bottled it, how to cope

[itsnoteasy]

Just back from an hour at the snooker. My practice is always the same start with one red ,black and pink, and every time i clear up i add another red, i got up to nine reds last time and today had a easy 3/4 9th red into middle to leave easy last pink and black , and i quit on it, never accelerated through in fact tottaly quit ,the elbow wobbled and i missed it, i done everything wrong that is possible to do, i asked it to go in instead of telling it to go in. Does anyone have advice on how to play slow light weight run through shots but still having a bit if authority about the shot(i find this hard from near or on the cush as well)cheers.

[nrage]

Just back from an hour at the snooker. My practice is always the same start with one red ,black and pink, and every time i clear up i add another red, i got up to nine reds last time and today had a easy 3/4 9th red into middle to leave easy last pink and black , and i quit on it, never accelerated through in fact tottaly quit ,the elbow wobbled and i missed it, i done everything wrong that is possible to do, i asked it to go in instead of telling it to go in. Does anyone have advice on how to play slow light weight run through shots but still having a bit if authority about the shot(i find this hard from near or on the cush as well)cheers.

Do you use a constant back swing length with variable acceleration, or a variable back swing with constant acceleration, or neither approach?

The key to not quitting on the shot is to make sure you always drive the grip hand to the chest, even on these slow shots.

If you use the former method (constant back swing + variable acceleration) you simply have to get the acceleration right, which I personally find hard. It may be, that in this case you do vary the back swing to make it easier for yourself, I am not sure what the pro's do.. perhaps youtube for a similar shot and see?

If you use the latter (variable back swing + constant acceleration), which I personally find easier, you rely on getting the back swing length correct, while making sure not to rush it - easy to do with a very short back swing.

In both cases, the key is driving the grip through to the chest, always.

On/near the cush your problem is likely the limited back swing length available. On these I use Terry's trick of gripping the cue so that my forearm is actually forward of vertical at address, then I simply get my back swing correct and push the cue to my chest as normal.

[itsnoteasy]

Hi,Nrage, I use same backswing different acceleration , if i shorten backswing i get a bit jabby and my pauses go all to pot, you are right it is the acceleration that is the problem, when its a slow trickle shot because i cant accelerate for the full swing i either quit halfway through or i am too pathetic at the start and i am then trying to correct it halfway through which is a waste of time.
However the cueing in front of vertical sounds just the job, do you shorten the cue for this?

[itsnoteasy]

sorry posted twice

[nrage]

Hi,Nrage, I use same backswing different acceleration , if i shorten backswing i get a bit jabby and my pauses go all to pot, you are right it is the acceleration that is the problem, when its a slow trickle shot because i cant accelerate for the full swing i either quit halfway through or i am too pathetic at the start and i am then trying to correct it halfway through which is a waste of time.

Hmm.. not sure what to suggest, as I use variable back swing. Hopefully someone else using variable acceleration has a helpful suggestion.

However the cueing in front of vertical sounds just the job, do you shorten the cue for this?

By "shorten the cue" do you mean move the grip hand up the cue, if so, yes. I grip in a certain place for normal hand on table shots, and I move my grip up the cue if I have to shorten the bridge distance, this keeps my grip forearm vertical in all cases. The exception to this is the shot I mentioned here, where you go even further up the cue to put the grip forearm forward of vertical. I found this does help me drive through and not quit on those tough rail shots.

[itsnoteasy]

yep thats what i mean, i think that is the cure for the cush shots even before playing it i can feel it will be good for my type of stroke

[armstm]

yep thats what i mean, i think that is the cure for the cush shots even before playing it i can feel it will be good for my type of stroke

i am also terrible at this kind of stroke... recently i focused on wot my elbow was doing - it was in a completely different position from a normal shot. so yeah, i shorten the cue and focus on getting the elbow in the correct position behind the head. i still struggle with it but this helped.

[nrage]

yep thats what i mean, i think that is the cure for the cush shots even before playing it i can feel it will be good for my type of stroke

Yeah, it feels a lot nicer because the weight and balance of the cue will now help you drive the shot, instead of being a problem to deal with.

i am also terrible at this kind of stroke... recently i focused on wot my elbow was doing - it was in a completely different position from a normal shot. so yeah, i shorten the cue and focus on getting the elbow in the correct position behind the head. i still struggle with it but this helped.

With rail shots you're often jacked up a bit higher than normal, in order to strike as close to the middle of the white as you can. This can throw the elbow out of normal alignment, or just put more pressure on the shoulder.

[pottr]

You said you got upto 9 reds?

That means you've potted around 90 shots in a row without missing? I wouldn't worry about the odd shot missed in 90, that's a pretty decent average if you ask me.

[throtts]

90 shots / pots.. 9 reds and 9 colours = 18.. Am I missing something...

[pottr]

I thought he did it in stages like I do.

1 red - 2 shots + colours
2 reds - 4 shots + colours
3 reds - 6 shots + colours

etc...

[nrage]

90 shots / pots.. 9 reds and 9 colours = 18.. Am I missing something...

Depends on the routine exactly, but if he's playing red/colour and clearing first one red, one pink and black then it could be..

4 (red, colour, pink, black)
+6 (red, colour x2, pink, black) (2 reds)
+8 (3 reds)
+10 (4 reds)
+12 (5 reds)
+14 (6 reds)
+16 (7 reds)
+18 (8 reds)
+20 (9 reds)
=108 balls.

[itsnoteasy]

Woah there i dont clear up in one go sometimes i can get stuck on say 4 reds and it will take a few attempts then i could rattle through 5,6,7, and get stuck on 8 all day its taken a month playing 4 times a week for roughly an hour and a half at a time to get up to nine thats why i think i quit on the stroke, it took me ages to get over the 50 mark and now i see 100 on the horizon i am getting jittery .
I see what some think , before i got to 50 i started with 1 then 2 etc. Now i start the session with 4 or 5 reds on the table

[pottr]

I get what you mean.

I know you're after some miracle piece of advice which will change things but it doesn't exist.
Just keep practicing and after that, just keep practicing then practice some more.

Confidence will come through the repetition of you knocking the balls in. You recognise you're improving, so keep at it.

[itsnoteasy]

Aha, was looking back through some threads and one was started "whats the point in a long back swing"which drew my eye straight away and i saw some advice Terry gave which might just be something for me, he said on the type of shot i am on about have a slower back swing , this could be it, it might be the change in tempo thats affecting my cueing. If i pull back at normall pace then pause my mind is saying "to hard at this pace" causing the collapse in cue action, if i cue back slower then there is no change of tempo and the whole stroke should be smoother. I can Hopefully get an hour in tomorrow and i will spend most of it trying this and the hand in front of vertical , but you are right Pottr its practice whats needed