Stance for an amateur

[AJveits]

Hello everybody, my name is Alex and I'm from Israel.
I love snooker, watching and playing.
Unfortunately, snooker is far from being popular in here, the clubs I go are a little expensive, not to mention coaches.
So I can't afford myself to pay someone so he would teach me.
I'd love to learn the fundamentals of the game, I hope you could help me with that.
I searched on youtube how to do the stance properly, and now, on every game I play, I try to use the right stance, but I'm sure I'm doing it wrong, because I often miscue the object ball (the object ball is not heading the direction I shot it).
Can you give me tips on how to get down to the shot and how to do the stance?
I watched on videos that you have to put your right leg on the line of your aim, but when I do it, I find myself pointing the cue slightly to the left of the line I aim.

[nrage]

Which videos have you used as references?

These would be my personal top picks:
http://www.youtube.com/user/neilmaxm...view=0&sort=da
(sorted oldest first - ignore the early videos where he is arguing with kevy about running/check side)

http://www.youtube.com/user/nicbarro...w=grid&sort=da
(sorted to show the old ones first - where he does some coaching for beginners)

On a hunch, if your cue is going left of the line of aim.. is it being pushed there by your chest? Or, is your right hip in the way of the cue, making you move it out away from the hip and to the right of the line? This is assuming you have placed your bridge hand on the line of aim, and not to the left of course.

Personally, I found that in order to get the cue on the line of aim consistently and comfortably I had to place the center of my right foot on the line of aim, with my toes pointing outside the line of aim by something like 10-30 degrees. So, the laces of my right shoe are on the line of aim, my toes are outside and my heel is inside the line of aim. This pointing the toes outward releases the pressure on my hip joint and allows me to create more space there for the cue. Consequently I am not subconsciously avoiding it, and cueing across the line of aim.

It helped me also to practice walking into the shot, concentrating on each motion. For example, starting with with my head on the line of aim, stepping forward and placing my right foot on the line (leaning my body a little to the right to keep my nose/head on the line of aim), placing the cue and bridge hand on the line of aim and as I lower myself pushing my hip to the left to create the clearance required there. Initially these actions may feel a little weird but as you practice them it becomes natural and something you can do without thinking about it - which is essential if you plan to use it in a real match.

[AJveits]

Thank you very much!
Yesterday I went to the club and tried to work on the stance like Nic Barrow shows, I placed the foot like you described, than I did some drills and realized I can cue straight most of the time.
I've potted straight balls from distance quite commonly, something I was terrible in doing it.
I've noticed I have a problem that occurs from time to time, if I miss the pot, it always goes to the left of the pocket, it happens a lot when the cue ball is near the cushion. Also, sometimes when I try to screw and hit the cue ball hard, I hit the side of it.

By the way, when I get down to the shot, while I move the cue back and forward, my hand touches my hip and sometimes the cue is touching my chest. Should I avoid it? because to avoid it I think I will have to lean left.

[nrage]

I've noticed I have a problem that occurs from time to time, if I miss the pot, it always goes to the left of the pocket, it happens a lot when the cue ball is near the cushion. Also, sometimes when I try to screw and hit the cue ball hard, I hit the side of it.

If the ball goes to the left of the pocket it means the white has struck the object too far to the right. There are 2 possible reasons, #1 you've aimed too far to the right, or #2 the white has gone right of where you aimed. The latter is more common, and is usually due to the tip of the cue striking left of center on the white. When the cue strikes the white off center, it pushes the white the opposite way. This is commonly called throw, or squirt.

Have you tried the drill where you place the white on the brown spot and play the white up and down the table over all the spots? Try this drill with varying power, start soft and work your way up. Can you keep the white within 1-2 balls of the spot on a medium pace shot over 2-4 lengths of the table?

By the way, when I get down to the shot, while I move the cue back and forward, my hand touches my hip and sometimes the cue is touching my chest. Should I avoid it? because to avoid it I think I will have to lean left.

The cue should touch the bridge, the chin, the chest and the grip hand but there should be 1-2 inches clearance from the hip. The way to get this clearance is to thrust the hips left and slightly back as you get down on the shot. The back leg may have the foot on the line of aim where the cue is, but the top/hip joint is 1-2 inches left and 1-2 inches back from there.

