Placement of Head over the cue

[Sidd]

One thing more Terry, although I am potting again now but still longer pots are a problem. What would that indicate??? Like I can easily miss a simply long red (drag shot for the black) and even long stuns of the reds and blues both straight and angulars... If I am potting closer ones perfectly then it means my cue action is proper but if I am missing longer pots (I am missing em all sir) then I think I am not cueing straight or maybe clinching the grip again. One hint would be that on longer pots I am still feeling out of cue or short of cue hmmm just wondering what could be the problem as I am not getting even a single one in (apart from those occassional pots that I do get but those are negligable). Looking forward!

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

It means you are not delivering the cue exactly straight for some reason. Since it's showing up only on long pots that means the tip of the cue is only going off by maybe 1mm or so by the time it strikes the cueball. This type of problem will be very hard to find but most likely the reason is you are gripping the cue tighter just a fraction before the tip stikes so you should work on keeping the grip relaxed until the time of strike or shortly after.

This is a very hard thing to correct and takes a lot of solo practice to get right. To confirm something is still going wrong you will need a video camera and frame-by-frame analysis. You set the camera on a tripod over the top pocket and with blue on spot play from the baulkline so the camera is looking right down the line of the cue but also takes in your head and elbow and also the cueball sitting on the baulkline.

Now watch the shaft of the cue over the leather of the yellow or green pocket and advance frame-by-frame from the front pause all the way through to where the cueball just starts to move a bit and then back up a couple of frames and see where the shaft of the cue is on the pocket leather and if it's moved to the side just a little bit just before the cueball is struck. If the answer is YES to that then look to the grip to fix it

Terry

[Sidd]

Thanks for your usual prompt response and excellent advice. I follow you completely and even just after going through your comments I have come to the cnclusion that there must surely be something still wrong with my grip. Yes I guess you are right I am tightening the grip because I have just learnt to keep it loose so I can am doing that on shorter shots being easy to control comparatively however on longer shots and particularly on stuns and stun-follows I am perhaps unintentionally gripping it tight. Makes sense to me now. I will practice to get it removed and will let you know how it goes. But after reading your comment and pondering over the same I am certain now that IT IS STILL THE GRIP that I need to work on...!!!

But another thing is again my inconsistency. For instance I went in yesterday and played 6 frames. Lost 5 terribly like I wasnt even able to pot simple reds near pink-black area, which is my favourite for scoring. I am thinking now and maybe that is true that I went there after office in the evening so I must add that I wasn't exactly fresh at all. I think that maybe the reason? What do you think?

Looking forward.

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Being tired after a full day's work would likely be the problem.

Most players are inconsistent and when you find out the reason for that you had better patent it and become a millionaire!!! Even the pros complain about their consistency although of course a pro on a bad day is usually still pretty good.

Terry

[Sidd]

Sidd:

Being tired after a full day's work would likely be the problem.

Most players are inconsistent and when you find out the reason for that you had better patent it and become a millionaire!!! Even the pros complain about their consistency although of course a pro on a bad day is usually still pretty good.

Terry

Got it... Thanks! Cheers

[Sidd]

Well here I am again after a couple of weeks. The two days that I played exceptionally well and proper never came back to me again and I have again been playing really very bad again. Havent been able to pot a single red and if yes then occasionally a colour maybe two or at the most 3 but nothing else. My safety has been poor and the snooker making and breaking abilities are gone away for good too.

I do not ponder so much over the technique bit now and just try to keep the pre shot routine in mind and the only thing I care about is keeping the grip loose and a nice follow through... .but still seems like I am worthless. Not even a single good frame in days and evven weeks now What is it really?

I can see my oponents, certain players, who know nothing about technique or anything else they just at the table stand wherever they want to and strike and get results easily i.e. they can consistently pot if not grow or develop their game whereas I am struggling to get the damn balls in, forget about development. They think that I know just too much about the game and have seen me at my best and are not able to understand whats wrong. This is just so frustrating again

Need help or need a psychiatrist..... frustrated broken hearted and lousy !!!

[Sidd]

Well here I am again after a couple of weeks. The two days that I played exceptionally well and proper never came back to me again and I have again been playing really very bad again. Havent been able to pot a single red and if yes then occasionally a colour maybe two or at the most 3 but nothing else. My safety has been poor and the snooker making and breaking abilities are gone away for good too.

I do not ponder so much over the technique bit now and just try to keep the pre shot routine in mind and the only thing I care about is keeping the grip loose and a nice follow through... .but still seems like I am worthless. Not even a single good frame in days and evven weeks now What is it really?

