using side when not necessary

[craigian]

was wondering if anyone has noticed on tv that the pro players are often using side spin on the cue ball when not necessary? ive noticed them using side when around the pink and black spot during shots that are slightly of staight and not using a cushion.

[warren132]

Profesional player use side on certain shots because this helps throw the object ball in to the pocket (widens the angle with running side and vice versa with check side)..this is very hard to do unless you are a very good player...hope this helps.

[bongo]

Players not at the standard of top professionals have to be very careful when using side, it is best not to copy the professionals and instead only use side when you know it is necessary.

[craigian]

thanks for the reply! my level is very good and of course know how to use side but would really appreciate it if you could explain more on this. thanks!

[craigian]

anyone have better or more explanation on this subject?

[jb134]

anyone have better or more explanation on this subject?

Yes, side is the snooker equivalent of giving someone a gun and not telling them which end the bullets come out!

[saddler79]

To be honest Ive only ever seen pros use side to throw the object ball when they cant quite see the natural potting angle. All other occasions it is used is to create an angle for the white off the cushion.

Even for a pro, side has a lot of uncertainties and I couldnt see them chancing a miss on a pot in open play.

[craigian]

saddler79 yes i totally agree with that but im sure i saw them using side on simple pots that do not require side at all. i remember listening to a great snooker player at my local club befor who told me the great players did this. it was a long time ago since than so i cant remember exactly what he said about why. thanks anyway for your reply...

[Terry Davidson]

craigian:

I would be very interested to know which pros you have seen using side when it wasn't necessary as I've watched a lot of snooker and have never noticed that.

Also, as I base my snooker coaching best practices on what in common the top 16 pros are doing I would be very interested. If you could name a few of the matches/frames that would be helpful so I can check it out myself.

I have never heard a pro say he intentionally uses side when the cueball is not contacting a cushion and my own (and Nic Barrow's) estimate of the use of side by the pros is less than 5%, closer to 2% of shots (not counting the break).

Terry

[ace man]

What about safeties where cue ball goes 3 or 4 cushions (similar route to opening break shot)? Or safeties where cue ball and object ball are not that far apart? Surely side is very useful there?
I've seen top 16 players play in person just once. Not sure of the exact percentages, but they used far more side during safety play then during break building. At least it seemed to me that was the case.

[stjimmy18-1991]

hey guys, the first shot in this video has always confused me. to me, side doesnt affect the cue ball without hitting a cushion at all, so i don't understand what willie thorne is on about here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMKZoPxAX2k

[hotpot]

You can use side to widen an angle like willie did here or narrow the angle the white takes on the same shot but with left hand side .

So side is not just used off the cush it can be useful in and around the black etc in open play .

[stjimmy18-1991]

You can use side to widen an angle like willie did here or narrow the angle the white takes on the same shot but with left hand side .

So side is not just used off the cush it can be useful in and around the black etc in open play .

im sorry but i dont agree with this, i think this is a common myth believed by club players around the world. nic barrow has plently of videos on the snooker gym showing that potting a dead straight blue into the middle pocket, the white cannot be moved off course of a straight line by use of side.

[hotpot]

Well experiment and find out mucka . You can create angles using particular side that you coul,nt, nt using the opposite side or plain ball .

[stjimmy18-1991]

yeah of course you can force the white out off the cushion with alot of side.. i've done it myself.. but WITHOUT using a cushion...i firmly believe side doesn't affect the cue ball path at all.