Particular type of shot

[Terry Davidson]

gettingbetter:

You are partially correct as it is the cue power, however it's how you GET the cue power that is the answer.

In fact, you are not accelerating through (and beyond) the cueball or else not hitting the bottom of the cueball and it's very likely both.

To accelerate through the cueball ensure you drive your grip hand all the way through to your chest and use the hand hitting the chest as the stopping point for your cue. (Most players stop the cue using their grip and this is not correct, although the grip tightens on the cue of course, it should ONLY be when the hand hits the chest).

Not hitting the bottom of the cueball can only be mastered with solitary practice. You start out with a simple slow screw shot with minimal power. Say the pink on spot and cueball 1ft behind it and off straight (so the cueball doesn't hit your tip coming back).

Concentrate on aiming very low on the cueball, less than one tip width off the cloth. Keep your bridge absolutely steady, absolutely no upper body movement, and probably most important - a very loose grip. Slow backswing, pause, and then drive the grip hand through to the chest.

As you start to 'get' it, increase the distance between the pink and cueball to 18in and then 24in but always off straight so you would screw to the green pocket on a power screw.

Also very important...always place the cueball on the same spot and then note where the cueball hits the cushion. The closer to the middle pocket means the more screw you have achieved.

Terry

[gettingbetter]

Thanks for the reply Terry.

I don't think that I am the best exponent of cue power, but with the tips you provided I'll hopefully be able to incorporate that into my game. Its a rather important shot, because running through or stunning isn't that helpful.

Could you be able to explain the basic physics or even logic behind it? If the natural angle of the ball is heading towards the top cushion...

Also, is it a plain ball shot?

[hl1991210]

sidespin shot so hard = =

[jonny klu]

there are 2 shots i struggle with 1 is potting the black when you are below it so potting with reverse angle i miss far too many of them, and the other 1 is when the red is over the pocket ish near the black and the white is around the baulk line i find it hard to pot the red and put enough top spin on the cue ball to keep it down for the black and when i do keep it down there keeping position on the black.

[Terry Davidson]

jonny:

The cut-back black is one of the most difficult shots in snooker since the pocket is not in your vision normally.

Most players will adjust their aim as they are feathering this shot (even pros who miss this shot more than other types) and that is why this shot is missed a lot.

To practice it, decide on the aim of your cue while you are standing behind the shot, then drop your head absolutely STRAIGHT DOWN as you put your bridge hand on the table or cushion.

Now in practice only, DO NOT FEATHER THE CUEBALL. Just drop straight down into the shot, check your line of aim and do not adjust it or allow your body to move and have the tip of the cue in the address position, 1/8" from the cueball. Now do a slow backswing and deliver the cue, keeping a nice loose grip. Practice this way for a few shots and them move on to feathering as per normal, but ensure you DO NOT ADJUST YOUR BODY OR THE LINE OF AIM OF THE CUE.

Your other shot of having a ball over the pocket and trying to hold with tons of top stuff is a very specialised shot and should not be attempted by anyone who doesn't make REGULAR 50+ breaks. It is much better and much more accurate to use DRAG with less power. The drag keeps the cueball on line and once you get the amount of drag correct you can easily pot the ball over the hole and have the cueball hit the cushion and come out a foot or so for the black.

I don't use the top spin option unless I have no other choice and then only use it with side spin to bounce the cueball off the cushion a couple of times to get to the OTHER side of the black so I can pot it into the same pocket as the red. I always use drag or else play the shot normally and come up for the blue into the middle or top pocket if I go too far.

Remember, it is not much good to get great position on the black but miss the pot because you are applying a lot of power and thus more inaccurate on the delivery. Drag is much, much better (even though you have probably watched Jimmy White do the top spin shot or even Nic Barrow on his website but remember both of them are pros and have practiced and mastered this shot plus are pretty certain they will delivery the cue straight.

Terry

[jonny klu]

thats great terry thanks for the advice on the black i will give that a go tonight in practice, as for potting the red its not the potting of the red which is the issue as i can get that about 16 out of 20 its knowing how hard to hit it with that much top spin on but i am gathering from what you are saying is play a screw shot and if its to fine a cut to hold on for the black play for bue instead of plaing with a lot of top to hold for the black?

[Terry Davidson]

jonny:

I'm not advocating a screw shot and with this type of shot the screw turns into top spin after the cueball hits the top cushion and you will end up in baulk!

I'm advocating a 'DRAG SHOT' which is where you hit the cueball very low as per deep screw but with the correct power so the screw dissipates just as the cueball reaches the object ball. This means the cueball is traveling very slow as it hits the object ball.

Drag has the beneficial effect of keeping the cueball on line for the pot as opposed to hitting the cueball centre-ball and very slow as there's every chance it will roll off the line of aim unless the table is perfect, which not many are.

