Im seriously losing my sanity with this game !!!! HELP !!!!

[itsnoteasy]

Les, to practice how stun works the cue ball, string some balls across the table (not too many to begin with even put two together for a bigger target)pot the black and stun up to touch the red, this gets you working from top centre to bottom centre, it's not a bad routine and if nothing else it's something else to do to stop practice becoming stale.
This routine can also be done coming off the bottom Cush,

[lesedwards]

Les, to practice how stun works the cue ball, string some balls across the table (not too many to begin with even put two together for a bigger target)pot the black and stun up to touch the red, this gets you working from top centre to bottom centre, it's not a bad routine and if nothing else it's something else to do to stop practice becoming stale.
This routine can also be done coming off the bottom Cush,

Thanks I will try that. First I have to get my grip straightned out once again. I tried running the cue ball up and down the spots and the side spin I had on the ball was crazy. I tried running some long blues which I was missing by about 6" to the left. Terry will understand what I am talking about. The last time I was up to see Terry he worked on this with me.

[itsnoteasy]

Yep you have to be able to cue straight before anything else I would guess, how much side are you imparting as the ball returns up the spots?

[lesedwards]

Yep you have to be able to cue straight before anything else I would guess, how much side are you imparting as the ball returns up the spots?

Yes. I have a bad habit aiming slightly to the right and then my brain tells my body to pull it back coming through which creates the spin.

[j6uk]

Les have you ever had coaching before or only with terry?

Yes. I have a bad habit aiming slightly to the right and then my brain tells my body to pull it back coming through which creates the spin.

[lesedwards]

Les have you ever had coaching before or only with terry?

Just Terry, he is an excellent coach and knows a ton about the game. I am just a bad pupil. Need to practice what he tells me instead of thinking I have it now when I do not have anything.

[itsnoteasy]

Les I could be way wrong here but I think you must get the four contact points going, at the very least you have to get your chin on the cue, this will give you the information feedback if you are bringing the cue through straight as you will feel it move off the line on the chin.
When you do a good one up and down the spots, take notice of where your hand hits your chest, this is where it should hit every time, this is also a good reference if you have cued through straight, J6 constantly goes on about making sure you bring the cue back straight , and I have found he is dead right, slow back and relaxed, loose but controlled grip(it's the eye that hold the cue really and this will stop the slight outward movement of the hand on the way back, well hopefully) pause and lock onto that point,(whenever is best for you) it is very important to lock and no movement, and really concentrate on pushing that cue through straight, ( with the hand only or hit from the elbow as J6 says, it's very hard to explain this feeling but you will know it if it comes,)ignore the cue ball, and cue through to the point(if that's the spot or chalk ) and check all the points above, lastly don't hit it hard, just go up and down, you have to get a repeatable cue action before you hit things hard, check with Terry if any of this is correct as it is just my thoughts on the game(well stuff I have pinched from others ) it's very frustrating I know.

[j6uk]

There we go les, you have a new coach! Not me you'll be pleased to know but itnoteasy.. He's a good student of the game, making steady progress by the sounds of it and he knows what works.

[humperdingle]

Yep you have to be able to cue straight before anything else I would guess, how much side are you imparting as the ball returns up the spots?

Back to very basics if there is no improvement... I'd forget about long balls until the 'easy' shots are sorted.

[itsnoteasy]

There we go les, you have a new coach! Not me you'll be pleased to know but itnoteasy.. He's a good student of the game, making steady progress by the sounds of it and he knows what works.

Lol no coach, i wouldn't dream of it ,that's why I would always ask people to check with good players or coaches as I haven't got a clue, but I do try and do as I'm told, as far as I can tell there are about six basics to get a reasonable cue action, I think a lot of people say the same thing in a different way , and we are all here to try and help each other are we not?, not score points, or dick wag,you must remember it's very very frustrating for players at our level, looking for that leap forward, when in truth it's hard work and small steps, if your lucky.
J6 you say a lot of very good stuff, some of it very insightful , but it can be a bit cryptic sometimes lol, I'm not sure if it registers with everyone.

[j6uk]

Thanks itsnot, not easy being cryptic at the same time as dishing out the good stuff.. I couldn't do what tel does, to arduous and convoluted besides, I like to tug the string on the old niagaras every now and then to make sure players are working

J6 you say a lot of very good stuff, some of it very insightful , but it can be a bit cryptic sometimes lol, I'm not sure if it registers with everyone.

[itsnoteasy]

I have said it before I don't know how Terry and the good players on here do it, answer the same questions over and over(I asked all the same questions and got all the patient answers about a year ago ) I know I shouldn't answer the coaching questions,but sometimes I get frustrated when someone is told for the umpteenth time what to, they try it for ten mins, come back on and say it doesn't work!, or they can't do it, or they have stopped doing it, I then think maybe they didn't get what was being said, so try to put it another way for them,other times I think the reality is you have to put the work in, plain and simple, if you are given two things to do, do them for a hundred hours practice not ten mins, then come back and say how you are getting on, get more advice and do it again until it's right

[Byrom]

