Are You Ready

By Max Eberle

Once I was told that Mike Sigel said he never shot until he was ready, and back in his heyday he did very little missing. Mike told me and Charlie Williams that back then he didn't miss, and all he had to do was show up at a tournament in order to win. Possibly a slight exaggeration, but based on his record these statements must not be too far from the truth.

Have you ever stroked a shot even though you knew or felt you were not aiming correctly and then exclaimed "I knew I was going to miss that" in an attempt to explain yourself or justify your result? It may be true that every pool-player who has ever missed has experienced this feeling at one time or another. Conversely, it may also be true that every pool player who has ever made a ball has had the feeling of knowing that a particular ball was going into the pocket.

If you are going about the business of trying to pocket balls and run out, it would be to your advantage to eliminate the feeling that you will miss a shot. Doing this requires a respectable amount of patience and discipline, especially in regards to those moments of uncertainty. In the past, I have dealt with this situation by shooting anyway because I just couldn’t wait or by denying to myself that I could possibly miss. Upon missing such a shot, I would feel thoroughly betrayed and disgusted. One can only take so much pain before the change response takes effect, and with experience and maturity I have learned to STAND UP AND START OVER in those rare occasions when my aim does not feel correct. This takes a good deal of patience, of which I would always like to exercise.

While it takes patience to stand up if the shot does not feel right, it takes discipline to minimize those uncertain moments. Discipline in terms of a pre-shot routine including; clarity of your intended result, positive body language, finding the aiming point, body positioning, warm up strokes and eye movement routine, and keeping your body still upon delivery of your actual stroke. By having a pre-shot routine or SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), your feelings of knowing a ball will drop will increase, and you will be more equipped to create rhythm and run out consistently.

If, after all this you still are not ready, either stand up or take some extra strokes without over doing it, until your shot is "on". Figure out a formula that works for you. How good would you be if you only shot when you were ready?

Max Eberle is a world-class professional pool player and instructor. He is a four-time West Coast 9-ball Champion, two-time ACU-I National Collegiate 8-ball Champion, and former BCA Junior National 8-Ball Champion. He is a former WPA World Straight Pool Championship Bronze Medallist, top five-ranked UPA touring professional for two years, and has high runs of 196 in straight pool and ten consecutive racks of 9-ball on a regulation table. An in-demand private instructor and film/television performer, his students include celebrities and pool players of all ages and skill levels. He has traveled the world competing, entertaining, and teaching. An artist for life, he resides wherever inspiration, and his cue, take him. You can find out more at: Max Eberle

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