Break Building: Trusting your Instinct?

[thelongbomber]

Some coaches agree with this and some disagree, but the so called 'secret' of good snooker is this...when you get to the point with your technique where you absolutely trust it to deliver the cue straight then when you are in the balls the pot itself becomes more or less automatic and you devote your entire concentration on positional play.

The guesstimate on percentages is 5% on the actual pot and 95% on positional play. (Now I've seen on here some people will disagree with this but it is true, professionals concentrate more on positional play rather than on the pot itself).

For junior players what helps this along is playing on tables with generous pockets so that potting becomes more automatic in a quicker timeframe. Once positional play gets to the point where it is earning large breaks it just dowsn't matter anymore whether the pockets are generous or not because every shot (or most of them) will be pretty simple.

Terry

Interesting you mention this Terry. Out of experimentation on the practice table, I was doing the same thing: focusing more energy on position than the pot. Good position started happening only once I felt secure about my cue, my cue tip, and my stance. Lately, I'm less concerned about the pot (well except for long shots), and more concerned with position, cannons, etc. I would say I'm putting at least 50% of my energy into positional thinking while down on the shot and that is greatly helping my make bigger breaks.

It's funny how I spent years and years on potting alone and nearly always made the object ball go right into the heart of the pocket. I'm now realizing most pockets are pretty sloppy!!

[magicman]

I agree with jonplayer in that there are 'natural' and 'technical' players, but nothings black and white and I've made centuries both 'ways'. The happy medium would be the best approach. I also agree with Terry in that position is paramount. I once made a century in a league match and one of the opposition players commented that "none of the shots were hard, I could have made that." The common mistake with concentrating on position is to forget to pot the ball; so decide where you want the white after the shot and then concentrate on the pot.

[wsap88]

i think to reach your first 100, u must first master the cue, then u can master the cue ball and then master the game

[finabb]

I used to look for big breaks when i felt i was really cueing well to the point that i was putting pressure on myself to make them . Now i just concentrate on cueing straight , striking the cue ball sweet , and concentrating on the pot and precise position required .

I usually find that breaks come out of the blue , they cant be planned , and when your in the zone your just focussed on the the task in front of you .

'The zone', I know what you mean; when I have finished my break say 50+ I look back and cant really remember any shots or any real thoughts. The bad thing is I dont know how to get into the 'Zone' it just seems to happen.

[sharkster63]

Hello All, Very interesting posts, I decided to add my comments, at my very best, 4 years ago, I practiced 2 to 4 hrs daily. I ran a 89 clearance against a top notch player, he ran 4 blacks on a bad break and missed the black as he broke out the balls. (He walked out without saying a word or shaking my hand) (I loved it) I cleaned up a difficult table. I played every shot and tried to stay within my known abilities. I find that position play can be very deterent to a high break, I often know the way to perform the shot to get pefect position but will often dismiss due to the percentage of the pot decreasing. This is not the case in practice, I try and get confortable with performing these difficult cueing, weight,stunn etc... shots and build my confidence and position play becauser I know that if you can get that perfect shape from a difficult shot it will pay dividends. Practice hard, play hard and you will at some time be able to say that you are in the zone and have the feel and control of the table. I am back at practicing daily, wish I had a good opponent to push me to my limits. (this I feel is very important to reach that elusive 100) I plan on attending the Ontario Snooker Qualifiers in an attempt to watch and play with better players. Thanks Terry, I dont think I would have taken this big a step without your kind invitation.
Cheers and good luck in your ventures for the 100 or for some the perfect game.
Rolly C. sends

[Terry Davidson]

sharkster:

Yes, I saw your name on the registered players list.

I'm not sure if you know the way it works, but Ron Adams will do the draw at 8pm on the Friday night (30th) and John Greschner usually posts the draw with match times by 9pm on snookerline.

You should get there 30 minutes before your scheduled match time. I assume you're diving in from Kingston, so take Victoria Park south from the 401W and go down to just before (about 100 meters from the lights) Lawrence Ave East and turn right at the 'No Frills' supermarket and you go into a strip mall and Shooters is about in the middle of the mall beside the Dollar Store.

The draw will be random, so you could meet any class of player your first match. I see there are some very good players in the draw so far and there will be more registering this week and up to the 30th. There's already 22 or 23 and we will normally get anywhere from 24 to 32 and sometimes more on a good day. You will play down to the 1/4's on Saturday, then the 1/4's start on Sunday around noon or maybe 11am.

Depending on your skill level and if you play in a minimum of 5 of the 12 ranking tournaments and you rank in the top 15 your entry is paid to the Canadian Championships next June. If we judge you as an 'A' players we have an 'A'-only tournament near the end of the season and 2 'A' players qualify directly into the Canadians.

Entry fee is $30 and you will pay a one-time OBSA season membership of $25 at the first tournament.

