Balanced Practise Routine

[denja]

I have a time window of 3 hours 4 times a week to practise I go through all the routines line up, long potting, blacks off the spot, screw back,run through, e.c.t. but I feel I am sort of swapping from one to the other and I should put my practise into some sort of order, Do other members set themselves some sort of menu (If thats the right word) I would be grateful for any suggestions that I could print out and stick to. Maybe Terry D. could give me some guidance.

[j6uk]

I kept doing the lineup till I cleared without missing. I did blacks off the spot till I did 100, then 200.. Lineup maxi, sequence reds lineup, max sequence red lineup, cross with only pinks. I could go on. The key is to do them till completion because this will show you if you've got what it takes

[throtts]

I say you can't beat practicing real frame situations with reds around the pink and black..There are huge amounts of different and delicate shots needed to carry on to achieve a high break. Should make you feel at home in matchplay too..My practice normally starts with just the colours off there spots, it tells you how you are cueing instantly....

[j6uk]

If you haven't done the lineup and 50 blacks then that would be my first goal if I was doing it all again. I'd also be looking for better players to play and pick balls out for, study there moves, though its not that easy to find good players to play these days. Another thing would be to join a league or look for tournaments to play in. That way you got something to work towards.
Oh and enjoy it

[Bomer]

I've actually never even tried to lineup or anything like it, if I go to practise, I just set the balls up and play against myself. I always play the best shots I can, if there's nothing on, I will try and snooker myself or leave it all safe. I just feel more comfortable doing it that way myself.

[j6uk]

I did this when I started playing, before I began to play properly and get to know people in the club. Whats your highest break?

I've actually never even tried to lineup or anything like it, if I go to practise, I just set the balls up and play against myself. I always play the best shots I can, if there's nothing on, I will try and snooker myself or leave it all safe. I just feel more comfortable doing it that way myself.

[Jetmech]

My practice normally starts with just the colours off there spots, it tells you how you are cueing instantly....

Same here. Indeed, it gives you straight away an indication of how well (or poor) you're hitting the ball. When I cleared the colours a few times (sometimes just once, depends how well I'm playing), I practise line-up, although I haven't been able to clear the table yet (I'm currently stuck at 31 shots, I wasn't perfect on the yellow and lost position and missed the green). When I'm tired of line-up I try various shots which are common during frames, i.e. long shots, black of the spot, pink in the center, splitting the pack from blue or black,... or I exercise my cue action: straight blue in the center and play the white in the same or opposite center pocket, or blue in either corner with the white straight behind it on the baulk line, ...

When I do particular shots, I do try to count how many shots out of 10 or 20 attempts were succesful, and keep this in an excel sheet to monitor progress.

Best regards,
GR.

[hotpot]

Long blues off the spot are a good indication of how well you,re cueing as any unwanted side will show .
Blacks off the spot are great for top cush positional play .
Colours off the spots without using cush are good for testing stun and pull shots .

[denja]

1/ Over the spots try for at least 15 out of 20 perfect returns to cue tip.
2/Long straight Blues off spot cue ball on baulk line try for best out of 20.
3/Screw Back cue ball into center pocket from blue on spot 15 vary the amount of screw.
4/Screw Back,Run Through,Stun, various positions round the table.
5/Blacks off the spot cue ball between black and pink over to right and left of the table.
6/Mini Line Up five reds Black and pink.
7/Splitting the pack from the blue I set up three reds in shape of triangle and attempt to get the cue ball through the middle from the blue
8/Scatter just scatter a few reds pink and black around top of table and see what you can make of it

9/ Place object ball over a pocket and pot it but you must go off at least TWO CUSHIONS with cue ball, great for angles and getting out of snookers.
10/Over the spots again always find this a good way to finish


One of my practise work outs.

[j6uk]

That's very regimented and might just be good for you. Have you every gone in the club for a two hour sesh and for a warm up cued along the baulk line for ten min, then just did the lineup?

