BruceZ
11-19-2002, 12:28 PM
I just got the ConJelco newsletter in the mail, and there is an article with a pool story by none other than guess who? Jimbo, how did you get chosen to write this?
In this article Jimbo beats an opponent who had more at stake than he did, namely a reputation. Putting pressure on someone who has more to lose is similar to going all-in against a world champion. One improves your chances for psychological reasons, and the other for mathematical ones. I once made the finals of a pool tourney by beating someone who was a) better than me b) hated me c) knew I hated him d) hated to lose, and e) I knew would really hate to lose to me. The trick I used was to pretend in my mind that I had already lost the match before it even started. I already came to terms with how it would feel to lose, the mindset, went through putting it in perspective, etc. With winning out of the way, I was freed up to play the best pool of my life. Nothing was on the line for me, but every ball I sank counted for more than a ball because he was under increasing pressure. This fed on itself and made me play better while he started to get worked up, argued about rules, turned red, etc. He tried many psychological tactics against me as I knew he would, but they were all ineffective because in my mind I'd already lost...until I won.
If I'm ever standing on the approach in the national bowling stadium surrounded by thousands of fans and millions watching on ESPN with a national bowling championship at stake (yarite, ok how about a local tourney) I will have a huge mental edge. I already decided how much significance to put on it. The same significance as when I'm throwing practice balls by myself late at night in a deserted alley with nobody watching. I figure I've lost and humiliated myself plenty of times, so one more time wouldn't be anything different. But this time I'm going down with the best balls I know how to throw.
In this article Jimbo beats an opponent who had more at stake than he did, namely a reputation. Putting pressure on someone who has more to lose is similar to going all-in against a world champion. One improves your chances for psychological reasons, and the other for mathematical ones. I once made the finals of a pool tourney by beating someone who was a) better than me b) hated me c) knew I hated him d) hated to lose, and e) I knew would really hate to lose to me. The trick I used was to pretend in my mind that I had already lost the match before it even started. I already came to terms with how it would feel to lose, the mindset, went through putting it in perspective, etc. With winning out of the way, I was freed up to play the best pool of my life. Nothing was on the line for me, but every ball I sank counted for more than a ball because he was under increasing pressure. This fed on itself and made me play better while he started to get worked up, argued about rules, turned red, etc. He tried many psychological tactics against me as I knew he would, but they were all ineffective because in my mind I'd already lost...until I won.
If I'm ever standing on the approach in the national bowling stadium surrounded by thousands of fans and millions watching on ESPN with a national bowling championship at stake (yarite, ok how about a local tourney) I will have a huge mental edge. I already decided how much significance to put on it. The same significance as when I'm throwing practice balls by myself late at night in a deserted alley with nobody watching. I figure I've lost and humiliated myself plenty of times, so one more time wouldn't be anything different. But this time I'm going down with the best balls I know how to throw.