The Grip

[foolsgold]

Hello all!

I play a fair bit but I'm not all that great. My top break is 36, some days I'll play for an hour and knock in a few 20 plus breaks, other days I'll play longer and struggle to get into double figures. Familiar story, I know.

On the days when I'm playing OK I tend to choke when I see an 'easy' chance for a 30 plus... my technique generally becomes lax and I botch up. I think maybe my elbow alignment goes at times. Most notably, though, are the problems with my grip. My grip is terrible and seems to change every time I come to the table. I've looked loads for useful tips online and come across the same stuff... firm with thumb and forefinger, other fingers wrapped around loosely, etc., but it all seems too vague. The nearest I've come to getting a 'solid' piece of advice is the idea of picking the cue up like you're about to hit someone over the head with it (ironically something I'd like to do when I miss a shot), but even this troubles me a bit, as I could hit someone over the head with any degree of power, and in many different ways. I'm not intentionally being awkward, honest! I just struggle to deal with advice that isn't 'black and white'.

Any advice at all on the grip would be much appreciated, like how much/which part of your palm/fingers/thumb should be touching the cue, etc. If someone could give me advice on the grip, however basic, to keep in mind while taking the shot that would help me cue smoothly and the same way every time I got down to play that would be brilliant.

Sorry it was a bit of a long one! I'm James by the way, pleased to meet y'all!

[checkSide]

Welcome James!

Glad to see the technical demons are messing with your head as well.
It's what unites us all! lol

There is a lot of info on the grip already in the coaching section. Take a little look through that and see if there is anything useful.

[warren132]

Hi James.......the only thing i can say about the grip that may help you is as follows.....lay your cue flat on the bed of the table and then pick the cue by the place on the butt that you hold when you play your shot and with the amount of force/grip/power that you need to pick the cue up then that should be sufficient for playing snooker with...Hope this helps you mate.

[matoski]

Your grip should change depending of the type of shot you are playing at the moment. As an example, for screw shots you should hold the cue lighter, for stun shots and stun run through you should squeeze the cue during the impact with the cue ball, for run through you should have strong grip...etc.

[warren132]

Yeh thats very true matoski but lets keep it simple here dont think james should be worried about that just now as he seems to be having problems just gripping the cue...without having to worry about each shot and to hold it tight or loose depending on what type of shot he is playing.

[Mr O]

Maybe you need to try different butt sizes and shapes. There's a fair bit of variation in them. Some have a flat part which is only 2 ins long, some are 3.5-4, and some are more rounded etc When I had my cue made, I sent the cuemaker another cue which had the perfect grip and asked him to copy it.

[DandyA]

I personally find a very very light grip is the best answer - whenever I'm not cueing well (which is often!) I try first of all, to lighten my grip and it normally works ... of course, I can't do Ronnie type power shots but who can?

if that doesn't work then I concentrate on my other bad habit ... I have chosen the line of aim whilst standing, I've got down on the shot but it doesn't look quite right - so what do I do? I tend to move my head side-to-side (a la Selby) until it looks right ... you can make any shot look right if you move your head sideways enough but it's the wrong answer ... keep your chin on the cue where you always do and move the line of the cue until everything looks "dandy" ...

[KeithinFrance]

This is what I and many others do when they get used to playing.

The grip can vary for players, (should not be called a grip really) because you dont grip too much except maybe with the first finger and thumb.
I think the grip is the hardest thing to change with your game and the biggest reason why some people do not improve.

Some griip with the first finger and thumb and loosen their other fingers on the backswing. (something I have tried to learn)
I grip with my index finger and my first finger and thumb does not grip the cue at all neither does my little finger. Relaxing the grip gives more control and is essential if you are going to learn to time the shot well I feel as griping the cue to tight can cause you cue across a shot because you can pull the cue towards your body slightly. Overall you want to learn to drive the cue thro in a straight line, so work on doing this. good luck with the practice...:snooker:

Maybe you could clarify this a little bit, because I, for one, don't understand; the index finger is the first finger, so do you grip with this and the thumb, or do you grip with your middle finger and your ring finger or what?

[eha]

Hi James

I think I am at the very same level as You are and struggled with same issue a lot. I think my biggest problem has been that I thing too much what I am doing instead of concentrating to pot the ball.

Frank Callahan tells at his site that the grip is individual and it does not make much difference between styles. More important is that it stays constant during the shot and, of course, feels comfort for You.

I have found good advice from Fergal O'Brians site - just practise shot 10 minutes a day without any balls. You can do that anywhere You like. The trick is that You teach Your muscles to work automatically. When there are enough repetitions, all parts of the shot will come subconscious.

For me it helped a lot when I learned to trust my technique (and to accept that it will improve slower that I would like), think (and visualize) the shot before going down. Then You just do the shot You have decided to do. Concentration is (allmost) full on object ball.

After read some books of sports psychology it really makes sense. Thinking too much just confuses Your muscle control. After that it is very difficult to achieve what You really are for. Then comes frustration and You concentrate more and more to Your technique, change something and the vicious circle is ready.

I hope this helps You a little

:snooker:
:snooker::snooker::snooker:

[foolsgold]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out, I really appreciate it. Warren, the picking the cue up idea is very useful for me because it's something I can't really 'overthink', so thanks for that. It's interesting what Dandy said about relaxing it when you get frustrated, on the few occasions I've managed to see past my anger I've tried this... I've loosened my grip loads so that I'm playing the shot mostly with my elbow. I don't know how 'right' this is but it seems to do the trick for me, especially in and around the black spot.

This is all good stuff, it's amazing how many different perspectives there are... I'd never heard of anyone gripping it with their middle finger before! And it's good to know that other people struggle with this like I do. There's still one thing I'm unsure of... when gripping with the thumb and forefinger, are you meant to 'pinch' them together to grip it or is it more the case that they should be placed 'around' the cue, if you get me, so that the 'V' is touching the cue? The latter tends to bring the palm into play and I'm not sure that the palm of the hand should be involved at all?

Cheers again guys

[KeithinFrance]

I heard that if you put your hand 'around' the cue so's your 'v' is on the cue, it's better for power shots and is used by a lot of players with tremendous cue power whereas a more relaxed 'v' is more conducive to 'touch' shots and was more common amongst older players. I know that I use a more relaxed 'v' and I've certainly not got loads of cue power!!