is one element off the equation.
To win takes gettign used to, so torunament is essential, especially winning them, which would give me a lot of confidence.

stroke

I went to practice for three hours. I dont know if it is the new cue or that I am more relaxed when I stroke, but I am playing very well now.
In my practice I did 12 reds, and then made a lot of long shots that I was having problem with before.
I am trying to hold the cue looser and stroke through the ball rather than punch it. Somehow it is feeling so good. I am very pleased.

optimum performance

I did not have much time when i typed my last post. What I have found out is that I need to have a sort of confidence to go for the pots I know I would make, t have an offensive and aggressive mentality to cease an opportunity to win a frame when the opportunity presents itself, rather than just trying not to make mistake and afraid to miss.

Another thing is to keep my arms loose, but my mind alert, and focused. I very often do the opposite, keeping my body and arm too tight, and my mind totally unfocused.

Another thing is to be strong headed, which means to know what I want, and my objective, and do not let others change me or to feel bad about wanting what I want.

The guys at the club keep telling me to be less serious and so on, but they will never amount to anything in snooker so I need to filter out their comment. It is important to know that I shoudl be polite, but there is no need to accept any advice or accussation unless I am convinced they are right. No need to argue, but no need to le tthat bother me either.

I need to put in more hours to imprint the angles in my mind. I am so broke now I cannot afford to practice, but I need to figure out something.

I read they started at 9-10 am and practice till 6pm in the UK, with a lunch break. That is what I need to do.

back in form slowly

I was playing like absolute rubbish the last couple weeks. Lost the tournament partnering with K. I played a bit too conservatively, kind of relying K to make the points, rather than being aggressive and try making points by myself.

Also missed two key black balls. Very bad. My mind was not focused when I had those blacks.

I think I need to practice and memorize the angles so well that I know exactly where to aim under pressure. Memory and pattern is the key to this game.

Anyway, cut my cue shorter, took a break for a week, and played on Sat. Played good at first, then very bad, then good again. At the end, I was really in stroke, made a 43 then a 35 back to back playing partners with K. He could not make a ball but it was fine because I was scoring.

The thing with playing well I have found is to be relaxed and confident. I was too tense before. I need to be relaxed and sharp and confident, to play at my best.

Disappointment

I was really looking forward to this tournament that was held yestersday.
I prepared a week beforehand, with lots of systematic practice and also lots of eating well and my omega-3, plus sleeping early and practicing earlier to get used to the playing time difference.
Unfortunately, ont he time for the tournament, I got up with a hugh headaches.
Anyway, I went to play and during my practice my half table shots felt fine but my sdie pocket and long potting was quite off.
I did not have enough time to figure things out before the match started.
Our forst match was aginst someone who played very defensively and the match lasted over an hour. It was very hard to keep in stroke and stayed focused. I missed a few half chances and misse dmy positions a few times. By the time the match was over, my headaches was killing me.
Second match was also like the same, missed tow very important black. My game ball being one of them, with the cue ball close ot the cushion. I kept thinking about how I used to miss that ball on the thin side so I hit it a bit too thick.
Won the thord match, and then the last match came down to the last black.
I had a 1/8 black cut witht he black kind of off the cushion, the black bing may be 3 feet from the pocket or may be a bit less.
I had lots of people watching me, and I kept telling myself I could do it.
Then when I tried to look at the shot, everything looked real blurry, and I had no confidence at the shot. I shot at it, over cut by a hair and the black stayed in front of the pocket. I was sort of not sure what to do, and I had no idea where my cue ball would end up, and I was guess my aim because I just felt very uncomfortable.
After that, my froends came to me and told me that was a shot I HAD to go for and I just had bad luck rattling it. If my cue ball had coem out a few more inches or if the black would have travelled a bit further up, then it would have been safe.
But the thing is I missed.
Another thing is that was not a shot I HAD to go for. If I did nto feel comfortable and that was the key ball, I should not have gone for it, especially with the cue ball being on the cushion and me not shooting that well.
I watched the Peter Ebdon interview and he said the player is the only one who can decide which shot was right to go for.
Having said that, I will
practice my fine cut, and my rail shots. My rail shots are not good ebcause I have not beein practicing them, and my long potting is not consistent.
I need to play well to beat these guys, and I need to have more shots so I can make a tough shot to start a big break. All I need is to run a small 30 to 40 break and it is done. But the point is to get the first shot and them good position afterwards. These guys are grinders and they would nto give me any chance unless I created them.
Never give up, my time will come. Learn from my mistake and grow stronger.