where and when to look

[Sidd]

Thanks Terry (coach) for the detailed reply.. Makes sense to me and also gives me the confidence that my thin laser beam is not bad at all... I never wanted it to happen that way neither did I invent it but it is something that automatically came to my mind and since this came to my mind automatically i can let it be maybe one day my shots and pots could be laser accurate Ha-ha ...

I am also now thinking and rethinking and I think what you and Throtts mentioned may actually be the real problem .. I am thinking now and think that perhaps I am lifting my head just a tiny tuny bit during the backswing... makes me think of the chin brushing effect; havent felt it really on backswings for some days lately...hmmmmm... will check it out this night. I remember that once I was so used to with the chin brushing effect as feedback that I couldnt play snooker without having to have shaven freshly as the brushing against the tiny chin hair disturbed me but lately I havent always gone freshly shaven and havent even felt that thing.... Hmmmmm something to consider yes my head must be lifting that tiny bit.... !!!

Last but not the least Terry both the answers are understandable and I will try to work them out next time I go for practice. what I was thinking was that why do I ALWAYS miss them thinner or over-cut them ? Now please let me know if this is correct: If a lefty misses by hitting THINNER all the time and never even a single time thicker then does that mean that I am lifting my head a little during delivery because when a lefty would lift head he would put unintentional left hand side and hence hitting thinner than required.... ??? I have also noticed that I woudl pot more in the right corner pocket than the left??? nothing serious but just wondering...!

I will check my cueing with long straight blues tonight as well... lets see... However, I am happy that I am not doing that bad after all ... its just getting the fundamentals right for me now!!!

Thanks again throtts, Terry the great and Vmax!
And yes everyone else

[itsnoteasy]

Just to finish this off.
Being a lefty i put left foot on line of aim, cue on line of aim, chin nose etc on line of aim drop straight down on this line but keep eyes on on contact point of object ball.

[pottr]

That will help. Make sure your bridge, cue and chin come onto the line of the shot from above. Never from the side.

[vmax4steve]

Just to finish this off.
Being a lefty i put left foot on line of aim, cue on line of aim, chin nose etc on line of aim drop straight down on this line but keep eyes on on contact point of object ball.

That's fine, but if you find that your tip is not pointing at the centre of the cue ball when down (unless playing with side), get up and start again.

This is the reason why I look at the spot on the cue ball my tip needs to hit when I place my feet and get down into my stance. Far too often when I looked at the contact point of the object ball when getting down I found that my tip was striking off centre and I had to get up again so I changed and found that it worked for me.

[itsnoteasy]

That's fine, but if you find that your tip is not pointing at the centre of the cue ball when down (unless playing with side), get up and start again.

This is the reason why I look at the spot on the cue ball my tip needs to hit when I place my feet and get down into my stance. Far too often when I looked at the contact point of the cue ball when getting down I found that my tip was striking off centre and I had to get up again so I changed and found that it worked for me.

Vmax thats very interesting, i would say i have never, not once, bothered to really look properly if my cue is striking dead center of the cue ball , i check if my cue is online but i kind of look through or past the cue ball to do this, i will get a billiard white next time i go and get down to play up and down the spots and see if i cover the spot with my tip.

[Sidd]

That will help. Make sure your bridge, cue and chin come onto the line of the shot from above. Never from the side.

Well put Pottr. Will keep that in mind. i think i do bring them on sideways at times... thanks for mentioning.

[Sidd]

That will help. Make sure your bridge, cue and chin come onto the line of the shot from above. Never from the side.

That's fine, but if you find that your tip is not pointing at the centre of the cue ball when down (unless playing with side), get up and start again.

This is the reason why I look at the spot on the cue ball my tip needs to hit when I place my feet and get down into my stance. Far too often when I looked at the contact point of the object ball when getting down I found that my tip was striking off centre and I had to get up again so I changed and found that it worked for me.

One thing here Vmax: When one drops down having intentions of playing with side then does one need ot be auto-pointing at the cueball with that side while getting down and coming to rest or in that case can one still get down straight on the cue ball and then while at rest slightly adjust the cue for that side ???

[vmax4steve]

One thing here Vmax: When one drops down having intentions of playing with side then does one need ot be auto-pointing at the cueball with that side while getting down and coming to rest or in that case can one still get down straight on the cue ball and then while at rest slightly adjust the cue for that side ???

When I play with side Sidd I stand behind the shot and look at the point of contact on the object ball allowing for the deflection and arcing of the cue ball. So if I need to aim thicker to allow for the deflection and arcing I focus on the point of contact that I'm aiming for, then, unlike most players, I look at the spot on the cue ball my tip needs to hit when placing my feet and getting down into my stance. Once down I again focus on the point of contact on the object ball that I first aimed for (thicker) and then play the shot with my eyes focussed still on this thicker contact point and just let the cue ball deflection and arcing along the cloth work its magic.
As the hand follows the eye, if you take your focus off the thicker contact point and focus on the actual contact point then you will push the cue off line, the cue ball will then deflect and arc along a different line and the shot will be missed.

Never adjust your aiming point once you are down on the shot, never adjust the line of your cue once you are down on the shot.

How those people who look at the point of contact on the object ball when getting down into their stance when playing with side know where they are pointing the tip of the cue is beyond me as it's something I don't do myself so I can't give any tips on this technique at all.

[Sidd]

Hmmmmm interesting point Vmax: Well I get down looking at the OB but when playing with side I get down the same however once down concentrating on OB and at the address position, settled on the shot, when i look back at CB my cue is automatically pointing at the contact point i.e. with side... I also do not know how this happens but I think its mostly subconscious for me now because I would normaly stand behind the shot then look at the line of aim with CB centre point and not side included and then contact point (yes hitting thicker thinner due to side is there in the calculation) then when i get down looking at OB and look back at CB my cue tip is already at the point of strike with side

I shall continue to let the subconscious mind do this for me... for as long as im getting results, as you also say, i should not bother.

