Escaping Snookers

[damienlch]

Hi... we have often seen on TV how the pros seem to be able to quickly figure out an escape route from a difficult snooker, sometimes using 3, 4 or even more cushions before the cueball comes to rest on the object ball at a perfect pace, leaving no shot on...

I can understand a one cushion escape by gauging the angle of incidence / reflection... but having to visualise an escape off multiple cushions is a mystery to me... it's mostly guesswork then hit and hope...

Are there any methods to visualise or calculate angles off multiple cushions effectively? Would appreciate some advice pls... Thx...

[csmarkus]

I think there are patterns that a good player can apply easily. All situations are similar to a known pattern, then they just need to apply some fine tuning.

For me, it's quite comfortable to use two cusion escapes (two adjacent cushions), probably because the cue ball will come back towards me from the second cushion.

I once made a a four cushion escape from a hopeless situation which looked exactly like the professionals do, dead weight. What was interesting for me is that I somehow felt where I should aim and the spin and speed turned out to be perfect, too. One of my best ever shots even if I lost that frame.

[thinsy]

One of the best ways is.............. PRACTICE!!

Steve Davis (aparently) used to spend hours with just the cue ball and a table!! Watching and learning the reaction of the cueball bouncing off the cusions.

[TheRowdyOne]

it's easy if you're good at angles. In a perfect world the white ball should always come off the cushion at the same angle it came off. On the next cushion the angle that the white makes (between hitting and leaving) should add up to 180degrees (when added to the same angle it made from hitting and leaving from the last cushion). The worlds not perfect though. so you have to take into account the radius of the white ball, effect on the cushions, and any spin you may have put on the white ball. I once remember seeing a mathamatic equation that carom or 3 cushion billiard players use to play their shots. It also took into account the position of other balls on the table. To hard to understand without someone to explain it. The best way to learn is practice though.

[TheRowdyOne]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2LjQrwO6g

[damienlch]

nice video, therowdyone... haven't heard that unmistakable voice in a long time... forgot how much i used to enjoy it whenever donald blows his fuse... "What's the big idea!!... then he goes unintelligible... never failed to crack me up... lol...

i know there's a complex looking "Diamond system" in american pool where players use the markings on the rail to calculate the angles but i have also read somewhere before that many pool pros themselves do not use or advocate that system...

there are practice routines for cueing, ball control, break building etc... but i have yet to come across any on escaping snookers... i guess i can always practise hitting object balls indirectly off cushions... but i wonder if there are there any drills developed specifically to improve a player's knowledge of the cushion angles or a more systematic way of gauging them...

[thinsy]

nice video, therowdyone... haven't heard that unmistakable voice in a long time... forgot how much i used to enjoy it whenever donald blows his fuse... "What's the big idea!!... then he goes unintelligible... never failed to crack me up... lol...

i know there's a complex looking "Diamond system" in american pool where players use the markings on the rail to calculate the angles but i have also read somewhere before that many pool pros themselves do not use or advocate that system...

there are practice routines for cueing, ball control, break building etc... but i have yet to come across any on escaping snookers... i guess i can always practise hitting object balls indirectly off cushions... but i wonder if there are there any drills developed specifically to improve a player's knowledge of the cushion angles or a more systematic way of gauging them...

YES, IT'S CALLED BILLIARDS

I took up billiards and it improved my positional play and snooker escaping!

[damienlch]

YES, IT'S CALLED BILLIARDS

I took up billiards and it improved my positional play and snooker escaping!

thanks thinsy, i don't know the game per se and people almost never play billiards in our local clubs... but having seen it played once before, i have no doubt that it helps in positional play, not to mention in-off angles...

[vmax4steve]

I read Ray Reardon's book many years ago, Ray, imo, was the best tactician the game has seen. There is a chapter in his book about escaping snookers where he extols the virtue of his "rectangle theory" ie. the snooker table is a rectangle and to escape snookers what you need to do is visualise rectangles within the rectangle of the table. Parts of rectangles for one, two or three cushion escapes and the complete rectangle for four cushion escapes.
Of course you can visualise beyond the rectangle when using more than four cushions and in fact visualise quadrilaterals and triangles of all kinds using side. You have to stand back and visualise the shape on the table and play the white accordingly.
It works for me, I'm pretty good at escaping snookers using multiple cushions but somehow pretty poor when using just one cushion, maybe I'm better at whole pictures rather than just parts, who knows.

[ace man]

i know there's a complex looking "Diamond system" in american pool where players use the markings on the rail to calculate the angles but i have also read somewhere before that many pool pros themselves do not use or advocate that system...

