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**mattyshinobi22** · 21 November 2011, 12:00 PM

well in my opinion it isnt Consistency Vs Technique,

as a good sound Technique will improve your Consistency no bounds. Technique = Consistency

**Sidd** · 21 November 2011, 12:36 PM

Well said Matty but then how am I able to develop 40 and 50 plus breaks with an improper technique? and If I can develop the breaks cuz my technique is correct then technique is not equal to consistency ??? Thanks for the dvice but this seems more perplexing, no?

**magicman** · 21 November 2011, 12:52 PM

Anyone can make 40 or 50's with an improper technique Sidd. You think they're high breaks because they're your current limit, but I've seen players with poor technique make centuries.

Refine your technique using a coach if possible and then re-apply yourself to your craft. This time next year...

**Terry Davidson** · 21 November 2011, 12:54 PM

Sidd:

If you do not have a coach available to you there are some options. By the way, the ONLY way to get consistent it to have a good technique which is as simple as possible (minimum of moving parts) and which you are able to repeat all the time.

Your options would be:
1. Find a good coach who you trust
2. Learn all you can about technique by using various websites and watching the pros on youtube and coach yourself.
3. Make a video of yourself and post it on youtube and then provide the link here in this string and myself and the other coaches on here will take a look and give you some options to improve your technique.
4. Save your money and visit Britain to get some serious coaching from Nic Barrow, Del Hill, Terry Griffiths, Neil Johnson and a host of others. This option would be fairly expensive but probably the best option.
5. Video yourself and turn it into a DVD and then post it to me and I will get back with a new DVD showing examples and comments. This usually is very similar to a 2hr lesson with me and for that I charge $100(CAN or US$).
6. Get some GOOD snooker coaching books like Joe Davis' Complete Snooker or How I Play Snooker or others out there (try eBay.uk) and go through the books lesson by lesson.
7. Start watching and analysing the best players in your club to see what and how they play, especially in the technique area.

Terry

**mattyshinobi22** · 21 November 2011, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by magicman View Post

Anyone can make 40 or 50's with an improper technique Sidd. You think they're high breaks because they're your current limit, but I've seen players with poor technique make centuries.

Refine your technique using a coach if possible and then re-apply yourself to your craft. This time next year...

well said mate, difference is too is when your game starts going wrong, if its built on strong basics you an trace it to a fault. i.e not standing correctly, cueing across etc.

if your technique is all over the place , its impossible to see what your doing wrong. but obivously everyone has good games with bad technique if they are used to it. does limit you improving though. they are again exceptions to the rule. but think its easier getting into a good technique least you know then

**TheChunk** · 21 November 2011, 01:41 PM

I find I play my best snooker when i go in with a clear head and am not worried or feel pressured about getting beaten! I can sympathise with your cue isuue as i also had a cue for 12 years which i recently replaced, and for some time i was playing complete rubbish. However i have seemingly turned a corner and am back to playin well, not only through practice but i think you need to create the right frame of mind for your game to improve.

My final piece of advice, ALWAYS practice with someone better than you whenever possible as they will unwittingly teach what you dont know and you will find yourself picking up new shots all the time. However never forget the simple basics!!

Good luck

**Sidd** · 22 November 2011, 10:55 AM

Thanks for the tips guys. So here it is then; I was on the verge of giving up snooker cuz I thought I have been playing for so many years with no results so maybe I am not good for this game. But thanks to you all here who have helped me so quickly. Yes now I can understand that wrong technique can not stop you from 50 break (which isnt that high anyway) but it can hamper your rate of growth and growth all together.

I would like to pay my special thanks to Terry- the great

as its your advice Terry that has helped me a lot. I was reading your thorough lecture on another forum about the grip and believe you me Terry no other person has explained the grip the way you have. I am sure you are helping many players improve its bad I am away but yes when I read your comments about eh grip and the way you explained the ease of grip and particularly the last comment about power shots and grip in trying to explain its not force on the grip that does the trick but the lengthy final backswing for momentum... So I went to the club last eve and tried that on my grip and wallah I noticed and others at my club noticed a considerable difference. Meaning my gripping technique wasnt at all correct. I am sure as I keep your comments in mind and practice more things will improve for me.

