self-help for under 30 break players ...

[CoachGavin]

My main problem at the mo is ANGLES.

When I want to hit a straight shot I often hit it at an angle, when I want to angle a shot it goes straight!

2 reasons for missing are cue placed on wrong line and cue not pushed through straight. It's important you work out what's going wrong.

If your white strikes the object ball where you wanted it to and the pot misses you got your angle wrong and so you need to adjust it.

If your white DOESN'T strike where you want it to then you have cued across and your cueing is not straight.

Beginners often struggle with both of these. I suggest you try to work on your cueing so that the white goes where you want. The potting angles will come with experience. I hope this helps.

[davisskeggsm]

self-help for under 30 break players ...

Great thread choice mate, my highest break is 34 but thatvwas in practise my highest break in a frame is only 25 but looking to improve

Matt

[Chrisbatty77]

I find that as much as i'm disappointed in my own performances just now, every time i go on a red in my own mind i say to myself that i am going for the blue, pink etc etc next. If i miss the red I feel a bit better if I at least landed on the colour I nominated to myself

[steve clarke]

2 reasons for missing are cue placed on wrong line and cue not pushed through straight. It's important you work out what's going wrong.

If your white strikes the object ball where you wanted it to and the pot misses you got your angle wrong and so you need to adjust it.

If your white DOESN'T strike where you want it to then you have cued across and your cueing is not straight.

Beginners often struggle with both of these. I suggest you try to work on your cueing so that the white goes where you want. The potting angles will come with experience. I hope this helps.

Cheers Gavin.

I had a lesson with you in January – you said the same thing then!

Things are now a lot better but I’m still not getting the level of consistency I’m looking for.

Sometimes I find that when I don’t think about what I’m doing I get better results than when I try to analyse every shot.

[ace man]

All you can get from a beginner level player is a pat on the back or ill advised advice, sorry.
IMO, you should always seek guidance from better players, qualified coaches or books or DVDs. There are even some very good free videos on youtube...search for 'snooker tips' there.

[damienlch]

I think it's mostly down to shot selection.

I have observed many players who are technically ok and but can't make a good break. They often don't maximise their chances by failing to play the "correct" shots when in amongst the balls and run out of position in no time.

The table is a sea of green. It can be difficult to plot out your path to the next ball. When I'm confused over shot selection, I do the following:

1. Decide which side of the next ball I need to get on in order to get to the subsequent one
2. Visualise a line that I need to get close to for my next shot
3. Decide on the type of shot I need to play to get to that line

It takes the pressure off as I would be playing towards a bigger target (getting close to a line) and not a pin point "X" on the table. You'll find the pots becoming easier if you get on the correct side of the ball everytime.

Also, there is a certain courage in choosing a shot or playing a certain type of shot that yields better position than one that is easier to pot. Not saying that you should always choose a tough or risky shot; bravery, not bravado. It should be a balanced approach. Always play position but don't lose the plot (or pot) because of it. Make up your mind and then play the shot. But it's easier said than done.

Forgot to mention... practise, practise and practise.

[nrage]

I think it's mostly down to shot selection.

I would tend to agree. Shot selection affects how easy a pot is and how easy/likely it is to make position. Ultimately I think it's making or not making position that results in a missed pot, or no pot available, ending the break .. but shot selection is the first mistake players make, making life harder for themselves and forcing the error on themselves.

2. Visualise a line that I need to get close to for my next shot

I agree, the line of the next shot, and playing the shot so that the white travels along this line, as opposed to across it is the key to maximising the chance you'll get the position you want. I saw a good video about it once, but I can't recall who/what or where I saw it.

[damienlch]

Another thing which I would like to mention is this.

Line-ups (any number of reds in a line) may be good practice routine for some but I almost never do them. They don't reflect real play conditions and I don't feel I'm learning much from it. Good for warming up perhaps but certainly not to learn about positioning, imo.

You can do very well in a set line-up but be quite lost in actual play when the balls are rather haphazardly placed.

What I do is to scatter a few reds, maybe 6, maybe 10 around the area between pink and black spot and try to clear up. Another good way to practise positioning is to play Power Snooker style on your own albeit minus the shotclock. Try to clear the table up at one go after breaking off the 9 reds. It's fun. Don't worry about missing. Just focus on executing the shots correctly.

[nrage]

Another thing which I would like to mention is this.

Line-ups (any number of reds in a line) may be good practice routine for some but I almost never do them. They don't reflect real play conditions and I don't feel I'm learning much from it. Good for warming up perhaps but certainly not to learn about positioning, imo.

You can do very well in a set line-up but be quite lost in actual play when the balls are rather haphazardly placed.

