How to act while waiting for your shot

[char]

Hi Guys,

I had a bad night again tonight. Everytime I missed I left him in. Or he fluked one and then got a couple more.

I want to be a good sportsman but I got a bit ratty saying good shot when it was basically a bloody fluke or he should get it anyway.

Then he struts around the table like ronnie's twin.

I realise I should call his score but how do I ignore his bloody flukes and snookers that I get after he misses a colour.

Yes, I am missing shots that I should get when its my go. (my best break ever is about 28 (not colour clearance))

cheers,

[Tushar]

How to act while waiting for your shot

While waiting for your shot you should watch your opponents shots see any weaknesses or angle that they struggle with watch what balls the are choosing how their body language is ... I got given this advice from the number 7th ranked 8ball champ in Australia and I try and always follow it

[Johnson88]

Hi Guys,

I had a bad night again tonight. Everytime I missed I left him in. Or he fluked one and then got a couple more.

I want to be a good sportsman but I got a bit ratty saying good shot when it was basically a bloody fluke or he should get it anyway.

Then he struts around the table like ronnie's twin.

I realise I should call his score but how do I ignore his bloody flukes and snookers that I get after he misses a colour.

Yes, I am missing shots that I should get when its my go. (my best break ever is about 28 (not colour clearance))

cheers,

I know exactly what you're going through man!! I can knock in big breaks quite frequently but I have days where I literally will miss straight close-up shots which even Stevie Wonder could probably do with ease and it REALLY gets to me!!

I've learnt that if you are having a really bad day and find your self wanting to snap your cue...take a walk. Clear your head and get some fresh air for 10 minutes and calm your self down

[denja]

[QUOTE=char;630200]Hi Guys,

I had a bad night again tonight. Everytime I missed I left him in. Or he fluked one and then got a couple more.

I want to be a good sportsman but I got a bit ratty saying good shot when it was basically a bloody fluke or he should get it anyway.

Then he struts around the table like ronnie's twin.

I realise I should call his score but how do I ignore his bloody flukes and snookers that I get after he misses a colour.

Yes, I am missing shots that I should get when its my go. (my best break ever is about 28 (not colour clearance) YOUR QUOTE END To be honest I try not to watch the guy I am playing to much, and I treat each visit to the table as a new problem to be solved, if you hang on every shot each fluke and other lucky positions snookers e.c.t they are like a knife in the heart and can destroy your mind set,watch some of the pro players they appear to detach themselves, and lets face it he has played the shot and thats it ! I used to be just like you until a very good player told me to (switch off) a bit between visits to the table, ok ! it works for me and my game improved 100% I think the old saying "Its no use crying over spilt milk" is very true. I am no expert but its worth a try.

]

[vmax4steve]

It's called the run of the balls m8 and it either goes for you or against you. Your high break is only 28 so either you are a beginner who will hopefully get better and as you gain more experience will come to realise that the run of the balls is an integral part of the game, or if you have been playing for a long time then you are essentially a poor player who needs or relys on the run of the balls in order to win which then magnifies the importance of the run of the balls for not only you but also your opponent.
In this weeks league match I played against a 50+ handicapper who has been playing the game for about fifty years and hasn't got any better than just potting a red and then looking around to see if there is a colour he can hit yet alone pot. I learnt a long time ago when playing against players like this that they will leave me nothing at all when they miss because they aren't playing any position, and of course this is exactly what happened. When I played a safety shot and left him a red, if he potted it he then played a safety off a colour into baulk. When he missed the red I left he left me nothing yet being 50 down before the frame started I had to score 78 points before the colours because when a frame like this gets to the colours then it just about potting one for him whereas I will have to get the lot if I'm not 20+ up by that time.
It was my break and I played a really good one that I use for playing high handicap players, hitting the pack quite hard with check side and sending the cue ball behind the green with the reds well split. He was in trouble and played a poor shot but got lucky with a double kiss that sent the cue ball back into baulk putting me back in trouble. This set the tone for the rest of the frame and I couldn't score enough points to be clear when it came down to the colours and in fact I needed them all to win on the pink. I took the last red and was on the brown which was over the middle pocket leaving myself a perfect angle to get on the yellow and it was then that he committed a cardinal sin. He was standing right next to the pocket that I was going to pot the brown into, no bother at all for me as long as he didn't move but just as I was about to hit the cue ball he started to chalk his cue and I saw the movement and took my eye off the pot and missed it but of course I put the cue ball right on the yellow which he then rolled in without making any attempt to get on the green.
Now I could have lost my rag because I knew that he had put me off deliberately but told myself that if that was the way he wanted it then that was how it was going to be. He left me a long green and I whacked it in and tried to release the brown which had found its way on to a cushion but I just missed it so it was safety time with blue pink and black out in the open. As he is an old bloke in his seventies and walks with a stick I first left the cue ball on the baulk cushion putting the brown on the top cushion, then did the opposite and played these same safeties alternately until he got out of breath a bit and finally left me the brown and I cleared the last four to win by one point.

