Angles Experiment

[sixofclubs]

I'm very new to snooker and practise a lot on my own at the moment so that I can improve at my own pace.

I still have difficulty with certain pots and to get to see the angles better I sometimes practice a particular shot over and over (using two small chalk marks to make sure I am repeating myself accurately).

Anyway, a certain shot, a pink half ball cut right back to the top pocket, was causing me problems today, so in an effort to see the angle better I did the old favourite - place another cue ball behind the pink in a straight line with the pocket to visualise where I wanted my white ball to pass through in order to make the pot.

The problem being that once I removed the middle ball with the image fresh in my mind's eye, I would always miss it thick. So I then placed another ball in the background on the line set by the middle 'sighting ball' and once I had moved the middle ball again, would aim at that. You guessed it, I still missed it thick.

But this is where it gets interesting (if you're still with me...). Realising that this wasn't working, I changed tack and decided to enlist the use of an empty matchstick packet. Once I placed the middle sighting ball as before, I also placed the matchstick packet right up to it to the side leaving a millimetre or 2 for the cue ball to pass by. Now when I moved the middle sighting ball away suddenly the whole pot looked different and I was looking at the edges of each ball and focusing on that as a strike point, rather than the idea of 'replacing through impact' the cue ball over the ball that was there moments before.

Suddenly the pots were going in and this different way of looking at things has helped enormously in getting me to see the angles.

I still struggle with the slightly off straight pots because the edges of the balls aren't easy to see when the contact is almost full ball.

Is this something that anyone else has found out for themselves - is it an optical illusion that I'm dealing with or have I just found a better way for me to visualise what I am trying to do? I still don't really understand why I hit it thick every time when trying to 'replace' the ghost ball, but don't when I try to hit the edge of the cue ball onto the furthest edge of the object ball.

Maybe someone could explain it?

I'm sure Terry will give it a go... I am using a gravity cue purchased from Terry and I really recommend it by the way. I'm not very good yet but my highest break has gone up a little to 45 and if I could see the angles a bit more reliably I reckon I could really move on apace.

[Terry Davidson]

sixofclubs:

Not much to comment on here as each person's brain works their own way for aiming and every player quickly learns how to aim correctly with the normal problem being the player doesn't deliver the cue straight all the time. Don't get overly concerned regarding aiming as the correct answer is 'whatever floats your own boat' will work for you.

Most pros, when asked how they figure out the aiming point will tell you they're not really sure as it comes from experience mostly

Terry

[thelongbomber]

So true Terry. Sixofclubs, if you play the game long enough and keep asking questions, you will eventually stumble upon the myriad of aiming techniques that every veteran has tried and implemented to some degree. In the end, experience takes over because shots you used to hit thick/thin you adjusted to over time, worked on, learned about, watched on video, studied, thought about, and finally mastered.

To give you a map, here are a few aiming ideas you can have a go at:

1. Picking off a spot on the opposite cushion
2. Picking off a spot on the wall somewhere in the club
3. Thinking about a ghost ball behind the object ball
4. Waking around to see directly behind the object ball and bending down to see the line into the pocket (see Mathew Stevens).
5. Visualizing a spot on the front of cue ball which will strike the object ball
6. Seeing a shadow on the bed of the table under the object ball (this one I talk about at length in this post: http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...348#post525348)

A big secret of good and consistent aiming is approaching each and every single shot with purpose. It's one of the most important tricks to improving in this game. Don't ever swing around the table and get down into position. Stand back, focus on an aiming line/ball/angle/something with your eyes, stand straight, center your body, position your cue (to your hip, in front of you, or wherever), chalk up, walk into the shot, get down, feather, shoot, etc. Form a consistent approach using some combination of the above that is uniquely yours and use it religiously. It will almost certainly change over time as you learn more about cueing, stance, etc. Maybe the right foot must be on line, maybe you need to cock your head to one side (like Stephen Hendry). Maybe your table approach needs to be really specific (see Barry Pinches but I do not suggest you do the same thing he does!). It should be smooth and easy to do over and over.

Hope that helps!