Pot Success Rate!

I played again last night and incorporated the longer back swing (only the second session I've used this.) It's made a huge difference to my game. Was making some incredible long shots. Will report back.

any tips anyone on how to keep your head absolutely still on the shot?
My head is slightly going up and down when feathering, (not sideways as mark selby used to do though).
I guess I keep completely still when delivering the cue but it annoys me because no matter what I do I just can't control this up and down movement of approx 1 inch max...

rekoons wrote:any tips anyone on how to keep your head absolutely still on the shot?
My head is slightly going up and down when feathering, (not sideways as mark selby used to do though).
I guess I keep completely still when delivering the cue but it annoys me because no matter what I do I just can't control this up and down movement of approx 1 inch max...

Are your feet spread wide enough to give a solid foundation?

Errr don't know really, i'm inclined to say yes...? gonna check this next time.
But how does the stance width relate to up and down head movement? isn't it more torso-shoulder-neck stuff?

rekoons wrote:Errr don't know really, i'm inclined to say yes...? gonna check this next time.
But how does the stance width relate to up and down head movement? isn't it more torso-shoulder-neck stuff?

Not a definite cure but if your feet are not spread well enough then the movement of your cue-arm can affect the 'less than solid' base that your stance is built upon.

Just a thought.

Otherwise ensure your bridge arm is fully extended.

All hypothesising really but those things can affect me.

Of course - overanalysing my stance is more detrimental than my bad stance!

Good luck

Hmmm yyou may be on to something with the extension of the bridge arm.

I actually think I almost never extend my left (bridge) arm completely, unless I have to stretch over the table or so...
It feels unnatural and a bit uncomfortable but I'm also gonna check this out, thanks for the hints

Badsnookerplayer wrote:

rekoons wrote:Errr don't know really, i'm inclined to say yes...? gonna check this next time.
But how does the stance width relate to up and down head movement? isn't it more torso-shoulder-neck stuff?

Not a definite cure but if your feet are not spread well enough then the movement of your cue-arm can affect the 'less than solid' base that your stance is built upon.

Just a thought.

Otherwise ensure your bridge arm is fully extended.

All hypothesising really but those things can affect me.

Of course - overanalysing my stance is more detrimental than my bad stance!

Good luck

None other than the great Joe Davis was a proponent of a fully extended bridge arm. Watching modern players, a fully extended arm is rather a rarity today. I believe this change over time has two primary reasons: 1) Average stature of players (and people in general) is a bit taller than 50 years ago. Shorter players will tend to stretch the arm a bit further because they have to. Taller players can have a crook in their elbow yet the head is still in a good position. and 2) Older style cue action did tend to be a shorter backswing, not the long backswing of the modern game which requires the bridge hand further back, thus the crook in the elbow. My own opinion only (no evidence to support it) but personally I believe this change in playing style with the longer backswing is mainly to do with the modern, very fine, and fast cloth. Equipment from many decades ago, the cloth was much thicker and slower, and the balls were heavier. Positional play was less accurate, and balls would drift offline just due to the heavy cloth. Cueing straight and on center was more critical, applying side spins was more oriented toward English Billiards with its losing hazards, not the Snooker so much.

So Joe said, stretch your arm out straight. His biggest reasoning for this was to keep the head at the correct distance far enough back from the cue ball. If the head is too close, the line cannot be sighted properly and accuracy suffers. Imagine sighting down a rifle or a shotgun, like Dan with his clay pigeons. Now, if you try the same thing, but with a pistol instead, do you hold your eye up right to the handle of the weapon in the same way as the rifle? No, your head must be well back, arm fully extended so that your brain can properly analyze the line of aim.

Rekoons, I think your head bobbing up and down may be exactly that.....your subconscious trying to get your head into the correct position because your current body posture may be promoting your head being too close to the cue ball. You say your arm being straight feels unnatural and uncomfortable. But most things are that way.....quite a bit of talk about the "pause" on this thread. When I first incorporated the pause into my game, it felt really strange for maybe two weeks or so, probably 12 or 16 hours on table. It continued to feel odd for another month although it did seem helpful. And for the next month or two, I would just notice it once in a while. Then, since that first two or three months, I never even think about it; it is just absolutely natural, "bedded in" as Dan quipped, and it was the greatest change I ever made. So the point is, even if it feels odd for some time, give it at least a couple weeks physical time (or at least 6 or 8 hours table time if you don't play too often) to allow it to start to become comfortable. Best if you try this out during practice first, but if you must incorporate the change during matches, just don't wager what you can't afford to lose. Progress often starts with a step back before a few leaps and bounds forward.

