Bad at games

ZED

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ZED

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Jul 2014
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So when I'm just hitting, i can usually do quite well.

But whenever I'm playing a normal set to 11, i usually lose to people way, way, below me when i'm just hitting for fun.

I've come to the conclusion that i'm just bad when playing games. Does anyone have this problem?


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Very common issue. You may not be training quite the right way. One thing that can help this is to do a lot of drills with random elements, where you don't always know where the ball is going.

You can also practice playing games where you start from the score at 9-7 in various situations -- your lead, opponent's serve; you trail, your serve, etc.

And finally, just play a lot more matches.
 
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That is just the way of the weasel in TT life.

We can practice something and improve our performance in that area in practice, yet when it comes to applying that to a club match, it is never effectively applied successfully all the time (usually not the majority of time) in a practice match. Why? The predictability and controlled situation is gone and you have more variables to cope with. For example, you have to read spin, make decisions, move, be in position, be ready to do next shot, etc. That is a lot more on your plate than just an isolated practice situation.

It takes even more practice and time to make what one works on successfully improve in a real sanctioned match. You have all the above, along with the combat fight, the pressure, the stress, your desires to do well, and coping with failure. Needless to say, it takes a really LONG time for what you improve upon in practice to show up as improvement in a match that results in more points won. You are more likely to fail in points trying to successfully implement it, but this is a HEALTHY natural evolution and totally necessary.
 
how you practise is how you play in a match situation ie. if you just knock about without a defined purpose to what you are doing this is exactly what you will do in a match. the whole point of practise is to develop muscle memory for specific scenarios so that you do them without thinking. the more you practise the more your scenarios become second nature and hence exactly what you will "fall back" on when in a high pressure situation.

i have a problem in matches : chopping underspin when the ball is on my forehand side, even though i know that topspin is a way higher percentage shot i still do it. this is purely down to pressure and what i fall back on ie my brain and reflexes still see chopping as the default option. it is taking a long time to develop the new reflex, this is to be expected ... and it is why you usually get worse overall while trying to correct a mistake.

having a knock around is fun, but if you want to improve i would suggest you have a plan or a coach to get the most out of each session.
 
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One other thing. It is good to know HOW you lose matches. You might want to tape some matches. If you give away some really dumb stuff, it makes a quick difference. Two point turnaround sometimes (you lose the point AND your opponent gains one). This is really obvious, but if this happens once or twice per game, you lose every time. You may not need to get any better at all (technically), just LEARN how to reduce some of the silly stuff you do, which you may not really know you are doing -- or at least not know how much of it there is. I know this sounds obvious, but sometimes even high level players are not aware how much they just give away, and that they can stop doing it. There is a mental discipline involved, but believe it or not, this can be learned, you not just born with it (or lacking it).
 
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