3 Things to Tell Yourself in Snooker Practice…

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As promised, every so often on SnookerZone, we’ll give you the odd tip/s we’ve found work in our own game, and here’s three things that we’ve been doing lately that have given rise to better improvement per session of practice snooker, whether it’s frames or solo.

JoeDavisHowIPlaySnooker — Sometimes, learning techniques can be a drag…It’s good occasionally to free yourself from the shackles of learning and give them a…

It doesn’t matter if it’s five hours, two hours, or even one hour. Every focused session helps…

Here they are;

Tell yourself it’s OK to miss…

Yes, this one is actually a really KEY thing to practice and improve on. We recommend you write this down anywhere a few times! Hey, imagine you’re back at school in detention and you have been given lines by that teacher you absolutely detested! lol.

We’ll repeat it – It’s OK to miss…

When you accept you’re going to miss balls, then you will feel less angry when you do miss.

But, as well as telling yourself “it’s OK to miss”, you’ve also got to understand why you miss! That means doing stuff like…

Watching the ball to the pocket to see what happened
Keeping an eye on where you’re striking the cue ball

If you can slow down and OBSERVE, then you will see greater improvement per session and feel more confident.

READ: How to tackle the mental side of snooker and win more – NOW…

2) Who are you playing?

In snooker, although we face an opponent, much of the game is actually about facing our own demons and how we feel about ourselves.

Imagine going into an exam and thinking, “I’m going to fail.” Chances are, you will.

Same with snooker. If you say “I’m not going to pot this ball, chances are, you won’t!

Maybe we feel like we don’t have the ability to achieve. Maybe we are doubtful about our own technique. But really, when we say, I can’t beat him, or her, what we are really saying is we can’t beat ourselves. The answer to that is, YES YOU CAN!

So, when you next face an opponent, think of it as playing yourself! You can beat yourself! Your better self is you!

Forget the who, just focus on you…

3) Are you really looking at what you’re doing or just going through the motions?

Sometimes, practice can be a drag. SnookerZone has felt it. You’ve no doubt felt it, too.

And sometimes, we go to practice going through the motions. They might include…

Doing endless lineups without really knowing what’s going on…
Striking the cue ball up and down the spots
And trying too hard to keep to the routine

Sometimes, diverting from the “routine” and going off and knocking a few balls around can help ease the stress of a session. If you’re getting to that feeling like you’re just a robot trying to follow a software program, then just switch off and have some fun. Hey, even just totally forgetting what you’ve been taught and whacking them around for five mins or so can help get rid of the shackles of routine and make you feel free.

So remember…