Practice routines you can do in the house

[vmax4steve]

Only if you changed how you played the shot, and it shouldn't.

I played dead straight short blues to the side pockets with it, using the red spot as a reference for the cue tip and watching the white travel after the shot was played - as you would normally, eyes only, no head/body movement.

So, you play the shot normally, except you have a red spot to help you check the cue tip is dead center on the white, and you have a red stripe (if you strike it well) on the white as it travels to the blue (red) and on to the pocket.

After my front pause (which is all I've got as I have no feathers) I look at the contact point on the object ball and keep my eyes there when I play the shot. I never look at the cue ball as it travels towards the object ball. The only time I look at the cue ball is when I first put the tip of the cue to the point on the cue ball that I wish to contact when addressing it, after that it's object ball only.

Except when I miss and then it's because I have looked up at the pocket or something else, but never the cue ball.

If you are normally watching the cue ball after the strike I would suggest that you are doing so at the moment of the strike as well, which is wrong and is why you are a poor player with a low high break.

I know that the cue ball comes into view at some time after the cue ball is struck but it should only be that split second before contacting the object ball, that moment when you know that you have potted/missed the shot.

[nrage]

After my front pause (which is all I've got as I have no feathers) I look at the contact point on the object ball and keep my eyes there when I play the shot. I never look at the cue ball as it travels towards the object ball.

Same here.

The only time I look at the cue ball is when I first put the tip of the cue to the point on the cue ball that I wish to contact when addressing it, after that it's object ball only.

So... you literally do not see the white again until the front pause on your next shot? I don't believe you

If you are normally watching the cue ball after the strike I would suggest that you are doing so at the moment of the strike as well, which is wrong and is why you are a poor player with a low high break.

Rest assured I am not watching the white at the moment of the strike - I have this on video

Everyone watches the white at some point /after/ the strike, even the top pros. Concentrating too hard on the path of the white is definitely the cause of missed pots even among the pros.

So, sure, there is a risk you'll "take your eye off the pot" if you're concentrating on the white too much, but you can still get a benefit from a marked white if you "do it properly" and only look at the white after the red pots.

Aside: The reason for my high break is simple; not enough practice. Last time I played was a month ago, or more, and the gap to the previous time was 2 months or more. I would love to be playing every week, but I simply don't have time.

[j6uk]

Videos and stepped lines on paper mimicking the baulk line are not, not gizmo's.
Gizmo's are distracting and do they help? No. Do they make money? Maybe yes.
The table itself is the guide.
Don't believe someone who's made countless tones though, ask a pro yourself, if you know one

You're right that gadgets don't make you a better player, playing/practice does. The best a gadget can do is speed up the process, or help you find and correct a problem, so I disagree that they're always a complete waste of money.

For example, several pros have recently worked with the SightRight guy, presumably using gadgets, to improve their games. Terry Griffiths uses video recordings and software (gadgets) to help top pros with their game, detecting changes/faults and improving things.

The key here is that no gadget is a "quick fix" or "miracle cure" and any advertised as such are probably useless. They all require you use them correctly and put in the hours of practice. Could you do it without them, certainly. Do they help, yes the good ones do.

[nrage]

Videos and stepped lines on paper mimicking the baulk line are not, not gizmo's.

Who said anything about those? We're talking about a white ball with markings on it, right?

Gizmo's are distracting and do they help? No. Do they make money? Maybe yes.

Blatant assertion is not a convincing argument.

The table itself is the guide.

"What is the sound of one hand clapping" <- equally useless statement

Don't believe someone who's made countless tones though, ask a pro yourself, if you know one

I can well believe an established player, who didn't use any gizmos would believe they're no use - they're not going to be of any use to a well established player. They're not intended for a well established player, they're intended for a beginner. Did you try any of these gizmo's as a beginner?

As I said before, not all gizmos are equally useful, none of them are "necessary" but I believe some of them can help a player make progress more rapidly or find faults earlier.

Several coaches use various tools and recommend them - and they're not making money of them so what's the motivation hmm?

[j6uk]

I am sorry nerge but you remind me of those lads who are still in the club struggling to make a 30 no offense

[j6uk]

These are not gadgets.

For example, several pros have recently worked with the SightRight guy, presumably using gadgets, to improve their games. Terry Griffiths uses video recordings and software (gadgets) to help top pros with their game, detecting changes/faults and improving things.

[j6uk]

What are you talking about?

"What is the sound of one hand clapping" <- equally useless statement

[j6uk]

Like what?
And who?

Several coaches use various tools and recommend them - and they're not making money of them so what's the motivation hmm?

[nrage]

I am sorry nerge but you remind me of those lads who are still in the club struggling to make a 30 no offense

Well, it's true, except the "in the club part" And it's "nrage" which is an acronym for my real name and an homage to a nickname I had in high-school..

[nrage]

Like what?
And who?

Steve Davis uses a weird thing he built himself - it's visible in the recent photos of him coaching coaches in China.

Nic Barrow uses a small plastic aiming aid and recommends the 360 pure cue.

Several other coaches have recommended the SightRight system(?)

[nrage]

What are you talking about?

You said "The table itself is the guide." I replied with something else equally useless - I was being a smart-arse.

It's all very well saying "The table itself is the guide." but that doesn't help a struggling player, at all. And that's what threads like this are for, helping struggling players.

[nrage]

These are not gadgets.

Have you seen the SightRight board with aiming lines and the cover it up part? It definitely qualifies as a Gadget by most definitions. What would you call it?

http://www.sightrightuk.com/snookeraid.htm

.. why isn't a video plus software to analyse it a "gadget"? It's definitely the same sort of thing to a ball with markings, which is an aid to improve your snooker by means other than simply practicing or using "the table itself as a guide".

If you're doing something wrong, and you have no idea what it is you need some sort of outside assistance - because doing the same thing repeatedly is the definition of madness. Either you see a coach - recommended of course, or you find something else which can give you some outside feedback. A video, a marked ball, etc.

[j6uk]

I don't know the weird thing.
Haven't tried the 360 cue.
Sightright is a variation of the baulk line with a step.

Non of the above are marking the white ball.

Steve Davis uses a weird thing he built himself - it's visible in the recent photos of him coaching coaches in China.

Nic Barrow uses a small plastic aiming aid and recommends the 360 pure cue.

Several other coaches have recommended the SightRight system(?)

[nrage]

I don't know the weird thing.
Haven't tried the 360 cue.
Sightright is a variation of the baulk line with a step.

Non of the above are marking the white ball.

So what? They're all the same thing "gadgets", right? And you said all gadgets are useless.. so, are you changing your statement now?

[nrage]

I don't know the weird thing.

I can't find the video again.. I think I must have seen it live vs it being on the youtube channel. He used to have a photo of it up on his myspace, before that disappeared. It was basically an arch which could be placed on the table, and out of the top of it came a long straight piece of metal. So you place it on the table over the white and the long piece of metal points to the object ball, showing you the line of aim - like a poor mans laser guide.