Matches, mental game, learning from pros
Matches, mental game, learning from pros
Handle pressure and steal ideas from top players.
One shot at a time
Under pressure, the mind jumps ahead to the result or back to the last miss. Bring it back to the shot in front of you with your pre-shot routine. Choose the shot, commit to it, and play it the same way you would in practice. When the routine is automatic, it carries you through the nervous moments.
- Breathe out slowly before you get down on a pressure shot.
- Keep your tempo: nerves speed you up. Take a moment longer, not shorter.
- Choose the shot you can play well, not the most spectacular one. Safety is not a failure.
- After a miss, sit down and let it go. The next visit is a new problem.
Learning from the pros
When you watch professional snooker, watch the white rather than the object ball. Before each shot, guess where the player wants the white to finish. Then see how close they get, and how they got there: with stun, screw or roll, and how much pace.
Notice how rarely they use side, how often they play a plain-ball shot, and how they turn down risky pots for safety. Watch their pre-shot routines too, and how unhurried they are on the important balls.
Playing matches
Play regularly against someone at your level or a little above. Match play teaches what practice cannot: choosing between attack and safety, reading the score, and keeping calm. After each match, write down one thing that went well and one thing to practise.
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At the table
Play a full frame against someone at your level. Use your pre-shot routine on every shot.