How easily do come lineup-centuries to you?

[Tommy68]

Hi there,

I'm playing a lot of lineups at the moment to get better control of the cueball. My lineup is two below black then five and then eight reds.
It's easy to come to 30+ every attempt. Every third or fourth attempt I get over 50. Then it becomes harder as I end up with 70+ to 80+ once or twice a session. Never got a ton so far - playing this for about a week.

Now I wonder how you are getting along with lineups? What can you do and how difficult is it for you to play a century? In my thinking it can't be that hard as the balls are always situated the same. But when I'm in the high 60s I loose concentration and I'm running out of position so that I'm failing with a difficult pot.

Tom

[jono*]

One of the things i find is that line- ups do become repetitive and seemingly much easier than standards breaks, so actually its much more easier to lose concentration as you get complacent. its hard to give each shot the same amount of concentration but i think thats where the secret lies.

[Terry Davidson]

I was using the 2-6-7 line-up and found out of 10 attempts I was getting perhaps 3-5 centuries with normally 2 of them clearances. I switched to 4-6-5 which is much harder, especially that first red along the top cushion.

When I play a normal rack in 10 attempts these days I get NO centuries although I do get a few 60+ breaks but get bogged down for those last 5 or 6 reds which are normally in rotten positions, so I think the problem (for me at least) is I have to learn to either play much better positional shots, break out those difficult reds or else get them off the cushion better and I'm working on that with not a lot of success however.

Terry

[j6uk]

Have you made a 147 in line up Terry?

I was using the 2-6-7 line-up and found out of 10 attempts I was getting perhaps 3-5 centuries with normally 2 of them clearances. I switched to 4-6-5 which is much harder, especially that first red along the top cushion.

When I play a normal rack in 10 attempts these days I get NO centuries although I do get a few 60+ breaks but get bogged down for those last 5 or 6 reds which are normally in rotten positions, so I think the problem (for me at least) is I have to learn to either play much better positional shots, break out those difficult reds or else get them off the cushion better and I'm working on that with not a lot of success however.

Terry

[j6uk]

If your making regular big breaks in line up, try doing the reds sequentially. Its very rewarding.

[RogiBear]

Hi Tom,
I'm in a similar position to yourself, I'm still relatively new to playing the game, coming up to 2 years now.

I try and practice every other week as a break from uni work, I use the same line-up setup as yours and find it easy to make a 40+ every time. However I find it easier to make a relatively sizeable break (for myself) nearer the start of my practice say 60-70, but then get lazy with concentration further in. I have made a century once (102) but had to dig a few pots out at the end due to poor positioning, and eventually broke down. Although I feel if the table I have access to were better, i'd have made more. The black cushion is pretty dead.

To make things a little more interesting I have tried the sequential route that j6uk mentioned but keep getting unstuck on the 7th red (ie the one below the pink) keep getting low on it. I've also tried the Xmas tree routine for a change up and also alternating between hands ( i'm ambidextrous in most sports)

Adam

[Tommy68]

Hi Adam,

I realize that I play better at the beginning of my practise sessions and after about an hour I tend to loose position earlier. Very hard for me to keep up concentration.
Made myself a target to move on with alterations of the line-up when the ton fell but so far...

@Terry: interesting to read you don't ton up every time. I really thought you're doing line-ups perfectly in the middle of the night torn up from deepest sleep... ;-)
Ok, your line-up is harder so it is an adjustment to your skill.

Tom

[j6uk]

For concentration do consecutive blacks off the spot. This is one of the best exercises. Set your goal to 10 then 20,50,100.
If you can do 20 you'll see immediate improvement in and around the black. This can be hard and you need to be very determined to reach 100.

[Tommy68]

Thanx for the idea. It's been a long time since I played that exercise. Only got over 10. Should do it nowadays since my technique has been improved.

[pottr]

I don't count the score on a line up, I just try to clear them. Don't worry about the score, it takes care of itself.

It gets a bit boring after a while. I also do the consecutive blacks routine... Blues to the corner too.

[j6uk]

When I used to pump the meter with 20p's I always liked to have a goal say 100 blacks, line-up max or line-up into 3 pockets, it helped focus and added pressure that would be replicated in competitive play.

I don't count the score on a line up, I just try to clear them. Don't worry about the score, it takes care of itself.

It gets a bit boring after a while. I also do the consecutive blacks routine... Blues to the corner too.

[pottr]

The 'without hitting a cushion' is the most annoying.

The amount of times I messed up getting on the yellow with that one!

[j6uk]

yep, mine is green in the yellow pocket or visa versa, doing 3 pocket line-up.

[Tommy68]

@j6uk: what is 3 pocket line-up exactly? The two blabk pocket + yellow pocket or green?

[j6uk]

Stay on one side of the table and do the line up into the opposite pockets, only coming around to take the colors out. I didn't like to disturb the lads on the next table in the legion

@j6uk: what is 3 pocket line-up exactly? The two blabk pocket + yellow pocket or green?