No-Pressure Playing Well

So when I spared that second time this month with my client/friend/student, I mentioned in a previous blog that I was playing really, really well.  I mean, REALLY well.  I have to admit that I am super surprised how well I am playing, for someone who hasn't played pool for an entire year.  But it shows that my pre shot routine and mechanics that I honed-in the last few years of the height of my pool journey I definitely instilled in me.  But, I also didn't just "show up" - I prepared to play my best and also ensured I was comfortable; no matter how well my mechanics are still, preparation is still part of playing your best.

But during my jam-up session, lol, I mentioned to her that maybe I should play in that scotch doubles tournament that I was invited to play in.

hmmm...

However, I already knew the answer was really no for me; maybe I just secretly wanted to point out to her that she wasn't the only one playing good that day (she was playing jam-up, too!)

But, I wanted to chat real quick about this here in my blog.

I've expressed numerous times already that it took me a very long time to (1) get the killer instinct, (2) to become mentally strong to not let things distract me when I'm playing pool, and (3) to get my pre-shot routine down firm.  I truly feel the reason it took me so long is a direct correlation of me not playing sports in school.  But that's for another blog topic.  :)

The bottom line is, I know myself and based on my past attempts the last few years at playing in tournaments, I already know that I am only mentally strong when I'm consistently competing.  Once I stopped competing, that mental toughness definitely went away for me.  As a matter of fact, I noticed it was the first thing that went away for me.

Even though the brain is a muscle, for me my muscle memory in my arms and in my pre stroke routine are still there, but not in my mental toughness.

So, back to the discussion with my friend....

She said, "You are playing really good.  Maybe you should go play in that doubles tourney?"

My response was flatly, "Yea, but I'm playing well here because I have no pressure."

This day I had no outside influence, no people watching me, no worry about invisible status, I did not have to worry about what people were thinking about me, or wonder who I *might* play next, etc.

You see the difference already?

If I was still competing, I'd be mentally strong and those worries wouldn't even enter my mind.  Instead, I would walk in the room confident with my head held high, chest out, strutting a little bit (lol), ready to play.  

So, yes I was playing really solid that day, but I also had no pressure because I'm retired.  :)

Prepare to be Comfortable Playing Pool

I know I keep mentioning I sparred this month, but you have to realize I haven't played pool for an entire year, so these two sessions have given me many topics to talk about lol.

Even though I haven't played pool in a year, I still wanted to bring my A-Game.  And the best way I know how to do that is to prepare for it like I would like I was going to a tournament or playing league.

So, I needed to figure out everything that made sure that I felt comfortable.  Because I know that I play my best when I'm comfortable.

So, I had to think about things I hadn't thought of in a year, lol. Let's face it.  If we are getting ready for work or to go out shopping (as an example), we don't really think too much about how comfortable we need to be in all aspects of ourselves.  Sure, we need to make sure our clothes aren't too tight or our shoes are comfy, but when we are going to compete (no matter the sport), we need to prepare for all aspects of comfort so that we aren't distracted and instead can play our best.

So on these two afternoons I was going to spar, I had to make sure of my "comfortableness."  That means a comfortable pair of jeans and also wear a shirt that was long enough that it didn't ride up in the back, lol.  Additionally, it was kinda cold so I needed to wear a light sweater, but one that was light enough to keep me warm but not too heavy to where I was hot.  I can't play good pool when I'm too hot.

The next two things might seem girly and trivial, but in reality they're not if we our goal is complete comfort.

I have talked before how being comfortable is key.  There's nothing worse than pulling at your shirt or your hair being in your eyes while you're trying to play pool - all that does is distract you from focusing on the ball in front of you.  This is why I pontificate about comfortableness a lot in my blog.  I have lost matches because I was too worried about a shirt or shoes or pants, etc.

And so one of the other things I had to think about was that I changed my moisturizing routine on my face in the last year.  You might think, "What does that have to do with pool?"  And quite honestly every one should ask that, lol.  But the reason I mention it is, when I was competing I would use a certain moisturizer that did not get oily throughout the day.  When you play pool, you do sweat a little bit and I recognized that particular moisturizers made me feel like I was sweating more than others.  Gosh that's distracting!  So, that morning before I sparred, I had to think, 'would my new moisturizer withstand a session of pool playing without being a distraction?'

