Playing down

Often when playing a competitive match in any sport we cannot control what level of player we face. In some cases we will face an opponent of equal skill. But in others we will have to battle it out against someone who is higher skilled, or lower skilled.

When playing against a lower-skilled opponent it is important to remember that the skill level doesn’t really mean a guaranteed victory. When a level six plays against a level three, it doesn’t mean that the six can relax and coast his way to victory.

Internal vs External Stresses

There are two types of stress. Okay that this a gross oversimplification, but I believe that it is possible to split stress into external stress and internal stress. I define internal stress as stress that we get through mental causes. For example thinking about all that you need to do in a limited amount of time can cause a lot of stress. Add on self-imposed time constraints and your stress level can skyrocket quickly. I consider this a bad stress, as it doesn’t do anything for us.

Taking forfeits

I've written before about playing competitively, and why I believe that it's important. Playing competitively can bring out the best in us, as well as the worst. It can also show us who we truly are, and what we are capable of. These are very good characteristics to practice regularly in my opinion.

Losing on purpose

Games are competitive in nature. This nature is one of the key reasons why I argue that games can be used for self improvement. But it is important to note that winning the game is not the end-all be-all for this improvement. In my mind, winning is just a way of tracking improvement. However, losing often times forces me to improve. In other words, winning doesn’t help me improve, it only shows that I have improved enough to win against that specific opponent.

The importance of focus

I have mentioned before that I play pool in the APA league. The APA is a friendly, but competitive league that has matches every week. Pool itself is a challenging game that is much tougher than it feels that it should be. When a competitive system is added to pool, then it becomes a difficult game to play at the best of times. Don't let anybody tell you differently, pool is not easy to play competitively.

Playing against a different style

I was playing an even match against a player who is well-known for a fast and wild style. When the need for playing a defensive shot comes up, he will play one. But for the most part he will choose the first shot that comes to mind, no matter how crazy. This results in unpredictable outcomes that work for him as often as they work against him. For instance, on a few of his shots he chose to hit a bank shot across the table. He made it in, but his cue-ball was hooked so that he couldn't hit the next ball. On those shots I got ball in hand which gave me an advantage against him. That being said he balances his game well by making the simple shots almost every time.

In contrast, I like to play with more finesse and planning. Thinking out all of my options and carefully choosing the one that I feel is the best shot. An example is one of my two-way shots, where I not only plan what will happen to the cue-ball when I make the shot, but I also attempt to plan what will happen if I miss the shot. This way I can tweak difficult shots so that if I miss, then my opponent won't have an easy shot to get back into the game.This makes me a slower player than the average, but I feel that I am made stronger by this methodical approach. I try to keep this approach across all of my life.

When playing against someone who plays a different style though it is difficult to stay true to ones own though. I had to constantly remind myself to stay true to my style and keep my rhythm going at my pace, not at my opponents.

While it was tough, I managed to keep that pace, and ended up winning the match by seven balls!

In the real world we also have our rhythms, and we are also surrounded by people who have different ways and speeds of going about their day. It is easy to temporarily lose our own rhythms and take on someone else's, which will not benefit us. Keeping true to ourselves is important to improving and staying happy.