snooker technique myths...

[nicklaus21]

hi, i have a few questions for snooker pros/experienced players/coaches etc.

1.the backswing and followthrough,does a long backswing and followthrough give u a greater effect on the cueball, i compare mark allen's backswing and short follow through with ronnie's and other player and find it a bit different.

2.does a rounder tip gives better spin on cue ball?

3.having a right master eye, does putting cue on the bottom of both eyes (centre) affect the game?

4. does cue have to touch right chest ( right handed) when playing normal shots and not touch right chest when playing power shots?

5.parrellel feet stance and left foot in front (right handed) any difference?

6.grip,why some players open the forefinger knuckles? O sullivan.

7.why hold the cue right at the end of the butt? vs holding 2 or 3 inches from butt,or anywhere else any difference?

8.feathering,does it have to b the same all the time? i see the top pros have the same rythm in every shot...and how to find your own rythm???

well some of these questions are silly and dumb and i apologize for it,but i need to ask these to make myself clearer as i have tried to adjust all the above and cant seem to improve,sometimes i have long backswings and short backswings,right eye sighting and centre eye sighting,i just keep changing to feel better but cant seem to find anything comfortable,anybody can help please?

[1lawyer]

Right I will have a go at this, no doubt others will too but here is what I think for what its worth...

1.the backswing and followthrough,does a long backswing and followthrough give u a greater effect on the cueball, i compare mark allen's backswing and short follow through with ronnie's and other player and find it a bit different.

Answer. They all get 'through' the ball, some have a longer backswing than others and this technique they have of pausing at the back and accelerating through the ball always looks more solid too me. I always think this is a better technique to watch Murphy Higgins Selby. Just what feels comfortable for the player in how they time the shot really I think. The shorter backswing always looks a bit jabby to me in comparison. I don't know if one way is better than another it is all about what you prefer.

2.does a rounder tip gives better spin on cue ball?

Answer Yes..

3.having a right master eye, does putting cue on the bottom of both eyes (centre) affect the game?

Answer. Some may argue here (some may even quote Frank Callen or others) but I think this is wrong so I will say No. I think that is a myth. Your minds eye compensates, otherwise we would all be walking into lamp posts. Unless you are used to putting the cue under your dominant eye or your sight in one eye is really bad I would say don't do it.

4. does cue have to touch right chest ( right handed) when playing normal shots and not touch right chest when playing power shots?

Answer. You don't have to touch your chest at all; again this is preferance although I think it helps to complete the shot and use this as a locking point after delivery to keep the cue forward and stay still on the shot.

5.parrellel feet stance and left foot in front (right handed) any difference?

Answer. Again just preferance; what matters is staying still and solid on the shot. Whatever helps you stay still and solid on the shot while delivering the cue in a straight line is what you should do.

6.grip,why some players open the forefinger knuckles? O sullivan.


Answer. Alex Higgins did this too and Steve Davis has recently started relaxing his too. This is done to relax the grip so you don't over grip and pull the cue off line. It is particularly useful on the longer shots and is something I do too.

7.why hold the cue right at the end of the butt? vs holding 2 or 3 inches from butt,or anywhere else any difference?

Answer This is just preferance again but I don't think it is good practice to do this. My forearm is vertical to the floor when holding the cue in the address position and there is some cue left at the butt end. I shorten up on close up easy shots and move down the cue for power shots.

8.feathering,does it have to b the same all the time? i see the top pros have the same rythm in every shot...and how to find your own rythm???

Answer. Practice. Some people naturally sight quicker than others ala ROS and some need more time to focus and perhaps time the shot. I feel it is very important to do the same things over and over to promote consistancy. Get a solid pre-shot routine you are comfortable with. Or get a good coach to iron out any problems and help you develop one and stick to it to see improvement.

Hope this helps.:snooker:

[dantuck_7]

well some of these questions are silly and dumb and i apologize for it,but i need to ask these to make myself clearer as i have tried to adjust all the above and cant seem to improve,sometimes i have long backswings and short backswings,right eye sighting and centre eye sighting,i just keep changing to feel better but cant seem to find anything comfortable,anybody can help please?

Just a quick point here, if you try to change a combination of say 3 of the technique issues (in a short space of time) that you've mentionned you could have problems because you're not giving yourself time to find out exactly how you should be incorporating them into your game. You need to work on 1 or 2 at a time really, you might just be having a bad night and won't really know whether the change(s) is having any affect! I'm by no means a coach but it's just a bit of advice I've found is useful. :snooker:

[Terry Davidson]

Both lawyer and dantuck are giving you great advice, so you should follow it.

i.e. - NEVER work on more than one thing at a time as you will only confuse yourself and you will never find out what really works for you.

and...most of your questions are answered by saying 'personal preference'. Also, don't try and copy any one (or five) professionals as each pro has something different in their style so you would have (perhaps) five bad habits and also you shouldn't copy someone else's style, but rather stick to the basics and develop your own natural style that fits your physique and natural rhythm.