Additionally, in the past year I kinda figured out how to put my hair up in a bun, which is affectionately known as the "messy bun."

Here's a picture of me with a messy bun:

As I was getting ready that morning I was thinking to myself, "Should I put my hair in a messy bun or not?"  The reason why is (don't laugh) because I've never played pool with my messy bun, and I have no idea when I got down on a shot, if my hair would come out of the bun, lol.  I have to admit I'm not very good at the messy bun yet and so even if I shake my head some of the strands come out. So the last thing I want to do is try to play pool and strands fall down and get in front of my eyes.  Distracting!

The other thing I had to think about (which I've discussed numerous times in my blog) is when/what should I eat. The pool room opened at noon so I had to figure out when to eat; I always tried to eat at least 2 hours before I played pool.  But I also couldn't have a huge lunch.  If you don't recall - if your stomach is too busy trying to process food, then that takes away blood from the brain which takes away from thinking best.  However, you have to have energy and food is energy, so I couldn't go in without eating anything that morning.

It was so weird to think about all these things I hadn't thought of in a year!  But, I wanted to bring my A-Game.  And my A-Game involves preparation.  :)

I hope you are also planning for complete comfort when you compete, also!

PLEASE Re-Read "Play Your Best Pool" for 8 Ball Strategy

One of my clients (friends? students? - heck, I still don't know what to call them!), anyway, one of them reminded me of something very important that I would like to share today.

Basically, I was told they forgot some of the key things that we went over the times we practiced together.  As reminder, I don't talk about English or things like that or even how to hold a cue or bridge - what I do talk about is strategy and the why's of choices.

The reason I feel my clients' admission is important is because I erroneously thought that talking about strategy during the entire 4-5 practice sessions was enough to retain the information.  And I was wrong!  And then I remembered why (read below for the many examples).

I was thinking about writing about this last month, but I hadn't had a chance to yet, and then I noticed that fellow blogger Darius talked about something similar at the end of September.

Basically, he said he likes to reread his favorite books because he then remembers something he had forgotten:

"Once I realized that knowledge disappears quickly from our minds, I’ve been re-reading and studying at least one good book a week. We must arm ourselves against the challenge of life by repeating the things we learn so often that they become a habit."

I can completely relate to this and I wish I would have remembered it for my client, as well. I think if I did, I would have had more sessions with them.

The reason I say this is, the first time I read Phil Capelle's Play Your Best Pool, that was when I realized that there were so many aspects to the game of 8 ball that I knew NOTHING about.  And, I just didn't know that until I read his book. But, I didn't retain everything I read the first time I picked up the book.

Luckily for me, for whatever reason, I decided to reread the 8-ball section of Play Your Best Pool before every single state and National Tournament 8 ball tournament I played in.

And what transpired was every time I read it, I as reminded of things I had forgotten.  Further, my game would improve in between those big tournaments and then things would make more sense when I read his book again.  And then I'd read it again before the next big tournament and again realize I forgot a certain strategy or proper sequence of shots.  My client was right - we do forget things.

I promise you that I read the 8-ball section of Phil Capelle's Play Your Best Pool before every single 8 Ball State and 8-ball Nationals tournament for almost 10 years straight.

So for me to think that my client would pick up strategy in just a few sessions, even though some of the strategy was the same, was completely incorrect thinking on my part.

There's so much to learn about the game, and there's so much to learn about 8 ball, and there's so much strategy that can come up every time you play, that you actually can learn something new all the time, right?  Even before I retired from competing when I would watch 8 ball matches, I would still learn something.

There's so much to the strategy of 8 ball that it is important to go over certain things often and or to be reminded of those things.

The thing is, when I started to play pool the first 15 years of playing, I didn't know any strategy about 8 ball.  I would make my stripes or solids.  Simple as that.  NO, Melinda, not as simple as that!  lol.  Therefore, reading Phil's book one time wouldn't help me.  Heck, reading it 10 times wouldn't help me.  BUT - continually reading it a few times every year would definitely help me.

That's why it's actually key for my clients to keep learning somehow - either lessons with me or other people, watching videos, or simply talking about 8 ball matches with your friends to discuss all the options and the why's.

