Most players believe the game is lost at the table.
In reality, many games are lost in the chair.
Not because you are sitting.
But because that is where you let your mind drift.
What does a player usually do while sitting?
Looks at the score.
Thinks about the previous mistake.
Watches the opponent.
Runs the game forwards or backwards in their head.
Or simply relaxes too much.
All these things have the same result:
your attention breaks up without you noticing.
And when you get up again, you need two or three shots to get back into the game.
If you get the chance.
Here is a simple framework I use with my athletes and players:
When you sit in your chair, you are not resting mentally.
You are resting only physically.
The mind has one job:
to remain neutral.
In practice, this means:
you do not judge the score,
you do not analyse the mistake,
you do not predict what comes next.
You simply observe.
Natural breathing.
Eyes lowered or on the table.
No story running through your head.
Why?
Because every thought, even an “innocent” one,
places a load on the nervous system.
And the game does not need extra load.
It needs clarity.
This is not relaxation.
It is maintaining concentration.
The same approach is used:
in precision sports,
in environments involving repeated pressure,
where the problem is not the one mistake
but the drop that follows it.
The table is where you execute.
The chair is where you regulate.
If you find this useful, keep it.
If not, move on.