Cue Action Problems

[Matt-10ant]

Need some advice on my cue action..

I play alot of Uk 8 ball pool and i sometimes play snooker even though i am not that great at it and my highest break is about 31 but i want to improve but i am noticing negative aspects of my cue actions.

Also my friends also tell me that my cue is too high in the air when cueing and also when i start cueing my cue is in a up and down rotating motions instead of just going back and forth in a nice smooth motion.

If anyone can help me to correct what i am doing wrong here i would be very grateful as i know it would improve my game alot as i want to improve at pool and also snooker..

Thanks Matt.

[Terry Davidson]

matt:

It sounds like you have the Phillipino 'pumping' cue action similar to Bustamonte(sp?) which is a disaster for snooker and for sure not a good cue action unless you've used it all your life like him.

The best thing you can do is see a coach who should be able to sort you out in one lesson. If you can't afford that then see if you can get a digital video camera and video yourself.

The 'pumping' is caused by dropping the elbow too much and it's also likely you don't have your cue snug against your chin and chest. On a short backswing shot with low power the elbow doesn't drop at all and on a very long backswing for lots of power the elbow only needs to drop perhaps one inch.

On the delivery with the had hitting the chest the elbow may drop around 2" or so.

Keep the grip very loose, slow down the backswing both during feathering and especially during the final backswing.

This should get rid of the problem, but do a video and watch carefully in slow motion what you're actually doing

Terry

[DeanH]

All my coaches in the past have mentioned the four points of contact:
Butt hand, Bridge Hand, chest, chin. Even then the chin is "optional". if you can do it comfortably then do so, if not - be as close as you can.
Personally I can do three, as I wear specs I cannot bend my neck anymore so I am as close as can be.
The chest contact is very important and if you can do this, it can help level out your see-saw action.
The cue should be as level as possible as you can, but does not have to be absolutely level, a slight rise to the butt is ok, so long as you deliver the cue straight and level and consistantly.
Also, do not move, once down on the shot do not move, after the shot do not move for a while, this will help the cue delivery.
The see-saw action can also be due to the butt arm elbow moving, my elbow does not move and the forearm swings from the elbow, only on delivery does my elbow drop but only sometimes (search for "elbow drop" as there is much discussion already on this).
I also play a lot of league pool as well and I play exactly the same from my snooker to my pool.
I tend to do a practise on the snooker table (1 hour usually) before going onto the pool table on a league night, this ensures that I am lining up, holding the cue, standing, delivering, positioning the white, all correctly before I go to the pool table, then all I have to do is tone-down my delivery power and slight adjustment for the smaller table, but all else is the same.
Just on a side note, one of my league team mates plays with a very exagerated see-saw and waggilly style, feet together, head two feet above the cue! Very strange and ugly to look at but he wins more than he losses! go figure!
I am sure you will get a coach or two on here as well to help you, I just thought I would post my thoughts on the subject.
All the best
DeanH

[Matt-10ant]

Thanks for the replies Terry and Dean i will take all your tips in to consideration by keeping the cue closer to my chest which i think could be my problem as i know for a fact that the cue does not touch my chest when taking a shot and also i have been told to slow down my backswing as i am cue far to fast when feathering for a shot i will let you know how the results of the tips that i have been given are.

Thanks again Matt.

[firefrets]

Look at the line between white ball and object ball. That is the line of the shot, and not the object ball to the pocket.

Line up with your right heel along the line if you're right handed, and then adjust the distance between the bridge hand and the white ball accordingly, being sure to move your feet forward as opposed to leaning over and stretching.

The hand should be close enough that your cue pushes through the white by an inch or 2, and even closer on a deep screw.

Your cue will lock against the body if you do this. As for cue action, think of the pendulum underneath a clock. Your cue action should not cause your right hand to extend the natural swing of the pendulum. If it does, your action is compromised.

Your bridge hand finger tips should grip the cloth like suckers, and your hand should raise a little if you are playing top spin. An ideal tip should resemble the curve in the old lolly pop sticks.

[Matt-10ant]

Ok i didnt go practising last night but will do tonight and will take all your advice on board and see if it improves my game thanks

[snoob]

I too am having problems with my cueing action.

To play backspin I do everything I'm supposed to, keep the cue and my bridge low, cue straight through the cue ball, keep my upper arm still and only take my action from my elbow.

Around once a week I'll go on a spree of beautiful cueing, it'll last until the end of the day then the next day I'll play again and get stuns and possibly a couple of miscues instead of the backspin I'm intending.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Terry Davidson]

snoob:

There can only be one reason you get the stuns and miscues when you are attempting to screw the white and it's going to sound pretty stupid to you but...YOU CANNOT BE HITTING THE BOTTOM OF THE WHITE!!!!!