And of course the final, obvious suggestion is to read at least 1 time by the end of the year the 8 ball section of Phil's Play Your Best Pool, and then several times every year after that.  One thing I can guarantee is your game will not go down - it will go up. So the risk versus the reward is golden for you to read that section over and over every year throughout the year.

Darius added:

"...I forgot almost everything I learned more than a year earlier (of the book I read). And there’s no way you can remember even a quarter of a book you read three years ago."

Of course what I want to do is grab a hold of my clients and have a ton more sessions with them so I can personally help them remember.  But, since that isn't feasible (we all have to work at our day jobs, right?  lol), my advice is to AT LEAST re-read Phil's Capelle's 8 ball section of Play Your Best Pool at least 4 times a year.

I want to reiterate (see what I'm doing here?) that I didn't become an 8 ball champion overnight.  I didn't win my first 8 ball tournament overnight.  I didn't win my first 8 ball tournament after reading his book.  But! I did learn more and more each time I read that section of his book - because I either forgot some things, or because my game got better and things made more sense.  

One final tidbit - I didn't read word for word the entire section 4 times a year the last few years, but I would go over all the pages I starred, or dogeared, or the parts I highlighted - those are the things I would go over before big tournaments.

Give yourself an even better opportunity to do well in your 8 ball tournaments.  Understanding the strategy of 8 ball is a repetitive learning of new things and old.

If you don't even listen to anything I say in my blog, please at least take this advice to heart.  I promise it will help you.  And I don't make promises lightly!

No Pressure Proven Well - Danielson Series

Danielson played in an 8-ball tournament back in November. 

He doesn't know 8-ball well, he didn't prepare for the event, and playing in it was a last minute decision.  And yet he finished 4th!

So, what does this prove?

It proves that feeling no pressure can do wonders for our game.

Danielson had a lot of things going for him this tournament. 

1. Since it was a last minute decision, he didn't have time to over-think about the tournament and the "what ifs." 
2. It was also an open event, and he feels less pressure in open events.  He has said, "Maybe handicaps put a weird pressure on some of of us.  If you think you're the best or the worst at a particular ranking maybe it affects your pure game and ability.  One handicap tournament I dogged my brains out cause I thought I was stealing. And not just playing pool."  While funny, it's very true!  We are too worried about what our ranking means in matches instead of playing pool.
3. He felt no pressure playing 8 ball because he doesn't know the game well.  While knowing 8 ball well is obviously an advantage, it can also make one (like me) over confident.
4. And he didn't practice:  "I put zero preparation into that tournament. I didn't play the day before and haven't played 8 ball in forever. "

Let's expand on the last point:

Sometimes we can practice too much.  Sometimes we can prepare too much.  If you think about it, if you do all these things you are suppose to do to prepare for an upcoming tournament, then when we get there we find ourselves under this invisible pressure of "I should do good, I prepared so much."  But, that mentality is actually not good.  It adds pressure to us.

I am not saying not to prepare.  But I am saying that if you put too much preparation into a big tournament, it can have reverse effects because you feel like you must do well, right?  You took all this time to prepare right before the event, so you must do well!

What I have found is the times I finish best is when I reviewed my checklists, reviewed my tabbed pages of Play Your Best Pool and Winning Ugly.  We already have our fundamentals down.  We have already been playing a lot - either in leagues or sparring.  But to over-prepare right before a tournament is not helpful.

If you are running a marathon or playing football, preparing for those physical sports is different.  Being mentally prepared for our sport is key.  Sure, playing pool keeps us consistent, but too much playing pool right before a tournament makes one think, "Well, I should do great!"

Even if you look at the preparations of the Mosconi Cup teams - you didn't see them playing pool hour after hour days on end, instead we saw them participating in team-building exercises.  Things that help their mental side.  They already know how to play pool.  And so do you!  So, don't over-prepare.

If Danielson had played 2-weeks straight of 8 ball before the tournament, I would bet money he wouldn't have placed so high.  His head would be full of options of what to do, lol, and he would be over confident.

Instead, as Danielson said after that great finish, "I never really felt any pressures yesterday. Which seems odd considering it's a game I never play and know very little about. lol."

Pressure on Day Two of a Tourney

Being a player for the last 25 years and also a Tournament Director for the last 15 (two Tours), I see a lot of things from experience and also from the sidelines.