[itsnoteasy]

Checked my alignment on cue ball and it seems ok, its hard to tell if you are bang in the middle when you are down on the shot but i can play up and down the spots 3 times normally (miss to the left by half a ball to a ball sometimes, always to the left, any reasons why greatly appreciated) but one other thing i checked on and that was my contact points, i use all four(very light brush on chest), but found that at the address position my chin is on the cue but as i pull back the cue doesnt stay on the chin, i put it down to the cue getting thinner so if you keep it on the same plane it must lose contact with the chin, but i have noticed recently this does not seem to be correct, so do you pull the cue upwards off the flat plane and keep contact and then as you go forward drop the arm to allow for the cue getting thicker to flow through, does the extra contact point outweigh the extra movement of the slight up down cue action? am i opening my hand to much as i could see if i kept my grip hand closed more on the backswing the natural arc would pull the cue in a more upward motion.

[Sidd]

Checked my alignment on cue ball and it seems ok, its hard to tell if you are bang in the middle when you are down on the shot but i can play up and down the spots 3 times normally (miss to the left by half a ball to a ball sometimes, always to the left, any reasons why greatly appreciated) but one other thing i checked on and that was my contact points, i use all four(very light brush on chest), but found that at the address position my chin is on the cue but as i pull back the cue doesnt stay on the chin, i put it down to the cue getting thinner so if you keep it on the same plane it must lose contact with the chin, but i have noticed recently this does not seem to be correct, so do you pull the cue upwards off the flat plane and keep contact and then as you go forward drop the arm to allow for the cue getting thicker to flow through, does the extra contact point outweigh the extra movement of the slight up down cue action? am i opening my hand to much as i could see if i kept my grip hand closed more on the backswing the natural arc would pull the cue in a more upward motion.

i am not too sure about this. Perhaps a senior player or coach can tell better. However, what i think is that while doing the feathers the cue must brush against the chin and stay level. During the final backswing yes the cue will get thinner but how much would that thinness be? it would be negligible and hence would not make a difference of note. Similarly on the final delivery it would get thicker but after striking an during follow through notice that the elbow would drop a tiny bit hence the cue would slide down a bit with it and hence wouldn't brush the chin in the end so even in the delivery this should not bother you given that with thickness and elbow drop things remain the same... The real thing is keeping the cue level if during backswing you concentrate on keeping the cue level and not lifting the grip hand ... it is all good...

point of consideration here could be: if during backswing your cue isnt brushing the chin as it was during feathers and it is to an extent that you notice is properly; then have you given a thought to lifting of the head a bit ??? I think this is where your problem might lie... Just a thought!

[Terry Davidson]

itsnoteasy:

The diameter of the cue will only change slightly, by a maximum of 3mm or so (unless you have a very thick and stiff cue) and I would think there is more value in keeping the cue in contact with the chin which really helps in keeping the head still. My recommendation would be to keep the chin on the cue during the feathers, backswing and even most of the delivery (it's very hard to do at the end of the delivery if a player drops the elbow).

Sidd:

I think you've chosen the best route. First of all, you should never make any adjustments when you are down in the address position and secondly what you're doing when applying side is the correct way to go (letting the unconscious mind automatically work it out). When using side all the first principles of aiming go out the window since you have to select (generally) a thicker contact that you would normally aim with centre-ball. This sort of thing has to be worked out naturally and through experience.

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

Thanks Terry,
i was using my bendy cue when i noticed my cue was not in contact at all times during the back swing, i am now wondering if i was cueing slightly differently because of this and the "dont break the spring factor" of the cue rubbing along the chin, like Sidd said it may be something else maybe i am lifting my head or even slightly dropping my elbow on the backswing which is my guess as i played well for me and if i was moving my head i think i would have missed more.

[Sidd]

itsnoteasy:

The diameter of the cue will only change slightly, by a maximum of 3mm or so (unless you have a very thick and stiff cue) and I would think there is more value in keeping the cue in contact with the chin which really helps in keeping the head still. My recommendation would be to keep the chin on the cue during the feathers, backswing and even most of the delivery (it's very hard to do at the end of the delivery if a player drops the elbow).

Sidd:

I think you've chosen the best route. First of all, you should never make any adjustments when you are down in the address position and secondly what you're doing when applying side is the correct way to go (letting the unconscious mind automatically work it out). When using side all the first principles of aiming go out the window since you have to select (generally) a thicker contact that you would normally aim with centre-ball. This sort of thing has to be worked out naturally and through experience.

Terry

Thanks Coach... Will make sure I keep following it!

[vmax4steve]

but one other thing i checked on and that was my contact points, i use all four(very light brush on chest), but found that at the address position my chin is on the cue but as i pull back the cue doesnt stay on the chin,

You can bet your arse that you're moving your head m8, you aren't aware of it but as you can feel your chin coming off the cue that's exactly what you are doing.
I am the same, always moving my head through taking my eye off the pot when playing badly. Yesterdays practise was bloody awful as for an hour I was crap and blaming all sorts of things even though through my own experience I know what I'm doing wrong but as I can't feel it I'm physically unaware of it and have to make the conscious effort to concentrate only on the contact point of the object ball.
What I did years ago was keep a little slip of paper in my cue case that wrapped around the butt of my cue and on it I had written "KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE CONTACT POINT OF THE OBJECT BALL and when I took the paper off I could read that message as a reminder. Think I shall do that again.