Only half true. That system is derived from 3 cushion billiards, obviously omitting middle diamond since the pocket is in the way...

Some players use it, but got so good that they don't need to consciously think about it...so it all comes down to practice and feel...

I played American game for quite a few years, but was never good at escaping snookers. Then one day I decided to stop using the jump cue. In a month or so, my escaping from snookers got about 5 times better. In fact, I was able to re-snooker my opponents sometimes. For those who don't know, safety game is huge at 9ball.

Now at snooker I try to apply what I "know" from pool, but cushions react totally different and balls too. I'm reasonably happy for now...at least there's no ball in hand for my opponent if I miss!

[davipp]

Next time you are near a pool table take note of the large buttons on the top of the rails, these assist a pool player in escaping from snookers (known as the 'Diamond System'. I have divided each rail on my full size snooker table & put 3 stickers on each, With practise when aiming anywhere on the table to one of these spots, you must use running side, you will see the cue ball go from one spot on a cushion to another and to another.
There is a mathematical way of determining the out as each spot on the rail has a value. I suggest you find a pool book which will show the 'Diamond System' in more detail. Though I probably don't use the system to it's full potential it certainly allows me to understand how to play out of snookers off more than one cushion.

[RocketRoy1983]

It is the difference between having a snooker brain or not. I dont think it is something you can be taught. Do you have anyone in your club who plays billiards? I believe this will help you immensely in your game.

[renniwevarb]

Hi... we have often seen on TV how the pros seem to be able to quickly figure out an escape route from a difficult snooker, sometimes using 3, 4 or even more cushions before the cueball comes to rest on the object ball at a perfect pace, leaving no shot on...

I can understand a one cushion escape by gauging the angle of incidence / reflection... but having to visualise an escape off multiple cushions is a mystery to me... it's mostly guesswork then hit and hope...

Are there any methods to visualise or calculate angles off multiple cushions effectively? Would appreciate some advice pls... Thx...

Hi damienlch, good topic raised here... for myself I also use the "mirror" method for 1 cushion escape coupled with visualisation of the actual cue ball travel path (based on whatever little memory/experience I have from previous escapes).

You can try extending this to 2 cushion escapes as I find that it works well for me. Instead of aiming for the "ball in the mirror", I'm actually deciding which point on the 2nd cushion to hit, coupled with the "180 degree rule" mentioned earlier in this thread and the above (visualise ball path + previous memory/experience)... but from what I have tried on the table I need some running side to make the 2 cushion escape, as somehow the final angle the cue ball comes off the 2nd cushion is always narrower than what I expect if I hit it plain ball. Not too sure why though. Maybe it's a 3D visual effect (if only you can view the table from plan view, that would surely make it easier!)

As for 3 or more cushions... I don't have any more methods! Erm just use some imagination or extension of the above methods, and hit and hope!

[damienlch]

thanks for sharing guys... i was fretting that this thread is fading...

angle off 1 cushion i can understand, although getting it correct is another thing altogether... but i find judging the angle off the 2nd cushion to be trickier... the angle tends to "throw" wider... so, what i can think of is either i'm 1. visualising incorrectly 2. applying unwanted side or 3. table not running true...

maybe i really should pick up billiards to understand the angles better... if i only know the rules (i've read it, but still don't get it and frankly, it sounds a tad boring although i have no doubt that it takes great skill to play) or find someone who plays it... or i'll imagine i'm snookered and play an indirect shot, which too sounds kind of boring as compared to practising pots and not to mention people at other tables thinking this guy's not right in his head..

[thelongbomber]

You should come to Vancouver, Canada and play one of my friends

No seriously though, I think angles, side, spin, and all the various combinations all become familiar once you have played the game long enough. I don't think about angles much anymore and only when I'm really stuck or it's a key point in the frame/match. I still miss snookers but only because I'm trying to hit the object ball in a particular way ("pro side").

If it's just a matter of hitting the object ball from a snooker without care for the results, then that's easy to do. The outcome, however, isn't always in your favor.

How I learned: play a grinder. Truthfully when I was first learning this game (about 8 years back), I played a friend who couldn't pot (and I could, thus the nickname) as well as me and would get a real kick and have a good laugh every time he snookered me because I couldn't hit object ball for some reason (probably lack of experience). Secretly, I was schemeing, planning, and reading about the game and came back to eventually start beating him at his own game.

To this day, I always pay homage to those early days of being constantly snookered and thank my friend every chance I get for the lessons he taught me.