High Blacks Problem

[pottr]

The one you knocked in at the end 'clean as a whistle', you had close to no pause at all.

I think you should clear your head of what you think works and let what works find yourself. At least you care enough to put up a vid and seek advice. You care that much, you will keep improving, I am sure of it.

[alabadi]

The one you knocked in at the end 'clean as a whistle', you had close to no pause at all.

I think you should clear your head of what you think works and let what works find yourself. At least you care enough to put up a vid and seek advice. You care that much, you will keep improving, I am sure of it.

cheers Pottr, hopefully one day mate

[pottr]

One day is today Yusef. Didn't you beat your highest break the other week?

You're clearly on the right track. My only advice I can give is not to worry about 'Where you are looking'... That thought will **** with your mind when you're playing bad.

In your video you mentioned the balls you knocked in where because you were looking in the right place. I'd say you knocked them in because you didn't move as much.
Movement is what misses balls... Keep still, keep smooth and you will keep improving... Just don't leap back to the drawing board like so many on this forum do the second they have a bad session.

Never dwell on one bad performance in five... If you have five in a row, then post for help

[vmax4steve]

Just watched it again but this time with the sound on. Interesting that you clearly remember seeing the contact point on the ones you pot whereas with the ones you miss you aren't sure.
What pottr noticed about having close to no rear pause on the last pot; it could very well be that your focus on the contact point was made on the front pause, negating the need for that rear pause which is something that isn't natural to you and is something you have put into your action.
A lot of people are told to have this rear pause and to focus on the contact point during this rear pause, but some, including you maybe, take a little time to focus and are holding this rear pause too long because of it, resulting in a snatchy action.
Any rear pause should be short and concise and focussing on the contact point on the front pause should ensure this.

Before actually striking the cue ball, address the tip of your cue to the exact middle of the cue ball, hold it there while you look up at the object ball, keep your eyes on the object ball but do not attempt to play the shot until you are certain you are focussed on the contact point. Then as you play the shot don't make any conscious effort for a rear pause.
Suck it and see.

[pottr]

What pottr noticed about having close to no rear pause on the last pot; it could very well be that your focus on the contact point was made on the front pause, negating the need for that rear pause which is something that isn't natural to you and is something you have put into your action.
A lot of people are told to have this rear pause and to focus on the contact point during this rear pause, but some, including you maybe, take a little time to focus and are holding this rear pause too long because of it, resulting in a snatchy action.
Any rear pause should be short and concise and focussing on the contact point on the front pause should ensure this.

My guess also. He shouldn't be thinking about it because he's already done it.

[chrissmall147]

hi alabadi

one of your problems is the grip hand tightening to quickly for the shot you are playing. The shot you are playing should be a smooth action as there is no power involved but your action is as if you are playing with power with a jerky movement at the delivery and the grip hand closing 2 fast. Your grip hand should close nice and slowly playing this shot. REMEMBER loose grip throughout cue actions and on backswing and also throughout the delivery and the hand should tighten when you come through to the chest. Your other main problem is your stance even although i couldnt see your feet or your legs. When you play a shot there is a lot of movement in the hips and upper body which means you are not properly balanced on the shot which causes the movements when cueing and it is very noticable. You should feel evenly balanced on the shot, not 2 far forward or 2 far back, but if anything leaning into the shot and you should feel more solid. This is how i played throughout my career leaning into the shot and feeling well balanced and i was as solid as a rock on every shot. If there is any movement off line while cueing you can never be sure which part of the cue ball you have struck as it is always going to be inconsistent. One more thing, close your eyes and move your left and right feet around sideways forwards and backwards until you feel balanced and comfortable and then open your eyes and take a look at the positioning of your feet and this is probably going to be your ideal stance. I am a great believer in the boxer stance front foot back foot as you then lean into the shot and will be solid.I never teach people to stand with feet square as i feel that you are leaning away from the shot and causes swaying in the hips and other movement. So take a look at your feet and see the positioning of them and let me know what they look like and i could give you a bit more help. Hope this has been quite helpful for you.

cheers chris small

[alabadi]

You might be right Vmax the rear pause is something I introduced recently because I was told by a pro player who is on the circuit that I am snatching and need to slow things down. He thought a rear pause would benefit me. As u can tell from the video I am not comfortable with it yet. I know some changes take time so I wanted to give it some time to see if it will help my game.
I'm not sure that the rear pause is the cause of the misses although it does cause inconsistencies not keeping the same pause time.
I have been improving recently until a few weeks ago. So maybe this rear pause could be why not certain though . I'll keep making sure I stay still on the shot as this is one thing I know will make me a better player.

