Black Problem

[alabadi]

Hello everyone

I think that this forum is great , some great tips and advice everyone helping each other out its a must for any snooker player.

well i have a weird problem and not sure what to make of it. I started practicing potting the black from its spot, this came about because so many times i have potted a good red then got a great position on the black thinking that i am in here and should now make a few points just to miss the black.

I don't think its a lack of concentration.

My Practice routines are to put a red on the black spot and then keep moving the cueball to different positions and then try and pot it.

today i was practicing and had the cue ball about 18 inches away and about one ball towards the back cusion this is a slight cutback shot, once i identified the angle i potted 5 reds in a row i replaced the RED the BLACK on its spot and from the same position missed the shot. i tried twice more and miss both times

i was suprised because i just potted 5 reds in a row, i couldn't have forgotten the line of aim so quickly, so i put a red back on the black spot and again i potted it, i thought once more to prove that it wasn't a fluke and potted that too.

so again i replaced the red with the black and missed it probably took me 4 or 5 attempts until i potted it. so i am not sure what to make of this , why can i pot when its a red ball but can't when its the black. can a colour change someones perception.

this is really bugging me because as i said i sometimes get into a great position on the black during matches just to miss them. and after all every decent snooker player wants in and ariund the black spot to get better at break building

any help or ideas would be helpful

Alabbadi
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Originally posted at Http://www.thesnookergym.com/forums

[black&blue]

I have the same problem. In my case, I cannot see the edge of the black clearly compared to other balls (getting old I guess). I got tinted snooker glasses. That helped a bit.

[jwhizz420]

lol cause its worths 7 points not 1,making it 7 times harder to pot,think its a mental thing,snookers a weird game. just spend a few sessions just potting the black,when i practice i just set up the reds,even the yellow stresses me out,have fun

[nevets]

Practice blacks off the spot with the BLACK not a RED. Blacks off the spot needs to be practised over and over - keep a record of how many in a row you can do (without moving the cue ball by hand)

[Giggity1984]

It's called "Black Ball Syndrome" and I have it too. lol.

[Nugget]

It's called "Black Ball Syndrome" and I have it too. lol.

Sounds painful!

To the original poster - it's almost certainly a psychological thing. It sounds like as soon as you missed the first black, rather than just treating it like a miss, you immediately attributed it to the colour of the ball. After this I think your expectations dictated the outcome of your shots!

Like nevets said, practice potting blacks of the spot with the black - you won't keep missing them!

[wildJONESEYE]

Sounds painful!

To the original poster - it's almost certainly a psychological thing. It sounds like as soon as you missed the first black, rather than just treating it like a miss, you immediately attributed it to the colour of the ball. After this I think your expectations dictated the outcome of your shots!

Like nevets said, practice potting blacks of the spot with the black - you won't keep missing them!

Yea but im sure hes missed reds in games and practice as well. why hasn't that left mental scars ?

[nrage]

Yea but im sure hes missed reds in games and practice as well. why hasn't that left mental scars ?

Because the black is worth 7, and you pot it less frequently, that makes it more 'special', more significant, and more noticeable. Which is why potting it a few hundred times ought to sort him out

[cazmac1]

Unless the table has very poor lighting, it is defo in the mind.

[alabadi]

I'm back on the black problem again. i don't think its anything to do with the value of it. i was practicing yesterday just using the black to see how many consective pots i can make.
i struggled to make three. i spent an hour doing this and dindn't improve. so i used a red instead of the black and my best was 7. it seems that i can spot the angle better using the reds, don't know why.

when i look at the black i sometimes lose the spot that i want to make contact with. it might be my eyesight or if it is something else i am not aware of it.

i will certainly keep practicing with the black because i am sick of missing easy blacks in games which is costing me a lot.
i need to be more confident that i will pot rather than thinking i might miss and let my openent in.
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Originally posted at Http://www.thesnookergym.com/forums

[evitme]

Have you been using the same black ball? Home table?
Perhaps.....just perhaps....that black ball is a tad bigger in diameter than the red?

Jokes aside, I have the same problem. In my case, I think its more to do with black being worth 7 pts. Nerve problem!

[Slasher]

Try putting the black on the blue spot and practice "blues" for a couple days, and call me in the morning.

[andy carson]

seems you are just concentrating too much and pressuring yourself too much on the shot..

its 7 points not 70, learn to treat it as any other ball on the table and try to think less of what you are going to do to the black and more where you want the white to finish to take your mind slightly off the fact its a black ball pot...

start with just off straight or straight blacks and gradually make them harder pots...

[aussie147]

in all honesty i used to have this very same problem albeit a long time ago, potting blacks off the spot. Time after time i would miss such easy shots particularly on the black ball, the majority of the time i would catch the jaws of the pocket but if i replaced the black with the yellow/blue/red i would have no problem.

I couldnt work out whether it was the lighting above the table or whether it was down to the fact the black is the darkest making it hard for me to pick where i want to make contact with it. It was a few years back and i had and still dont have any eyesight issues or anything.

With working on my game and heavy practicing i no longer have this problem anymore however upon seeing this thread made me have flashbacks. The other day in a tournament in the deciding frame on black ball i missed match ball. I potted the pink which was near the blue spot into the middle pocket and i got a kick and the white landed tight under the cushion in between the blue and pink spot and the black was just under its spot. As it goes the black caught the near jaw and stayed over the pocket Im sure you dont need me to tell you what happened next!

[Jools]

If it's any consolation, I have exactly the same problem, and I'm sure it's not value as in practice there is no pressure on the pot. In fact the easiest colour I find to pot is the yellow for some reason, any distance, any angle with any kind if spin. Anyone else find this?

If anyone finds a remedy to the black problem please post here, for me it's mainly black off the spot and the narrower the angle, half ball and finer.