Question about Cueing

[wayync]

So I was wondering about this for quite awhile now.

While watching pros play, and this is particularly evident during their feathering for screw shots, some pros will get down, place the cue tip on the bottom of the cue ball where they want to hit the ball and then feather back and forth in a PARALLEL line and then shoot straight through. Neil robertson is a prime example of this.

Then there are some pros who would place the cue tip where they want to hit then as they start feathering, the cue tip goes up to near the middle of the cue ball before it goes back, then go forward again to where they want to hit and then it would go up again and back, sort of like a rocking/rowing motion. This is very evident if you watch Alain Robidoux play and sometimes Ronnie does it too.

I find myself doing this sometimes as well and it sort of gives me a 'feel' for the shot I want to take.

So I was wondering why some pros do this and why some others don't and is this a good or bad habit and is this something that should be done?

[hotpot]

I think Mark king addresses the white in the miidle and dips the cue down when screwing back . My friend does exactly the same and it works well for him as he is a ton breaker .

Its not something i would advise on and its hard to master unless your used to playing that way .

For someone who addressess the white at the bottom , the traditional way , to try the other way would probably result in missed pots and mis cueing .

[wayync]

I think Mark king addresses the white in the miidle and dips the cue down when screwing back . My friend does exactly the same and it works well for him as he is a ton breaker .

Its not something i would advise on and its hard to master unless your used to playing that way .

For someone who addressess the white at the bottom , the traditional way , to try the other way would probably result in missed pots and mis cueing .

Yes it does take a bit of co-ordination and its one of those things that if you have to think about it you will get it wrong, but once you do it it seems to go soooo smoothly.

When you just cue parallel the action seems very manufactured but when you use the rocking motion it seems more natural.

but i don't know, it just seems like if I were to get consistent with the game, there should be one type of 'feathering action' I should stick to and not both whenever

[Terry Davidson]

Although some of the pros use a different cueing method in this regard, it's my belief the absolute best way to approach any ball sport, including snooker, is to use the KISS principle and keep everything as simple as you possibly can.

Any other method, like this addressing the ball at a different point than you intend to hit it introduces something that will require the player to use absolutely perfect coordination, and that is something none of us can do consistently.

Wayne, you're introducing a change in your timing and rhythm during the final backswing and delivery which becomes just another thing you must coordinate perfectly, when all your attention should be on developing ONE consistent method or technique that delivers the cue consistently straight.

However, that said, if a player tries something which he feels improves his accuracy in both potting and position AND HE GIVES IT A GOOD TRIAL, LIKE SAY FOR 3 MONTHS OR SO AND STILL GETS THE GOOD RESULTS, then by all means work at getting it into your natural technique.

The reason I say a 3-month trial is there are so many players who will make a minor adjustment to their technique and will instantly see an improvment or at least what they feel is an improvement. However, when trying this out they are focusing their brain on something other than the shot and sometimes when you occupy the brain on other matters and rely more on the unconcious and natural technique your game does improve for the short term, but what you're trying will harm your game during the long term.

For instance, this change in addressing the cueball and then making a final adjustment during the backswing will introduce some kind of a change in either your grip or else your shoulder and it might be helping you to drive the cue through to your chest more consistently.

My thought would be that driving the cue through and finishing the shot with your grip into your chest all the time is the real reason you're seeing improvment.

I cannot over-stress the importance of keeping the cueing technique as simple as possible so a player is not relying on perfect coordination all the time. It's OK for younger players but as we age the old coordination deteriorates and it's much better to not rely on it

Terry

[Freddie Ng]

Terry,

Will shorter cue tends to affect our cueing action when we finish the with the grip to our chest ?

Cheers

[Terry Davidson]

freddie:

I don't think so as you can get the same effect by choking up your grip on the cue, which if you keep the bend the same in your bridge arm elbow will have the effect of getting your eyes closer to the cueball. Some players feel this will give them a more compact cue action and they prefer it.

On the negative side it will take away some length you normally use for aiming the cue.

A few players perfer a shorter cue as they feel it gives them more control, and it is true when in the balls you would have a shorter backswing and thus more control over the cue, but again on the negative side you would lose some of your power due to the shorter backswing.

Ideally, a player should have 10" to 12" (25cm to 30cm) of cue as measured from the 'V' of the bridge as this seems to be the best for aiming the cue in any circumstances. This will also allow an 8" or 9" backswing (or more if 12") which a lot of the pros like.

Terry

[Freddie Ng]

Terry,

Thank you for the great advise and tips. What would normally happen when player playing with cue that is too short for him/her and too long for him/her ??

Will a cue with little bent affect your game very much ? and gave you terrible cue ball control ?