I have said it before I don't know how Terry and the good players on here do it, answer the same questions over and over(I asked all the same questions and got all the patient answers about a year ago ) I know I shouldn't answer the coaching questions,but sometimes I get frustrated when someone is told for the umpteenth time what to, they try it for ten mins, come back on and say it doesn't work!, or they can't do it, or they have stopped doing it, I then think maybe they didn't get what was being said, so try to put it another way for them,other times I think the reality is you have to put the work in, plain and simple, if you are given two things to do, do them for a hundred hours practice not ten mins, then come back and say how you are getting on, get more advice and do it again until it's right

Good post

[lesedwards]

Lol no coach, i wouldn't dream of it ,that's why I would always ask people to check with good players or coaches as I haven't got a clue, but I do try and do as I'm told, as far as I can tell there are about six basics to get a reasonable cue action, I think a lot of people say the same thing in a different way , and we are all here to try and help each other are we not?, not score points, or dick wag,you must remember it's very very frustrating for players at our level, looking for that leap forward, when in truth it's hard work and small steps, if your lucky.
J6 you say a lot of very good stuff, some of it very insightful , but it can be a bit cryptic sometimes lol, I'm not sure if it registers with everyone.

I agree on this being a great spot to bounce qusetions and get answers. I had a new friend over today for an afternoon of Snooker which only lives 15 minutes away. He actually lost in the championship round of the Canadian Snooker Seniors in 2007 so yes he is a good player and like I have said in previous post the more you play with better players then yourself the better you will play. Now an hour before he got here I worked on running the cue ball up the spots until I hit the cue 10 times then I tried something even tougher, I set the blue on its spot and cue ball on brown and then stun the cue ball into the blue and let the blue go up the table and back into the white and the white return to my cue. Out of 20 I hit my cue once and the blue hit the white 10 times and missed 9 times. i am going to do both of these routines before I do any practicing. Try it and see how you make out this is very tough. Oh back to my match, I finally starting potting more with confidence and did manage to squeak one game out of 7....LOL Still potting a lot of reds with no shape on a colour and those singles reds do not add up very quick when your opponent is running 24 or more everytime I miss. His high break was 59. His high break in a match is 121. His brother wich lives in BC is even better with a high break of 142. Cannot wait to get back to running the cue ball up the spots. Thanks for all your help.

[Belloz22]

Considering i'm the one who originally started the thread I’ll give you all an update of what my thinking is at the moment..............

I've always considered myself to struggle with snooker for years, I sough coaching, quick fixes etc. - my biggest argument was with coaching, I would get advice, work on it and then someone in the club would criticise how I was doing something. Thus I would adapt again, and this caused a vicious circle, I would know 50 different ways of achieving the perfect technique, all because people had different ideas of how they play, all thinking you should do what they do. To me, there is not a perfect technique, there are things you should do to help yourself achieve straight cueing, but everyone is individual so individual improvements and guidance are needed.

Anyway, every time I received advice from coaches, I would work on it, and then lose interest because I did not suddenly become amazing when in reality it was because I never practiced the changes enough. This resulted in me believing the changes were not working. In all honesty I went backwards, I got so fixated on techniques etc., that I forgot I was playing snooker and not trying to become a robot who was not playing a game but was battling to prove something to myself; I literally wanted to think about my technique every shot. Surely you play snooker for the enjoyment??

Anyway, it was only recently I had an utter breakdown with my game and again sought advice here, and for the first time, after I posted a video, I was getting interesting advice that triggered something in me. It was an explanation why I should change my technique, It wasn't just a case of keep your shoulder still, it was people saying you’re doing this, this is why..... And this is how you fix it. I knew the reason I was doing it!!!! And to be honest, people were being blunt with me – literally I realised the reason I wasn’t improving was me!! So after the advice I got on here, especially after people seeing my video, I thought well there must be something in all this advice and thought well you have no excuse to improve, you've been given the advice, the corrections etc..... it’s for you to work on it, and to at least justify to the people that helped you that you appreciated their time and effort to post and help you!!!! And ever since I got that advice, all I think Is when I miss a shot I must be doing something different in my technique and strayed from what I’ve been working on, thus I’m not blaming my technique but more me straying from what is the correct technique, and it’s only me that can cause that to happen.

The problem with snooker is that there is a such a vast gap from a beginner to a pro that each improvement increment does not necessarily mean bigger breaks, it could just be consistency - it isn't like bmxing for example, where you work on bunny hopping, then one day you can do it - with snooker, you work on something to gain consistency, and that is the main element of a good snooker player. With my changes I was not making any bigger breaks, but I was not missing so many balls, not miscueing so much, and if anything, it gave me more trust and confidence in myself to pot balls better. The improvement was the consistency and this was because I believed what I was working on improving was the correct way of doing things, thus if I do it right, I should pot the ball.

The biggest thing I miss is that I don't do constructive practice, and before games I play random frames whereas I should set up easy routines to practicing cueing straight and give myself confidence in my potting...... it’s this confidence you can then take into a frame. Yes you may be potting easy shots, but potting balls makes you feel better than missing balls.

Anyway - with all of the above I suppose what I’m trying to say is, improvement in snooker is not measured by breaks but more consistency - going from potting a shot 3 in 10 to 6 in 10. The angle never changes but your consistency does. And the reason improvement in technique does not reflect in bigger breaks, is because bigger breaks come from experience more that good cueing - you could be the best cueist and make not breaks because you play wrong positioning.

Just think as snooker on a scale of 1 - 1000 - each step is a small improvement over a large scale, yes it may not be a massive improvement which you can see, but it works towards the end goal!!