One thing I see by running the Omega Billiards Tour, and have also been through myself as a player, is that some players who come back on Sunday are more nervous, more anxious and feel more pressure than they did on Saturdays.

It actually reminds me of a pro golf tournament. The unknown (less famous) players that find themselves top of the leader-board going into the weekend are interviewed by the media and hounded with questions like, "How do you feel?"   "How do you think you're going to do tomorrow?"  "What helped you today?"  Etc. 

And then Sunday comes and at the end of the day they aren't on the leader-board anymore.  They have faltered.  Mostly it's because they're not seasoned enough.  Not because they don't have the talent, but because they don't have enough seasoning, experience and enough tournaments under their belt to know how to handle all the emotions and pressure of lasting into Sunday as a leader.

Same thing happens in two-day pool tournaments.  If you aren't really seasoned yet and you find yourself on the winner side on Sunday, honestly you pretty much have a restless night.  You're thinking about the what-ifs, you're thinking about the excitement of being on the winner side still, you might be thinking about the points you're going to get and move up in the standings, etc.

STOP.

You're don't even realize it, but you're putting invisible pressure on yourself by thinking about all these things.

Just as the pro golfer on the leader-board who is no longer in the hunt late on Sunday, many players put so much pressure on themselves Sunday morning, that they don't play good pool.

All they really need is seasoning, more experiences and to position themselves into numerous Sunday finishes to be able to get used to the feelings and thoughts that come into our anxious brains the night before day two of a tournament. 

I know from painful experience the "Day Two Sorrows," lol.  For many years, I just wanted to get in the money.  Then I yearned to last until Sunday.  When I finally did, I fell on my face lol.  Then I wanted to win just a single match on Sunday.  Just one!  Then I yearned so badly to come into Sunday on the winner's side.  Then I wanted to win a match on the winner's side......

But you see....all of these humps/goals eventually happen.

It just takes time.

Took me many, many years.

It's just part of the journey.

It takes seasoning.

It takes experience.

What I wish all players to know is this:  you will feel like you failed on many Sundays of tournaments.  It's just part of the journey we all go through, though.  Please don't get discouraged.  It's just part of the process.

Good news is, the more tourneys, the more experience.  The more experience, the more winning of matches.

And you will soon be on the leader-board coming into the final round on Sunday yourself!

Help From The Arnold

Arnold Schwarzenegger that is.

I wrote a week or so ago about how making mistakes helps us become more successful.  I was dissecting Colin Powell's quote:  "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." 

If one really looks at my statement about "making mistakes helps us become winners," it seems awfully negative, right?  It's actually been bothering me what I said.  Even though it's true, I wanted to talk about it more and try to explain it more.

And then I came across this great quote last night that kinda seals what I was tried to get across:

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."

I think this explains it even better.

Here's to the mistakes we make!  No, no, no.  What I mean is, if we make mistakes or if we come in 2nd place, or if we lose because of emotions, we learn from each of those things.  And we carry those over to our next tournament.  We remember.  We learn.  We don't give up.

Dissecting Colin Powell Quote

I love this quote from Colin Powell:

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

This is so true as I reflect back on my pool journey.

I didn't just show up to tournaments hoping I would do well.  I prepared; I put in work; And, yes, I indeed learned from failures.

I had a goal one year to practice at least 2 hours a week.  While that may not seem like much, it was dedicated, solo, determined practice.  I would arrive first thing in the morning when the doors opened either Sat or Sun and grabbed a 9 foot table, put in my earbuds, and then try and run 10-ball racks for at least 2 hours straight every weekend.  For a year.

This is just one example, but Yes, I put in the work.

I also had goals were I would watch a certain number of videos a year, play in more weekly tournaments, and read a few key books to help my pool journey.

Yes, I prepared.

And the more I played in tournaments - weekly, regional, league, league payoffs, state or national tourneys either in singles or teams, the more I learned from my mistakes.  That 8 ball I missed at state for my team doesn't haunt me anymore.  Why?  Because I learned from it.  I carry the reason why I missed forward and it helped me be more in control of the successful table run I accomplished hill-hill at ACS Nationals to capture my first, ever, singles, National 9-Ball Title.

Yes, I learned from my failures.

The more tournaments you play in, the better you become.

Why?