Freddie

[Terry Davidson]

freddie:

A cue too long is OK because the player can still choke up to get himself in the proper alignment, but I would say any more than 3-4 inches hanging out the back of the grip hand is the limit.

A cue too short does more harm than good though as the player has to alter his set-up to match the cue by either bending his bridge forearm a lot (and getting closer to the cueball) or else having the grip forearm forward of the vertical in the address position. Neither of these solutions is ideal.

Now, to answer your questions on using a cue with a bend in it. You could ask Ken Doherty or (if he was still here) John Spencer if they felt their bent cues limited them from winning MORE world titles!

Bottom line, if a cue has a slight bend in it (say the ferrule rises 0.5in off the cloth when you roll it) that is no big deal and will not effect cueing unless the bend happens to be ahead of the 'V' of the bridge in the address position.

Again, this is no big deal as it's a simple matter to straighten a cue that has a slight bend in it as long as it's not a very old cue which has been that way for 20 years or more. I recently tried to straighten a 100 year old ash cue (without using steam) but the cue keeps going back to being crooked after a week or so. I did have some success after straightening it over and over again every 3-4 days and now the cue is fairly straight but still has a slight wow in it. Luckily the owner only needs this cue for a short area on his table where he seldom has to play from.

Terry

[nevets]

Ha, with my positional play there is no such thing as an area of the table I seldom have to play from!

[Freddie Ng]

freddie:

A cue too long is OK because the player can still choke up to get himself in the proper alignment, but I would say any more than 3-4 inches hanging out the back of the grip hand is the limit.

A cue too short does more harm than good though as the player has to alter his set-up to match the cue by either bending his bridge forearm a lot (and getting closer to the cueball) or else having the grip forearm forward of the vertical in the address position. Neither of these solutions is ideal.

Now, to answer your questions on using a cue with a bend in it. You could ask Ken Doherty or (if he was still here) John Spencer if they felt their bent cues limited them from winning MORE world titles!

Bottom line, if a cue has a slight bend in it (say the ferrule rises 0.5in off the cloth when you roll it) that is no big deal and will not effect cueing unless the bend happens to be ahead of the 'V' of the bridge in the address position.

Again, this is no big deal as it's a simple matter to straighten a cue that has a slight bend in it as long as it's not a very old cue which has been that way for 20 years or more. I recently tried to straighten a 100 year old ash cue (without using steam) but the cue keeps going back to being crooked after a week or so. I did have some success after straightening it over and over again every 3-4 days and now the cue is fairly straight but still has a slight wow in it. Luckily the owner only needs this cue for a short area on his table where he seldom has to play from.

Terry

Thank you very much Terry..appreciate your reply and another great advise from you again. How do you straighten a cue that is slightly bend ?? other than steam is there any other method ?

[Terry Davidson]

I cannot post it on a general forum like this as it involved stressing the cue in the opposite direction to the bend in it.

If I post my method there will be some yahoo out there who will go overboard and snap the shaft of his cue and then blame me for telling him to do it.

The bend in a cue takes time to develop and it must be corrected very slowly and carefully but there are some impatient people out there who wouldn't follow the direction faithfully and I prefer not to be blamed if one of them snaps his shaft.

Bottom line...almost any cue can be straightened without damaging the 'feel' of the cue, which will sometimes happen if steam is used. The shaft becomes limp with no life in it.

Terry

[Freddie Ng]

It's alright Terry.. I understand that is dangereous for first timmer to straighten their cue. Better not to be blame.
Does a cue will bent a little after sometime ?

[Terry Davidson]

Although I've seen old cues which are still straight after a long period of time, like twenty years or so, I believe the majority of cues will develop a slight bend after a period of time.

I believe this is due to a lot of people not regularly using linseed oil on the cue and it dries out a bit over time like any natural product would if it's not sealed properly.

Terry

[Freddie Ng]

Oh.. I see.. thank you Terry for helping me to clear all my doubts.

[Nic Barrow]

Piston

So I was wondering about this for quite awhile now.

While watching pros play, and this is particularly evident during their feathering for screw shots, some pros will get down, place the cue tip on the bottom of the cue ball where they want to hit the ball and then feather back and forth in a PARALLEL line and then shoot straight through. Neil robertson is a prime example of this.

Then there are some pros who would place the cue tip where they want to hit then as they start feathering, the cue tip goes up to near the middle of the cue ball before it goes back, then go forward again to where they want to hit and then it would go up again and back, sort of like a rocking/rowing motion. This is very evident if you watch Alain Robidoux play and sometimes Ronnie does it too.


I find myself doing this sometimes as well and it sort of gives me a 'feel' for the shot I want to take.

So I was wondering why some pros do this and why some others don't and is this a good or bad habit and is this something that should be done?

The best positional players in the game go flat through the cue ball to strike where they were addressing.
This leads to a more reliable and consistent action too.