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!

Don't Interfere with Pre-Tourney Routines

While I'm driving to the Omega stop on Sunday morning last week, it crosses my mind that I could call and chat to one of the players, a friend of mine, who was on his way to the pool room, also.

He had a morning match, so I knew he would be driving about the same time I was.  The doors of Clicks Billiards in Arlington, Texas opened at 10am and he gets there early every time.

I figured we could catch up and chit chat about life, work, or nothing, lol.

But then I stopped myself.

You see, he had a winner's side match this particular morning, and he needed to stay focused on his mental preparations and normal pre-tourney customs, whatever they may be.  He doesn't need me to distract him from his routine to talk about minuscule crap (or even deep, thoughtful conversations lol) - he needed to remained focused on his typical routine and not be distracted so he is fully prepared for his match.

You see, when I am driving to play in an important tournament, I turn the volume up and listen to some R and B music from my personal playlist.  I do this to relax, to get in a good mood, and to also not think about the future match ahead of me - I'm just trying to sing along to great music, which puts me in a good mood before my match.

We all play better pool in a good mood, right?

So, whatever his routine preparations are or whatever he is used to doing while driving to a tournament, doesn't normally involve me calling and chit chatting.  To me, that would have been a distraction (and I wouldn't want someone to do that to me).

So, I instead told him when I saw him at 10am, that I would blog about why I didn't call him, even though I thought about it.  LMAO.

Less Sleep Is Good, too

"Which is it??"

You are asking yourself:

"Melinda you profess all the time how when you get a lot of rest/sleep before tournaments that you play your best and it's a big, key ingredient for you.  So, now why are you about to talk about less sleep??"

This is why:

I learned almost 15 years ago that I need my body and mind to be awake at least 2 hours before my first match in order for me to perform well.

I was in Vegas and I had a 9am match.  I was exhausted and wanted to sleep in as long as I absolutely could!  I can get ready in about 15 minutes, takes 15 minutes from my room to the playing area in the Riveria, and so I set my cute little alarm for 8:30am.  I thought I was a genesis.  Instead, I was STUPID.

I wasn't awake enough to play well.  I made mistakes.  I didn't have breakfast.  I was still out of it from just waking up.  I was missing balls.  And, I lost.

I was so very disappointed in myself.  I HAD that girl!

But, I hadn't had enough time to wake my brain and body up, so it cost me the match.

On Sunday morning of the OB Cues Ladies Tour a couple of weeks ago, I had set my alarm for 9:15am.  Boy, was I excited to get to sleep in a little more than usual.  Especially since I was also very exhausted from the whole day before playing pool all day (both physical and mental exhaustion).

I happened to wake up around 7:30am to go pee-pee.  As I'm trying to fall back asleep it hits me:  I need to get up by 8:30am!  Not 9:15am.

What was I thinking??

Recalling vividly that slow morning back in 2,000 in Vegas when I wasn't awake enough to play well, I made sure to get up that crisp Sunday morning and get my body moving through the house, even though I was still tired.

I need 2 full hours to be awake to play good pool.  Match at 10:30am, body out of that bed at 8:30am.

And sure enough, it took me a while to "get going" and wake my brain and body up.  I was glad I added time so I would be more prepared to play.

While getting rest and sleep IS key, what is also key is I need to be awake for at least 2 hours to give myself the best chance possible to play well.  Again, something we can control.

*yawn*

Eating and Tournament Preparations

I was reminded about a lot of things when I played earlier this month in a big 2-day tournament, that I hadn't thought of in some time.  So forgive me for writing about random things all of a sudden, lol.

But I think these are great reminders, and here is one of them:

Saturday morning on the way to the pool room, I picked up some breakfast tacos from Taco Cabana for my friend Tina and I.  Didn't really think too much about it, honestly.  Well, except I knew I would have a better chance of playing well with eating breakfast than playing on an empty stomach.  I bought myself 3 tacos - had no concerns about eating that many.  We arrived to the pool room around 9am, and the players meeting didn't even start til 11am, so I had plenty of time for my food to process in my tummy.

On Sunday morning, I found myself still in the main event.  Yay me!

Check out the difference come Sunday morning regarding breakfast:

While I'm getting ready that morning figuring out what to wear and how to fix my hair (lol), I'm thinking about those delicious tacos from Taco Cabana.  I'm also thinking about how I need food for energy (again, don't want to play on an empty stomach and food is energy).  However, I'm also thinking about how too much breakfast will affect my thinking.

I know from experience that if you eat too much, your body is busy sending it's energy and blood flow to work on processing the food in your stomach. This means less blood flow to your brain, and I really need those cells to think clearly in a match, lol.

So, I'm seriously considering all my options.

This particular morning I'm leaving the house 45 minutes from when I will be playing my first match, which means I cannot eat too much in the next 45 minutes.  As I'm walking out the door, I literally stop - "should I just grab a shake?"  Trying to decide what is best with my time constraint.  Not only am I thinking about the amount of food in my stomach, I'm also trying to figure out my practice time before my match.  This means I must figure out how best to fit in eating breakfast.

Hmmmm.....

I decide to still stop at Taco Cabana, order only two (not three) tacos, and eat them on the way to the pool room.

