body position and alignment problem

[Richard pincott]

The perfect 80’s combo then

It certainly was. Close up the club and straight downstairs 😃

[Richard pincott]

I think once the basics are down the game actually is all about tons of practice and repetition if you want to reach a decent level. Trying to pick a tiny contact point on a round ball from 8 feet away is no easy task, ghost balls and all that.. So yeah I would say it’s as much your brain just learns the angle over time from playing the shots, especially those awkward thin cut back type shots!! There are indeed loads of ‘angles’ which is why the game is so difficult! And let’s not even go into the nap of the cloth, pocket pinching and allowing for spin etc.. so many variables that change the angle.

I also think you have a few different types of players, the naturally gifted ones that just see the angle in there mind and get down and knock it in like your Ronnie O’Sullivan and then there are your Selby type’s who have to work really hard and put the hours in to improve and if you have a few months off it’s like your back to square one almost. It’s like when your playing really well, you can just get down on a shot almost in a trancelike state and knock balls in for fun without thinking, then on another day you have to focus more on pre-shot routine and concentrate more on seeing the angles, and those are the days when self doubt creeps in and over analysing your technique. I like what Tom said the other day about how he has to calibrate his cue action! That’s actually a good way of quickly trying to reset the brain on what a straight shot should look like, I’m not sure if it’s correct or not but I have tried this myself sometimes and it kinda works! Just spend 5 mins correcting your body position until your knocking them in and then the next time you get down all natural the shot then appears straight and you hit it straight. Weird but true!

18 months ago I could barely make a 30 break when I started playing again after roughly 20years off! I’m lucky enough to have my own table now and I’ll be out playing most days (don’t tell Starsky that) and just a few weeks ago I had a new high break of 95 and now I’ll regularly be knocking in 50’s etc… I doubt this would have happened as quickly or even at all if I joined a club and only played once or twice a week. So yeah, if you wanna improve, fine tune your basics and then just hammer the practice table!

Yes having your own table is great. I was lucky running a club back in the day with being able to practice for hours on end day in day out.
As stated previously my preferred method of potting is lining the pot up slightly thick. Just enough to know it’s wrong and then I make it right somehow by just playing the pot. Totally unorthodox, strange, but It works for me. I have made countless centuries this way.
However there are times when I don’t play well and I can play the correct line and cue straight and play that way well too 😆
You seem to have it all sorted.
Your point about seeing the spot 8 - 12 feet away. I find that sometimes I can and sometimes not. I think that’s where you here people say things like “ he’s seeing the ball well “ I think that’s form. Like you said when you are seeing them you don’t even have to think and everything goes in lol.
Sometimes I just can’t see anything close or far. Your arm feels like it’s someone else’s and nothing seems right. It could be the 8 pints the night before I suppose.
I think sometimes the eyes and brain just don’t quite coordinate and they can’t sus things out . Like you say it creates doubt, frustration, and all sorts of problems.
I usually take a step back, slow down, only use plain ball, and concentrate more on hitting the white in the middle.
It’s an annoying game at times.

[mikee]

Snooker shares a lot of similarities with golf , both static ball games , both rely on hitting the ball where you want it to go ,no where to hide as it’s all down to player who’s taking the shot , both games are very hard to play well at .I agree with Steve, lessons when your learning will help ,but once you reach a reasonable standard you need to find your own way ,if you can knock in 50’s and the odd ton and have been playing for quite a long time ,don’t over think things just because your playing crap for a week or so .I’m sure almost everyone on here that plays doesn’t think about half ball , quarter ball etc when there playing ,its natural because you’ve done it thousands of times , same as how you stand and set up for the shot ,you don’t think about it .At golf I have a natural draw and try and trust it ,most of the times I try and fade a shot and get too clever and I bugger it up .I like to think I’m like Tiger Woods ,but I feel more like Tiger Balm when I’ve finished a round .As Dirty Harry used to say “A mans gotta know his limitations “

[snookerdream]