On the other hand, if you give this change that fair amount of time, work your way through the discomfort, but it hasn't been useful to actually potting more balls, then you will have to keep looking.

Badsnookerplayer wrote:Cheers Aces and Rekoons.

Update.

Stuck with the longer pause today and the evidence is becoming stronger. Until recently I was hitting 20/30 breaks and today I had a 48 and 53 in a best of 9 and was really pleased with how I played.

It could still go wrong so I will stick with it until I am convinced it is not a placebo effect.

Basically my action is now.

Visualise the contact and position I wish for
3/4/5 initial cue ups making sure I am striking the cue ball where and how I want.
Final backswing. Hold it longer than comfortable (but still probably 1/2 seconds). Whilst doing this focus on the object ball. And I mean focus really hard - you can fool yourself that you are looking at the right angle. Really look hard at it.
Last thought - any adjustments?? Then deliver. (minimum pace possible to achieve the desired cue ball position)

I am very pleased with my progress and am hopeful that my next ton will be this year.

Brilliant Baddy, this is very inspiring to me, I aim to crack 50 this year. Ace is right, you are one of the better players on this site and reading your thoughts is very helpful.

Joe Davis was probably about 4ft tall! Ha.

Ace - your words ooze class at every twist and turn. What a pleasure to read your gold nuggets.

acesinc wrote:For Johnny, I don't think I have had pleasure of discourse with you in the past. I have noticed your posts in the tour threads but I don't recall seeing you before in any of the technique threads. It does sound like you have some talent and I do wish I could see your game live..

Thank you.
I don't mean to brag, but I've always been a natural, I just play out of talent, I see the shot and I go for it.

acesinc wrote: I will say though that in your couple posts here, your technique would seem to be non-standard. I don't mean that in a bad way; we all must find our own path and use or discard what works or doesn't work for us. When I read your posts, I immediately thought of Tony Drago in his prime, completely non-standard but utterly fascinating to watch. Finding a path to improvement on the Green Baize is definitely a very personal endeavour and it is useful for us all to share what has worked or not for us. Then, if the advice seeker is serious in his quest, he is obliged to try it all (but in very small and controlled increments, as Rekoons suggests) and figure which if any will work for him.

If I were to describe my style, it's very similar to that of Mark Allen, we hit the ball the same way, he also doesn't have backswings.

Badsnookerplayer wrote:Cheers Aces and Rekoons.

Update.

Stuck with the longer pause today and the evidence is becoming stronger. Until recently I was hitting 20/30 breaks and today I had a 48 and 53 in a best of 9 and was really pleased with how I played.

It could still go wrong so I will stick with it until I am convinced it is not a placebo effect.

Basically my action is now.

Visualise the contact and position I wish for
3/4/5 initial cue ups making sure I am striking the cue ball where and how I want.
Final backswing. Hold it longer than comfortable (but still probably 1/2 seconds). Whilst doing this focus on the object ball. And I mean focus really hard - you can fool yourself that you are looking at the right angle. Really look hard at it.
Last thought - any adjustments?? Then deliver. (minimum pace possible to achieve the desired cue ball position)

I am very pleased with my progress and am hopeful that my next ton will be this year.

Soooo, are you getting any closer to that ton yet?

I've fallen victim to experimenting a bit (too much) lately. About focusing on the object ball (OB) during the final bakswing pause: i've noticed I don't do that all the time.

on short range soft to medium power shots I just line up and stare at the cueball (CB) when I deliver the cue.

it's only when there's more distance between CB and OB, or need more pace, that I unconsciously flick my eyes to the OB to have a good look. When i try to adopt the same approach for short to mid range medium powered shots I miss miserably! very strange, so I won't do that and stick with my routine.

on the longer shots where I do focus on the OB last, I also have to make sure I only flick over to the OB when my final backswing is completed, not during the backswing, or else I miss terribly as well. I guess when I switch from CB to OB when pulling the cue back I somehow change it's path.

what's become more clear than ever to me is that most issues solve themselves when you get your cue action as smooth and silky as possible. i've found that I don't need to focus at the plethora of things that can go wrong when you focus most on a smooth end gentle acceleration and delivery of the cue. when that sometimes happens, all the rest seems to follow naturally (wrist, elbow, grip, follow through,...)

now to get it consistent though...