Break building in matchplay versus practice

[LeeMills]

Match play

Hi,

I'm just curious to know how your 'breaks' break down? Do you miss a pot or do you lose control position of the white ball? My problem is losing control of the white ball. I've had many high breaks in practice a few centuries but mostly breaks between 50 and 80. In a match, I rarely get to this becasue the frame rarely pans out where the reds are nicely scattered and all the colours are on their spots. I have had a 73 in a match and many 50's but not as many as I would like. Part of the problem is playing either for specific reds or areas where 2-3 reds are pottable and not quite putting the white exactly where I wish. The only way to overcome this is to practice really. A practice routine I use is to put all the colours on their spots and 4-5 reds, maybe 3 together that need breaking up and a few reds that are pottable. I can usually get a clearance of 60-70 most times when cueing well. I don't think it is very beneficial to line all 15 reds up because the reds are placed all over the place in a frame and you are not really learning angles when the reds are not in the middle of the table. Anyway, hope this helps!

Lee.

[poolqjunkie]

Hi m8
I Started Playing Snooker 4 Years Ago When I Was 11 Years Of Age And When I Turned 13/14, I Was Hitting Regular 40's And 50's In Matchplay And Then I Improved On My T-Shape Breakbuilding.
The T-Shape Is Just A Simple Breakbuilding Routine With The Balls (Obv) Set Up Into A T-Shape And Just Pot Them As If U Were In A Frame - (Red,Colour,Red,Colour...),
It Also Helps U With Ure Rest Shots Because U Always Get Rest Shots During That Routine.
Since I Started The T-Shape Routine, I Am Hitting Regular 60's And 70's In Matchplay Now So.. I Have Improved Quite A Bit Since Last Year
Hope This Helps Pal

Do you mean putting a line of balls next to the pink parallel to the bottom cushion and then some reds from the pink to black in a vertical line?
I do that drill a lot.

[mick 142]

hi terry the black of the spot is very good as it gives you all the angles i have had 58 and ended up past the balk line . another one is pink to black then black to pink also potting the blue and going in and out of balk missing the yellow brown and green .jimmy white has had 186 blacks in a row.

[noel]

hi terry the black of the spot is very good as it gives you all the angles i have had 58 and ended up past the balk line . another one is pink to black then black to pink also potting the blue and going in and out of balk missing the yellow brown and green .jimmy white has had 186 blacks in a row.

Mick...
You know how when you're counting a 49-break and on black with reds nicely spread out like juicy raisins in a pudding,
and just like when you were little, you are so excited you drop your spoon on the floor and your Mum takes the bowl away... ?

That shooting black off the spot drill cures that. *



=o)

Noel


* most I've managed was 38 in-a-row - but usually I fmiss after 20+

[bkpaul]

I do like the black off the spot as a practice ball but my favourite routine is

yellow black
green black
brown black
blue black
pink black
black black

repeat the above until you break down and then start again... 3 times and to the blue is my best..

its one of the hardest routines I have ever played and I've played some tough ones!.

[noel]

its one of the hardest routines I have ever played

Agreed.
... and the really good shooters don't use cushions.

[bkpaul]

I can't remember ever seeing a clearence where cushions weren't used, I agree if you don't use a cushion then you are:

1. Perfect
2. Perfect

or

3. Perfect

Thinking about it, I wonder if its ever been done?, I'd love to see a recording!

[dpdubai]

The line-up is only meant to get your cue action going as you always have an easy pot into an open pocket. High breaks in the line-up to not translate to high breaks in match situation as all the shots in a match are mostly into closed pockets with different requirements for position.

If you want an exercise which will improve your break building in matches then pot the black off its spot as many times as you can in a row. When you get to 100 times in a row consider playing in PIOS

When you get bored with the black, try the pink or even better the blue, which goes into all 6 pockets easily and you will end up coming off the top and bottom cushions to try and maintain position, which is more realistic than the line-up.

That said, I practice the line-up each day for 10 attempts and I make that first red really difficult, say about 1 inch off the top cushion and stun/screw back out for a black from a 1/4-ball cut. Sometimes I start my 10 attempts by missing that first shot 2 or 3 times. However, once I get rolling then I usually clear the table or at least have a ton.

(I am at 37 blacks off the spot in a row which doesn't seem like much, but try it sometime.

The other exercise you can try is to place 10 reds in a zig-zag pattern between pink and black so only 1 red at a time will be pottable and the pink is not available and you must play black. This one is VERY frustrating as you are always spotting balls. When you master it, go play in PIOS too.

Terry

Terry
__________________
Originally posted at Http://www.thesnookergym.com/forums

Terry,

Never noticed this reply before, thanks alot!!.
My practice sessions are going bit stale and I'm going to put the faith in your advice and work them around these routines.