What I do is to scatter a few reds, maybe 6, maybe 10 around the area between pink and black spot and try to clear up. Another good way to practise positioning is to play Power Snooker style on your own albeit minus the shotclock. Try to clear the table up at one go after breaking off the 9 reds. It's fun. Don't worry about missing. Just focus on executing the shots correctly.

All good advice. I usually start with the line-up to get my cueing arm going and my eyes working, make sure I'm aiming properly etc, then I either scatter the balls and take more time planning the shots, making position, etc, or I start working on difficult potting. Last night I was practicing just rolling the balls in from all sorts of positions, angles, and distances. I think it's helped build some confidence and trust in my potting. Of course, you have to be careful on tables with thicker cloth that you account for drift - the table I was on last night has relatively thin cloth and does not seem to roll off much, if at all, until very low speed.

[sydneygeorge]

2 reasons for missing are cue placed on wrong line and cue not pushed through straight. It's important you work out what's going wrong.

If your white strikes the object ball where you wanted it to and the pot misses you got your angle wrong and so you need to adjust it.

If your white DOESN'T strike where you want it to then you have cued across and your cueing is not straight.

Beginners often struggle with both of these. I suggest you try to work on your cueing so that the white goes where you want. The potting angles will come with experience. I hope this helps.

You have nailed it Gavin.

[DandyA]

some excellent stuff on this thread - keep them coming ... my top tips at the moment, things I am working on, are ...

tip to cueball .. at initial address, during feathering and at final front pause ... it really does seem to improve accuracy by a lot if I get my tip within 1/4 inch (maybe closer) ...

hit the cueball positively ... the cue must stay on it's line as it hits the white ... I'm trying to get into my mind I really don't care if I make the pot as long as I hit the cueball well ... and I've also changed from a "loose grip" to a "firm(ish) hold" ... ie, I'm not worried if I drive through so my hand hits my chest, nor am I worried if I am accelerating at the moment of contact ... I may or may not do those things (not sure really) but I try to be happy as long as I hit the cueball well ...

[DandyA]

IMHO, if you cannot make a break over 30 you have serious deficiencies in your technique.

You should be able to pot your way to 30 with only basic positional skill.

Therefore sub 30 break players should dedicate most of their practice time to delivering the cue, and the cue ball, in a straight line.

Cheers.

good advice checkside if somewhat condescending ... let's talk about your comments "if you cannot make a 30 break you have serious deficiciences in your technique" so your advice is just to "practise delivering the cue in a straight line" ...

firstly, in my initial post on this thread, I did ask players with better breaks than us 30 break players to start their own thread so I have to ask, since you clearly imply from what you've written you are a better than 30 player ... are you dumb or just can't read? this thread is clearly titled as "self-help for 30 break players" ... ya follow?

secondly, and I'm not going to justify my lowly high break to you, but it may not be as black and white as you think ... I may not practise at all, I may only play with friends one evening a week and they may be even worse than me ...

I look really forward to and enjoy my one night playing snooker ... I'm actually proud of my high break of 31 and I will continue to try to try hard to improve it ... but you call me, in your own words, "deficient" ...

I don't think I am deficient, I am enjoying playing snooker at my level and continue to try to improve, please tell me what is wrong with that ...

do "ya follow"?

[DandyA]

2 reasons for missing are cue placed on wrong line and cue not pushed through straight. It's important you work out what's going wrong.

If your white strikes the object ball where you wanted it to and the pot misses you got your angle wrong and so you need to adjust it.

If your white DOESN'T strike where you want it to then you have cued across and your cueing is not straight.

Beginners often struggle with both of these. I suggest you try to work on your cueing so that the white goes where you want. The potting angles will come with experience. I hope this helps.

yes, as others have said, excellent post CoachGavin ... it is surely true that we have to learn to hit straight before we can learn the potting angles ...

what are your top tips to hit straight? I understand you might say you need to see the player to help and maybe you'll say we don't hit straight due to faults in our cue action but say, if I came to see you, what do you think you're be looking at ...

or to put it another way, what are the common "faults" you see in 30 break players ...

[DandyA]

All you can get from a beginner level player is a pat on the back or ill advised advice, sorry.
IMO, you should always seek guidance from better players, qualified coaches or books or DVDs. There are even some very good free videos on youtube...search for 'snooker tips' there.

ace man ... I'm not a beginner, I've been playing once a week for 10 years now ... oops, sorry ... just realised you were being condescending calling me a beginner ...

maybe you should follow checkside's advice and call us 30 break players "deficient" as he does ... or maybe you two could compromise and call us "deficient beginners" ... whatever floats your boat ...

I'll still be happy enjoying playing snooker and trying to improve ... ya follow?

[andy carson]

not hit a 30+ break for ages, today hit a decent 21 just with greens and yellow though.