It is not your first match of the day. It is your third or fourth. There has been tension, concentration, waiting, then more play.
Somewhere in between, you drink a soft drink or eat something sweet for energy. For a little while, you really do feel better.
Then, without anything changing in your game, execution starts to feel heavy.
Thinking slows down. Concentration is harder to maintain. You start forcing your shots with more effort.
This is no coincidence.
Sugar quickly raises blood glucose. The brain immediately uses this energy and your sense of clarity increases. But the body immediately tries to restore balance by reducing circulating glucose. The result is a sudden drop in available energy for the brain. You have not “run out” because you became more tired, but because the fuel arrived quickly and left quickly.
In back-to-back matches, this fluctuation costs you twice. It is not only energy that falls. Consistency of concentration falls too.
So in these conditions, the goal is not a sudden boost, but a steady energy supply.
In practice, this means simple things. Avoid sugar between matches. Bring something that is metabolised more slowly: a small snack, a toasted sandwich, a banana. Foods that do not sharply raise glucose and provide lasting energy.
Water also plays a crucial role. Even mild dehydration burdens concentration. During consecutive matches, drinking water regularly, rather than only when thirsty, helps maintain clear thinking.
Five- or ten-minute breaks are not a time to “get pumped up”. They are a time to stabilise. That is why having something ready before you need it makes sense.
In tournaments with many matches, the winner is not the one who rises the most. It is the one who drops the least.
If you find this useful, keep it. If not, move on.
And this is where pool meets everyday life. At work, in relationships and in critical decisions, the aim is not to feel good or confident. It is to produce the most you can with the abilities available to you at that moment, whatever the conditions. Not the ideal, but what is available.
High performance is not the privilege of champions. It is a scientifically grounded process that anyone can apply. It does not promise peaks. It promises consistency. And often it is that consistency that ultimately raises your level.
If you find this useful, keep it. If not, move on.