This solves several things:

• I have food in my tummy for energy, 
• But not too much food so I don't feel full and tired from my body processing extra food, 
• I eat on the way to save time (but I drive very carefully), and
• I'm able to warm up hitting balls 10-15 minutes before my match at 10:30am because I ate on the way.

There's a lot to tournament matches and being properly prepared.

And food consumption is an important one.

Think about how much you are eating, what you are eating, and the time from when you eat to when you play.  All of that factors into your decisions to help give yourself the best opportunity to play well.  

Remember, these are things in our control that we must be cognizant of.

Getting Warmed Up DURING A Tourney

My friend, Dave Faver, offered me some advice before I played this past weekend in the OB Ladies Tour stop.  He told me since I haven't been playing to use the first few matches to try and get in stroke.

Play safes more in the first few matches.  My stroke wont be what it was so I shouldn't go for tough shots I maybe could have made before.

As I move further along in the tourney (if I am lucky enough to stay in the tourney), I will get warmed up, feel more comfy, and shoot better.

I noticed this so evidently!

I struggled early on, but by the end of Saturday evening, I could see great outs and saw patterns and runs REALLY well.  Even with taking time off from playing pool, I was able to play well still.... eventually.

Again, I did make a lot of mistakes this past weekend, but I also was able to run out well and make some tough shots as the tourney went on.  I definitely felt more comfortable as I played each match.

I was very pleasantly surprised.  :)

Preparing For a Tourney

I decided to play in an 8 ball bar table tournament last December. 

It really is a tourney way out of my league, but I wanted to get out of the house, be around friends, and also buy some players in the calcutta if I had a chance.

Oh, and I decided to play.

I have played at this location a 1,000 times (leagues, weekly tourneys, big tourneys, playoffs, etc).  And in big tournaments, I usually falter pretty easily.  I get too distracted by my thoughts.

So, the week of the tourney and especially the 30-minute drive to the tourney on that Saturday morning, I prepared myself.  I thought about the things that cost me before, and tried to think about what I could do to prevent it this time to give me a better chance from going 2-and-out like usual, lol.

I told myself to learn from the past and to try and not worry about people around me.  Who is watching, what they are thinking, who I am playing, are people even watching me, people judging my decisions, etc.

This place has a rail around the entire room so it's easy for so many eyes to be on you.  Not that anyone is really watching little 'ole me play, but for some reason at this place it REALLY gets in my head.  And it doesn't help I'm suppose to be a top player in 8 ball, and also one of the few females playing.  So, I do over-think things and let my surroundings get to me there.

So, this time I prepared and thought about it a lot on the drive there that crisp morning, and reminded myself to REALLY REALLY focus on just the game in front of me; just the balls I'm shooting at, not who is watching. 

It is tough after a match when you don't even realize people are watching and someone says, "you should have beat that guy" or something like that. 

So, this tourney, I dressed comfy, had a small breakfast, was prepared mentally to just focus on pool.

I beat a good player my first match who went for about $100 in the calcutta (someone would tell me after I beat him), but I didn't know who he was.  He wasn't very happy with me.  I went hill-hill next match and should have lost but I won after a bad shot by my opponent late in the last game.  Next match I'm up 3-1 and then I lose focus and so it goes hill-hill but I manage to win that match as well.  WOW!

Then I play again and win AGAIN!

I'm 4 matches deep on the winner's side!?  REALLY?  I lose my next two matches but at that point I don't care b/c I'm guaranteed 5th (out of 43 tough players) and wanted to have fun with my friends instead (ooops).   I got an extra $100 for Last Lady... AND a trophy!!  (nice touch by the TD!).

Those pep talks really helped me out before I even got to the tournament.  I'm not saying that's why I placed so high (because I admit I didn't run into a heavy hitter until my 5th match), but I know it for sure helped my frame of mind and my focus!

Here I am below with my cute trophy, and my scotch doubles partner, Greg's (he won the tourney and got one, too):

Comfy Clothes

I have written about this before, but comfortably clothes are KEY to playing good pool.

You don't want to be wondering about if your boxers are showing, if you feel fat, if your shirt is too tight, have the wrong shoes on, shirt lifts too high in the back, sleeves too long, etc. 

I could go on and on with examples.

Thinking about those things (that you could have controlled) distracts you from thinking about POOL.

So, imagine my surprise when I found myself in this very same situation I have written about before.  Ugh!

I played in the Royce Bunnell Celebration of Life tournament yesterday in Dallas, Texas and while I was comfy with what I was wearing, I did NOT think ahead about the possibility of it being too hot.

So, I had a long, light sweater on, and felt fine with it on over my sleeveless blouse.

But it got WAY too hot for me inside and I had to keep going outside to cool off because the December weather felt good for once.

I took off my sweater and immediately felt uncomfortable.  I doubt anyone even noticed or cared, but I did.  White pasty arms, non-toned arms, and THEN I had to keep pulling up my pants that were too loose, otherwise they would be too low in the back and show my crack (yes, I just said that lol).   The sweater hid that, but with no sweater, I was vulnerable.  And, it's all I thought about was my pasty arms and loose jeans; ie, NOT pool.

I am so disappointed in myself for not thinking ahead and wearing a better shirt just in case I had to take off my sweater.  It crossed my mind for a split second when I was getting dressed, but didn't listen long enough.

So, I lost the two whole matches I played, even with the chances I had in every game.  Ugher.