At it's most basic, the pool table is a small battlefield. An excerpt from "The Art of War" is provided with how it applies to the competition between opponents.
This segment is from:
Chapter 1 - Calculations
The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors ...
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This information considers how battlefield strategies and tactics can be used to win more games. If this seems interesting, read these AWAP posts.
The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are:
- Moral Law - causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
- Heaven - signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.
- Earth - comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.
- Commander - stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.
- Method and discipline - the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
These five factors should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
The learning of the art of pool depends on these six fundamental factors. These are the basics upon which you are able to become the Intelligent player.
- This begins from the time you first picked up a stick through today. It is the sum total of your successes and failures in the hundreds and thousands of shots made on the pool table.
- Physical skills. The physical skills are the level of control you have in cue ball spin and speed. The closer the results to your intentions, the greater the mastery of physical skills.
- Mental skills. These are the calculations used to develop strategic plans and apply the appropriate tactics. Such effort depends on a realistic analysis of self and opponent.
- Information gained from many sources. It is the analytical observations of your opponents and monitored matches. This is coordinated with information learned from tutors, mentors, instructors, books, videos, etc.
- Self-discipline. This maintains control of your emotions. It keeps you focused on the immediate tasks as you advance your intentions. It helps you keep impulsive behavior under control. It is summed up in a collection of rules – when followed, improves your chances of winning; and if not, regularly leads to less successful results.
- This is more important than skills – it is maturity, based on considering situations in their true light. It combines all of the above. It is advanced when you study your mistakes, work out the real reason why, and find solutions to prevent future repetitions.
The player who understands these will win the majority of the time.