Hi everyone

Tried a new method for the past 1 week and i think its sort of have improved my game but not sure if i should stick with it

i tried to touch the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow aswell and also my head tilts to the left abit, feels uncomfortable but shots look more online now.
although i still miss those long shots , sometimes i miss by 1 meter and its consistent, this is why i always thought i have sighting issue.
one thing else that i should mention is that i at the final backswing i tend to drop my elbow but since i have touched the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow , i can tell that at the end of the backswing i dont drop the elbow as much as i used to

one more thing , not sure if its a bad habit, i tend to drop my elbow and sometimes even the shoulder when follow through , eg: ronnie osullivan


am i on the right track? should i stick with "touch the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow"
thank you

[mikee]

You miss some long shots by 1 meter

[Danger Steve]

Hi everyone

Tried a new method for the past 1 week and i think its sort of have improved my game but not sure if i should stick with it

i tried to touch the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow aswell and also my head tilts to the left abit, feels uncomfortable but shots look more online now.
although i still miss those long shots , sometimes i miss by 1 meter and its consistent, this is why i always thought i have sighting issue.
one thing else that i should mention is that i at the final backswing i tend to drop my elbow but since i have touched the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow , i can tell that at the end of the backswing i dont drop the elbow as much as i used to

one more thing , not sure if its a bad habit, i tend to drop my elbow and sometimes even the shoulder when follow through , eg: ronnie osullivan


am i on the right track? should i stick with "touch the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow"
thank you

A lot of players drop the elbow on the follow through, pretty normal! In fact I always feel I’m playing better when I know I’m doing this. Obviously we’re talking on mid to long range shots I think? I don’t tend to drop the elbow much around the black spot.

[Starsky]

Hi everyone

Tried a new method for the past 1 week and i think its sort of have improved my game but not sure if i should stick with it

i tried to touch the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow aswell and also my head tilts to the left abit, feels uncomfortable but shots look more online now.
although i still miss those long shots , sometimes i miss by 1 meter and its consistent, this is why i always thought i have sighting issue.
one thing else that i should mention is that i at the final backswing i tend to drop my elbow but since i have touched the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow , i can tell that at the end of the backswing i dont drop the elbow as much as i used to

one more thing , not sure if its a bad habit, i tend to drop my elbow and sometimes even the shoulder when follow through , eg: ronnie osullivan


am i on the right track? should i stick with "touch the bridge hand shoulder close to the left cheek which moved my grip hand elbow"
thank you

I think you should drop the elbow of the right cheek, move the bridge hand to left and follow through from behind ….. this will get you to snooker utopia and make a mess of your pants all at the same time

[Danger Steve]

You miss some long shots by 1 meter

I had a cut into the middle pocket shot last night that went so wrong it turned into a double into the opposite middle! Of course I didn’t let on that it was a fluke

[mikee]

[QUOTE=Danger Steve;n1018344]

I had a cut into the middle pocket shot last night that went so wrong it turned into a double into the opposite middle! Of course I didn

[mikee]

Nice one Steve , I did that last week on a black ball game ,said I was going for a double ,it was a cross double into the corner ,got the cocked hat in the middle , I said that’s what I meant ,think I got away with it

[vmax]

I think you should drop the elbow of the right cheek, move the bridge hand to left and follow through from behind ….. this will get you to snooker utopia and make a mess of your pants all at the same time

Brilliant,

[Cue crafty]

Keep the dream alive!!! And clean pants in closet!!!

[Richard pincott]

A lot of players drop the elbow on the follow through, pretty normal! In fact I always feel I’m playing better when I know I’m doing this. Obviously we’re talking on mid to long range shots I think? I don’t tend to drop the elbow much around the black spot.

If dropping your elbow is part of your natural delivery in order to get the hand through then I guess it’s fine. It hasn’t done Ronnie any harm lol.
Neil Robertson for instance has a very straight tight pendulum type delivery. Again it’s one of those things that is each to their own. I don’t think it’s a good idea to introduce it deliberately though. But if you try it and it feels comfortable give it a go. I have tried everything over the years including dropping the arm and it all works for a while until it doesn’t then it messes with your head and you are back to the drawing board.
Everyone has an optimum pace for instance where their accuracy is at it’s best. You will find that you can play around this pace and or cue delivery for most shots. Unless it’s 200 mph 😂Ronnie is a master at controlling the white with a similar pace or delivery on most shots. He rarely dolly’s one in or smashes one unless there is no other choice. Yes he drops his elbow which is part of his delivery and works for him. It won’t work for everyone.