I know it sounds too simple, but even with almost no follow-through if a player hits the bottom of the white (one tip width off the cloth) he will get some screw.

I can take my cue and hold it with just the very tip of my thumb and forefinger (no bending either one) and put the brown on spot and screw back to the cushion and back out to the middle of the table again.

Now, in order to do this Nic Barrow exercise I also have to do a very long backswing, bringing the ferrule of my cue virtuallky to the 'V' of my bridge.

So, start with an easy shot and jusing your normal grip, say brown on spot and cueball 1ft behind it directly in line with the green pocket. Slowly draw the cue back 8inches, pause and then deliver it to the bottom of the cueball (chalk up first).

If you do this and drive the grip hand through to your chest and hit the bottom of the cueball you should be able to screw the cueball at least 6feet or more depending on the speed of the table.

Slowly increase the difficulty of the shot as you get confidence with the easy ones by using the green spot, cueball 2ft behind the green,m then go to 3ft from the green. You should get to the point where from 3ft out you can pot the green into its own pocket and screw back for position on the black.

Terry

[edemrulez]

Dear Terry!

I have also (at least) one problem
My screw shots are mostly OK, but almost every time I can realize unwanted side effect on them. I think this affect my cue power as well, so a want to fix it. (Interesting that when I'm using conscious (wanted) side effect, it works well.) Any advice or exercise would be apriciated!

Thanx!
Adam

[Terry Davidson]

edem:

There are just too many reasons on why this could be happening to you and what you have to do now is to find out yourself WHY it is happening.

The most common reasons are (in order):
1. Tightening the grip on the cue too soon in the delivery and likely too tight
2. Upper body movement during the backswing
3. Results in more upper body movement during the delivery
4. Breathing in on the backswing (same as upper body movement)
5. Grip too tight all the time
6. Wrist turning on deliver
7. Accelerating the cue too rapidly
8. Backswing too short for the power desired
9. Not driving the grip hand through to the chest on delivery
10. Bridge not stable

So if you cannot find someone who knows what they are looking for to observe you (best if it is a coach) or else a digital video camera that you can put on a computer and watch in slow and stop-motion then you can try this first exercise below. In the first instance try shooting the spots from the brown spot to get at least 4 lengths of the table and see if the cueball comes back on the same side all the time (usually left side for right handed players, but not always).

Take a plastic pop bottle with an inside neck diameter of around 15cm. Place the pop bottle on the baulkline so the brown spot is about 5cm underneath the neck of the pop bottle. Place an object ball on the baulkline and against the opposite cushion. GET A HOUSE CUE FOR THIS!!!

Now, imagine there is a cueball on the brown spot and get down and address that cueball as if to hit the object ball dead on. Your tip should be inside the neck of the pop bottle in the address position. Do your normal backswing as if you were going to hit the cueball at FULL power and then KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OBJECT BALL AND DRIVE the cue into the pop bottle. If the pop bottle takes off then you are moving BEFORE you hit the cueball and if your cue touches the side of the neck of the pop bottle then you are likely moving at time of strike or very shortly after.

Now do the same exercise, but VERY, VERY SLOWLY. Backswing very slowly keeping your eyes on the brown spot, at the rear pause switch your eyes to the object ball and lock them there and then deliver the cue VERY, VERY SLOWLY. If you still touch the sides of the neck of the pop bottle then you will have to sort out on your own why the butt of your cue is going sideways.

Terry

[edemrulez]

Thank you very much the fast reply Terry, I will work on this exercise!
Many many thanks!

[edemrulez]

Dear Terry!

I have recorded myself and I think spotted the possible problem(s)
The problem can be the 1st and/or 6th cause in your list.

Is there any special exercise for these problems or I just need to concentrate on this aspects when practising?

BTW: I'm preparing for a better "video-recording-session" with some more light, for the better slow-motion to find out if I'm tightening the grip to fast and searching for other mistakes. Unfortunatelly the wrist turning is consistent on the high-power shots.

Cheers!

[Terry Davidson]

edem:

For tightening the grip too soon and too tight the only solution is in solo practice back right off on the pressure of the grip until you have the dreaded 'air gap' between the butt of the cue and the web between thumb and forefinger. Concentrate on keeping the grip this loose all the way through the delivery.

For turning the wrist, ensure in the address position your wrist is 'cocked' a bit, meaning turned out from your body so you have a couple of wrinkles in the wrist joint between the back of the hand and the forearm. Ideally, the butt of the cue should be in a straight line from the long forearm bone and directly below it or depending on how severe the wrist cock is perhaps the butt might be just a tad outside the long straight bone.

Concentrate on keeping the chevrons in the same spot until the end of the delivery.

Terry