I can see my oponents, certain players, who know nothing about technique or anything else they just at the table stand wherever they want to and strike and get results easily i.e. they can consistently pot if not grow or develop their game whereas I am struggling to get the damn balls in, forget about development. They think that I know just too much about the game and have seen me at my best and are not able to understand whats wrong. This is just so frustrating again

Need help or need a psychiatrist..... frustrated broken hearted and lousy !!!

[stewart31]

stick to the best basics, head down,eye on ball and stay down,i used to do tons in my teens, now one day i cant hit 30s , next day 40s 50s, every other frame, im 43 yrs old now, stopped playing for twenty years, when i came back i did what you did over think and it will kill your game,and as terry says cue has to go through its a must, when i'm playing bad its usually down to not going through the ball,enjoy your snooker, your not a pro nor am i, we cant expect to play like them all the time, love it when you do

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

I'm beginning to think you are putting way too much pressure on yourself to improve. As stewart says above, every one of us will have those magic days where we play very well and then for some reason it goes away. This will happen to every player who doesn't practice for at least 4 hours every day.

My suggestion would be to get a video camera and set it up on a tripod covering the table, turn it on and then forget about it and just practice as you normally would. Once the camera runs out you should take a look at it in frame-by-frame on your computer, looking at the backswing and delivery and also how you approach the shot (your pre-shot routine). If you download 'kinovea' which is a freeware video playing and analysis software you should be able to actually see what's going worong (or right as the case may be).

Terry

[Sidd]

Owlishly sly but painfully mine

Hi guys.. I totally agree with what Stewart31 said Terry and also with what you mentioned. However, I just want to play at a level that is mine and then progress inch by inch over time. Not playing the usual me is what bothers me. Then when that happens (sorry cant really help it) I start getting annnoyed and I know it further ruins my game but I get in a bad mood. Honestly speaking I cant enjoy anything else in life if I am not playing properly. You guys have to understand my situation in a sense that I am playing almost daily these days, am on youtube watching coaching videos and pro matches and observing following on Terry's advice. I think snooker is what I am doing 85% of my time these days and yes can you imagine a person sitting on the toilet seat thinking why i missed that ball tonight haha and thinking how to properly pot the brown with running side with a pace that enables the cue ball to only travel near the pink perfectly for that only loose red haha yeah guys well thats me these days

Then when I am not playing good I take it out on me like this... I would start with ok my stance is incorrect, then maybe my elbow then the grip even think that my thumb isnt exactly facing the floor haha then maybe leg not bent properly body weight not balanced and the list goes on to a point where I say the tip is not right (you know Terry I posted about my tip in another thread so that was an indication of a bad sidd) and finally its frustration and anguish...

Why am I writing this post is such a cheerful manner ...? Any guesses please gentlemen...??? yes I just played briliantly tonight I played remarkably well after two weeks or more of loosing my touch and technique that came to me due to my dear coach Terry and none else. Yes I played 8 frames and won 7. Did not make any significant breaks of 30 plus but my pots magically came to me my placing was like the pros (no kidding) my safety my snookers and breaking em was on the top tonight my grip stance tip x and y and z everything went perfect but something good happened tonight as well. I just wont say this was my lucky day and i played well by chance no no no ...! i played well cuz while going there I had promised myself that I will work on only one thing that I thought was the criminal... it was loose grip and FOLLOW THROUGH so I started focusing mainly on follow through and once you have a good follow through you intend to keep a loose grip automatically for the follow through and guess what with that in mind I even potted long rest shots comfortably with positioning... I could not have imagined myself doing so till yesterday. So the criminal was follow through and today everything happened perfectly very well.

I now sort of understand where my problem is and shall keep working on improving it but during my bad days I will put my heart out so please do tolerate me and particularly Terry you have to keep up with it I shall keep bothering you cuz you have told me and adviced me on something due to which I am playing the way I am hats off to ya !!!!!!!!!!

So long guys... I can sleep well ... and yes I can develop a century in imagination before dozing off .....!!!!!!! Tata

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Your posts are so long and so filled with anguish (normally) that I might choose to ignore a few as sometimes they are real downers!

Well, today I traded a Will Hunt Green Plate for an older John Parris Classic plus a case and cash and am now trying out the JP. Not bad as I had one century and a few higher breaks, but like you Sidd I just wasn't playing to what I feel my standard should be.

I can hardly wait for my Will Hunt Black Plate to get here so I can finally have one cue and stick with it.

Terry

[Sidd]

Sure thing Terry and you can stick with it for good and for your upcoming challenges. And you can keep the JP as a good backup, just in case. You can surely choose to ignore those downers but just do keep coaching me as you are cuz that seems to be working fine and is doing wonders for me Hope you win the ranking this time as no 1 and I do see you in the 2012 WC

Just one thing though... Why do you think I normally sweat during matches, even easy ones in December cold ??? is it that I am fat haha or the pressure? I dont seem to take any but even then...just wondering!

Chao!