How to Handle 8-Ball Anxiety

To succeed in pool, everything needs to be perfect. You need to have your hands calm and collected. You need the cue to strike the ball at the exact spot with the exact right speed. You need to have precision, and perhaps most importantly, you need to have faith in yourself.

Yet it’s because of all of those things that it’s easy to develop a “shot anxiety” – particularly on the 8 ball when you have the potential to win the game but a small mistake can cost you the victory. It’s especially common in beginners, who over think the final shot hoping to win the game, and the nervousness they feel translates to missed opportunities and poor decision making.

So how do you overcome this pre-shot anxiety, so that you can nail the shot, win the game, and successfully trash talk your opponent?

Developing a Routine

The first thing you need to do is create your pre-shot routine. Most people think of routines as superstition – that the weird things people do before a shot are completed because they feel they need to do it otherwise the “billiards gods” or whomever will not allow them to sink it.

This is not the case. The reason that routines are so valuable is because they take your mind off the pressures of the shot and focus them on the routines. You see bowlers and baseball players do this a lot – the routine helps them keep their mind off the pressure, giving them a comfortable routine to complete immediately before they need to do their jobs.

You should develop your own routine. It’s not important what you do. Some people like to add some chalk a few times. Others like to stroke the cue a certain way or take one long, deep breath before every shot. As long as it’s something you’re comfortable doing every time and it doesn’t impact your shot, it’s a good routine.

Practicing

It’s not rocket science. The more your practice, the more natural every shot is going to feel, and the less anxious you’ll get over time. Professional pool players have a great deal of pressure on them, and yet they are able to sink nearly every shot because their experience allows them to calmly go about each one, knowing which they’ll make and which they’ll miss.

Deep Breathing or Visualization

You have a limited amount of time to take your shot, so it’s difficult to fit it any relaxation exercises, but you can do a few makeshift exercises to at least calm yourself down a little. Take some slow, deep breaths breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth to calm your heart down, or consider visualizing yourself somewhere other than the pool table. Most relaxation techniques take a good 10 minutes or so, so you won’t have time to truly calm yourself down.

But anything helps. So if a few deep breaths or visualization are able to calm yourself down just a little but, that little bit may be enough to help you improve your game.

Don’t Drag it Out

Dwelling is another issue that can affect your anxiety. If you feel that your anxiety is starting to build, don’t sit there and hope it goes away, because you’ll be focusing too much on the anxiety. Instead, complete your routine, take a few deep breaths, and take the shot no matter how you feel. Even professional billiards players sometimes take breaks when they’re feeling anxious, but those breaks can easily make you feel more anxious as you hope for the anxiety to go away.

Practice With Nice People

It’s amazing how much someone’s words can hurt when you’ve missed the 8 ball a few times in the past. So when you’re practicing, play some competitive games against people that won’t try to get inside your head. That way you get to experience the pressure of making the 8 ball with no repercussions if you miss. It’s a good way to gain experience in a pressure situation without exacerbating your anxiety.

Reduce Anxiety in Your Daily Life

Finally, what many people forget about anxiety is that it is often cumulative. So the more anxious are in your daily life, the more anxious you will be when you need to take a crucial shot during a game. Seek out regular anxiety treatments in your daily life (eating healthy, avoiding caffeine, finding ways to relax, seeking help if necessary, etc.) and you’ll experience far less pressure when it is finally time to sink the 8-ball.

Sinking the Final Shot   

You may experience anxiety with any shot you take during the game, and that anxiety can prevent you from being able to make the crucial shots. The key is to find consistent and effective ways to relieve as much as that anxiety as possible, so that you can focus on keeping your hands steady and directed at the ball.

Practicing is the most important, since experience is often the solution to pressure. But developing a routine, performing a few quick relaxation techniques, and taking the shot as soon as you’re ready is the best way to help relieve some of that anxiety, and help you win the game.

About the Author: Ryan Rivera’s anxiety often interfered with his billiards ability, but he was able to overcome his anxiety and shares that information at  http://www.calmclinic.com