The most common problem faced by serious pool players is maintaining consistency in their game.
This is nothing new, it has rankled players everywhere until they come to terms with the fact this is something they have to pass through en-route to their own personal top performance.
Inconsistency is not the problem, as I have said before, it is a symptom - And you can correct it.
Most players are working to bring consistency to their game. After all, if they could perform the way they are capable of performing, and do this every time, they would win more games, raise their league average and win more tournaments.
If you are an inconsistent player, you are having problems in your fundamentals. It stands to reason. An inconsistent player does not hit the cue ball the same way every time. Therefore, he/she cannot expect consistent results. And once you miss-hit the cue ball, your mind begins to play tricks on you.
You start to think you are having mental problem, something is wrong with you, and then you begin to get down on yourself. You go into a slump. You have no confidence.
Your stroke is unsure and tentative and things can only get worse. You begin to change your stance, your grip, and your style of play. And once in a while, on that special night, you click into your real self and shoot the lights out.
Everything works and you are once again drawn into the game with all the enthusiasm of a world-class player. "If I can only play like this all the time", you dream, "I could be a real good player."
Inconsistency has everything to do with fundamentals. It is measured in the quality of hit on the cue ball. If you are not a master of the fundamentals, you will never strike the cue ball the same way. Each shot will be an adventure in timing.
In order to build good sound skills, skills that will serve you well, you must be able to hit the cue ball with a clean pure stroke. The cue tip must go through the cue ball on an exact plane. There can be no slipping, no bouncing, and no pushing. Everything must be pure.
If you learn to be a more consistent player, you will win more games, enjoy the game, and be satisfied with your performance. Consistency builds good trust skills. It helps you reserve energy for those tough matches late in the tournament. It gives you confidence.
Begin work on your fundamental approach to every single shot and you will raise your level of play. You will begin to trust your game. You will be able to trust your performance. When you become a more consistent player you will always be ready for that match, should it come along.
How many times have you heard a player say, "I'm playing so bad, I don't think I will even show up to play tonight."
Remember, the reason you are playing so bad is because you are not hitting the cue ball the way you intend to. When I hear a player say, "how did I miss that?" I will always say " you didn't hit it right." Most of the time they feel I am saying that as a joke. I am not joking - I mean it. Things are not working like we expect. We must strive for a clean pure hit on the cue ball, and the winning will take care of itself.
Inconsistency is not a curse. It is not something you are condemned with. It is a symptom, and it can be corrected. simple case of not hitting the cue ball the way you intend to every time you shoot a shot. You can fix it by getting you back to your fundamentals.
I am going to take you through a stroke sequence that will give you confidence and help you become the fine player you really are. An inconsistent player does not hit the cue ball the same way every time. Therefore, he/she cannot expect consistent results. And once you miss-hit the cue ball, your mind begins to play tricks on you. You start to think you are having mental problem, something is wrong with you, and then you begin to get down on yourself. You go into a slump. You have no confidence.
First of all, you need a good grip. A firm grip. If your grip changes, even the slightest, it will change the shot. So we must master a firm grip. Place an object ball near the number one diamond on the long rail. Put your cue ball on the back rail. You are about a foot away from the object ball, on the rail.
Shoot this shot down into the corner pocket with your normal grip. Now shoot it with a tight grip. At the moment of impact, squeeze the cue in your hand. Notice the difference. Your hit is solid. The cue tip goes through the cue ball in a nice tight solid manner and gives you a truer response.
We must go through the cue ball with absolute precision. Those who have developed good speed dynamics are using the exact same grip on every shot. There is no give, or hop or inconsistency in their play. Therefore they become more confident in their game. They experience better trust skills. When the money is on the line, they can trust themselves to deliver the winning stroke. They win more games simply because they know they are going to deliver a quality hit on the cue ball. This gives them confidence. Next time you get a chance, compare a quality grip to a choke stroke. You will see a vast difference.
Grip is directly related to a good stance. You cannot have a good grip with a poor stance. Remember, the true measurement of a good grip and stance is in the quality of hit. You will not rise to the top if you are constantly fighting your grip and stance.
The grip and stance must work for you. It must serve you so you can conserve energy for the tough matches. If you experience fatigue late in a tournament it can be traced to your struggles with grip and stance. You are working to hard, wearing yourself out. You are not letting your grip and stance work for you.
Your stance must put you in position to see the angle of the shot. If you are having a hard time seeing the shot, it can be corrected in your stance. It must be well balanced. If someone pushes you while you are in your stance, you should not fall over.
For right-handers, your right shoulder needs to be in a direct line with your target. Pretend you are looking at the shot from an eye in your right shoulder. Your left foot is in line with the shot. And your inner right thigh is in line with the shot.
(Left-handers use the opposites mentioned above)
Once you accomplish this solid stance, all you need to do now, is deliver a quality hit on the cue ball and let the shot work for you.
It's hard to go to a tournament with a winning attitude if you are not sure how you are going to play. You may play well for a while, and then play poorly. If this is your experience in pocket billiards, it is hard to develop the confidence you need to become a winner.
If you are to win a tournament you must believe in yourself. You must have good strong trust skills. In addition, your will skills must be solid and determined.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say, "I am here to win the tournament. I know I am going to play well. All I need now, is a few good rolls"? Now that would be a nice attitude.
You lean into a shot, your grip is a few inches off, your right leg is not perfectly in line, and you miss hit the cue ball. Your mind begins to tell stories of how awful you really are. Your trust skills are gone, your will is sapped, and you are ready to quit. Suddenly, your opponent becomes God and is incapable of missing a shot.
All this because of a poor stance and grip. And we think our lady of good fortune is having an affair.
When your grip is off, and your stance is off, you have a hard time seeing the shot. Once that happens you lose confidence. Then without confidence, you cannot deliver a committed stroke. It is all very simple. What we have here is failure to communicate; a breakdown in our fundamentals.
Once your mind is diverted from the fundamental approach to shooting balls, you will have problems. It all comes down to the one shot in front of you. Nothing more than the shot you are facing. And in order to succeed with that shot, your eyes must be coming right out of your stance. You see the shot, and you shoot the shot and the ball goes in. Keep doing this until you run out of shots.
Line up fifteen balls across the table from diamond number one on the long rail. Lay your cue down on the bottom rail in line with a ball. Step into the shot, and shoot it one handed into the far corner pocket. Shoot all the balls into any of the corner pockets.
Do it again. On the third time, once you lean into your shot, place your left hand on the rail for a bridge. You should be in a perfect stance. Shoot this rack very hard. Make a nice hard sound.
Stand along side the table near the side pocket and lean into your stance. Place your cue on the rail. There will be a line between the rubber rail, and wood. This line runs down the rail. Stroke the cue back and forth on top of the rail, and note how the cue stays on that line. If it wobbles off the line, you are not in a good stance. Your arm is not straight. Get yourself back in line and you will be making more shots.
Take a coke bottle and lay it on the table. Stroke the cue tip in and out of that bottle in a rapid-fire fashion. Spend some time on these fundamental measurements on the accuracy of your stroke. Remember, we must be hitting the cue ball the same way every time. That is, our quality of hit, must be pure. No bounce, no push, no give. A solid pure hit.
Some of this may seem like an old familiar hat to you. But that is all consistency really is, knowing you are doing the right thing and repeating it over and over again.
