Finding consistency..

[duper1987]

Hello all, first post on here after reading posts with great interest. Just a question on why I can't seem to find any consistency, I've been playing for 10 years, had my highest break of 105 a couple of weeks ago. But the thing is I blow hot and cold, one day I'll be struggling to put 20 break on and another where il just clean up, I go through the same routine every time I play, but I just can't figure out why it's happening, would playing conditions be a factor at all ? any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

[j6uk]

Hi welcome, yes I remember these days very well The good news is you know your angles and how to move the cue ball around the table or, you could never make a tone. Did you make 105 in solo practice?
What is 'the same routine' you do every day?

[throtts]

I never have understood being able to make a 100 then struggle to make a 20 - 30. I really do not. Compared to my 100% best play, I play bad to around 60% of my best, not say 20% which equates to what was said above. I wish I had an answer for you.

[Byrom]

Consistency - the holy grail for snooker players

If we could all knock in ton after ton the game would be no challenge and seeking perfection would not need exist but this is what drives players on and makes the game addictive.

At your standard I perhaps think differently than most coaches and people I have heard on this forum so far who might bog you down in the technical nuances of the game -what you need to work on- but these are things that can also cause harm to your natural rhythm.

I would respond to this question differently because I think rather than dwelling on a technical issue in your game too much I think better stronger approach would be to adopt a more 'free' type of mindset going forward as I think would help a player of your standard more than any other advice. To learn to be more positive and calmer when things don't go too well would help you a lot. Snooker has ups and downs and a player knows when he is in the zone so to speak because his timing sighting and everything clicks and he becomes a bit of a machine around the table falling into his own rhythm and own individual pre-shot consistent approach more easily and more readily. He sees the shot in an instant and all the world is good.

When things go wrong you can begin to doubt or 'correct things while you play a competitive game' and in doing this you can easily knock other things off and you will wind up messing up your game more. Many players at different standards do this and while you need to learn these technical things at say a 50 break standard and below to improve. I think if you have got past say 70 or 80 then you know the shots and the position and things of that nature automatically as the other person j6uk says quite correctly - and if you have done it once even in practice on your own then it follows that you can do it against someone and so you take that belief that you can do it again.

So why not take this advice and try not over-thinking the game - what have you or anyone else got to loose in learning to do this. I am not saying do not take the advice of a professional snooker coach or learn anything technical to add to your game but there is a time for and a place for everything.

My advice to you or any player of a really good standard of play is to find a way to get down free your mind and play without over thinking the game as there comes a time when you need to trust your own technique and just play - learning to accept a good day from a bad one in itself can be very liberating.

Hope this helps

[nrage]

Hello all, first post on here after reading posts with great interest. Just a question on why I can't seem to find any consistency, I've been playing for 10 years, had my highest break of 105 a couple of weeks ago. But the thing is I blow hot and cold, one day I'll be struggling to put 20 break on and another where il just clean up, I go through the same routine every time I play, but I just can't figure out why it's happening, would playing conditions be a factor at all ? any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

I have found that when I am playing badly I do one or more of these things differently/wrong;

I am not aiming. Sounds strange, I know. But it is possible to think you're aiming, but not be. Next time you're struggling, take a moment to really focus on aiming while standing up behind the shot and getting down bang on the line of aim.

I am getting up off the shot too soon. Another one which you'd think makes no difference but really does. Next time you're struggling, make a conscious decision to stay down on the shot for a full slow count of 1.. 2.. and get up. Also, follow the balls with your eyes only, not your head.

I am hitting the balls too hard. I think when you struggle you start to unconsciously compensate by hitting harder and harder, but this only makes things worse. Next time you're struggling make a conscious effort to decide how hard you actually need to hit your next shot, and then play exactly that.

The rest of the time it's a cueing fault, like being too tense and closing my grip early, gripping too tight, etc. All of which introduces back hand movement and causes me to strike the white all wrong. If I can I stop and play over the spots at various different speeds to check, and do some short, medium and long range pots to see if I am doing the same wrong thing consistently or if I am just all over the place.

