O'Sullivan's Cue Action

[SebastianZ]

Hi everyone, just need some advise on O'Sullivan's cue action. I know that o'sullivan drops his elbow after almost every shot. but logically speaking, if elbow drops then the end part of the cue will also drops then the upper part of the cue will go up by the same degree. but I ve watched many of his video, it seems that he can always keep the cue levelled. how did he do that???

I ve also noticed that on a power shot he released his thumb from the inital position.does this contribute to level the cue?

thanks.

[karkit1028]

basically he just keeps bringing the cue through
also, let ur wrist to move~

[SebastianZ]

anyone else???

[DandyA]

basically he just keeps bringing the cue through

I haven't really watched his elbow/wrist etc cos I'm always too busy admiring as karkit says, the way his cue gets through the cue ball ...

He doesn't follow through a huge amount, maybe 3 or 4 inches with impeccable timing but surely that's where his talent lies and that's where he gets his cue ball control from ...

I'm not really sure your elbow/wrist/fingers/thumb matter too much if you can consistently get through the cue ball like that ... take Joe Swail for instance - does it all wrong but nonetheless gets his cue tip through pretty well ...

[Nat5guns]

I am really envious of Ronnie's cue action It's just so clean, smooth and above all precise. I could literally play from now until i am 90 years old and never come close to the almost perfect cue action he possesses. Admittedly i can play the game to a reasonable level, but things are made so much more difficult than they have to be when you have imperfections in your cue action, such as twisting the wrist, not dropping it straight, not timing the shot correctly etc.

I just find it so hard to believe that a person can cue the ball so well consistently. I don't think i have ever seen Ronnie before when I've thought to myself 'he's getting a little bit jabby' or 'his arm is tensing up'. It seems to be the same every time. Which is so hard to do for us mere snooker mortals...

I know he possesses unparalleled natural talent, and he himself probably doesn't know why or how he cues the ball so well, but i think cueing is virtually the be all and end all of playing snooker to a top standard. If you aren't delivering the cue in a straight line then it doesn't matter if you have the temperament of a Tibetan monk and the mental strength of Uri Gellar, you aint gonna pot the balls!

I have been working hard on my own game recently, and have realised that if you let bad habits to form over a period of months or years, its neigh on impossible to get out of them. I have a tendency to flick my wrist in or out of some shots; causing me to miss. It is so hard to get your cue going in a straight line consistently, and you just have to sit back and admire Ronnie's undoubtedly natural talent at work.

[DandyA]

If you aren't delivering the cue in a straight line then it doesn't matter if you have the temperament of a Tibetan monk and the mental strength of Uri Gellar, you aint gonna pot the balls!

just singled your quote above out Nat5guns because I truly believe that's what it's all about too ... doesn't matter about your stance, your backswing or anything else ...

if you can deliver your cue from say 3 inches behind the white (your backswing may have been longer) to 3 inches past the white in a perfectly straight line ... you will pot balls ... with good timing, you'll also get loads of spin for very little effort ...

just wish I could do it BTW, I saw Uri Geller once - I was having a meal with friends at a pub in Sonning near Reading and he and he's family were eating there too - he actually brushed my shoulder as he walked past to the gents - maybe that's why my cueing is so bent!

[Nat5guns]

just singled your quote above out Nat5guns because I truly believe that's what it's all about too ... doesn't matter about your stance, your backswing or anything else ...

if you can deliver your cue from say 3 inches behind the white (your backswing may have been longer) to 3 inches past the white in a perfectly straight line ... you will pot balls ... with good timing, you'll also get loads of spin for very little effort ...

just wish I could do it BTW, I saw Uri Geller once - I was having a meal with friends at a pub in Sonning near Reading and he and he's family were eating there too - he actually brushed my shoulder as he walked past to the gents - maybe that's why my cueing is so bent!

LOL

I know it's true that no cue action is perfect, but i think Ronnies is pretty damn close. I think you can get so far with cue action with flaws, knock in tons and even maximums in practice. But as soon as the heat is on you, if you have any slight imperfection in your cue action, especially playing on tables that are tight and fast, then they will show up.