[denja]

I am no expert but I think a full line up can be counter productive unless you are a very good player (If you follow the routine and re-start if you miss a pot this can lead to frustration ) I find it better to start with a small line up that is within you skill level, five reds pink and black and build up from there think about it ! if you can complete a small line up you are still a playing well ! so start small and get bigger. I like the regimented approach because I think it makes for consistent playing (I hope) you can sort of drill the correct Approach Line of aim, Bridge, Pace, into your mind so you dont have to think about it and with a bit of luck it becomes natural. It works for me but all player have a different approach to a game that is "Easy To Play But Hard To Play Well"

[denja]

Long blues off the spot are a good indication of how well you,re cueing as any unwanted side will show .
Blacks off the spot are great for top cush positional play .
Colours off the spots without using cush are good for testing stun and pull shots .

How many blues can you pot without a miss (No Porkies He! He! ) I have done 14 out of 20.

[Bomer]

I did this when I started playing, before I began to play properly and get to know people in the club. Whats your highest break?

38 I think, I never actually remember, that's in a match, I don't count what I get practicing

[Terry Davidson]

denja:

There are a lot of good practice routines available to you, however for every single one of them you must set a target and then once you hit it increase the target.

The first thing you should do is 'warm up' just as in any other sport. I do this by shooting the spots perhaps 10-15 times until I get to the stage where the cueball is coming back to my tip after 2 lengths and within one ball's width after 4 lengths of the table.

Then I do the line-up with a target of 2 x 100 breaks starting from both sides of the table. Sometimes I don't achieve this however I use the more difficult 4-6-5 set-up (4 between black and top cushion) and when I miss a shot or the position I was after I re-set the shot and try it again (and sometimes yet again) until I get it exactly right and the way I wanted it.

I then graduate to playing myself match frames and I play safety and snooker myself and attempt to escape from these without leaving a shot on. To mix it up sometimes I will play the black off the spot for 100 and then pink for 100 and then blue for 100 however this can take a long time and I try to keep my practice at around 4 hours per day.

For the sake of a change I try Nic Barrow's 'zig-zag' exercise for advanced players where you place 10 reds in 2 lines between pink and black and only one red is available at any time and the pink is not available at all. I have never successfully completed this exercise without replacing the cueball and object ball and trying the shot again until I get it right. The target is a break of 107. I have tried the Patsy Fagan exercise with 6 red in zig-zag pattern and managed to complete that a few times without re-setting balls for a 75 break but believe me this is for advanced players but it does teach very precise cueball control.

Since I am by myself all the time and rarely have a practice partner I have to play myself and your idea of playing yourself using match conditions is a good one but mix it up as much as you can and also when doing practice routines have a definite target or time limit for each exercise. For instance, my target for the line-up is 2 clearances starting from each side of the table or when clearing the colours in an exercise I try to get them in a row, so getting on the black correctly so I can get to the yellow and carry on that way. When playing the black off the spot I will use a definite number or else a time limit and sometimes both.

I also break it up and have a coffee break and a smoke about once per hour.

Terry

[j6uk]

Yes dealing with frustration is a big part of this game generally.. The good thing about the lineup is your playing all the shots, all the shots that present itself when making breaks. You also really get to know the cue ball, where to hit it to what effect and how to move it around, this being fundamental to all ball games.
If a player finds the line with colors daunting, I would say do a line of 15 reds without colors from blue to black, when you can clock that 2 or 3 times without missing then move to the line.

I am no expert but I think a full line up can be counter productive unless you are a very good player (If you follow the routine and re-start if you miss a pot this can lead to frustration ) I find it better to start with a small line up that is within you skill level, five reds pink and black and build up from there think about it ! if you can complete a small line up you are still a playing well ! so start small and get bigger. I like the regimented approach because I think it makes for consistent playing (I hope) you can sort of drill the correct Approach Line of aim, Bridge, Pace, into your mind so you dont have to think about it and with a bit of luck it becomes natural. It works for me but all player have a different approach to a game that is "Easy To Play But Hard To Play Well"