Breaking the cycle

[mr.fine]

There are periods of time when I get down on the shot, I can just pot it without even looking, but now whenever I’m on the shot, nothing feels right, my whole body just feels stiff. I’m pretty sure everyone here had that periods of time before, it would be great if anyone can give any advice. Appreciate it

[Cue crafty]

Yep it happens. Just for background I'm a 50/60 break maker these days who sometimes does better on a good month. I play at least 3 times a week. Whenever I go to play it can feel different and I'm always looking for that smooth cue action. Do you have a lot of thoughts in your head when down? This can cause anxiety and tension.

What I have realised interestingly is that on certain days when it feels weird again for whatever reason, I can still sometimes get decent results by focusing on one small "feel" thought. I have formed a few trigger thoughts that I focus on over time, that are personal to me but I think everybody can find their own if they understand their own game well. For example, when I'm snatching at certain shots I use the thought of drawing back a bow and letting the arrow go.

I highly recommend reading a book called The inner game of golf. It deals with the mental side of the game and feel but really relates to snooker well. (2nd hand copies on eBay for a couple of quid)

[vmax]

There are periods of time when I get down on the shot, I can just pot it without even looking, but now whenever I’m on the shot, nothing feels right, my whole body just feels stiff. I’m pretty sure everyone here had that periods of time before, it would be great if anyone can give any advice. Appreciate it

I've always found that this is mainly due to not actually finding and looking at the contact point on the object ball when stood up behind the shot before I get down. If you don't look for it and find it before you get down then you get down on the wrong line and once down your brain knows it's wrong and lets you know it's wrong by making you feel it's wrong.

Just looking at the object ball isn't enough, you have to find the contact point.

I can find the contact point while looking at the object ball as I'm walking around the table towards it and can then even take my eye off of it for a step or two and get down looking at the cue ball, relying on my short term memory to get me into the right position.

This is what players are doing when they move down the table and to the side and look at the object ball red on a long cut shot to nothing from baulk, by the time they walk back to baulk and get down the contact point is still in their short term memory because they've just looked at it.

Your short term memory lasts for no longer than ten seconds, it's the same part of the brain one uses when crossing the road as you don't need to remember what you've seen for any longer than what you're about to do and your snooker game relies on this more than you realise, the really fast players rely on it more than the slow players who check and look again and then again. Could be the reason the faster players miss the odd easy one more often, I know I do

Those nights when you seem to see the balls better is because you're actually looking before you get down, it then feels right because it is right. This is the definition of concentration in the game of snooker, if you're not on the ball and naturally concentrating on what you're doing you subconsciously forget, but you have no idea that that's what's happening because it's on a subconscious level. Major events taking place in your life like family, work, financial problems will take over your subconscious when you're trying to do something else and this is a distraction that you're not aware of as well.

[itsnoteasy]

I just go back to doing the complete basics as best I can, head and cue online, check tips in the centre and and cue is still online once down, nice and straight back and relaxed and push the cue down the line on the way through, stay as still as I can and make sure I've seen where I've contacted the object ball(this helps with analysing how the shot went and makes sure you stay down and still) most importantly is to commit to the line you've picked even if it looks wrong when down, you can't analyse a shot if you've fiddled around during it.
Sometimes you just play poorly but as long as you try your best to do things right, form should return.

[Cue crafty]

Those nights when you seem to see the balls better is because you're actually looking before you get down, it then feels right because it is right. This is the definition of concentration in the game of snooker, if you're not on the ball and naturally concentrating on what you're doing you subconsciously forget, but you have no idea that that's what's happening because it's on a subconscious level. Major events taking place in your life like family, work, financial problems will take over your subconscious when you're trying to do something else and this is a distraction that you're not aware of as well.

Great observation that, I for one will be noting that next time I'm on the table.

[Darren D]

I always lose the skill of the pot after forgetting to take a high angle view of the whole table.
My eyesight is not what it used to be and I struggle with back ache and currently a pain full shoulder issue but above all that....I can still pull off shots I thought I couldn't do anymore, it's complacency that gets me the most...I always have to take a high view first, easy to forget