See you there

Terry

[sharkster63]

Thanks, Terry,
I have a JPS, thank god, I dont go to Toronto to often. That little machine as probably lowered the accident rate in TO by allot. I will try to make it there on Friday Night and get my feet wet. Cant wait to see who shows, I would love to see Kirk Stevens, I once played with his authographed cue. I seen "Frenchy" Fern Loyer play in Elliot Lake, Sudbury years ago, he is one good Snooker player. And also looking to watching you play.

P.S. does Mike Badgley show for these. ?

Cheers Mate,
Rolly C. sends

[Terry Davidson]

sharkster:

Kirk said he was going to play in the ranking tournaments but we haven't seen him yet this season. Fern Loyer usually plays in them if he can make it down from Sudbury.

Hope you have a free place to stay as hotels can be expensive in Toronto.

I see Mike Badgley at Shooters but with a pool cue and he hasn't played in our series for the past 5 years. I guess he's playing pool these days.

The tables at Shooters are old Burroughs & Watts but with new rails. 6811 cloths on 5 of them and the other 2 are match tables with #10. We have our own sets of tournaments balls, so there will be no light cueballs. The tables are not overly fast but are a fair speed and the pockets are close to template except for one table which is fairly generous and another that's a bit tight.

Terry

[Rane]

[QUOTE=magicman;527546I once made a century in a league match and one of the opposition players commented that "none of the shots were hard, I could have made that." The common mistake with concentrating on position is to forget to pot the ball; so decide where you want the white after the shot and then concentrate on the pot.[/QUOTE]

Your comment reminds me of O´Sullivans last 147. I can´t remember seeing a 147 with the balls more easily placed, so for a players with O´Sullivans positional play it was there for the taking, but still requires so much though.

[poolqjunkie]

'The zone', I know what you mean; when I have finished my break say 50+ I look back and cant really remember any shots or any real thoughts. The bad thing is I dont know how to get into the 'Zone' it just seems to happen.

Yes, that has happened to me many times. But now I try to remember what I have made because some people I played with had told me they had no idea what I made after all the hard work I put in!
I also find that usually I would start off playing a bit slower and tentative but as the break starts to develop I would shoot faster, with lesser feather. I am not sure if it is bad thing or not.
I think one should focus on technique when one is practicing on technique.
But in a match one should not think too much about that. I agree one's mind should be on position with a bit of focus on the potting angle.
I would say I play my best snooker when I am not thinking of my technique at all. Not sure if that is the way with others but I know once I start to think about follow through and pause and all that I would start to play bad in a real match.

[renniwevarb]

This relates very much to what I've read in a book on sports psychology.

The book gives 4 stages of competency in a sport (those in brackets are just my own quick illustrations, may not apply to everyone):

1) Unconscious Incompetency (Whack and Pot/Miss without giving a thought when we first started playing the game leisurely... and enjoying it nonetheless!)
2) Conscious Incompetency (Hmm why can I still miss that after years of playing?! Which part of my technique needs to be worked on? How can I play better?)
3) Conscious Competency (I see improvement! I know if I do the right things the results will show on the table)
4) Unconscious Competency (Cue and Pot and positioning hot... not missing a lot! Without giving much thought... and enjoying it!)

It's really very well put, when we get into the zone we are trusting our competency fully and just performing on auto-pilot (which would be level 4).

You'll be able to figure out the different stages you've been through in snooker, really interesting.

[thelongbomber]

This relates very much to what I've read in a book on sports psychology.

The book gives 4 stages of competency in a sport (those in brackets are just my own quick illustrations, may not apply to everyone):

1) Unconscious Incompetency (Whack and Pot/Miss without giving a thought when we first started playing the game leisurely... and enjoying it nonetheless!)
2) Conscious Incompetency (Hmm why can I still miss that after years of playing?! Which part of my technique needs to be worked on? How can I play better?)
3) Conscious Competency (I see improvement! I know if I do the right things the results will show on the table)
4) Unconscious Competency (Cue and Pot and positioning hot... not missing a lot! Without giving much thought... and enjoying it!)

It's really very well put, when we get into the zone we are trusting our competency fully and just performing on auto-pilot (which would be level 4).

You'll be able to figure out the different stages you've been through in snooker, really interesting.

Awesome! Another thing I heard about competency/ability in a sport is that a person goes through three stages:

1. Awkward
2. Mechanical
3. Natural

I have seen your version of 4 stages somewhere before - I guess from Psychology 101

[sharkster63]

Very appropriate and relative to this thread, I like this.
Thanks John,

[jaffaboy]

interesting read

[thelongbomber]

Spoke with m8's about their first century as well as the house legend and the consensus seems to be what's described here:

1. It comes unexpectedly. I won't be planned but you will definitely be "in the zone" when it happens and you will likely follow it up with other big breaks in that session.

2. It will be more likely to happen after consistently good play earlier in the week or previously and you will feel like you are in excellent form.