Many believe that that prior to the match, you should stroke the cue ball around the table a few times to judge rail and cloth speed. Perhaps you can pocket a few balls to judge the pocket speed as well. For the most part, this is a smart move if you want to loosen up, but doesn’t do a thing for adapting you to your surroundings. I say this because: As soon as the game or match begins, your surroundings and your environment will be completely different. Your senses will react differently during competition than in practice. Your senses will process information differently. Your breathing will change, and your perception of your surroundings will be slightly altered. I have seen many fine players look deadly during their warm up, only to watch them enter the sixth dimension, a dimension I call Drained-Brain. They know what to do. They know how to do it, but something inside is making them do it all wrong, and they feel that there is nothing they can do about it.
There is something you can do about it, and I could care less what the table conditions are. Focus and concentration are very powerful tools. What makes some opponents so deadly, are not there physical skills, but what goes on behind their eyes. It is how different players deal with different situations that set them apart from each other. A camera flash would send Earl Strickland into a tirade, yet Efren Reyes might not even acknowledge the occurrence. You might have trouble pocketing the balls cleanly for whatever reason. It is what you do in response to your environment that will measure your adaptability to the situation. In the camera flash example, I gave the probable reactions of two different players. Neither response is wrong for either player, as each response serves a positive purpose for each player. They have a different way of reacting and adapting their playing styles to the same situation. When faced with situations that challenge your adaptability, ask yourself these questions:
What is the problem?
What is causing the problem?
What is making it worse?
What can I do to make this work for me?
What is the problem?
Identifying what the problem is EXACTLY is very important. Saying there is something wrong with the table, when it is possible that you are experiencing problems with your stroke, can be devastatingly frustrating when your remedy solves nothing. This question is easily answered when you are familiar with your game. Many players are unfamiliar with their game because they neglect to take proper inventory of weaknesses and strengths. In the training section of this book, I give an inventory sheet, along with examples of training cycles that are designed to familiarize you with your strengths and weaknesses. When you know these things about your game (as well as your tendencies), this question becomes easier to answer.
