Have you ever found yourself sitting down, knowing you have some task to do, yet cannot find the ability to get up and do it?

More specifically, it gets to the point where, you tell yourself, "get up," and yet your body doesn't follow.

Maybe it even becomes a game.

You will count to three, and on three you say you will stand up. One. Two. Three. But no avail, you remain seated.

What is the missing link then, between your desire to take action and the spark that initiates it? And what would you call that state where, despite your commands, your body remains entranced so that, despite your strongest will and urgency, you remain physically unable to take action?

It’s a mild hypnotic state. Ok why is this important to your ability to play pool? I’ll tell you why.

Humans are pattern seeking monsters. So much so, that these sequences become a part of our daily lives. It's been said that if we truly had to process all incoming information... sight, sound, etc., that we would go insane. (Ever enter a loud night club? That initial ‘what the hell is going’ on feeling?)

So we have adaptive mechanisms that allow us to simply form an impression of what is going on around us, while truly focusing on one thing.

(Again, what t does this have to do with playing pool?)

In our desire for maximum control of our outcomes-- i.e. hitting the ball precisely this way, and keeping our arm angle at 32.6 degrees (with a protractor), and all the many variables that go into shooting the perfect shot:

We paradoxically LOSE control

Think about it this way. The first time you drove a car. It was most likely a clumsy effort, as you sought control of the seemingly hundreds of things going on at once. And yet in that moment, you had maximum awareness of everything going on (push this, step here, turn this way. STOP.)

Or maybe some other experience you were just thrown into, where it felt like 100 things were happening at once, and it was pure chaos.

But as we gain experience...

We no longer seek control of those many things, we simply trust that we have it. The only focus at that point is where we are going--- if that (sometimes I don’t even realize I’m home).

So get ready for it: Why would someone with years of experience playing pool, go about it as if they were just learning (like the car example). All that brings is a loss of control.

If rather, you allowed yourself to develop a pattern, something that could get you into that automatic state (hypnotic-- where the balls clink into the pockets like a transmission shifts gears) then not only would you gain more control, but you’d also make things much easier on yourself.

Now there are many ways to achieve this state. And that’s something I will go into in future articles. But for now one of the quickest tricks is with a pre-shot routine.

But the essence of a pre-shot routine is something that you do consistently to kick on your pool playing pattern. So that you aren’t wandering around like a deer in the headlights, trying to figure out which foot to pick up and step with next.

The irony, and challenge, is:

In gaining control, we must first give it up.

A little short term pain, however, will lead to a much more efficient game. So go out there today (or whenever you usually play) and:

1.       Start a pre-shot routine

2.       Trust yourself a little more (even if you miss, eventually you will adapt better subconsciously)

3.       Share this article with a friend who you think needs it most (most likely they take 5 minutes for each shot)

4.       Never miss a post and follow our email list here.

If you dread the long straight in shot, then you need to read this. Otherwise, this article won't apply.

Guess what? You don't need an aiming system.

The reason you miss shots- You can't hit the ball where you want... yeah yeah, what else is new.

Think about it, what is the only shot in the entire game of pool, that requires no judgement as far as angles go?

The straight in shot.

Hit that object ball right in the center, and watch it go right in the pocket.

But guess what? This shot is probably missed at the exact same percentage you miss any other cut shot at the same distance. Why? It’s not because you don't know where to hit it, it's because you can't hit it where you want it.

"Okay, okay, I'm still not sure about that. I mean, what if I can't hit the ball where I want and I don't know where to hit it?"

Then you need to get your priorities straight. Once your stroke follows where you desire it to go, then you can focus on developing your judgment. Lets not put the cart before the horse.

How can you develop your judgment, if you can’t test your judgment. What I mean is, if you pick a spot on the ball to hit for a particular angle shot, and you miss, how can you know if it was the spot, or if it was your stroke?

What’s the solution?

Prioritize getting your stroke in line. And there is only one shot that does that—the straight in shot. What you need to do is find your “range.”

The NBA great Eddie Johnson described his warm up as follows:

You start close enough to the basket where you can make 7 out of 10 shots without touching the rim. Once you do that, you take a step back and repeat. This process goes on until you find your sticking “range.” You then take a step back in, and go back and forth in this area until you can make 70% perfectly.

This same method has been used by free throw record holders, hitting 1000+ consecutive shots.

But here’s the deal. I've got news for you, it’s the exact same method in pool.

If you are practicing shots outside of this range, you aren't improving. It’s just luck. A statistic. 

If you want to really accelerate your ability and control, you have to first figure out where exactly you have control.

So the next time you are going out to practice pool, do that same exercise with a straight in shot. Then, after you have pinpointed your range, you can work on other shots.

Because at that point, you have locked down a huge variable. And now that you know you are hitting the ball exactly where you want it, now you can focus on your judgment of where that should be.

Imagine when you first learned to ride a bike. You had to worry about falling over either to your left or your right. Now think about how much more difficult it would have been if you started on a unicycle. There is an entire other dimension interfering with your ability to learn.

So are you riding a unicycle when you play pool? If so:

1. Take action and find your range. 
2. Follow our update list, so that you don't miss any of our new articles or advice to help improve your game.
3. Share this article with your friends!
4. Read more here

Good luck!