staying on the line of aim

[Byrom]

It's only simple because you've trained it all in until it has become unconscious. For someone who is not yet doing it "right" they have to un-train the "wrong" and train the "right" and only then does it become "simple". It is possible to overthink things tho, and if you're having to think about this while playing a match then you're doing something wrong. But, thinking about it before practice, and picking one or two points to focus on during practice is both useful and beneficial. The goal is to have done all the thinking off the table, or at practice, and to have trained it all in until it has become natural/simple.

i agree . With any sport there is not a one size fits all - or we would all play the same robotic way and that would be boring.

This is the reason there are different coaches with different ideas and players with their own individual quirks - and it is very much a case of learning sound fundamentals at the start and progressing in your own fashion with practice after this.
Your timing pre -shot routine grip and lots of other things become a natural thing to you - I do not see many people with identical cue actions do you although it would help us if we could all copy Ronnie or Hendry to a tee lol?

You can pick up lots of little ideas and things and try them out to see if they help your game and you can cancel out things that effect the bad things and yes you can end up over thinking the game - many people do this too.

The brain finds it hard to think of more than one thing at once so making most of it natural is key because if you are thinking about am I doing this or that when you are getting down on the line of the shot then you are giving your brain too much information to process and you can go from bad to worse.

This is why you should do all the thinking and shot selection when up off the shot behind it - which I saw a guy on another thread do on here with a camera on his head lol.

If you are down and thinking things or still moving around trying to find the line get back up - For me most of the thinking is done when up and the natural stuff timing pause and delivery clicks in when I am down.

Freeing your mind to play snooker and not thinking I am doing this or that wrong is I feel 'the most important' part of the game after you have learned a solid enough technique and that again is something else completely different and I am going off topic but many sports psychologists make a good living sorting this important part out for people.

[armstm]

ronnie copied steve davis. you can see this in their actions.

[Byrom]

Yes I believe he said this in a recent documentary too.

[vmax4steve]

ronnie copied steve davis. you can see this in their actions.

He actually copied his mannerisms, his cue action is very different, more like Joe Davis than Steve Davis as Steve doesn't drop the elbow like Joe did and Ronnie does.

[pcb]

what is the line of aim and how do i find it in the standing position in order to my leading leg on the line of aim. the only time i know the line of aim is a full ball pot. how do you find the line of aim on an angled pot thanks

[j6uk]

You can find that yourself by cueing along the baulk line. Cueing straight along the baulk line will tell you were your lead lag will need to be on every shot you approach on the table. enjoy

what is the line of aim and how do i find it in the standing position in order to my leading leg on the line of aim. the only time i know the line of aim is a full ball pot. how do you find the line of aim on an angled pot thanks

[nrage]

what is the line of aim and how do i find it in the standing position in order to my leading leg on the line of aim. the only time i know the line of aim is a full ball pot. how do you find the line of aim on an angled pot thanks

The line of aim is the path the white needs to hit the object ball in the correct place to pot it. So, as you say for a straight in pot it's easy, it goes through the middle of the white, object ball, and straight into the pocket. For angled pots it is less definite as you have no reference point on which to line up the cue. The 1/2 ball is the exception to that rule as you can line the cue up with the edge of the object ball.

As for how to find it, experience and practice .. no really. How do you catch a ball? Do you consciously calculate the flight of the ball and where you need to place your hand to catch it, no, you do it by instinct and you get better at it by practicing. Finding the line of aim is the same. Your brain is faster and better at it when it does it by instinct, unconsciously.

What you might do is consciously select the spot on the object ball you need to hit or consciously imagine a ghost ball sitting on the table in the plant position and from that your brain will, after enough practice, immediately know where the line of aim is through the white ball and to the place the white needs to be AKA the ghost ball.

There are alternate ideas/systems. For example, you might learn what a 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 ball pot looks like (by setting up hundreds of them all around the table and practicing potting them) so you will learn where the line of aim is for each of these. Then you look at a pot and say that's a thin 1/2 ball, and adjust accordingly.

I have a training ball that helps with this in a clever way:
http://www.peradon.co.uk/balls-trian...).aspx#product

You use the ball as an object ball, you line the large center spots up on the line to the pocket (the path it will follow to be potted) and then place the white anywhere on the table and look from the white to the training ball. There are a series of markings on the training ball radiating out (horizontally) from the center spot, the marking which is on the outside edge of the ball tells you what cut angle you're looking at 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4. For each of these the booklet will tell you where the line of aim is.

I tried this system for a while but found it less consistent than what I was doing previously (finding spot on object ball and judging the line of aim from that). To be honest I probably didn't keep with it long enough for it to actually start working - I can't really easily spot a 1/2 ball pot for example, and I think being able to do so is useful no matter what system you use.

[Sidd]

Nrage and others:

I try to imagine the ghost ball (Terry advocates the same) but for some reason its nearly impossible for me to imagine a ghost ball so what I do is hereunder:

I stand behind the CB and look at the pocket then imagine a straight line coming out of pocket to the OB and then through it from the other side of the OB-- this gives me my line of aim. My imaginative line of aim is not a think line but is more like a laser beam very thin and sharp and gives me the imaginary spot to focus upon.

