Time To Pay The Fiddler

After the match is over, you should steal away to a quiet place and reflect upon how the contest went. Take a moment to learn from your encounter. Process your thoughts in an orderly fashion and be willing to see the truth this match was trying to teach you. If you are not willing to learn the lessons of the match, then you are destined to repeat it at another time. This is why some players stay at the same level year after year.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Did my opponent completely out shoot me?
Did I have any chances to win this match?
Did I give my opponent a chance to win by missing a shot?
How did my opponent win this set?

Most of you will find that you did have a chance to win. When I first began to compete, my focus was on getting a chance to win. Once I achieved that goal, I then turned my attention to taking advantage of that opportunity. We almost always get a chance to win a match. It is rare when someone runs the set on us. If our opponent was lucky, we put him in a position to be lucky by missing a shot. Find the lesson in the game and learn from it.

I often take comfort by knowing I was not out classed or out gunned in a match. I always tell myself I will do better next time. I am greatly relieved that I did have a chance to win. I was not defeated. I could have moved on to the next level if I had not missed the shot. I lost because I missed a few opportunities that came my way. If I am willing to learn from my mistakes, then I won’t have to repeat them.

I am not hard on myself. In fact, I like myself when my courage is strong enough to face the man in the glass. Sometimes it is just time to pay the fiddler. There is a special evaluation test evaluation test so you can rate your recent losing match. Log on to www.themonk.com to take that test. See what kind of score you get. I will send you a personal letter with my thoughts on your evaluation.

Don’t be the player who cannot differentiate between what you want to learn, and what you do learn.

Take your time going through each lesson. There is knowledge in each one. That knowledge only becomes skill when it is applied. Sometimes you cannot acquire the knowledge until you master the skill. I want you to be the player you are destined to be. Together we can spend some time learning this great game.

We are giving you lessons from my Lesson Book each week. You can also view these lessons by purchasing my videos: The Monk 101 volumes 1, 2, and 3. In these videos you will see a fine performance by Suzanne Bosselman. You can also get The Lesson via e-book download. This is a great product as you can print the pages you want to work on and bring them to your local pool hall.

The Monk sells you a book or a video and then offers to help you master the material each week in a newsletter!

Balancing Act

(A side note from Samm’s Side Pocket)

So, how do you juggle and balance all these things? How do you prioritize your practice time between all the tasks in your life?

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer for this one. The first step is to determine for yourself, as The Monk has asked us to do in the past, what your purpose is. Defining what your purpose is with this game means knowing what you want to accomplish and understanding what that means to you.

Once you recognize what your purpose is, you can go from there. If your goal is to become a professional pool player, obviously, practicing becomes more of a priority to you than if your goal is to become the top shooter in your league. Therefore, practicing would be much higher in your food chain.

Like you, I too have other responsibilities. I balance my family, my business and my training. Before I identified what my purpose was, I would work on tasks in blocks at a time. I would spend a day or two working on projects until they were completed, leaving me too exhausted to practice by the end of the day.

Sometimes, I would go for a days at a time without practicing because I was so intent on finishing what I was working on.

I now understand the importance of practicing and the effects it has on my performance. Although running a business is a full time job, I also consider my training to be a full time job. I enjoy both, but must view them equally as important. And, as any full time job, there is discipline required. You would never show up to work late or not at all and just tell your employer that you didn’t have time to work, would you?

At this point, I have a fairly consistent practice regimen. It was difficult for me to make the transition, but it had to be done. I now drop what I’m doing when it comes time for my daily practice session and just practice. Of course, it takes time to overcome that initial preoccupation with what I may have been working on. It often takes me a couple racks of stop shots before I am able to fully immerse myself into my practice. However, at least I know I will practice every single day. Unless there is a time sensitive task to complete, what I was working on will still be there tomorrow.

So, decide for yourself what your goal is with this game and determine where practicing falls in your food chain. It can be a balancing act to manage all the responsibilities in your life, but you will definitely reap the benefits from knowing your purpose and prioritizing your practice.

Thanks to all our readers. Have a safe & wonderful holiday!

The Monk's Tip of the Week

You know you’re a D Player when…

You will need to work on your soft punch stroke. Shoot stop shots by going low on the cue ball at a very gentle speed. Do not draw the ball back. Stop it dead in its tracks. Make sure the cue ball goes in a direct straight line in this lesson. If you get a slight curve here, you are allowing draw to creep into your punch stroke.

Try some long full table stop shots. Note how low you need to go on the cue ball to stop it dead in its tracks. Work on long stop shots until you can shoot them with a nice soft click. You will be surprised by how important it is for you to develop the ability to deliver the punch stroke at a variety of speeds.

A word to my MA/PB students:

The Monk

Old Friends and more…

“I tend to want to rely on my own reputation. At least that way our customers know what type of company and person they are dealing with. It has taken many years to build a reputation and generate the return customers and referrals that keep us in business. Business has grown from a hobby to pay for my own pool supplies and tournaments to more than a full time job.” Check out his web site and see what his shafts are all about. He did not know I was going to place this in the newsletter. www.americancowboybilliards.com His name is Robert Moss.

Meet another old friend.

While I am in the recommending mood, let me introduce you to an old friend who makes cues. His name is Ken Foss. He was instrumental in my game during the early years. He agitated me so much I spent many nights practicing just so I could beat him. He makes great cues and as you see, he offers them at a very good price. I used to have a Foss. It hit very good. Log on to his site and look around. Tell him The Monk sent you and tell him I forgive him for all the pain and suffering he caused me when we played. http://kenfoss.bravepages.com/ My favorite Ken Foss story was when I broke the rack in 9- ball and made five balls on the break. I was looking at my starting ball straight in the corner pocket. Ken moaned,”I don’t think even you can mess this up.” I made my shot and followed it in the corner pocket.

Also, it is now possible for you to buy my novel, on my web site at a very good price. Take advantage of this generous offer today. Shootout in Taos on my web site at a very good price. Take advantage of this generous offer today.

May All The Rolls Go Your Way
The Monk