For me as a player myself, i feel as though i have hit a brick wall, and the only way past it is totally demolishing my current technique and building another. This is due to bad habits not being nipped in the bud. That is why i will stress to anybody that is taking the game up to seek a professional coach.

There are a lot of people out there that know how to the play the game, but sadly don't have the technique to pull it off. Whenever i talk about cue actions Joe Swail and Dave Harold always spring to mind. Don't get me wrong they are brilliant world class players, but for me their technique lets them down, i know that sounds ironic because it's earned them a living all their life, but i feel that these players are capable of so much more.

Dave Harold holds the cue weirdly and looks like he is in freeze-frame before he goes through, and Swail looks like Steve Backley throwing a javelin before he goes through. Yes it works for them, but i feel that they could of done a lot more damage in the game if these problems had been sorted out in earlier.

The importance of straight cueing is immense.

[Forman]

LOL

I know it's true that no cue action is perfect, but i think Ronnies is pretty damn close. I think you can get so far with cue action with flaws, knock in tons and even maximums in practice. But as soon as the heat is on you, if you have any slight imperfection in your cue action, especially playing on tables that are tight and fast, then they will show up.

For me as a player myself, i feel as though i have hit a brick wall, and the only way past it is totally demolishing my current technique and building another. This is due to bad habits not being nipped in the bud. That is why i will stress to anybody that is taking the game up to seek a professional coach.

There are a lot of people out there that know how to the play the game, but sadly don't have the technique to pull it off. Whenever i talk about cue actions Joe Swail and Dave Harold always spring to mind. Don't get me wrong they are brilliant world class players, but for me their technique lets them down, i know that sounds ironic because it's earned them a living all their life, but i feel that these players are capable of so much more.

Dave Harold holds the cue weirdly and looks like he is in freeze-frame before he goes through, and Swail looks like Steve Backley throwing a javelin before he goes through. Yes it works for them, but i feel that they could of done a lot more damage in the game if these problems had been sorted out in earlier.

The importance of straight cueing is immense.

ive been thinking about completely starting again with my cue action as well, i feel like ive stoped improving and the barrier is me not pushing the cue through straight consistantly, the worst part is its consistantly not straight in the same way, its so frustrating knowing what your doing wrong but not being able to change it cos youve been doing it for so long, i feel like the only way to improve is to completely start from scratch.
id wish id concentrated more on technique when i started playing and not let this bad habit develop so much that i cant seem to change it.

It kinda ironic that what appears to be the least complicated part of the game (pushing the cue through in a straight line) is the most important part and hardest to do consistantly.

[noel]

Nat... how does Del Hill technique figure into this?
Can Ronnie's technique be taught?

Is this what you would go to to "rebuild" your form?


Cheers!

(GO PETTMAN!)


=o)

Noel

[SebastianZ]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I understand that great talent would be needed to mimic O'Sullivan's cue action, but I m still thinking that there must be a logical way of explaining every part of his cue action?from grip, elbow drop,wrist, and follow through, post delivery.

I wish they could capture his full delivery in a match on a closer angle to show his cue action. :P

[ace man]

Imagine giving O'Sullivan's cue action to an average snooker player who can score maybe 30 or 40 break every once in a while. Would such a player become a century player immediately? Or would he end up using that perfect stroke to send the cueball to the wrong spot?

[dantuck_7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpcUkmDYaFM

From ROS's 147 in the NIT last year - I think the brown from close to the cushion sums up this thread. The pressure is on and gets down and plays it beautifully.

[poolqjunkie]

He seems to be more relaxed than everyone else. He looks liek he is practicing by himself while all the crowd and TV and ref and what not are all around him. I dont think anyone else could do that the way he can.

[Rane]

He seems to be more relaxed than everyone else. He looks liek he is practicing by himself while all the crowd and TV and ref and what not are all around him. I dont think anyone else could do that the way he can.

But still the white ball wouldn´t run away for him from green to brown if there was no pressure on him.

[varion2001]

well, there is an explanation for every part of his cue action, its pretty much the ideal way to follow through the cueball. the elbow has to drop twice, the first time on the backswing and the second time on the follow through, otherwise you cant keep the cue parallel to the table. try to cue with someone holding your elbow and you'll notile that the butt will raise