Although it works for me but still I wanted to know if its ok and I should continue with it or find an alternative method ???

REgards,
Sidd.

[j6uk]

Once you find your own line the rest would be judgement and practice, say with doing line-ups. When you get to a higher level of play you can then go on to study the table and its own guideline map.

[vmax4steve]

The line of aim is the path the white needs to hit the object ball in the correct place to pot it. So, as you say for a straight in pot it's easy, it goes through the middle of the white, object ball, and straight into the pocket. For angled pots it is less definite as you have no reference point on which to line up the cue. The 1/2 ball is the exception to that rule as you can line the cue up with the edge of the object ball.

As for how to find it, experience and practice .. no really. How do you catch a ball? Do you consciously calculate the flight of the ball and where you need to place your hand to catch it, no, you do it by instinct and you get better at it by practicing. Finding the line of aim is the same. Your brain is faster and better at it when it does it by instinct, unconsciously.

Correct

Your brain knows through the information given to it by your eyes, that in reality you are aiming the cue ball not the cue. The brain will make you line up the cue ball to hit the object ball in the correct spot if you allow it to. Do not overide this unconscious action with conscious thought about "where to aim". You simply need to look at the shot, nothing more.

If you think that you are missing pots because you are lining up the shot wrong I would say that you are simply not looking where you should be looking when standing behind the shot and taking your stance, therefore not giving your brain the information it needs. Anything can make the eyes look elsewhere when lining up a shot, this is why you see players removing specs of dust or chalk from the cloth before getting down into their stance. Just a quick glance at a chalk mark on the cloth will put you in the wrong place let alone looking at the pocket or another ball that's contained within the shot you are about to play, eg: ball you wish to cannon or a ball that's almost blocking the path of the object ball you wish to pot.

Stand behind the shot, see all the variables contained within the shot you want to play, no need to consciously think about them, just see them, letting your brain know the shot you are about to play, split second glance at the cue ball as you place your right foot, look at the contact point on the object ball before and as you place your left foot and keep your eyes on this point all the way down into the stance. Check tip of cue is pointing at the middle of the cue ball, feather or two if neccessary, look up again at contact point on the object ball, keep eyes on this point when striking the cue ball.

Do the above, reverse it if you're a leftie, over and over until it becomes habit.

[magicman]

stand behind the CB and look at the pocket then imagine a straight line coming out of pocket to the OB and then through it from the other side of the OB-- this gives me my line of aim.

Original Source: http://www.thesnookerforum.co.uk/boa...#ixzz2Pxl8seRz
- TSF - TheSnookerForum.com

This isn't really a line of aim as such, more like a potting angle. The line of aim is the direction your eyes are looking and the straight line your cue should be following.

[Sidd]

Correct

Your brain knows through the information given to it by your eyes, that in reality you are aiming the cue ball not the cue. The brain will make you line up the cue ball to hit the object ball in the correct spot if you allow it to. Do not overide this unconscious action with conscious thought about "where to aim". You simply need to look at the shot, nothing more.

If you think that you are missing pots because you are lining up the shot wrong I would say that you are simply not looking where you should be looking when standing behind the shot and taking your stance, therefore not giving your brain the information it needs. Anything can make the eyes look elsewhere when lining up a shot, this is why you see players removing specs of dust or chalk from the cloth before getting down into their stance. Just a quick glance at a chalk mark on the cloth will put you in the wrong place let alone looking at the pocket or another ball that's contained within the shot you are about to play, eg: ball you wish to cannon or a ball that's almost blocking the path of the object ball you wish to pot.

Stand behind the shot, see all the variables contained within the shot you want to play, no need to consciously think about them, just see them, letting your brain know the shot you are about to play, split second glance at the cue ball as you place your right foot, look at the contact point on the object ball before and as you place your left foot and keep your eyes on this point all the way down into the stance. Check tip of cue is pointing at the middle of the cue ball, feather or two if neccessary, look up again at contact point on the object ball, keep eyes on this point when striking the cue ball.

Do the above, reverse it if you're a leftie, over and over until it becomes habit.

Great post Steve. I can explain the message in your second paragraph with my own experience. A few years earlier whenever I used to nudge pass the OB where i was like half snookered behind another ball or when I had to miss a ball slightly in the way and hit the OB just by a fraction.... at the last moment my eyes partially switched to the edge of the ball hampering me and I used to do it to avoid contact with it ... whenever I played like that surprisingly I would kiss it on my way rather than avoiding it so now whenever I play such a shot I judge if i can miss the obstructing ball and still hit the OB while standing up and then go down having fixed/locked my eyes on the contact point of the OB and never ever do I look at the obstructing ball... and I now never kiss it on my way ! this is evident enough to what you mentioned.

Any comments about my post above Steve ???

[vmax4steve]

Any comments about my post above Steve ???

It works for you Sidd so keep it up.

[nrage]

What he ^ said!

[j6uk]

I suggest to follow the tables grid system to help you with all the bonafide angles