Terry I have been self coaching myself for a long time now due to non-availability of coaches around here and those that are here cant coach me cuz I am only available in evenings and they arent. Anyway I have been seeing pros on youtube for a long time and I do at times watch a couple of frames before going to the club. I will try to upload a video if possible and seek guidence from you all around here. I hope I can keep my grip proper...

A couple of things more actually:

1. I wear eye sight specticles and have a week eye sight but I dont have snooker glasses so dont wear them while playing. Do you guys think I should make a snooker glasses for myself, is that really necessary???

2. Since I had doubts about my technique so I tried to alter my stance as well (left-handed) now I am in a big mess I dont really have a unique stance but approach the table and try to make a stance that I think suits me, maybe it is wrong or right I dont know. Two things here worth aking are that A recently I have started to have strain and pain in my bridge arm in the upper tricep muscle while playing. Is it cuz of wrong stance or something else please help. and B when I play I sometimes notice my cue hand towards the inside of my leg. Like the leg that needs to be straight and not bent the back leg the rule is that cue should be over it but when I see it myself it seems like my straight leg is rather tilted outwardly and hence my cue butt seems towards the inside. Is it that ok or should I alter my stance if I should how.... Also worth mentioning here would be that I am rather over weight 125KG (I knows that bloody PHAT lolz) and also 6.1 tall and have to do more bending than any usual height guy.

Looking forward to you gentlemen!!!

**Terry Davidson** · 22 November 2011, 12:52 PM

Sidd:

From your comments it's pretty obvious you have never tried to develop a consistent method to approach the shot and ensure your whole body is on the correct line of aim. The following is one of the 'secrets' of good snooker and you should try and develop just ONE way to approach all normal shots (Since you are left-handed I will try and change this for a lefty). This is called the 'pre-shot routine'.

1. Stand BEHIND the shot and look at the cueball, object ball and pocket (or pocket to object ball to cueball) and select your line of aim and ensure your nose (actually the eyes) are right on that line of aim.

2. Place your LEFT foot directly on that selected line of aim so the arch of the foot (the laces) is not only on the line of aim but directly under where your grip hand will be when you are in the address position (with the cue tip 1/4" or less behind the cueball) BUT DO NOT BEND DOWN INTO THE SHOT YET!

3. Do one of two things...either lean your body over to the left to keep your nose on your selected line of aim or else place the right foot out to the side of the left foot about shoulder width between the heels, toes pointed out slightly to ease strain on the knee, (if you don't lean to the left your nose will come off the line of aim here but the best solution is to lean over while placing the right foot as it keeps you constantly on the selected line of aim). If you decide not to lean over then let your head come off the line of aim but WHILE STILL STANDING UP bend the right leg and swing the hips to the right and you will find your head comes over to the left and back onto the line of aim.

4. NOW you can drop into the stance and place your bridge hand on the table but ensure you drop your head STRAIGHT DOWN on the line of aim (do not come in from the side which you shouldn't be able to do anyway as I had you getting your nose on that line of aim BEFORE you bent down and WHILE YOU WERE STANDING UP). Another important point...while getting down into the address position KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OBJECT BALL and do not look at the cueball until you have assumed the address position.

5. When you first assume the address position and before you start your feathering look along the cue which is over your bridge, to the cueball and then to the object ball (and pocket if you wish) to ensure to yourself that everything is on line and the way you want it (DO NOT MOVE YOUR HEAD WHILE YOU DO THIS). I call this the 'preliminary pause' and you will see almost every pro does it but it's very short because they are used to dropping correctly onto the line of aim.