You naturally put in the work so you finish better in them (practice, watch videos, etc).  You naturally get more prepared, too (read books on mental toughness, play in more leagues, etc).  Again, playing in more tournaments has a cause and effect.

You play in more league events and tournaments and you don't just hope to do well - you prepare, you put in the work,  And because you are putting yourself in more tournament situations, you make mistakes and have losses and failures, which in turn you learn from. Which in turn makes you successful later.

Pool is a Journey!

Let's go full circle with his quote:

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."  

Humidity Is Different Between Saturday and Sunday

On weekend tournaments, Saturdays are more humid and hot because there are more people in the pool room. 

Players tend to need gloves and powder more on Saturdays than Sundays of a weekend pool tournament, because by Sunday the field is whittled down to about the top quarter, and so less people, less humid, less need for powder or using a glove.

As a Tournament Director, we of course notice the same thing.  On Saturdays we plan to wear short-sleeved shirts (females) and light in weight.  On Sundays, we bring back-up sweaters, lol.  The temperature difference is truly amazing from Saturday to Sunday.

One player remarked at the last tourney he uses more powder on Saturdays because it's so much more humid that day of the weekend due to the number of people in the pool room. 

Preparation is key!

Example of Preparing - Tennis Hustling Style

As many know who read my blog consistently, I highly recommend the book "Winning Ugly" by Brad Gilbert.  My mental toughness and killer instinct skyrocketed because of this book.

Wanted to share an excerpt, that gives an example of how important preparation is.

"....
Here's a terrific example (although an extreme one) of the tremendous advantage the average player can get with good pre-match preparation.  And of what a disadvantage “just showing up" can be.  This particular player at the San Francisco Tennis Club used good mental preparation, good physical preparation, and some gamesmanship against a guy who just showed up and wanted to start playing.

For a big match (and he liked to bet $100 per set with certain players) this fellow (a bit of a hustler) would get to the court one hour early.  He had already spent time looking over his notes (yes, he kept notes of past matches).  He had given some attention to his game plan.   Next would be the stretching exercises to get completely loosened up.

Now would come the warm-up, before his opponent even arrived at the court. 

The “hustler” would hit with the club pro for thirty minutes, going through the strokes and touching up anything that was giving him trouble that day.  Nothing intense.  Just a real good warm-up.  Then he would leave the court, go to the locker room, and change clothes.  Now that he’s reviewed his game plan, checked his notes, done his stretching exercises, had a great warm-up, and changed into dry clothes, would he head back out to the court?  Of course not.  It was time for the final stage of the hustle.  He’d make sure he got there ten minutes late, apologize for the delay, and suggest that they cut the warm-up short.

Obviously, his opponent would be a little upset by the late arrival and want to get started to save time.  They’d move right into the match with only a “quickie” warm-up.  The “pigeon” would be handing over the money in straight sets. He would have saved himself $200 if he’d anticipated the behavior and prepared properly himself.  He got taken instead.  He had no plan, no system, no nothing. He let the other player control events because he wasn’t prepared.  He’d have been a lousy Boy Scout. 

The interesting thing about what this “hustler” did was that everything (except arriving intentionally late) was excellent preparation.   It's how a conscientious player should get ready to play a match.  Throwing in the last twist by arriving last was unnecessary (not to mention unsportsmanlike).  He was way ahead by doing everything else.  You can give yourself that same advantage.

...."

Preparations, people!

Preparing For a Tourney

How do you prepare for a tourney?

Wait, do you prepare? Or do you just show up?

Honestly, it's okay if you do.  But even a few little mental preparations are better than nothing. 

Some people hit ball, hit balls, hit balls.  

Me, personally, I prepare by envisioning myself taking my time on my shots, and staying down well.  I have to keep that in mind or else I will rush my shots and that is NOT good for me.  It hurts my success, so I need to ensure to remember to not be in a rush.  Yes, I say "remember" because I do still forget sometimes.  So, that is my personal preparation.   

Visualization is very important and a big part of my preparation:

The advantages of sport visualization are extremely numerous. Athletes can use it to motivate themselves to train at their best. It helps you put things into perspective about what things are important and it also helps you block out any impending negative thoughts. Few activities can get an athlete psyched up like sport visualization.

(read more about sports visualizations HERE.)

