Break builders block........

[dpdubai]

Ok so I've started to put in regular 40-70 breaks on the line up now. In a 1 hour practice session last week I can count 3 good efforts of 47, 61 and 67 respectively.

I want to master this drill and take what I'm meant to from it before I move on. So my goal is to make regular 60-70 breaks and hopefully my first century.

I've heard talk on the forum of being a "line-up player" on the forum and I can see a bit of that because in match play im really only touching 20's and 30's I know the line-up is always going to be easier but I honestly think some of this may be down to the psycological aspects of playing in a match. In the line-up your on your own and can get a nice rhythm going with no worries about the outcome of the frame or whatever.

Do you guys have any tips on overcoming matchplay jitters?

[1lawyer]

play more of them...

[thesaint99]

i've been practicing pretty regular on the line up for the last couple of months. achieved my 1st 10 red line up last week (95), moved onto 11 reds this week, nearly did that yesterday, messed the position up between brown & blue. funny thing is, the last 2 sunday sessions i've played with my regular practice partner have been poor.

the extra practice i've put in has worked i feel, as before in a eight frame session i'd labour for 6 frames, and look capable in the other 1 or 2. that has more or less swung the other way round.

i've been stuck on a best break of 99 for last 3 years. problem i feel is i only get into the position to make a 'big' break 80/90/100+ once or twice. the line up is obviously easier than building a break in a competitve frame, but it does get you in the routine of stringing the 20+ pots required in order to make a good break. when i cleared up the colours to make the 10 red line up clearance last week i had good levels of adrenalin in doing it, i'm hoping i can replicate that the next time/s i'm in that situation in a competitve frame.

best of luck

[thesaint99]

i've been practicing pretty regular on the line up for the last couple of months. achieved my 1st 10 red line up last week (95), moved onto 11 reds this week, nearly did that yesterday, messed the position up between brown & blue. funny thing is, the last 2 sunday sessions i've played with my regular practice partner have been poor.

the extra practice i've put in has worked i feel, as before in a eight frame session i'd labour for 6 frames, and look capable in the other 1 or 2. that has more or less swung the other way round.

i've been stuck on a best break of 99 for last 3 years. problem i feel is i only get into the position to make a 'big' break 80/90/100+ once or twice. the line up is obviously easier than building a break in a competitve frame, but it does get you in the routine of stringing the 20+ pots required in order to make a good break. when i cleared up the colours to make the 10 red line up clearance last week i had good levels of adrenalin in doing it, i'm hoping i can replicate that the next time/s i'm in that situation in a competitve frame.

best of luck

"into the position to make a 'big' break 80/90/100+ once or twice"

once or twice a year that should read.

[RocketRoy1983]

In 2009 ive had a 96,81,78 and 70 in the line-up.

Ive had 37 60-70's.

Ive had 78 50-60's

Ive had 276 40-50's

In a match (2009) My HB is 40. Work that one out??

Youll come out the other side mate, as will I, and when we do itll be great!! Keep going

[nutscrewsandbolts]

In 2009 ive had a 96,81,78 and 70 in the line-up.

Ive had 37 60-70's.

Ive had 78 50-60's

Ive had 276 40-50's

In a match (2009) My HB is 40. Work that one out??

Youll come out the other side mate, as will I, and when we do itll be great!! Keep going

Do you keep count of your breaks in every match?
I was thinking of using some statistics as a measure of my improvement too, but im not sure if i'll gain anything out of it. Today I practiced potting the blue off the spot in the top right pocket with the cue ball at the green position, and my pot success was 24% (21 balls in 88 tries) I'll see if over time that improves. But are there any other numbers you need to write down to analyse and/or improve your game?

[DandyA]

In 2009 ive had a 96,81,78 and 70 in the line-up.

Ive had 37 60-70's.

Ive had 78 50-60's

Ive had 276 40-50's

In a match (2009) My HB is 40. Work that one out??

Youll come out the other side mate, as will I, and when we do itll be great!! Keep going

blimey RR ... you've had more 40+ breaks than I've had hot dinners ... well done

[1lawyer]

Setting targets and keeping a record of things is a very important part of any coaching I feel.
Roy has seen an improvement lately because he has set himself targets to achieve and kept a record of them.

There is a drawback to this if you are aware that you are close to beating a break it can add undue pressure if you let it. I used a the method in my game until I achieved my aims.
Any other way of practicing without setting targets can make you lazy and how do you know if it is working for you if don't keep a record?

A couple of routines I would try if I was Roy would be to split one or two reds off the pack of reds line a shot up to finish low or high on the black to split the reds up and play as if a normal frame trying to clear up. Also another good one would be to group three balls together in clusters all around the table with colours on their spots and reds in bunches like grapes then try and pot a black and stun up making cannons on all groups of reds when you can in order to disturb the groups of reds and try and clear up.

[garythenab]

The line up is always easier, although you get a lot of practice on the basic shots, which is good because you don't normally practic or think about them. The only problem for me is there is too much margin for error where positional play is concerned.

What I do is take all the reds in order, try it makes a big difference to your game

[RocketRoy1983]

Nutscrewsandbolts yes it is very important to record your progress and working it out into a percentage is a very quick and useful way to monitor progress. As 1lawyer says I have been recording results of my line up as I stated above as well as long pot success and it is definately improving my game.

[oselifer]

In 2009 ive had a 96,81,78 and 70 in the line-up.

Ive had 37 60-70's.

Ive had 78 50-60's

Ive had 276 40-50's

In a match (2009) My HB is 40. Work that one out??

Youll come out the other side mate, as will I, and when we do itll be great!! Keep going

Don't play so much line up..I had more than 20 centuries in a month in lineup but i am still a 10-20points break player..
Line up did not help me at all..
All shots are easy ,the white is close to the reds and everything is open..
That never happens in real game..

[RocketRoy1983]

Sorry mate but if your saying that you had 20 100+'s in a month but cant make more than a 10-20 break in a match I find that incredibly hard to believe?? Really sorry but thats got to be a mis type please confirm.

[thai_son22]

Sorry mate but if your saying that you had 20 100+'s in a month but cant make more than a 10-20 break in a match I find that incredibly hard to believe?? Really sorry but thats got to be a mis type please confirm.

lol that is abit of a funny one isnt it roy lol. my highest in line up is 62 i think. cant remember but i was starting to get into that range.

highest break in a match is 51. on my day hit alot of breaks in their teens. can do regular 20s, the odd 30 and a very occasional 40+

does that make sense? lol

[oselifer]

Sorry mate but if your saying that you had 20 100+'s in a month but cant make more than a 10-20 break in a match I find that incredibly hard to believe?? Really sorry but thats got to be a mis type please confirm.

Its true..I have all of them in video..
I don't know why i can't play in frames...

[RocketRoy1983]

Its true..I have all of them in video..
I don't know why i can't play in frames...

well you read my predicament im exactly the same cant do it in matches although im sure practicing the line up doesnt have too negative an impact on your overall game.