What is the best way to practice for a new starter?

[jonny klu]

I have been reading that a lot of people practice through line ups where as others just play frame after frame as some one who is strugling to get a break of 20 in a frame what would you sugest whould be best for my development. Continue playing frames or start doing line ups and when I become more acomplished with that go back to playing frames? Any advise is much appreciated

[ashbash]

First off welcome to the forum mate, I would say mix it up try not to stick to just playing either frames or practice routines. If you’re with your mates play a game with them but if you’re on your own try some of these routines shown on Fergal Obrien website I found them very helpful for positional play around to black spot. The staying high on the black and stick to playing for the next red up the line rather than taking on whatever one you end up on will make a big difference to your game. if you make 20 in a line up try to better that every time you play.
http://fergalobrien.ie/practice.html

[bongo]

Hi jonny_klu, welcome to The Snooker Forum,

What I always feel is that for somebody who, perhaps, is a beginner, first before you practice, get your technique sorted out. You say in the title of your post that you are a new starter, and also you said in your post that you struggle to make a 20 break. First, remember you are not the only one! From you said it is 99% certain that your technique (stance, bridge, cueing and so on) is at fault and quite incorrect. I am not saying that you shouldn't play but at your stage you are better off just by playing frames against other players (I wouldn't recommend playing frames against yourself, it is pointless and quite boring actually. Top professionals sometimes do it but only because they are very likely to clear the table). Just play against other players, do take it seriously if you wish, and the fact you posted to ask a question shows you do care about your game.

What I would recommend is going to see a coach. I know that is not the sort of answer you want to hear as we all want quick answers but in the long term seeing a coach will be of great help to you. Some coaches can be quite expensive so perhaps a session of a couple of hours once every 2 months for example will really help your game. Ideally, you would want to see your coach on a regular basis but not everybody is able to do that. If you see a coach (who knows what they are actually talking about) then they will be able to SEE the problems in your game and set them right, something which is very difficult to do via a forum such as this. You have to decide whether you want to take the step and get some coaching, or perhaps you have decided that you don't want to spend the money and just want to play with your friends, it is up to you and up to you on how much you want to improve.

The reason why I say don't practice at the moment is because you are probably doing things wrong, such as probably standing in the wrong way, holding the cue incorrectly and so on and going to practice will just make these a habit, so you will be practising to do it wrong. Not useful! And then if at a later stage you do get coaching, it will be more difficult to change, it is easier to change to a better technique before your current technique is a habit. Just like quitting smoking is easier to do early rather then when it's a habit.

You also mention line-ups in your post. Line-up is a very good practice to do and when I practice snooker I use it a lot, but from what you say in your post, I would think that a line-up would be of little use to you. What will help the most is getting your technique sorted out then at least when you practice you are doing everything correctly, you just need to get the balls into the pockets then! If you went to do line-up now, not only would you find it difficult, but you would be playing incorrectly, which makes it twice as difficult.

So basically, get your technique sorted out first before you practice.

I hope this helps,

bongo

[Snookster]

Some good points, well said and sound advice Bongo

[jonny klu]

thankyou ashbash and bongo for both of your points i realy agree with you bongo. As of the 3rd July i am getting coaching which i will be doing for 2 hours a week which i think will really help iorn out lots of bad habbits such as stance and cueing action and so on. The problem is i cant wait to get back on the table, i am playing 3 times a week atm but i only played my first game of snooker at the start of june so it is trying to work out the different angles and so on from playing pool at the pub every now and again. Are you saying not to practice at all untill i get the coach to look at my technique or keep persiting and when i get the coach have him look at what i am doing?

thankyou for such a fast reply to this thread i really appreciate it

jon

[jonny klu]

ohh and ashbash i think those practice routines will really help once i have got my technique sorted out so thankyou too

[bongo]

thankyou ashbash and bongo for both of your points i realy agree with you bongo. As of the 3rd July i am getting coaching which i will be doing for 2 hours a week which i think will really help iorn out lots of bad habbits such as stance and cueing action and so on. The problem is i cant wait to get back on the table, i am playing 3 times a week atm but i only played my first game of snooker at the start of june so it is trying to work out the different angles and so on from playing pool at the pub every now and again. Are you saying not to practice at all untill i get the coach to look at my technique or keep persiting and when i get the coach have him look at what i am doing?

thankyou for such a fast reply to this thread i really appreciate it

jon

Hi jon,

I'm not saying that you shouldn't play at all, ideally you should play with another player, although I suppose if you keep playing with an incorrect technique regardless of whether it's practice or friendly frames it could become a habit but in my opinion playing frames is less likely to mean your technique will become a habit and it will help as you are getting used to playing against somebody, having somebody else on the table, ready to punish you if you miss, rather than playing on your own. Don't misunderstand me, solo practice is very important, but at your stage, as I said in my last post, frames against others will do you better. However, if you aren't able to play against anybody and you want to play you can play on your own and playing anyway will help with potting at least but if you do practice when your technique is correct it will help much more.

I do say that practice when your technique is correct will help you but it may take some time to get your technique correct and also not only to get it right but also to be able to play like that consistently, and you probably will do one bit at a time rather than completely change everything all at once. Be prepared to see a lot of missed pots also, as when people are working on their technique they are aware of the changes and are THINKING about it when they get down on a shot, which takes away attention on the most important thing, the pot. Top professionals don't think about their technique when playing a match as they have been doing it for so long in practice and it's automatic.

It's good you are able to get some coaching, good luck, and keep enjoying snooker, which is really the most important thing at the end of the day, and it's why I am posting on this forum now!

bongo

[jonny klu]

thats some good advise again im fortunate to have a girlfriend that loves playing snooker and its her that got me into it so playing with a partner isint a problem but she hasnt been playing much longer than me (we are getting the coaching together so it saves money too). As you said i am expecting things to get worse before they get better as when trying to change bad habbits it always feels aquard and alien but im happy to persist with it on the plus side i am loving playing even though i am strugling as much as i am i cant wait to start making 30+ breaks consistantly.