Gradual or Sudden Improvement

[horriefic]

I would like to ask a question to those 'good' players, defined as being are able to consistently/easily make at least 40 points and above when the reds are scattered (and the colours are on their spots) and you have an easy opening pot.

Did you arrive at your 'good' standard (as defined above), GRADUALLY i.e. you started making average breaks in the teens over a period of time, then 20s, then 30s, then 40s etc? You had to practice regularly and you saw progress over a period of time (say 12 months etc).

OR, you SUDDENLY were able become a 'good' player after a short period of time (eg. less than 1 month) after you managed to solve and figure out your cueing action/sighting/technique etc?

Thanks in advance for your feedback! Am asking so that I can know what to expect (hopefully) for my own game as I try to become a 'good' player!

[Terry Davidson]

It will be a gradual increase in AVERAGE breaks, with the odd higher break. What you will notice is the 'odd' higher breaks will become a little more frequent and also your highest break should increase however there will be ups and downs which will tend to frustrate you.

For instance, say your present high break is 40. Perhaps in one week you will run a 52 and then a 58 but the next week you won't make a 40 and then perhaps a couple of weeks later you might make a 62 and the next week a 71 or something.

It's always hit or miss and not only depends on your own technique but also the happenstance of how the balls are scattered and what's available to make a larger break.

The only true standard is the line-up where you have all the balls available and if you use this to practice you should see a more regular increase in your highest break.

Terry

[pottr]

I think people get hung up on their highest break at the benchmark for improvement.

I'm not going to try and say it's not a good guide for where you are as a player but I always guaged my improvement growing up, as when I had developed more consistency at a certain shot.

I remember one day, I could suddenly pot the majority of blacks off the spot...
Another day, I could suddenly pot consistently with the rest...
One day I suddenly had greater accuracy splitting the pack from the blue or baulk colours.

These were things that appeared suddenly, but only from the graduation of my practice.

Not sure if that makes sense?

[throtts]

Gradual improvement, not sudden and you can really tell this when you are fortunate enough to have your own table. I have never been one for counting how high my breaks are in practice. I like to see those silly little mistakes become very minimal, so your in control of the table and will not be leaving chance after chance for your opponent.

You notice,,,, - those canons are improving and canon the intended ball to carry on, you know when its easier to go up for the blue rather than try and hold for pink or black, being consistent on the black, when you see the line of aim quick on standing and when your hitting the cue ball with conviction, etc etc. All these things are gradual and you pick up on them which tells you are on your way.

[RobS]

Up until 2 months ago I hadnt picked up a cue for a good 8 years. My standard back then was scoring 30+ breaks with the odd 50+ thrown in.
So 2 months ago I decide to get back into the game and buy a cheap Robin Scott cue and off I go. I have a practice partner who reguarly makes 30+ breaks. So far scores have been 9-2, 9-0, 9-4, 9-3, 9-5 and then last week finally beat him 6-5. In those 2 months I have gone from making 10+ to 30+ breaks. Highest on my return is 64. For me I can clearly see my improvement is gradual but consistent. This is more important.

[j6uk]

I went from making regular 30s to, within a year, making 50s, 67,101. These were always made in bo5's for fiva and the lights..
But it was only till I got coaching and started regular 'proper practice' that I tucked into 60+ frame after frame.

[horriefic]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Looks like it's hard work, practice, and gradual and continuous improvement to get better at this game.

[vmax4steve]

All my high breaks have been easy because my positional play was spot on, but you won't play good positon until you are confident in your potting ability.
Best break I made recently was a colours clearance, after a scrappy frame when none of them were on their spots, that Ronnie would have been proud of.
These give me the same satisfaction as a 70+ around the black spot.

As for gradual or sudden inprovement, if you're a long term player I guess it depends on whether you have one little glitch in your cue action that is suddenly discovered and sorted or whether there are many that are gradually discovered and sorted.
If you're a beginner it all depends on natural ability, whether you have it or don't have it and gaining experience if you do and seeking experience if you don't.

[throtts]

How many of you guys practice colours off the spots then when on the black pot it and get position back on the yellow to carry on again. Good gauge of your improvement for sure..

[Leapfrog11]

throtts

I try the colours off the spots but might only complete them once out of maybe 10 times.

How terrible is that?

(although I did knock in a 42 playing my 6 year old daughter while ago )

[throtts]

throtts

I try the colours off the spots but might only complete them once out of maybe 10 times.

How terrible is that?

(although I did knock in a 42 playing my 6 year old daughter while ago )

Haha, 42 against your little girl, bless her. Does she respot the balls, my son gets cheesed off, he wii not respot, like his mum, he is a really bad looser so I end up kicking him out of my room.

Stick with your game and read and play as much as you can, it's working for me but yes, I do have my own space so its easier for me to squeeze play in here and there..

[Leapfrog11]

throtts

Lol she can reach the black spot and she will hand me the rest of them!!
How long will it last??

Like yourself I have my own room and I have been playing very regular with over 2 months now.

The thing is I am reading loads but I dont seem to be improving.
I put in six 90 plus breaks in the line up in the space of a couple of days about a month ago but I am now having trouble making 50.

I know a person can lose form but this is going on with a month.

[alabadi]

i practice colours off spots once a week for half an hour to a hour, success is variable sometimes i can get 3-4 out of 10 total clearance and some times 1 out of 10

[nrage]

my son gets cheesed off, he wii not respot, like his mum, he is a really bad looser so I end up kicking him out of my room.

Lol she can reach the black spot and she will hand me the rest of them!!
How long will it last??

Kids go through phases and should be encouraged to grow out of the hyper-competitive "can't play if they don't win" mindset if at all possible. My son is only 1 so I don't have any practical advice as yet. Some people never grow out of it, and some never have it in the first place.

As a child I was like that, I had to be better than everyone else at absolutely everything. This continued until I was 12-14 or so when I came home from school one day a changed boy/man - no longer needing to win, still wanting to win but .. I think it was a switch in mind-set I no longer based my own self worth on whether I was the best, or not. My self worth came from something/somewhere else and I just preferred/liked to win from then on.

The thing is I am reading loads but I dont seem to be improving.
I put in six 90 plus breaks in the line up in the space of a couple of days about a month ago but I am now having trouble making 50.

I know a person can lose form but this is going on with a month.

Snooker is as much mental, as it is physical. I find that when I am playing badly, I tend to blame my cue action or similar, but in actual fact most of the time it is my shot preparation which is letting me down. I am either not really aiming (not consciously finding the spot to hit and the line of aim) or getting sloppy in my walk in (not standing directly behind the ball and sliding in from the side) or I'm simply rushing things and not giving myself time to do all the above.

[lesedwards]

Good Question, I have asked this question numerous times. I now see Terry Davidson for coaching when I get a chance but still stuck on 31 for my high break. Most times only running 8 to 16 very frustrating game. When you have a table at home like myself and put a couple hours of practice in a night you would figure you would improve drastically but not the case. I have a coach, The Snooker Gym and piles of video apps and still cannot run more then my usual two or three balls. I have not picked up a cue in two weeks and not sure if I will. I would go to bed at night so frustrated with the game that I had to stop.