Putting breaks together

[opoole]

I'm more of a pool player and have reached a fairly decent standard but have recently dabbled in more snooker.

I get to practice at least two or three nights a week and have pool matches on another day, so get plenty of opportunity to practice but usually reserve the majority of this for pool.

After a week or so of practicing snooker, I'm at a fairly low standard of being able to consistently put in breaks of say 14, 18, low twenties, several a frame, and a top break of 36.

My problem however is putting these together. I'm positioning the cue ball pretty well mostly but does anyone have any tips or drills to improve break building/potting, or is this just a case of practice?

Anyone been in a similar situation?

[nrage]

Break building is all about cue ball control, and planning exactly 2 shots ahead. You plan the current shot to get position on the next, in such a way as to get position on the one after that. It's no good landing on the wrong side of the blue for example, you're just going to make your next red harder to land on.

For cue ball path control I reckon this exercise is good:
http://www.youtube.com/user/forcefol.../1/h4gvd1swf1o

For cue ball speed control I reckon this one is pretty good:
http://www.youtube.com/user/forcefol.../0/w8lRrLVBUVs

That last one has helped me with power for all my shots actually, especially safety play.

[cantpotforshíte]

Break building is all about cue ball control, and planning exactly 2 shots ahead. You plan the current shot to get position on the next, in such a way as to get position on the one after that. It's no good landing on the wrong side of the blue for example, you're just going to make your next red harder to land on.

Absolutley spot on. As I have trouble always remembering to do the the above every time, I've taken the advice of somebody on here who recently summed it up even more concisely:
When potting a red, you should be thinking about the next red. When playing a colour, you should be thinking about the next colour.

This just seems easier to remember for me.

Obviously when you are clearing the colours at the end, you have to change it a little (when potting the yellow, think about the brown etc.) but you get the idea.

[DeanH]

When potting a red, you should be thinking about the next red. When playing a colour, you should be thinking about the next colour.

I have been using this creed for many years and it is the same as the TV commentators usually say "think three/four balls ahead".
The first video is very like the practise I do from the blue and have the reds around the sides and bottom rail on the pink/black side. But also I place them on the baulk end and aim for the gaps and get the white back down the table, as if for the next red after being low on the blue.
The other video I have not seen before but I do a similar practise, with only the white and aiming down the spots (good for straight delivery as well) and aim for the spots in sequence after hitting the black rail. I may have a go at this version, using other balls to cannon the object ball onto the designated spot.
Many thanks for the links.

[nrage]

Sounds like you're already practicing/doing all the things I would think should allow you to make bigger breaks.. when your break typically ends, is it loss of position or a missed pot that causes it? .. if it's neither, perhaps it's having no balls outside the pack to pot? in which case you need to work on splitting the pack, which starts by learning the sorts of positions you need to play a pack split from above the blue, or around the black.

Something to think about, against players with less skill you could play a more aggressive game and go into the pack earlier, giving you more and easier options for pot and position. The risk is that you leave them the same, of course, but you're not playing Judd Trump so they wont pot everything you leave

[DeanH]

nrage, you answering my posting?
Usually my breaks finish with a missed pot, often unintentionally playing across the white
I do practise going into the pack, often I place only the three point reds in the rack position and play from the blue and black, if the white goes within the reds or hits the reds, then I am on target, but my main aim is to get the blue/black to pot.
Often in a practise frame, as opposed to a setup, I can get into the pack but often without enough power to get a nice next red, but sometimes it works for real in a match!
Once I was playing a "bar-friend" and he was chatting that he cannot believe that the pros on TV really do get the pack split on purpose and not by luck. A few shots later I needed to go into the pack and, lo-and-behold, they split perfectly and I was on an easy red to continue
Cheers

[nrage]

DeanH, yeah I was .. didn't realise you weren't the OP

The pro's have it a 'little' easier on TV tables than we do on club tables. The balls we play with are often heavier, and the cloths thicker making it harder to split them apart.

[DeanH]

no worries, more feed back for opoole to read
I recently got a set of Aramith Tournaments for our club (the old set where terrible - did not know if the roll off line was the heavy nap or the chips in the balls ) and we have noticed a great improvement.
I am now pestering the committee (gently mind you) to get the cloth changed to something better, probably not a competition cloth but one that is still hard wearing but faster than what we have.
Another practise I do is have the black on its spot and arrange the other colours, about a third the way to the pink, and arrange them parallel to the black rail nicely separated and I aim to pot the black (shot does not count if it does not go down) bounce off the black rail and hit the nominated colour. Usually my wife (my usual practise "coach") names the colour. I tend to have a small chalk mark so I start the white at the same point, but after a certain number of shots I then move to another position and start again. Works well for me. I have noticed an improvement in match play with continuing my breaks.

[nrage]

Another practise I do is have the black on its spot and arrange the other colours, about a third the way to the pink, and arrange them parallel to the black rail nicely separated and I aim to pot the black (shot does not count if it does not go down) bounce off the black rail and hit the nominated colour. Usually my wife (my usual practise "coach") names the colour. I tend to have a small chalk mark so I start the white at the same point, but after a certain number of shots I then move to another position and start again. Works well for me. I have noticed an improvement in match play with continuing my breaks.

That one sounds good too, for the beginners among us, myself included, where is the easiest place to start with the white? for pot and position on all the colours you place.

[DeanH]

That one sounds good too, for the beginners among us, myself included, where is the easiest place to start with the white? for pot and position on all the colours you place.

Oh, I am a "beginner" as well in respect that I am still waiting for my first 50 in a match
I tend to start with the white about 8-10" away from the black with a nice angle to get a pot as well as a good bounce off the rail to get to the array of colours. Then I start altering the cueing point on the white to change the angle off the white onto the rail, more towards the top to extend the bounce away from me, lower on the white to bring it closer to get to the nominated colour. I got this sequence from a session I had with Gavin York (CoachGavin on TSF).
Then I move the white around to make things harder.

[DeanH]

oh, just noticed I am now "yellow"
when did that happen