Thanks to you and everyone for all your comments, it's much appreciated

Alabbadi

[armstm]

hi alabadi

one of your problems is the grip hand tightening to quickly for the shot you are playing. The shot you are playing should be a smooth action as there is no power involved but your action is as if you are playing with power with a jerky movement at the delivery and the grip hand closing 2 fast. Your grip hand should close nice and slowly playing this shot. REMEMBER loose grip throughout cue actions and on backswing and also throughout the delivery and the hand should tighten when you come through to the chest. Your other main problem is your stance even although i couldnt see your feet or your legs. When you play a shot there is a lot of movement in the hips and upper body which means you are not properly balanced on the shot which causes the movements when cueing and it is very noticable. You should feel evenly balanced on the shot, not 2 far forward or 2 far back, but if anything leaning into the shot and you should feel more solid. This is how i played throughout my career leaning into the shot and feeling well balanced and i was as solid as a rock on every shot. If there is any movement off line while cueing you can never be sure which part of the cue ball you have struck as it is always going to be inconsistent. One more thing, close your eyes and move your left and right feet around sideways forwards and backwards until you feel balanced and comfortable and then open your eyes and take a look at the positioning of your feet and this is probably going to be your ideal stance. I am a great believer in the boxer stance front foot back foot as you then lean into the shot and will be solid.I never teach people to stand with feet square as i feel that you are leaning away from the shot and causes swaying in the hips and other movement. So take a look at your feet and see the positioning of them and let me know what they look like and i could give you a bit more help. Hope this has been quite helpful for you.

cheers chris small

hi chris, thanks very much for this, very interesting.

someone told me in the club to point one foot at where the object ball is going and the other in the direction of the cueball.

is there any merit in this?

[damienlch]

Hi Alabadi... correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like you are just trying to pot the black.

I've a thought. Instead of just potting, why not try to position the cue ball too, say bounce off top cushion to get high on the pink or black, whatever. I'd be surprised if you'd even miss 1 black in 10... ok, may be the first 1 or 2. I find having an objective in mind (besides potting) really helps. It's mental... lol.

[nrage]

its quite a tricky thing to let the cue just rest in your hand and let the weight of it do the work without using force from the arm. i feel if i hold it any looser i might loose the cue across the table, maybe this is why i am anxious to grab it a bit early.

its a case of working on it i guess until i'm comfortable with the feeling, not an easy thing to do.

Have you tried the exercise where you relax/loosen the grip bit by bit until the cue does actually come out of the hand?

On a shot like this, with low power I'm not even sure it's possible - because the frictions of the fingers/cue should be sufficient to hold that mass at this speed. But, try the exercise with a medium/high power shot and you will be surprised just how little tension is required to hold the cue, even at those speeds.

[jim evans]

Have you tried the exercise where you relax/loosen the grip bit by bit until the cue does actually come out of the hand?

On a shot like this, with low power I'm not even sure it's possible - because the frictions of the fingers/cue should be sufficient to hold that mass at this speed. But, try the exercise with a medium/high power shot and you will be surprised just how little tension is required to hold the cue, even at those speeds.

thats part of what i told you last week l

[alabadi]

Hi Alabadi... correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like you are just trying to pot the black.

I've a thought. Instead of just potting, why not try to position the cue ball too, say bounce off top cushion to get high on the pink or black, whatever. I'd be surprised if you'd even miss 1 black in 10... ok, may be the first 1 or 2. I find having an objective in mind (besides potting) really helps. It's mental... lol.

thanks damienlch I do try and pot with position when i do line ups, however, I am so sick of missing blacks off the spot from high I have started just practicing these for an hour each time I go to practice.

I just feel that there is no point of trying to get position if I can't pot first.

[alabadi]

Have you tried the exercise where you relax/loosen the grip bit by bit until the cue does actually come out of the hand?

On a shot like this, with low power I'm not even sure it's possible - because the frictions of the fingers/cue should be sufficient to hold that mass at this speed. But, try the exercise with a medium/high power shot and you will be surprised just how little tension is required to hold the cue, even at those speeds.

no I haven't yet had the cue fly out of my hand although sometimes I feel it might, maybe i'm a bit scared that it will, and this is why I tighten too early

[nrage]

no I haven't yet had the cue fly out of my hand although sometimes I feel it might, maybe i'm a bit scared that it will, and this is why I tighten too early

If that is the case, then you need to re-train that instinct out of your action. The only way to do this is via repetition, I believe, and I think this exercise where you are consciously concentrating on using the smallest amount of tension, and deliberately not afraid of the negative consequences of that (the cue flying off) is probably the best way to do it.

[itsnoteasy]

I cant comment on technique, much better placed people to do that, the only thing i would say is, are you locked on to potting point of ob, i think you may be flicking your eyes off the pot,(thought i saw some head movement suggesting that) i dont think the running comments are doing you any good at all, also when you say too thick, you dont seem to know that untill you have watched the shot miss, if you were locked onto potting point you would know as soon as the white connects(if not before)with the black if its too thick or thin or just right and you would know the potting point within 2 or 3 shots, especially as you are playing the white from the same place. Dont worry about too thick too thin, pick a spot on the black and hit it, if its too thick pick another spot a bit thinner and hit that, if you cant hit a spot you pick consistently, then its technique which is wrong and thats above my pay grade.