6. Start your feathering, do not allow your upper body to move at all. No more than 2-3 feathers and then stop the cue again in the address position just to ensure everything is still on line, this is called the 'front pause' and happens just before you start your final backswing.

7. The backswing should be slow and SMOOTH as it's vital to keep the backswing straight. At the end of the backswing the 'ideal' technique says your should stop the cue for .5-1sec and this is called the 'rear' pause although there are some players (like myself and a few pros) who don't have one however at least 90% of the really good players in the world do have a rear pause.

8. Keeping the grip loose and relaxed with the cue just resting in the bed of the fingers start your delivery. DO NOT TIGHTEN THE GRIP and start the delivery off slower and build up the acceleration you need WITHOUT tightening the grip and 'drive' the tip of the cue through the cueball AND BEYOND and this is where the grip starts to tighten (just to make sure the cue doesn't shoot across the table and this will happen automatically - don't worry).

9. After you have driven through the cueball and completed the delivery with your hand driving into your chest (for ALL shots) LEAVE THE CUE EXTENDED AND FOLLOW THE OBJECT BALL WITH YOUR EYES ONLY (do not allow the head to move) until the ball either hits the pocket or the cushion. (Watch Shaun Murphy to get an idea of what I'm talking about although he tends to over-emphasize this 'final pause' but it is a MUST for every player).

10. Now stand up.

There are a couple of other finer points and the first is the common question I get 'Terry, you say keep the grip loose but I need to know just how to hold the cue so it is loose' and my answer is this (thanks to Steve Davis) - when you grip or 'hold' the cue the pressure should be loose enough so if you grasped the shaft of the cue with your other hand you should be able to slide the cue butt EASILY within your grip hand' and that is exactly the pressure you maintain all the way through until after the stike of the cueball.

Another question I get is 'Terry, if I keep my eyes on the object ball as I'm bending down how will I know my bridge 'V' is directly behind the cueball' and my answer is this - You won't initially and that is what that preliminary pause is for. When you first do this keeping the eyes on the object ball you may get down incorrectly but then you should stand back up and correct your stance and soon this will happen automatically and also the cueball comes into your peripheral vision as you DROP THE HEAD STRAIGHT DOWN BEHIND THE CUEBALL so it's not really a problem at all.

Your other question on snooker spectacles - if you can afford it I would recommend gas permeable contact lenses as they give you the visual acuity without relying on the moisture content of the eye (although LASIK surgery is best I can't go recommending surgery to my students). Second best is getting a pair of snooker glasses where the focal point of the glases is up higher than a normal pair of glasses since your head is right down for snooker sighting.

OK - long-winded explanation, but I hope this helps.

Now...practice, practice and more practice until you've cemented into your technique what's called the 'pre-shot routine' which is described above

Cheers,
Terry

**rongreen** · 22 November 2011, 07:23 PM

Wow, very well explained, that for anybody having cueing issues is well worth printing off.

Not long-winded at all, in-depth yes, to the point it covers everything. Excellent, top advice.

**DWOT** · 22 November 2011, 08:36 PM

Took me ages to read what Terry has written then, only bacuse my eyes hurt though from too much snooker... Eye test needed me thinks...

**snooks1000** · 22 November 2011, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by DWOT View Post

Took me ages to read what Terry has written then, only bacuse my eyes hurt though from too much snooker... Eye test needed me thinks...

Hows the coaching/practice going?

**Sidd** · 23 November 2011, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by Terry Davidson View Post

Sidd:

From your comments it's pretty obvious you have never tried to develop a consistent method to approach the shot and ensure your whole body is on the correct line of aim. The following is one of the 'secrets' of good snooker and you should try and develop just ONE way to approach all normal shots (Since you are left-handed I will try and change this for a lefty). This is called the 'pre-shot routine'.

