December 01, 2004
| The Masters of Art in Pocket Billiards | ||||
| Dear Pool players. You are my good friends. I care about you and will not send junk mail to your mailbox. I want to make sure you continue to receive my FREE weekly newsletter. I write articles to share my strength hope and experience with you. It is my desire to continue serving you long after you buy my products. If you are a pool player who loves this game, I want to be part of your journey. You will never be charged for this newsletter.
This should guarantee that you receive whatever e-mail you need... including The Monk’s weekly e-Zine. Sammantha, Reg and I consider it an honor to serve you and be part of your great game. May all the rolls go your way. Best regards, The Monk
As a way of saying thank you for smoothing out communications between us, I would like to extend the opportunity to save 65% on your billiards improvement with an e-Book of The Lesson and an autographed copy of Shootout In Taos for $25 instead of the normal $70.
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Envision yourself competing in an arena reserved only for masters who respect the fine art of pocket billiards as much as you do. Imagine yourself standing at the table with a complete understanding of what you want to accomplish, a complete insight on how to get there, and a complete ability to carry out each and every step of the way. Imagine every player in your local pool room admiring and respecting your disciplined approach to this game.
We are seeking the student who pursues excellence with this game versus just playing the game; who experiences the shots versus just shooting the shots; who holds more worth in their performance and excellence than the trophies on their wall; and who values the art of this game more than how much money they could win.
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If you meet these criteria and would like more information on this program, email |
mapb@themonk.com |
Special Message to my
special master students:
You must seek to incorporate an enlightened quality of a particular mind-set into your game and make it your own. You must become the quality and you can do this by visualizing the quality over and over.You must contemplate the virtues that this quality represents, reciting affirmations throughout the day. You are building a mind-set from which you will act, think, and perform. The ultimate goal is to become the quality so that you take on all the elements of that quality. The quality you become is I CAME TO WIN.
Tournament Preparation
Step 9
The tournament begins the day before your match is called. Once you arrive at the site, you are officially in the tournament. You have entered the arena. Let all thoughts be on this task. Playing one match at a time begins the day before the event.
You Be The Coach
Coaching is not an easy job. I saw a lovely lady line up for a combination on the seven/nine. She had ball in hand. She leaned into the shot. This required her to send the seven into the rail, back into the eight, across the table for a kick on the nine, with the nine caroming off the moving eight ball and veering into the corner pocket.
She turned to me after her failed attempt and said, “I had to go for it.” All I could do was nod yes, and smile. You gotta love this game!
The Game Face
Sammantha has a game face. In one of her matches she played a safety on the one ball. After the shot, the one settled directly in front of the corner pocket, with the cue ball two inches in front of the one ball. She returned to her chair somewhat dejected and I leaned over and whispered the question, “Can she see the one?” Sammantha did not crack a smile. I thought that was funny.
What’s Real and What’s Imagined
Sometimes our knowledge is real and other times it is imagined. If you ever wondered why the cue ball did not go where you expected it to, perhaps you are operating on imaginary knowledge.It is very common to plan on learning something and think we have acquired the skills we intend to learn. When our game breaks down, we learn we have not learned after all.
Question from a Reader
I received the following message from a reader who addresses a topic that we are all too familiar with…how to deal with nervousness and anxiety.“I'd like for you to put out a question to your readers & ask how they handle nervousness/anxiety during a match. I've been told everything from "Have a shot of whisky", "Have a few beers/drinks", "Breath deeply", "you'll get used to it" & this weekend a lady told me she takes half a Valium to calm her down. It's really depressing blowing matches because I can't "control" my nervousness/anxiety. Then later practicing with friends I'm running racks & getting out from every where.
I wish I could have that calmness I feel when I'm playing on a Friday or Sat night at the local bar shooting for fun.
Charles C.”
Please submit your feedback to:
samm@sammspocket.com
Honestly, Charles, I still feel nervous during matches. Typically, I’m half way through the first match before I’m completely comfortable. I am glad that you recognize alcohol and, goodness forbid, Valium as just a temporary fix. Frankly, there is no secret or key to not being nervous. At least, it’s not the same for everyone. From what I have learned, what may work for me may not work for you. The tips I write about are simply me, sharing my experiences with the readers. By no means am I an expert.
The most important thing to be aware of is how you handle your anxiety. I was once in a match, during a team tournament, where my opponent broke and scratched and I had a wide open table. I ran all the balls just fine and as I was getting down to shoot the 8-ball, my legs suddenly began to shake uncontrollably and I started getting palpitations.
What happened? I was totally fine just before that and it suddenly hit me, out of no where. I became so nervous I must’ve been shaking worse than Nick Varner on my backstroke. All I could do was trust my mechanics and follow through.
I made the 8 ball and that game was a big win for us. What’s the moral?
Basically, I have not found a way to stop the nervous reaction once it hits. I have, however, found a way to deal with it when it happens. Having solid mechanics definitely helps with that.
If your fundamentals are solid, then you can trust them no matter how nervous you are. Just let your right brain take over. Also, incorporating a pause in your backstroke definitely helps to control the stroke when the nerves hit. This is something that will take time to adapt to, but it definitely helps me from getting the nervous ‘yips.’
Samm
Winning and not Winning
(A side note from Samm’s Side Pocket)
How do you define “winning?” Is it claiming lots of money? Is it getting the biggest trophy? Is it beating the most people? What does winning mean to you? Have you ever played a match where you know that you played well and maybe even better than your opponent but still lost that match? Maybe your opponent got some fortunate rolls. This happens more often in 9-ball than in 8-ball. Or, perhaps you’re at the level where you’re breaking and running most racks. In this case, it’s just a matter of whose break it is, what kind of spread you got on your break, and what the format is.
Unfortunately, the strongest player does not always win. They will win more often, but not always. No matter what level you’re at, you should be aware of when you play a winning game. If you believe you played your best game, gave 100% to every shot, and stand behind the decisions you made; then be proud of that.
You can not control the outcome of the rolls and how your opponent plays. If you gave your finest performance and got outplayed, then applaud your opponent for playing well. If you gave your finest performance and got unlucky rolls, then accept that you did what you could.
Do not punish yourself for losing a match if you played well. And, only you know if you gave 100% to every shot. If your goal is to simply win the tournament then that’s easy, you could find any little $5 tournament around town to rob. If you just want to beat people, just play people that are worse than you. But, if your goal is to become a better player, then be proud of a worthy performance, regardless of the outcome.
Only one person can walk away a first place winner. Of course it’s disappointing not to win a tournament. But, if you delivered a first class performance, you can not be disappointed with that. If you gave the same performance and won, you would be pleased. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, your winning performance is something to always be proud of, regardless of the outcome. So, the next time you lose a match but know that you played well and someone asks, “What happened?” you can say “I lost, but I played well.”
May All the Rolls Go Your Way
The Monk