There are only 4 basic rules to absolutely follow and all the rest will fall into place as your own natural style (and you will definitely improve if you stick to these 4 - and a bit - things:
1.ABSOLUTELY no upper body movement (keep your chin on the cue during feathers, backswing and delivery)
2. LOOSE grip, no matter how you choose to do it and do not tighten the grip on the cue until well after you hit the cueball.
3. SLOW backswing (long is better for a raw beginner, but find your own comfort zone but at least keep it proportional to the power you will be applying to the shot).
4. Deliver the cue smoothly and ensure your grip hand hits your chest (should be somewhere around the right nipple or just to the right and above it) and KEEP STILL with no movement except the eyes until the ball reaches the pocket.

(The little extra is a rear pause at the end of the backswing but that's not absolutely necessary, however if you have it you will play more consistently).

These are all you have to do ON EVERY SHOT and you will not only improve but you will develop your own natural rhythm, timing and style which will be your own and not a copy of one to five professionals.

Terry

[Dennett]

Both lawyer and dantuck are giving you great advice, so you should follow it.

i.e. - NEVER work on more than one thing at a time as you will only confuse yourself and you will never find out what really works for you.

and...most of your questions are answered by saying 'personal preference'. Also, don't try and copy any one (or five) professionals as each pro has something different in their style so you would have (perhaps) five bad habits and also you shouldn't copy someone else's style, but rather stick to the basics and develop your own natural style that fits your physique and natural rhythm.

There are only 4 basic rules to absolutely follow and all the rest will fall into place as your own natural style (and you will definitely improve if you stick to these 4 - and a bit - things:
1.ABSOLUTELY no upper body movement (keep your chin on the cue during feathers, backswing and delivery)
2. LOOSE grip, no matter how you choose to do it and do not tighten the grip on the cue until well after you hit the cueball.
3. SLOW backswing (long is better for a raw beginner, but find your own comfort zone but at least keep it proportional to the power you will be applying to the shot).
4. Deliver the cue smoothly and ensure your grip hand hits your chest (should be somewhere around the right nipple or just to the right and above it) and KEEP STILL with no movement except the eyes until the ball reaches the pocket.

(The little extra is a rear pause at the end of the backswing but that's not absolutely necessary, however if you have it you will play more consistently).

These are all you have to do ON EVERY SHOT and you will not only improve but you will develop your own natural rhythm, timing and style which will be your own and not a copy of one to five professionals.

Terry

Terry, I think I've found it right here... the four things you said the best pros have in common. Thanks!

Dennett

[Looki]

3.having a right master eye, does putting cue on the bottom of both eyes (centre) affect the game?

Answer. Some may argue here (some may even quote Frank Callen or others) but I think this is wrong so I will say No. I think that is a myth. Your minds eye compensates, otherwise we would all be walking into lamp posts. Unless you are used to putting the cue under your dominant eye or your sight in one eye is really bad I would say don't do it.

I'd like to object!

If I keep the cue at the centre of my chin I can't find the centre of the white. Although it seems to me as if I was aiming at the centre but in reality my cue tip is about half a tip to the right. But if I cue under my left eye I then I'm able to find the centre of the white.

[Forman]

I'd like to object!

If I keep the cue at the centre of my chin I can't find the centre of the white. Although it seems to me as if I was aiming at the centre but in reality my cue tip is about half a tip to the right. But if I cue under my left eye I then I'm able to find the centre of the white.

i have to admit i found the same thing, when the cue was directly between my eyes it looked to me like i was aiming at the center of the cue ball but when i videoed my self i saw that i was slightly off centre every time

[renniwevarb]

Well I do not fall into any of the categories, just an enthusiast who wants to learn more and share some experiences... may be right or wrong, but we all learn from discussions... so here it goes...(my responses in blue)

hi, i have a few questions for snooker pros/experienced players/coaches etc.

1.the backswing and followthrough,does a long backswing and followthrough give u a greater effect on the cueball, i compare mark allen's backswing and short follow through with ronnie's and other player and find it a bit different.

I would think the effect on the cueball is given by the acceleration of the cue when striking the cueball (or the timing of the shot as most would say)... personally I feel that a longer back swing enables me to impart more power on the shot, whereas a shorter back swing gives you better control and less room for error? I utilise the amount of back swing to judge the pace I need to impart to the cueball

2.does a rounder tip gives better spin on cue ball?

Yes, definitely. rounder means more surface area of contact between tip and cueball when you aim off center of the cueball.

3.having a right master eye, does putting cue on the bottom of both eyes (centre) affect the game?

