Practice time?

[wayner147]

Realistically, for someone with a job and a wife (no kids) and a club right across the street, what would be a good amount of practice time a week.

I am a competitive player and can hold my own with some great players, but im a bit stuck right now as I have been trying to slow my game down and add a pause to my stroke, witch is affecting every part of my game (most of all my consistency).

Also, do you count playing a match practice ( I have playing partners ) or should I count practice time as alone time working on things to improve my game and stroke and tempo.

Also should to note I am a century run player with 2, 147s in practice but since I have been trying to slow my game and tempo I have no had a big break over 60 in more then 2 months.

Anyone have some tips on how to get back to being constant and confident in my stroke again

[MasterBreak147]

I have been trying to slow my game down and add a pause to my stroke, witch is affecting every part of my game (most of all my consistency).



Also should to note I am a century run player with 2, 147s in practice but since I have been trying to slow my game and tempo I have no had a big break over 60 in more then 2 months.

Can i ask if your a century maker and already had 147's why the change ? you seem to be doing something right to be able to do this pal

[magicman]

I have to agree with MasterBreak147 here. 2 months without improvement and you're still trying? I've had one max and if I didn't have a 60 every time I played I'd wonder what was happening let alone in two months? So my tip is - go back to what you were doing before.

[hotpot]

I can understand why even very good technical players may want to tinker with things to strive for improvement , even top pros do it sometimes , especially when going through a barren spell .

I see nothing wrong with this but i would not hesitate going back to original cueing if things wer,nt going to plan .

I often play at a different tempo with a diffenent pause , depending on how i,m feeling and playing .

[MattWilson]

Agree with both of the above comments. By all means tinker with your game momentarily, but if you do not see results within a couple of weeks then dismiss what you're doing. Unless you have a long-term strategy with an experienced coach. and you are going about complete re-structuring of your action.

If you're playing 3 or 4 times a week then you should still be able to maintain your standard. Playing 3 or 4 times a week and making sure at least once you are playing a better player, then you should maintain and/or even improve your standard over time.

MW

[wayner147]

thanks for the reply guys, I guess the reason why i started to change things is because i seen coach and he said if i slow down my game that i will be come more consistent. i am always trying to improve. The one thing that has really messed me up now is that now im not confident with my stroke and i have developed a hitch just before i hit the ball my shoulder and elbow just kind of twitch out away from my body, and imp lost as to what to do.

Even when i try my old stroke at times i play good and at times i play bad and when i play bad my twitch is ugly.

I have some videos on youtube, if you type in wayner147 you can see many strokes that i have been trying with and without pause.

[wayner147]

Question? explain the way at witch the eyes work in a shot, i also found with the change of tempo my eyes are behind or ahead of my shot depending on the speed at witch i try to change.

[MasterBreak147]

wayner147 tbh i wouldn't say you was that fast based on the videos 147 line-up and 98 break no offence btw, so i would say don't worry about it too much mate, you play well and move around faster than some but its like me when i am on fire i play like the wind lol, Some people you can watch them cue and think jeez this guy doesn't look like he could miss based on his action,pause speed etc just perfect technique i have tried myself to look the part but the fact is i was brought up wrong so to say and play much better my way and i aint trying to change it again it failed but i did try.
Nowt wrong in what i have seen there but then again im no coach just my opinion

[thinsy]

The one thing that has really messed me up now is that now im not confident with my stroke and i have developed a hitch just before i hit the ball my shoulder and elbow just kind of twitch out away from my body, and imp lost as to what to do.

Even when i try my old stroke at times i play good and at times i play bad and when i play bad my twitch is ugly.

I have some videos on youtube, if you type in wayner147 you can see many strokes that i have been trying with and without pause.

Are you my twin brother?

I've been struggling with my game, tried eliminating my feathering which worked ok in practice and improved my pause (less snatching), but under pressure or in a match I found it didn't feel natural. I've brought my feathering back and at the moment it's all starting to feel quite good (the pause has stayed with me!). So, trying new things can be good but I personally would say not to stray too far from what you have been doing!

I'm fortunate enough at the moment to be finishing work by 4pm and have been heading to the local club for between 60-90 minutes solo practice every other day which helps with my technique. I believe 'A little, often' is best option.

Although, I think I need to play more 'Match Practice'.... Finding a good and willing opponent that lives near me is proving dificult!!

[miscuehamburg]

As to the mix of solo practise/practise frames roughly 50-50% is advocated by many pros:snooker:

[wayner147]

So, good news! I went back to my old stroke, but still tried to keep a bit of a pause before hitting the cue ball.

Yesterday was my first day going back to the stroke and i practiced by me self for an hr, and then today I played a match with a friend, and in 5 frames i had a 96, missed the blue with a 114 on, and then 2 games later i have 86 in and missed a long pot on the final red.

So i believe im going to stay with the old stroke at which was always working for me, but trying to keep the small pause at the end of the backswing.

I will post videos of both breaks later on as i am uploading another video to my youtube account now.

[Timbo]

I started to play snooker when i was about 10, when i got to about 12 i played properply and won trophies! Now im nearly 16 and i have improved my game greatly! I have slowed my shots down and timed my shots... timing is key to the sport i say!

[evitme]

Does the short "pause" right before hitting the cue ball have any benefit or it is just personal preference. I have seen some pros doing it but not all. I tried it and found it a difficult thing to do.

[nrage]

Does the short "pause" right before hitting the cue ball have any benefit or it is just personal preference. I have seen some pros doing it but not all. I tried it and found it a difficult thing to do.

I assume you mean the 'rear' pause, after pulling the cue back?

The idea behind the rear pause is that it forces/allows your cue to come to a complete stop prior to the forward motion of the shot. The reason that is a 'good' thing is that if you accelerate from a stop, and accelerate gradually/smoothly rather than in a rush with a huge heave or jerk, you're more likely to cue straight with less wobbles. You should also be pulling back slowly, and coming to a stop gradually.

I like to think of it like driving a car, sure it's not really the same thing at all, but the smooth/controlled way you would drive a car, is the same smooth controlled way you should cue. eg. You put it in reverse, accelerate smoothly, brake slowly to a complete stop, put it in 1st, accelerate smoothly to your full/max speed, drive right through the cue ball and drive right into your chest.

The wrong way would be.. If you put it in reverse, stomped on the accelerator, and found your wheels spinning and the car swerving all over the place, if you then didn't brake but whacked it into first and floored it again, you'd spin the wheels and wobble even more. The latter has less control, and a lot of the power is wasted fighting itself.

[CueAce]

There are lots of benefits to the rear pause including a smooth stroke and a more accurately weighted shot to improve position. if you are struggling with consistency then it could be because you are concentrating more on the pause than the shot. A method you could try to make the pause more natural is as follows.

As you approach the shot keep your eyes focused on where you want the cue ball to go until your bridge hand touches the cushion and you are down or the shot. Take a moment to confirm you are positioned correctly for the shot and take a couple of feathers to confirm contact point on cue ball and straight cueing- with your eyes flicking between cue ball and object ball to check everything is correct.

Once you are ready for the shot with the cue tip at the cue ball concentrate your eyes on the ferrule of your cue as you gradually pull the cue back. At the rear end of your backswing stop the cue and then refocus your eyes on the object ball. Take the shot.

The time it takes to refocus your eyes is the natural time for the backpause and after this becomes second nature you won't even have to think about the pause.