The front pause.

[Sidd]

Treat every pot with the same respect whether its a ball over the bag or a long straight blue because if you dont respect every pot then this is where errors creep in. Have the same pre shot routine for every shot aswell and also take as much time on the line of aim on easy shots as hard shots. If u respect the game then this will stand you all in good stead. I am speaking through experience of playing pro snooker and I got bitten on the bum a few times for not giving respect to all shots. I soon learned though as it was sometimes the last shot that I got and I was up the motorway an hour later. It is also a great routine to get into and also great for concentration.

Cheers Chris small

This is just so true. You know I have been missing those baby sitters while on a break of say 32 or something quite a lot in the past. The reason is that while potting and reaching 30 plus I used to feel confident and then there was an easy bisy baby pot sitting near the pocket and I would work hard to position the white in a way that makes it a baby pot for me. And then i would miss that pot people go laughing and also feel for me cuz they would say you took those difficult blacks and then this was had nothing to do with it no side no nothing involved here how can you miss this if you can take those hard ones. I would miss and then stand there staring at the pocket thinking what the hell happened here. No answer...

I have discovered in the recent past that once facing a hard pot you pay much attention to detail take your time relax yourself aiming is done slow backswing etc etc hence you are concentrating on that pot and it goes straight down and the white goes to the point it is ordered to. However, potting such balls you feel confident and then there is some adrenaline rush and on an easy pot I used to go down with the "oh YOU... you are goin down baby" attitude and miss.

I have learnt to respect each and every single shot the same and this alone has given me consistency in potting.

These days I am missing only due to trying to control my elbow drop and shoulder muscle in the shot. Once that is achieved and I can play naturally without the elbow drop and shoulder muscle early in the shot; much improvement will come; or so I hope.

[vmax4steve]

Hi Sidd,

It is the preliminary stage.

I have been drilling in to myself that when playing well and feeling supremely confident I must look for the potting line PROPERLY before getting down. I notice a good few week back that my routine standing up aiming % goes right down when playing well because of being over confident. On Sunday I practiced for 2 hours and the consistency was fantastic, when I now go to the sight position I am now sure that the pot will drop and has already, made a lovely 8 red and 8 blacks too plus many other breaks. Had yesterday away from the table but will play later.

Another thing, I just play the game which is natural for me now, everything, the stance, the grip being not too loose but not tight either etc etc and its working very nicely. I think too many on here get wrapped up with this and that, they should just play within their natural flow.

I posted a thread which for my game was a big turning point, it was regarding the % between "aiming" and "sighting" and the aiming come up the most valuable part that would promote playing good snooker. Chris Small on second thinking put "aiming" at 95%, which says it all really. I think many players are convinced they are not cueing straight when they miss a pot but in fact they have just dropped down to the sighting position "off line" due to poor "aiming". When you go back to many snooker clubs you watch the typical player, he hardly takes any true respect and time on the "aiming" stage, hence being off line and missing frequently.

All the best with your game and remember, Sidd, when in the zone / flow, still respect the aiming stage. We all know where the BOB is, now we have to "aim" it too..Good luck, buddy..

Wise words indeed there throtts.
BOB must be found and focussed on before getting down into the stance, again when getting down into the stance and again when striking the cue ball.

IMO the pauses are used to focus the eyes on the target and their length is due entirely to the time the eyes need to fix that focus.

There is a great difference in the standards of the players looking for advice on these threads. Those who are naturally very good players simply need reminding of what they do naturally when playing well, but those who are not have some fundamental flaw/s that need first to be recognised and it's very hard to do with only the written word to go on.

Posting videos that show a players cue action from the front, rear and side can save an awful lot of time, trouble, guesswork and frustration.