So the answer to your question is to get better so you don't rely on the run of the balls and if you can't get better then realise that the run goes both ways. And if someone annoys you DON'T GET MAD, GET EVEN.

[tomw]

I had fun reading that last post :-)

For me personally, it depends on whether there's a (trustworthy) ref or not.
If there's no ref, I have to look what my opponent's doing (and count the points), which is not good for my concentration.
But if there's a ref (which I prefer strongly), I do what Ronnie O'Sullivan does and close my eyes (and sing a happy song in my mind).

[pottr]

As an opponent you should always:

Pick the colours out and respot them

Count the current break/score

Offer to put back the rest/long tackle

Don't speak unless spoken too.

Stand still and where possible out of eye line

Never move before the opponent has finished cueing the white

When scoring for a high break, don't make a big show of putting your cue down to pick balls out. If you don't do it on a break of 16 then you don't need to do it on a break of 66.

Never dick about with your phone during a frame.

Also, never concede the frame on your opponents shot or unscrew your cue during the frame that really winds me up.

if you can't do that no matter what's happening on the table, then in my opinion you shouldn't be playing the game. Luck on the table always comes full circle. You get the run and flukes and other times you get them against you. You only play the table at the end of the day. Your opponent can't rugby tackle you. Get a grip of yourself and learn to focus.

[Neil Taperell]

It's called the run of the balls m8 and it either goes for you or against you. Your high break is only 28 so either you are a beginner who will hopefully get better and as you gain more experience will come to realise that the run of the balls is an integral part of the game, or if you have been playing for a long time then you are essentially a poor player who needs or relys on the run of the balls in order to win which then magnifies the importance of the run of the balls for not only you but also your opponent.
In this weeks league match I played against a 50+ handicapper who has been playing the game for about fifty years and hasn't got any better than just potting a red and then looking around to see if there is a colour he can hit yet alone pot. I learnt a long time ago when playing against players like this that they will leave me nothing at all when they miss because they aren't playing any position, and of course this is exactly what happened. When I played a safety shot and left him a red, if he potted it he then played a safety off a colour into baulk. When he missed the red I left he left me nothing yet being 50 down before the frame started I had to score 78 points before the colours because when a frame like this gets to the colours then it just about potting one for him whereas I will have to get the lot if I'm not 20+ up by that time.
It was my break and I played a really good one that I use for playing high handicap players, hitting the pack quite hard with check side and sending the cue ball behind the green with the reds well split. He was in trouble and played a poor shot but got lucky with a double kiss that sent the cue ball back into baulk putting me back in trouble. This set the tone for the rest of the frame and I couldn't score enough points to be clear when it came down to the colours and in fact I needed them all to win on the pink. I took the last red and was on the brown which was over the middle pocket leaving myself a perfect angle to get on the yellow and it was then that he committed a cardinal sin. He was standing right next to the pocket that I was going to pot the brown into, no bother at all for me as long as he didn't move but just as I was about to hit the cue ball he started to chalk his cue and I saw the movement and took my eye off the pot and missed it but of course I put the cue ball right on the yellow which he then rolled in without making any attempt to get on the green.
Now I could have lost my rag because I knew that he had put me off deliberately but told myself that if that was the way he wanted it then that was how it was going to be. He left me a long green and I whacked it in and tried to release the brown which had found its way on to a cushion but I just missed it so it was safety time with blue pink and black out in the open. As he is an old bloke in his seventies and walks with a stick I first left the cue ball on the baulk cushion putting the brown on the top cushion, then did the opposite and played these same safeties alternately until he got out of breath a bit and finally left me the brown and I cleared the last four to win by one point.