To be a good player you MUST master the drag shot as it has many applications in positional play

Terry

[jonny klu]

ahh good stuff i will look into that i kind of do it at the moment without knowing its called that as the table im usuing at the moment isint the best so slow shots will go off course but i will activly try this more often thanks for the advice

[gettingbetter]

Thought I'd re-ignite this thread.

I need help on one of the shots you see more often. When clearing the colours (on their spots) how do you hold for the pink from the blue when the blue is high. Whenever I see players play the shot it looks like they check with stun off the top cushion and it holds for the pink.

I can't seem to get this shot right.

[Tom Read]

Here's what I do... play the brown so I'm only just off straight on the blue, roll it in and you're on the pink! I'm hopeless at judging it when I'm high on the blue, so I just concentrate on the brown. If anything, I end up the wrong side of the blue!

[Terry Davidson]

gettingbetter:

I just re-read this string and realized I didn't answer one of your previous questions. When I said put the pink on spot and the cueball about 1ft behind it and OFF STRAIGHT, I meant with the cueball more towards the black end of the table and not baulk so a natural screw shot will take the cueball to the side cushion between the middle pocket and the green pocket. You should give yourself enough angle so you can judge how good the screw was by just where the cueball hits that side cushion.

On your receint question on how to get good position on the pink when you come up either short of the roll angle for the blue or else over-shoot the blue and end up on the pink side of it and have to into and out of baulk.

In the first case where you've ended up short and can't just roll the blue in ( let's say the cueball is on the yellow side of the table which is most common) you must hit the cueball with H6 for Height 6 of 19, so just above centre, R2 (out of 5) or just off the centre-line of the cueball and P4 to P6 (out of 10) depending on the speed of the table. The cueball should miss the pink by about 2 inches, hit the top cushion and check off it and come straight back up the table towards the middle pocket, but well off the cushion so you can get you hand on the table. Better to be too hard than too light if you happen to need the black too.

In the other case where you've gone too far on the blue and your cueball is between the blue and pink, first of all decide if it isn't really a corner shot and that you should be playing the blue into the green pocket. Or the other end where it's just too straight and you can't get into and out of baulk except with extreme side and top spin and maybe not even then if you are on a regular club table.

However where the angle is there, there are a few ways you can play this shot as there are no baulk colours left so no interference. Again, it depends on the angle you have. Using my H1-H10, R or L 1-5 and P1-10 for Height, Side and Power you could play it with H1/L3/P7 to swing the cueball off the bottom and side cushions and come down for the pink. You could use H6/L2 and use just the bottom cushion (similar to the other side of the blue) to bring the cueball straight back down the table. You could use H8/R2/P7 to swing the cueball off the baulk and other side cushion. It all depends on which angle you have on the blue, and only practice and experience will tell you which is the best shot to use depending on the speed of the table and the bounce of the cushions.

The object is to keep the cueball away from the side cushions and also not too near the middle of the table.

Also, if you are right handed, then always play the cueball to get on the green side of the table if possible as that's your natural side for the pink. On the other side you might need to use a rest

Terry

[Jools]

Just spotted this thread, seemed as good a place as any for my question.

My problem is angled pots on the black (i know it's been discussed before) when high or low, if i miss these pots its always because i overcut them. I've made a note of this during practice and decided to compensate by walking into the shot as usual, and knowing my judgment to be wrong, widen the angle as i lower my head, thus giving a slight thicker contact. In theory you would think this works but the results are mixed as my slight adjustment isn't always accurate. I know this isn't good practice, please advise on how i compensate for my consistently thin aiming.

[jrc750]

Practice, practice, practice, then practice some more
No secret short cut, your brain has to learn from your mistakes until you just "know" its right

[checkSide]

Just spotted this thread, seemed as good a place as any for my question.

My problem is angled pots on the black (i know it's been discussed before) when high or low, if i miss these pots its always because i overcut them. I've made a note of this during practice and decided to compensate by walking into the shot as usual, and knowing my judgment to be wrong, widen the angle as i lower my head, thus giving a slight thicker contact. In theory you would think this works but the results are mixed as my slight adjustment isn't always accurate. I know this isn't good practice, please advise on how i compensate for my consistently thin aiming.

Aim to hit the shot thick into the knuckle or cushion before you get down. Then walk into your shot and line up as normal.

[Terry Davidson]

I don't agree with checkside's suggestion to line the shot up thick.

I do agree with jrc though, practice and then more practice.

When you're by yourself practicing (and since this is a vital shot you should be doing this over and over until you master it).

First of all, there is no 'trick' to it. Make sure you select what you think is the correct line of aim when you're standing behind the shot before you get down. Ensure your right foot and your nose is on that line.

Now, drop your head straight down as you get down into the shot (this is VITAL). Do your normal feathering, front pause, backswing and delivery and then STAY DOWN ON THE SHOT and observe where the black went with your eyes, do not move your head or body until the black drops or misses.

This last step is the vital one for your brain to get the feedback it requires and it will automatically correct you over time if you practice this shot over and over. Do it on both sides of the black too and both high and low on the black too.

Terry