Do The Next Best Thing

SEVEN STEPS

TO A TOURNAMENT VICTORY

ANTHONY BEELER

1. BELIEVE YOU CAN DO IT

I still remember my first big tournament, the 1992 9-Ball championship in Lancaster, KY. There were over 100 players. Back then I didn’t play a lot of pool and I certainly didn’t understand the game like I do now, but I wanted to see how good the players were. After paying my entry fee, I went two and out. When I got done, I decided to follow the best players to see how my game compared. After watching them for about 6 hours, my evaluation was this: They shot straighter than I did, they played better position and they broke better than me. But I left there believing that if those guys could win, so could I. I worked on my game, and over time I got better. One summer, I watched numerous instructional videos, read books, and worked on ball running drills. Twelve years after I first competed, I made a long straight in shot to win that same tournament (with several pro caliber players competing).

2. PLAY IN THE PRESENT

MOMENT

How can Mike Sigel get to the finals and not know where he stands? It’s called playing in the present moment, and it’s a philosophy all players should embrace. It means not allowing yourself to think about the score or winning until you run out of shots. Instead, you become engrossed in the process of executing each shot and you completely accept the results no matter what they are.

3. MAINTAIN A POSITIVE

ATTITUDE

The worst thing you can do for your prospects of winning a tournament is to get down on yourself after a bad shot. If you start feeling sorry for yourself, you’re not focused on the next shot and this will become very problematic. In fact, it’s almost like a rolling snowball, your problems will just keep getting bigger and bigger.

4. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

You must make quality high-percentage decisions. Every time you have the urge to make an aggressive shot, go with the more conservative one. The moment you get impatient, is