Let's Talk About The REST

[Slasher]

Easily the weakest part of my game and I can't seem to find the right arm or elbow position to get the cue through straight. It's also a hard drill to practice as the arm gets tired.
Give me your best tips please.

[checkSide]

These are my tips, they helped me no end....

1. Keep the rest head a similar distance away from the cue ball as your bridge hand would be.

2. In practice, push the cue tip right up to the cue ball, it doesn't matter if you touch it.
This will stop the common mistake of the cue being too far away from the cue ball in the address position.

3. Find a head position that allows you to see the line of the shot comfortably.

4. Have a slow backswing and a PAUSE before pushing through on the shot.

[Terry Davidson]

slasher:

The rest should be used in as similar a way as your normal stroke except of course the elbow is up and the grip is on the other side of the cue.

The 'secret' to rest play is to keep the elbow still and only use the forearm with a very loose grip, just the same as a normal stroke, the elbow should not move in space either way until AFTER the cueball has been struck.

The forearm should be parallel to the bed of the table or nearly so, the grip should be loose with the cue resting on the thumb and the first 2 fingers just holding it on the thumb. Again, do not tighten the grip until after the cueball has been hit.

Because of the limitations of the grip being under the cue the follow-through is usually not as long as normal but should still be 5-6 inches and the tip regarding getting the tip as close to the cueball as possible is a good one. For those stretch shots with the rest I lift the butt of the cue up until the tip is on the cloth and have a look-see how far I'm away from the cueball and make an adjustment if I'm too far away.

Slow backswing, rear pause if you normally use one (I don't think you do) and deliver THROUGH the cueball like hitting a bubble. Keep the wrist stable as well until after the cueball is hit

Terry

[loopy2]

A useful tip to determine how far from the white the tip is, you could also look at the cue shadow.

[Slasher]

Where is the best position for the elbow, some players seem to have below the hand?

[adibon]

Salam,
What type ( shape ) of rest do you take?

[checkSide]

Salam,
What type ( shape ) of rest do you take?

The low side of the normal rest!

[Terry Davidson]

slasher:

The books teach that ideally the forearm should be level with the bed of the table and therefore the elbow is level with the wrist. However a lot of players find it more comfortable to have the elbow slightly below the wrist and cue (myself included)

Terry

[thelongbomber]

Two handy tips:

1. Don't overgrip the cue. It's meant to do all the work anyways. Two, Three or more fingers... just find what's comfortable and natural.

2. Hold the rest down "tight" on the table surface. Especially on powershots, few realize that the rest head will move just fractionally. Next time someone uses a rest, watch the rest head to see if it moves throughout the shot.

Terry has more on the rest: http://www.terrygriffithssnooker.com...hort-rest.aspx

[The Doctor]

I would try to avoid having the elbow too high. I liken the technique a bit like throwing a dart, therefore the elbow should be lower than the hand.
Just take a look not at the direction you hand goes in if you keep the elbow still and have the forearm parallel to the elbow, you will notice that it must go out towards the direction of the elbow. Doing this will cause the cue to move across the line of the shot. So, if you then lower the elbow in relation to the hand and you do the same as above, you will notice there is a lot less movement in the sideways direction, thus making it easier to cue straight on the line.
Hope this helps.