Either way it does affect your game - As commented by some your mind will automatically adjust to the difference in your eye power if you cue below the center of your chin. But the main problem will be as commented, that you may be imparting unintentional side by not hitting the center of the cueball when you intent to. So either you compensate by knowing just how much to hit "off center" with respect to your own sighting, or by cueing under your master eye to hit the true center of the cueball. Having said that it's a personal choice and which feels more comfortable and gives you more confidence to play with. If you wish to switch to cueing under the master eye, that bit of difference can actually affect in most part the way you go into your shot (pre-shot routine, stance etc), so time needs to be spent in practice to correct that.

4. does cue have to touch right chest ( right handed) when playing normal shots and not touch right chest when playing power shots?

I use that and it is a good guide for me to ensure my stance is in position.

5.parrellel feet stance and left foot in front (right handed) any difference?

Yes... I have played with a parallel (closed) stance before - it gives me more stability, but I felt tense to have to "lock" myself in this stance although it has served me well for my early years in snooker... the cons as pointed our by my coach then was the amount of power that you can generate will be limited by this closed stance (as you need to twist your body more into this closed stance, so as compared to the open stance you have less of a follow thru due to the shorter distance between your address position and your chest, that was what i realised).
So when I changed my stance to the open stance (left foot forward), I found that I can cue thru the cueball much easier. Having said that I needed a lot of time to practice in order to achieve a consistent open stance as I would be asking myself how much i need to step forward with my left foot (it did not feel as stable as the closed stance, but as you spend time to get the consistency I think this would be a better stance as you can feel more relaxed and "sit" into your stance rather than "lock" yourself into the closed stance, and achieve more range of shots

6.grip,why some players open the forefinger knuckles? O sullivan.

As what is said, to loosen the grip. Or to be more exact, is to let your middle and fourth finger cradle the cue instead of the 1st finger. I'm currently having some inconsistency in my grip now, so I wouldn't say if this is a better or worse method. Rather the key thing I have in mind when i hold the cue is to have a "cradle" for the cue rather than a "grip", this thought helps me not to snatch at the cue when i deliver it.

7.why hold the cue right at the end of the butt? vs holding 2 or 3 inches from butt,or anywhere else any difference?

Depends on the situation. For me end of butt is used when i need more power, or when the cue ball is just far enough from the cushion that i can't bridge on the table but on the rail (bridging distance limitation) so I have to hold it at the end of the butt to reach the address position of the cueball.
And when the cueball is stuck to a cushion, you have to shorten up and hold the cue further up from the end. Shortening up is good also when you need closer control and more delicate positioning, as your bridging distance also limits the amount of pace you can impart to the cueball.

8.feathering,does it have to b the same all the time? i see the top pros have the same rythm in every shot...and how to find your own rythm???

It does help to achieve a consistent rhythm. I wouldn't go to the extent of saying you need to feather EXACTLY the same way for every shot, but rather to have a comfortable rhythm so you can judge the pace you need to put into the delivery. Actually the feathering also affects your eye rhythm from cueball to object ball, so practice to achieve a nice rhythm so you have the confidence of cueing thru when you strike... I've realised that when i don't feel comfortable in feathering, I also feel awkward when my eyes flick from ball to ball, so even when I may be sighting the right angle, I can still miss purely because my eye rhythm is out and I cue off the line because I took my eyes off the object ball.

well some of these questions are silly and dumb and i apologize for it,but i need to ask these to make myself clearer as i have tried to adjust all the above and cant seem to improve,sometimes i have long backswings and short backswings,right eye sighting and centre eye sighting,i just keep changing to feel better but cant seem to find anything comfortable,anybody can help please?

There are no silly and dumb questions... only those that are not asked!
I hope someone can correct me if I have any response that is totally inappropriate (coaches like Terry can help me out too on my responses) and detrimental instead of helping each other's game

[Terry Davidson]

John Lim:

In fact, your response is one of the best ones I've seen on here to some pretty tough questions.

I hope you are either a coach now or are thinking of becoming one, as your explanations are clear and concise and you are able to impart your ideas easily.

As far as I'm concerned your answers are bang on. The question about 'master eye' or 'aiming eye' or 'dominant eye' have plagued different players and coaches throughout the history of the game. I used to advocate Nic Barrow's SnookerGym approach and teach centre-chin for everyone but now that I've tried the 'Site Right' device with Wayne Griffiths (and found my centre-chin sighting was giving me a distorted picture which I compensate for by the way) I now advocate turning the head a bit to get the sighting eye a little more over the cue.

When I decided to do things my own way and allow a little more natural ability into my technique I found on the videos I did that I was naturally turning my head slightly to the right so my left eye (the only good one I've got) was more over the cue. I can't say if this has helped, but my game sure has improved since I instituted that natural thing which involved about 4 or 5 changes in my timing and technique.

Terry

[nicklaus21]

well , anybody can reply not necessary pro/coach watever, well anyways its a good advice for most snooker players out there and me.

thanks again!