[Terry Davidson]

AJ:

What you describe (besides what nrage has told you) is a sure sign you are tightening your grip too early in the delivery and especially so on shots using more power. Once you get everything else nrage has mentioned sorted out then try some solo practice using just the brown or pink on spot and the cueball perhaps 30cm behind it but slightly off dead in.

Now concentrate on potting the ball plain ball but WITHOUT TIGHTENING YOUR GRIP AT ALL until the end of the delivery. Once you are potting the ball fairly consistently then start applying deep screw on a mediam paced shot but again, DO NOT TIGHTEN THE GRIP AT ALL.

If you do this correctly your are going to be amazed at how much spin you can apply to the cueball with very little power and you will still maintain your accuracy. Then you have to work on getting this type of grip into your normal technique.

Terry

[nrage]

I've noticed I have a problem that occurs from time to time, if I miss the pot, it always goes to the left of the pocket, it happens a lot when the cue ball is near the cushion. Also, sometimes when I try to screw and hit the cue ball hard, I hit the side of it.

Another possibility here is that you are "reverting to form", that is you haven't practiced the correct stance for long enough yet and sometimes you revert to your old stance where your cue points slightly to the left of the line of aim. If you point left, across the line of aim, then while the tip might strike the center of the white from your point of view, it's actually striking to the left of the center relative to the line of aim.

Also, something I didn't mention last reply is that there are a number of techniques for cueing from the cushion, neilmaxman has a video or two showing various bridging options. Basically, don't be afraid to shorten the amount of cue you have in front of the bridge but when you do also move the grip hand up the cue to account for this. This will give a feeling of more control over the cue. Also, when cuing off the cushion you need to try to keep the cue as low as possible, aiming to be as low as you normally are. You should, with a well chalked tip, be able to play with the cue almost horizontal off the cushion. Of course, when the white is near the cushion you cannot play center ball, or screw so you end up playing with "top", and, because the white is narrower at the top there is less margin for error, a smaller deviation to the side can mean unwanted squirt and side spin.

For screw shots make sure you lower the entire bridge hand and cue together and try to get it as low/horizontal as possible. The grip hand should pass roughly 1 chalk width above the cushion ideally, and when you can get inside the cushion you can get even lower/flatter. The flatter the cue, the better the screw.

Also, any time you raise the butt of the cue, to play off the cushion or to play screw (because you're not lowering the bridge correctly) then you increase the change you will miscue the ball, this is because you end up striking down on the white at a sharpish angle and the tip gets less purchase.

Terry's point is also a good one. Once you get these basics right, if you're still having issues then it's probably related to the grip, or movement of the body during the shot. Watch the pros, or Nic's head camera video, see how still they are during the shot and how long they wait before moving after the shot. Snooker is all about calm, consistent control.

[AJveits]

Today I went to the snooker hall with a friend who has no idea at all about the game and we both practised cuing straight.
I now pot straight balls with more confidence and with ease, about 30% of the straight/almost straight I mess up, but before I practised the right stance I would miss maybe 9/10, so I'm quite pleased with cuing, I feel I'm improving.
Today I also tried to practise screwing back the ball, I tried to hit the ball as low as possible, but every time the ball just bounced.
I changed the cue, and the result stayed the same, time after time.
When I tried to hit higher, I managed to screw but only a little.
My question is: could it be because of the tip of the cue?
I don't have my own cue and use what the club has to offer.
I've paid attention to my grip, it was not tight, and the cue was almost parallel to the table.
I've noticed the balls were bouncing at a straight line, sometimes straight to the pocket, what indicates that I didn't have movement with the cue to the side like I had last time.
Is it my technique that is lacking? or should I consider purchasing myself a cue?

[nrage]

Your own cue would give you more control over the tip etc but I don't think the tip is your problem at the moment.

Have a watch of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqqakiKbhHI

And:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhYuLqzFcVQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQXrcdgJzwg

Also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkgIJe8w1cc

This one shows that technique is the important factor, not the cue weight or tip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD659eZ054I

That's a lot to watch and absorb, so go back to whichever video you think seemed most helpful and jot down the key points to remember next time you're practicing, and then give it a go.

If you're still struggling, ask your mate to film you (with a phone if needs be) and upload it to youtube and post a link there as some of the coaches may be able to give better feedback and advice with a video.