Some people practice their break.  One of my friends' husband just borrowed a magic rack from me because he is playing in a big 10-ball event that will use magic racks and so he wants to practice his break with it.   Pretty impressive really to realize to work on that - and it's over a month away!  But, he doesn't play 10 ball nor has he ever broke with a magic rack before.

One thing I learned from one of Phil Capelle books is to also be prepared for the unknowns.

Wait, what?  How do you do that?

I wrote about this before, but it's been awhile so I wanted to remind people as this is a new year with new goals and new tournaments that you want to play in.

Basically. ...

I think it's very important to prepare for the UNKNOWN conditions of your tournament BEFORE you get to the tournament.

Specifically, these unknowns:

1. Equipment
2. Temperature
3. Surroundings

What?  How can I prepare for the conditions before I'm even at the pool room, or have practiced on the table to see how it rolls?... you might be asking yourself.

Let me 'esplain:

Equipment:
You should be aware and be prepared that the equipment may not be the best.  To help combat your frustrations with non-perfect tables, consider that everyone is playing under the same conditions.  Yes, we would like pristine conditions, but let's be realistic - there may be holes in the cloth, dead rails, plastic/clumsy racks/pockets, bad lightning.  I have played in a pool tournament with all of these conditions on one table before!  If you let yourself get upset over these things (things which you can't control), then you are not focusing on pool.  You are letting things interfere with your pool game that has nothing to do with being mentally able to focus completely on the task at hand.

Temperature:
Same for the temperature in the pool room.  Be prepared that some pool rooms get exceptionally cold or hot!  Bring an extra sweater or over shirt with sleeves as a backup in case the room is cold.  Better to have this as a backup than you not being able to play because your arms are frozen.  In the Summer in Texas, sometimes the A/C breaks or freezes and it gets hotter inside than out (no joke).  We play in these conditions a lot, believe it or not.  If you are consumed with negative thoughts about how damn hot it is, then you aren't focusing on pool again.  Don't let the negative energy of being upset about something YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER affect your pool game.

Atmosphere/Surroundings:
Now for the atmosphere - you never really know what you might be getting into.  Even if you've played in this particular tourney 1,000 times, maybe this time there is a heckler, or they get a new waitress who is the worst server ever, or the guys on the next table are clueless and keep getting in your way when you shoot.  Be prepared for everything; for anything.  Know that things may not be perfect; accept that!  Accept that you have no control over your surroundings.  When you do, then you can instead focus on playing your best pool, so the distractions do not become a negative and interfere with your matches.

Nothing is worse than distractions affecting your mental game.  Distractions are negative emotions that cause negative thoughts which leads to not thinking clearly which causes tenses muscles and your fundamentals become affected.  Negative thoughts and emotions CAN be tamed.  These tips above can help if you practice them.

This is a good reminder - to not let things bother us that we cannot control.  If you accept that things may go wrong and NOT let them bother you, you can then focus on playing pool; your best ability to play pool.  Don't let any of the above become YOUR excuse for losing.  Or for not playing your best.  Before you set foot into the pool room to play in the tourney, already be prepared for the unknown distractions so you can PLAY POOL with a clear, positive, strong mind.

New Philosphy Isn't Healthy

I am the first to admit that how I prepared for BCAPL Texas State was NOT ideal. 

I hadn't hit any balls, didn't spend any time on the table, didn't play in weekly tourneys; nothing.

I spent NO time on the table.

While I read a couple of books, it is obviously much more beneficial to remain in stroke by practicing or playing pool! 

And yet here I find myself in the same situation for ACS Nationals.  YIKES!

I've played even LESS pool than last time.  I've played two league nights only twice since I won on April 4th.  OMGoodness, that's almost a month!

I again read Play Your Best Pool (the 8-ball section the last two nights) and will also read my notes about Winning Ugly to get my mental face on. 

But I do NOT recommend this.

Someone told me I'll be okay because I have natural talent.  UM NO.  I am the last to have natural talent.  If I had, I'd have been placing better and higher MANY years earlier in my pool life.

Instead, it's been 1000's of learning experiences I gained in each tournament match that has led me to my skills and knowledge I have today.  And it took me over ten years to solidify my fundamentals.

This philosophy I'm using for this tourney again has GOT to stop!  I have to start practicing again if I want to do well consistently.  I need to prepare better if I really want to place better in my tournaments.