The 'mindset' towards good positioning/cue ball control

[horriefic]

Ok, give me a half table straight or 3/4 ball and I can pot it at least 8/10 times confidently. 1/2 ball probably 6/10 times. So basically, I feel that I can pot decently enough. But I can't position accurately. I can surely stun, stun run-through, topspin and screw correctly, but definitely not always to the distance I want.

My question - what actually goes through a pro's mind when they are down on the shot cueing. Are they thinking about solely the pot, or about the position, or a bit of both? My understanding is that you are supposed to sight and decide on the shot BEFORE you go down i.e. you have sighted the angle/BOB, and you know you want to play a eg. screw shot at 6/10 strength. All that is done and decided. When you are down and feathering, and during the backswing, you are taking the cue back the distance commensurate with the strength of the shot (per Terry Griffith's advice). BUT when you are about to forwardswing and cue, do the pros just focus on the pot and ignore in their mind the positioning? If yes, how do they manage such accurate and consistent positioning? Is positioning the cue ball totally a 'feel' thing?

For most <20 regular break players, like me, if you focus on the pot, you tend to not position well for the next shot. End of break, or you have to make a difficult recovery shot. If you focus on the positioning, you at times miss the pot (a bigger no-no). So what's the right balance? What's the right approach in your mind when cueing to pot the ball?

I feel that to take my game to the next level, I need to improve my positioning. I am making the pots, but not getting into ideal position for the next shot, and that's limiting the break building.

[vmax4steve]

It's about having a consistant cue action so that you get the same effect nearly all the time from the cue ball depending on the power used and the spin applied to the cue ball with your own cue.
Then it is all about unconscious feel for the shot, knowing where the cue ball will go when played at a certain pace with the correct amount of spin because you have played shots very similar hundreds of times.
Then you don't need to think and you simply look and see and execute and can make those minor adjustments needed when playing on faster or slower tables.

[throtts]

A pro has completed the pot and the position at the aiming stage ( standing up ). I have drilled this in to myself with practice and discipline. The sighting stage is the execution of those 2 things..When you have cracked that your on your way ..

[chrissmall147]

hi horriefic

Pros know exactly where the cue ball is going so they can focus totally on the pot. Knowing you have good control of the cue ball really helps your potting so keep practising. All the pros have a pre shot routine so when their hand hits the table they know exactly what is going to happen. The pre shot routine is firstly getting your line of aim then visualising the pot going in at the pace you are going to play the shot and also visualising where you want the cue ball to finish. Then you work out height on the cue ball and pace of the cue ball and then you are ready to rock and roll. I did this before every shot and every pro will have a pre shot routine and it is a massive part of the game. You go down on the shot with your head totally clear as you know exactly what you are about to do and with hard practice and better cue ball control everyones potting does improve. Remember 95% of the shot is done from the standing position.

Cheers Chris small

[pcb]

hi chris , can you give more information on getting the line of aim , what is the line of aim in relation to the shot ahead . thanks

[DandyA]

that's a good question horriefic ... as a very amateur amateur, I would say professionals have conditions in their favour - for instance, at the World Championship a couple of years ago, the commentators mentioned (and it still presumably happens) that the bed cloth was replaced every 5 days, cushion cloth every 3 days and a brand new set of balls used for every round ... that gives a lot of consistentency in itself ...

and there again, the professionals are just so accurate ... a few years ago (it might be on youtube) I saw a demo of Shaun Murphy (I think) doing this ... cueball on brown spot, no other balls on table, hit the cueball off the black cushion so that it lands on the pink spot ... first attempt he was an inch short, second attempt he was an inch long, third attempt, before the cueball had passed the blue spot, he called "that's it" which it was, absolutely plumb ...

we can't play with that accuracy and we don't have those ideal conditions so we should always play positioning for areas - which of course, the pros also do often but the difference is they can hit the pin-point stuff if they need to but we're going to struggle (due to poorer playing conditions and a lack of extreme accuracy) ...

[horriefic]

hi horriefic

Pros know exactly where the cue ball is going so they can focus totally on the pot. Knowing you have good control of the cue ball really helps your potting so keep practising. All the pros have a pre shot routine so when their hand hits the table they know exactly what is going to happen. The pre shot routine is firstly getting your line of aim then visualising the pot going in at the pace you are going to play the shot and also visualising where you want the cue ball to finish. Then you work out height on the cue ball and pace of the cue ball and then you are ready to rock and roll. I did this before every shot and every pro will have a pre shot routine and it is a massive part of the game. You go down on the shot with your head totally clear as you know exactly what you are about to do and with hard practice and better cue ball control everyones potting does improve. Remember 95% of the shot is done from the standing position.

Cheers Chris small

Thanks a lot Chris for the insight. I do have some sort of pre-shot routine, but I think I really need to focus on it a bit more, and make sure I actually do it for ALL shots.

Another question - What would be a good way to practice knowing what angle the cue ball will go after hitting the object ball depending on which height you cue the cue ball at? I would think just set up 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 balls and then just play the same shots with different heights and observe where the cue ball moves. But is there some sort of routine that is taught to beginners to learn this?

Thanks,
Wong

[Sidd]

Let us make things clearer. There is a huge difference in us and them gods. All stated above carried weight and is correct however I would like to add the following:

It is not fair to compare a pros thinking with people like us perhaps because there is a huge lifestyle difference between the two. They are playing for life and career whereas we are not. We earn our living through our jobs that take most of our focus. No matter how hard we try at snooker its not a matter of life and death for us but for the pros well it perhaps is.