So the answer to your question is to get better so you don't rely on the run of the balls and if you can't get better then realise that the run goes both ways. And if someone annoys you DON'T GET MAD, GET EVEN.

What a great reply .......happens all the time in league snooker....but still very frustrasting all the same .

[pottr]

Handicapped snooker winds me right up.

They say it's to make things fair?

What's fair in me spending hours of my life practicing to get to a decent standard only to have to give 60 points a frame away to some old timer who has never cared to put the effort in.

[char]

Thanks for all the comments.

Basically I'm a poor player that needs to work a lot bloody harder at my game and stop worrying about the run of the balls.

After how many years do I stop being a struggling beginner and basically accept I'm a poor player?

cheers

[denja]

I had fun reading that last post :-)

For me personally, it depends on whether there's a (trustworthy) ref or not.
If there's no ref, I have to look what my opponent's doing (and count the points), which is not good for my concentration.
But if there's a ref (which I prefer strongly), I do what Ronnie O'Sullivan does and close my eyes (and sing a happy song in my mind).

Yes strange as it may seem I do the sing a song in my head routine I find Life of Brian" Look on the bright side of life" is a good one and dont forget the Di Dum Di Dum Di Dum Di Dum Din Dum bits I am not pulling your leg I was one of those players who watched every move of my opponent made , each fluke pot, snooker, watching my lead drift away was an arrow in my heart, until a very good player said distance yourself. It worked for me.

[denja]

I had fun reading that last post :-)

For me personally, it depends on whether there's a (trustworthy) ref or not.
If there's no ref, I have to look what my opponent's doing (and count the points), which is not good for my concentration.
But if there's a ref (which I prefer strongly), I do what Ronnie O'Sullivan does and close my eyes (and sing a happy song in my mind).

Yes strange as it may seem I do the sing a song in my head routine I find Life of Brian" Look on the bright side of life" is a good one and dont forget the Di Dum Di Dum Di Dum Di Dum Din Dum bits I am not pulling your leg I was one of those players who watched every move of my opponent made , each fluke pot, snooker, watching my lead drift away was an arrow in my heart, until a very good player said distance yourself. It worked for me.

[denja]

Thanks for all the comments.

Basically I'm a poor player that needs to work a lot bloody harder at my game and stop worrying about the run of the balls.

After how many years do I stop being a struggling beginner and basically accept I'm a poor player?

cheers

With respect your mind set is wrong !!! your post says to me you are defeated before you even start, have a bit of faith in yourself, if you accept you are a poor player "WHY CONTINUE" there is no point. the aim of the game is to WIN no matter what the P.C. mob may say about there should not be losers and everyone should get a prize

[char]

Hi Denja

My second point was meant to be taken as a bit of a joke.

I enjoy playing snooker, I will use the advice the given so far.

[denja]

Hi Denja

My second point was meant to be taken as a bit of a joke.

I enjoy playing snooker, I will use the advice the given so far.

I know I sound like a old fart but dont even think negative thought even in joke. they have a awful habit of sticking around.