Now...practice, practice and more practice until you've cemented into your technique what's called the 'pre-shot routine' which is described above

Cheers,
Terry

My Dear Terry, I can hardly thank you enough for the help you have given me. Your students must be blessed I know that now. I will get a print out of your tips and start my pre-shot routine right away. Yes you are right now when I coem to thinn of it I can see that I haven't developed a usual technique but just been playing the game ruthlessly. And that has contributed to the halt in my progress and even towards the fact that I cant usualy play the level that I think I am at i.e. 50 plus breaks. I hence officially nnounce you as my long distance Coach

and will keep informing you on my progress and shall seek further guidence whenever required. I feel so fortunate to have found and joined this forum. You know environment in Pakistani snooker clubs is not really decent with loud music at times and other things. Betting going on always on your favourite table etc. Similarly you have to pay per hour for solo practice and even then if some players walk in you have to leave the table. So all you can do is to play friendly frames or bets etc in order to playsnooker but I will manage some time will talk to the club ownerto allow me to practice and improve and develop a sound technique as per your recommendations and advice. There is no one here in Islamabad who knows how to make snooker specs but I will instruct the person myself to leave the focal point above nose level and try out a pair of snooker specs (self-made) and see the difference. I would look like a young Dennis Taylor LOL.

I will keep in touch and shall let you know of my progress.

So long, COACH!!!

**Sidd** · 23 November 2011, 10:54 AM

Grip hand tightening at or after hitting the cue ball Terry

Just one more thing Coach- when you deeply emphasize on a super-loose grip during delivery, I understand that. I have noticed that perhaps my grip is loose enough but when the tip hits the cue ball I tend to close my grip hand isnt that normal cuz from what I understand I think you are saying that it should not close or tighten at the time of impact but perhaps after that... If that is the case then how to go about the follow through? Do you mean that the grip should be loose and then the shot takes place and the grip should only be tightened/closed when the follow through finishes???

Thanking you in anticipation.

**Terry Davidson** · 23 November 2011, 12:56 PM

Sidd:

The cue normally weighs somewhere around 5 x the weight of a ball. You have the idea correct and the grip should not start to tighten until the cueball has been struck.

This is the primary reason a player needs a backswing that is long enough to generate the required power so there is no need to tighten the grip before impact with the cueball. As soon as you tighten the grip the butt of the cue will move unless you are one of those very rare players who can tighten the grip without altering the path of the cue.

If you look very closely at the pros in slow motion you will see that their cue does move on the shot but with them this happens AFTER the cueball is away. See if you can find a staight-on head shot of a pro doing a forcing shot and watch his cue very closely and it will move once he clenches or grasps the cue but it will always be after striking the cueball.

The unfortunate problem is this is counter-intuitive and most people will unconciously tighten the grip in order to accelerate the cue through the cueball and the worst part of this is the tightening of the grip tends to 'creep up' in the delivery until it gets to a point where the butt of the cue is moving sideways just before the tip hits the cueball.

Even with pros you will see this from time to time, where the commentator says 'he cued across the ball' when a pro misses a fairly easy shot. The problem is it happens a lot less with them than it does with us mere mortals.

To develop this start out just cueing very slowly along the baulkline and practice NOT tightening the grip until you are well past your normall address position and ideally not until your grip hand hits your chest. Repeat this at least 10 times.

Then, place cueball on brown spot and play slowly to black spot and back with just enough power for the cueball to return to the tip of your cue which should be extended (this is called 'shooting the spots' and is a very good check for straight cueing). Repeat this at least 10 times with (hopefully) the cueball coming back and just touching the tip.

Once you have mastered that, ensuring the grip does not close until after the cueball has been struck the up the power of the shot until you are getting 4 to 4.5 lengths of the table but do this gradually and ALWAYS ensure the grip is not tightening earlier in the delivery. This will be very hard to do as the tendency will be to grasp the cue tighter to force it through the cueball and you must fight against that as it is not really required.

If you get this correct you will find you get much more force into the cueball with a lot less effort and also you are allowing the cue to do the work, which is what things should be.

Terry

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