Dandy has a point too. Apart from what he mentioned, also there is pin drop silence in the arena when a pro plays and hence his focus and concentration is much more compared to our conditions. For instance where I used to go and play normally most clubs do so here in my country; for amusement or entertainment they would turn on music in the club and in some clubs they would even turn on rock and pretty loud as well... I had to quarrel with the club managers of all clubs that I have played in for turning it off if not slowing it down to where it plays only in the background. But then after 10 mins upon another person's request they would turn it up and you are bothered. Imagine getting inch perfect positioning on all shots under such environment ??? Cigarette smoke, laughter, noise, giggles etc etc it all affects you doesn't it. But the pros have their own things like TV cameras, pressure of missing a shot and getting rid of a 100,000 pounds etc.

To answer your question, As Steve Davis said, once down on the shot he is concentrating on the position because potting accuracy has already been achieved. The pros (and that is the way to go but only after achieving a decent accuracy and consistency in potting almost all angled and straighter balls) think about the position of course but they do so by locking their eyes on the pot or BOB Better break building comes with positioning and positioning means thinking about the third ball while taking the first For example you are on a red and try to take a black but the next red is near centre pocket now while taking the first shot you have to be lower on the black so as to stun it for the next red in the centre so you play the red to make the black in a way that it would favour the position on the next red hence when you take the black you need to position the red in a way that allows you to pot it and be on another colour and so on. Hence its all about positioning however first target is to get accuracy in potting.

This can also be understood from the fact that normally pros miss easy pots only when they need to have a cannon in the reds (cluster or otherwise) and they miss the black and the commentator says oh he took his eyes off the pot or he was concentrating so much on the cannon that he missed. Now they are concentrating on not only getting the cannon but getting it right. Having a full ball cannon on a ball low in the pack would mean end of break so they want to have a cannon half ball or quarter ball and that takes their entire concentration on the desired cannon and they miss... Now this means that they are absolutely focused on POSITION while taking the pot because the pot becomes an automatic habit for them... !!! Food for thought.

My problem is that while taking a red I have to place the pink half ball in the middle so I can stun it and go for the next red for instance. I would do it but position the pink quarter ball and hence make it difficult to pot it and place the next red the way I wanted. Its not easy but with practice and patience much can be achieved.

I personally believe it all lies in VISUALISATION that you do while standing up. You visualise how to hit and where to get the CB and then go down and demonstrate it. Visualisation means seeing the ball hit the red and go to the desired position in the mind while standing up. Then while down it happens for you subconsciously.

However, it has to be taken in steps. First and foremost is to get the pot and for that eyes have to lock at BOB once this is achieved with much consistency then you have to keep the position in mind while down however you have to do that by still keeping eyes locked on the pot, or else you miss

[david16]

I've watched snooker all these years and I still have no idea what direction the cue ball will travel after hitting the object ball.

[horriefic]

Sidd,

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. I extracted some good pointers from what you wrote.

Wong

[Byrom]

Every pro has their own individual pre-shot routine.

Why does this help?

1. It promotes consistency.
2. After many many hours of practice it makes things more natural and takes away a lot of the 'over thinking' of the game which many players do at club level.

I think developing solid technique and a consistent a pre-shot routine is vital for this reason.

[rovnos]

Things to consider before getting down on the shot are ....
1) where do i want to put the cue ball ? (leave it for the next shot). Be pin point accurate when picking your spot. You may rarely be spot on after playing the shot but should still end up in an acceptable area. Also, by trying to be super accurate you can learn by where you actually end up. Example...did i over hit it/ under hit it ? Also be realistic. Trying to play off several cushions and the length of the table to end up with a shot between to close balls is gonna end up in tears !. Make sure the position is achievable.

2) Work out your angles. Work out where you need to hit the cue ball. Always try to keep it as simple as you can. Where possible, try to play of a cushion, for example, coming up of the bottom cushion for position for the black. This is far easier than trying to play a shot 'dead' weight.

3) Work out how hard you need to strike the cue ball. This sounds like the easy bit but what a lot of new players to the game forget is the effect that spin/ side, has on the pace of the cue ball. Example....a shot with running side ( the cue ball is struck on the same side as it will be travelling) will 'kick' off cushions much faster than a plain ball shot or 'check' side shot. Where ever you strike the cue ball it will effect the speed.

4) Go straight down local club and bang in a century !

One point i missed out is always have in your mind where your looking to end up in 2/3 shots time. Don't get to bogged down with this but simply consider what angles you need to take the cue ball in the right direction.

[nrage]

One point i missed out is always have in your mind where your looking to end up in 2/3 shots time. Don't get to bogged down with this but simply consider what angles you need to take the cue ball in the right direction.

The short version of this is "when on a red, play for the next red" (think 2 shots ahead).

Meaning, when you're potting a red, and playing for a colour, consider the angle you need on that colour to get the following red. Likewise, if playing a colour, consider the angle you need on the next red to get the following (perhaps the same) colour.

[throtts]

When your cueing well ANY angle will do, IMO..Even when I am in the zone any angle will do for the next ball. Obviously it's frustrating though when you DEFINITELY need an angle for say a canon or a last red or 2, you see the big boys do that all the time..

[itsnoteasy]

Thanks a lot Chris for the insight. I do have some sort of pre-shot routine, but I think I really need to focus on it a bit more, and make sure I actually do it for ALL shots.

Another question - What would be a good way to practice knowing what angle the cue ball will go after hitting the object ball depending on which height you cue the cue ball at? I would think just set up 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 balls and then just play the same shots with different heights and observe where the cue ball moves. But is there some sort of routine that is taught to beginners to learn this?

Thanks,
Wong

A routine I do to practice cue ball control is to place reds across the table at pink spot height ,place the black on the spot and the white just on the low side, pot the black and hit each red in turn, you will go from top of white ball right down the centre to the bottom of the ball to do this, it helps you learn how the cue ball works.