[CueInAction]

I have been going through a rough patch recently...my highest matchplay break is 87 (111 in practice) but I went through a patch for a few months where I was struggling like yourself to make 20. I play with a few mates & we're all of a similar standard but I hadn't beat any of them over a session of snooker for a long long time. I feel I've always had consistency issues but generally bad patches would last a week or so before I got back going. The most annoying part about this was that when I was faced with a long shot i had to take on I would take a moment, walk into the shot & pull out a cracker, only to talk myself out of shots once I am in the balls.

Personally I'm still not sure what my actual issue was but things I noticed were that when I was in the balls with a good opportunity I would feel anxious (I'm not even sure how that works), almost like a nervous feeling, I'd be worrying about leaving my opponenet in who was capable of taking 40+ where as I seem to be red colour and having to roll back up to baulk. I would start to over think things meaning I don't know where my eyes are meant to be when I am cueing (this on is annoying because it comes naturally, I've never thought about it) so my eyes would end up locking on single points. When I am playing my best I know that I walk into every shot exactly the same, I'm not talking slow, methodical but just following the same routine: sight contact from behind ball, right foot into position, left foot forward and down on shot but during this period I would sometimes be getting up and down from the shot because I felt uncomfortable how I was positioned...it just felt wrong. The worst issue I had was that I couldn't even see the shots. I would stand staring at the balls wondering what the hell do I play. I've always had a good snooker brain and am a quick player as I can see the right shot as good as instantly.

I actually considered giving up the game during this point as I just wasn't enjoying it any more but thankfully mates always told me I'm too good a player for my game not to come back. I think I've come to realise that my personal issues on the table are completely psychological. I never would have considered this before as i hadn't thought about psychological issues manifesting themselves as physical difficulties. I recently got as new cue & armed with this insight I went in feeling a lot more confident. Took me a couple of frames but i knocked in quality 60 in just a couple of minutes. I actually felt at the time I could cl.ear the table but for the final red being between yellow & brown cover to both corners. Have had a couple of solo knocks since then and been cueing so much better now I feel that I can. I feel confident down on my shots again & am enjoying the game again

Not sure how much you can take from this, but if it is a psychological barrier then self confidence can work wonders for you

[viv0147]

Quite often I will point out to a player that he moved his head and normally they will reply it was after I had hit the ball, if that is the case that movement had already started before he hit the ball because no one is that quick! So to be consistent you really must keep your head still.

[Byrom]

Quite often I will point out to a player that he moved his head and normally they will reply it was after I had hit the ball, if that is the case that movement had already started before he hit the ball because no one is that quick! So to be consistent you really must keep your head still.

Mark Selby might disagree, Marco fu and Alan Mcmanus also.

[Terry Davidson]

Note that Selby moves his head around before the shot, almost like he's trying to get some depth perception. As for Fu and Mcmanus, perhaps that's why they aren't very consistent

Terry

[viv0147]

Stephen Hendry & Steve Davis might disagree

[viv0147]

Mark Selby might disagree, Marco fu and Alan Mcmanus also.

Stephen Hendry & Steve Davis might disagree

[viv0147]

Mark Selby might disagree, Marco fu and Alan Mcmanus also.

Stephen Hendry & Steve Davis might disagree

[j6uk]

Could be right there.

Stephen Hendry & Steve Davis might disagree

[Byrom]

Note that Selby moves his head around before the shot, almost like he's trying to get some depth perception. As for Fu and Mcmanus, perhaps that's why they aren't very consistent

Terry

No disrespect Terry but Marco Fu and Alan Mcmanus ARE more consistent than perhaps me and you and millions of others that can play the game with their heads perfectly still. Selby for example is world number 1 and the most consistent performer last year.

I am not saying it is good technique to move on the shot or that is the right way to play - I am just highlighting a point that there is no one size fits all as regards snooker and technique otherwise we would all play the same and the game would be boring.

[ace man]

The OP changes something without realizing on a daily basis. We all do. Add some pressure and anxiety there and your game could fall to rock bottom very easily.
What I want to know is this. How on Earth does Ronnie O'Sullivan appear to stay so relaxed under utmost pressure? He must feel it just like all the other players, but I don't think I've ever seen a twitch from him. Cueing across, bad shots, yes, but no twitching ever. Always ultra ultra smooth, even when he plays poorly. Cue action never changes.