Break builders block........

[RocketRoy1983]

Cool hope it helps. Night mate.

[Forman]

I'm more ARGH about doing long pots rather than long straight pots for such a long time. But he did say that I have issues with my cue action and I know that too.

From what I read on here RR, you are a coach right? One thing I kept asking him, which I didn't get a straight answer was - 'if I do that drill - 5 reds on either side of the blue, and pot 2/10 one week and get 5/10 the next week, does that mean my cue action is getting better?'

Could you answer that for me please?

the number of balls potted on this drill can sometimes be misleading, i think the best way to gauge you improvement on this drill is to look at how much your missing by on the missed shots rather than just the number that went in, for example i would consider myself to be cueing quite well if i potted only 1 ball but the other 9 rattled in the jaws and would be very unhappy with my cueing if i potted 4 but the other 6 were all over the place.

[RocketRoy1983]

Yes but this would be made as a mental note Craig and adjustments made accordingly. Whilst very important it is also important to record with a pen and paper your success rate.

[Forman]

Yes but this would be made as a mental note Craig and adjustments made accordingly. Whilst very important it is also important to record with a pen and paper your success rate.

yeah definitely, was just trying to say dont get too down on yourself if your consistently getting close but the balls arent dropping.

[RocketRoy1983]

True although from experience this could also mean that you are hitting them slightly too hard as well.

[dpdubai]

8/15 is a very reasonable score well done. Keep recording your scores and see it get better and better. Good luck.

Thanks roy, its really been the cornerstone of my improvement of late, I think Steve Davis was famous for doing this drill in his heyday with all 21 balls on the table and I think the story goes he bottled it at 20 out of 21 1 day in practice? From what I've read he said he'd rather get the 21/21 than put in a maximum because the long straight pots meant his cue action was perfectly straight.

Oh and what can I say the advice for this drill came from right here on the forum. So glad I found this, excellent resource!!

[dpdubai]

the number of balls potted on this drill can sometimes be misleading, i think the best way to gauge you improvement on this drill is to look at how much your missing by on the missed shots rather than just the number that went in, for example i would consider myself to be cueing quite well if i potted only 1 ball but the other 9 rattled in the jaws and would be very unhappy with my cueing if i potted 4 but the other 6 were all over the place.

Your spot on Forman, I do pay attention to that fact when Im practicing this too. When I miss I'm consistently missing in the jaws rather than the side or bottom cushion. So if your getting the jaws you know your pretty close.

I just use the how many balls potted example as an easy way to track my improvement on this drill.

[nutscrewsandbolts]

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.

Thanks RocketRoy, I've started recording my numbers. Maybe we can make a sticky about who practised what and what the scores were, so we can see each others' routines and compare the rate of improvement, not to compete, but rather to understand our strengths and limitations. I'm trying to make a format for the records, but if anyone has a format, I'd appreciate some tips. dpdubai, sorry to invade your topic. maybe this should have been another thread.

[dpdubai]

no worries nutsscrewsandbolts, as always the point of my thread was to gauge others opinions and see what their doing to develop anyway.

its all about the learning process

[CTquick147]

No heroics on the last blue and too bloody right too! Well done.

CTquick the blue on its spot and cueball from yellow/green yeah? Very good practice routine and one that I incorporate in my routines. I practice line up once a week on a sunday evening for 4 hours the rest of my week, which consists of 4-6 days on the table, is spent on matchplay or literally hundreds of other drills. Im not entirely a line-up player as some may be but it is frustrating that my best snooker and highest breaks is left on the practice table. However, im very confident in my own ability and I know Ill come good soon.

I'm sure you will, I can tell from your posts you've got great passion for the game.
Just want to be clear, I'm acually not talking about taking the the blue with cue ball on the yellow or green spot, but rather outside the D, on the baulk line, so that the blue ball into the top pocket is a 100 percent dead straight full ball pot, with cue ball left stunned on, or nearly on the blue spot after the pot.

[spofforthsnookerclub]

This probably sounds daft to you but it works for me as I am an advocate of positive thinking, give it a try because you have nothing to lose.

One thing I do before a match is to make sure I am stood alone, away from everybody (just find a corner of the room where nobody is sat). Just regulate your breathing by taking big breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth (You can do it silently, you don't need to sound like Geoff Capes warming up for a powerlift). Make sure you are stood upright and imagine yourself drawing up energy from the ground, and imagine it travelling up your legs and it centering the power in your body. Do it for about 20 seconds and imagine yourself getting stronger each time you repeat the process. You have got to believe that it is working and when you have finished, take a look at your opponent and imagine yourself beating him/her comfortably. Keep focused throughout the game and just take your time. Remember that whilst you are at the table he/she is not getting a shot, don't rush. This works for me as a rule, but remember other factors can influenece the result of a match.

Don't worry about getting your first hundred break as you put more pressure on yourself. It took me 8 years to get mine.

[RocketRoy1983]

Ill give it a go although my opponent tonight in my finals night in my singles final is Danny Claxton formely of the PIOS and number 304 in the world

[Forman]

Ill give it a go although my opponent tonight in my finals night in my singles final is Danny Claxton formely of the PIOS and number 304 in the world

I didnt know the world rankings went that far down

i wonder where i would be ranked in the world, 58375th maybe

[RocketRoy1983]

Nor did I maybe he worked it out approximately? Im 58376th

[Stunrunthru]

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?

The line up is a good way to loosen up your cue arm before a match and I'd advise you do that straight before your match.

but don't beat yourself up about struggling to score 20-30 in a match when you are scoring 40-70 in line ups. The two situations do not compare.

I've had an awful season and picked up my cue on last saturday for the first time in 8 weeks and knocked in a 98 from a line up. But match play is a totally different kettle of fish.

Enjoy