Blacks from the spot I know how difficult it can be, my record is 16 but I've never really dedicated the kind of time your talking about to it. Now is the time to do that I feel.

The line-up has given me some close control around the pink spot.
Feel Im lacking around blacks & the blue though.
I've seen the zigzag routine too though never tried it.

I normally practice for 4 hours 3 times a week with a 4 hour also.

Do you think it's best to spend that time on only a few routines, such as blacks, blues and then zigzag?

Or is it better to have a balanced session working everything?

Thanks again.
Also anyone else that feels they have valuable input from their practice sessions please feel free to chip in.

[Terry Davidson]

dpdubai:

My own thoughts and what I do is use the line-up just to warm up for maybe an hour or so. If I have a tournament coming up (I have one tomorrow) then I switch to a regular rack but try and play matchplay against myself and keep it as tight as I can. (I live out in the country with no decent club anywhere near me and so I have to play by myself all the time - which can be dangerous for your matchplay).

Then, usually for the last frame or 2 I just go for everything just to loosen up and also to see just what I'm capable of.

On a normal practice day after the line-up I do the black off it's spot or if I feel there's something off with my timing or technique then I do my (not patented) 'closed eye' routine potting blue off spot from yellow spot with eyes closed and concentrating on my right hand and forearm.

Then for a real challenge (I know it sounds simple) I put 6 reds in a zig-zag pattern between black and pink so only one red at a time will pot and you only have the black as a colour as the pink is blocked. The target is a 75 and I don't know if it's me or not, but I find this really tough! Out of 25 attempts I might get it once or twice. Problem is, you spend too much time spotting balls with this exercise and if you practice in a club you need a good top cushion and a decently fast cloth. BUT, it sure teaches you how to pot the black accurately with siding!

If I put on a new tip (had to today actually) I also will shoot the spots about 10 times just to check and see if everything is all right. However, I use extreme drag on the ball so I can see if there's any side at all on the cueball.

Terry

[snooker warrior]

a good routine to try is to place all the colours on there spots and start by potting 2 yellows after potting the second yellow it stays down (getting position on the green) then pot three greens, four browns , five blues,six pinks and then seven blacks ,, sounds easy but a very good practice routine

[Forman]

a good routine to try is to place all the colours on there spots and start by potting 2 yellows after potting the second yellow it stays down (getting position on the green) then pot three greens, four browns , five blues,six pinks and then seven blacks ,, sounds easy but a very good practice routine

5 blues definitely doesnt sound easy, will have to give this one a go next time i practice, sounds like fun

[Pottsy]

This is my first post.. woohoo!

Ok, about the breaking down on the break Dpdubai... Its sounds to me like you are capable of potting well... (80/90) line ups etc..
I think what will help your game is playing percentages.. maybe you are beating yourself up for not landing exactly on the right (single ball) at the right angle to play the next shot!...
But..
If you had played for multi balls, and landed in the region of where you intended then you have multi choices... Snooker is very much like life.. the game is what you make it, and if you are prepared for failure in certain areas it will open up opportunity to progress in others!
This being 5 shots ahead all the time I think is very elaborate..If you land somewhere in that circle you have mentally drawn on the table, then you KNOW your capable of potting the next ball..

Some of the practise advise posted here is very good.. but I dont think its your cue action... look @ John Higgins compared to Alex Higgins for example....

Maybe it helps maybe it doesn't... good luck nyways!

[khizzy]

try alternate pinks and blacks.

pink has to be potted in the corner pocket followed by the black and then the next pink in the middle pocket ,count this as 1 point.keep playing following this sequence without changing the position of the cue ball,set a target and try to finish as many as you can.

this exercise helps your concentration,potting,rhythm.

its very very difficult , my personal highest being 12 points

[dpdubai]

Thanks to everyone for responding, I've taken all of this onboard.


Alot of the drills I already know but have been perhaps neglecting them for too much line up. I just had it in my head that right I get so close to clearing these so many times ill just spend a few weeks working on it till clearance. A few weeks has become a couple of months and my matchplay went a bit stale.

Has a session on saturday morning using the PJ Nolan practice routines. Basically Ive just went back to the start and commited myself to scoring 80% on each routine (ie complete the drill 8 out of 10 times). Im going to run with that for a while as I enjoyed it and felt good for disciplining myself into only playing these routines until completition. No line up, no scattered reds, no frames only the shots I know I have to improve consistency on. accuracy on stun screws and stun runs from blue pink and baulk being very important to keep a break going.

thanks again ive got alot out of this thread

[oselifer]

Line up is the devil of snooker...
Here is a nice break i did in line up some time ago.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9asAB1YDNAw

But my match highest break was just 40 at this time..