Cueing

[itsnoteasy]

Saw on the other thread a discussion about what it takes to cue straight,(or hit the point you are aiming at) so I thought I would ask this, it's a question I wanted to ask Chris but forgot when I went.
When down on the shot ,back pause done and the delivery is just about to begin, what goes through your mind?,by that I mean do you make a real effort to push cue through straight, or empty the thoughts and let it just happen naturally as with eyes locked on it will just happen.
Also did it change as you improved, or was the drill always the same.

[Terry Davidson]

easy:

For a lot of snooker players there is a helpful method which entails having just ONE swing thought. (It comes from golf coaching).

It might be 'chin on cue' or a really good one is 'hit the object ball' (meaning with the tip so you drive through the cueball). Del Hill calls this the player's 'dummy' and he advocates each player should have his own dummy.

My own used to be chin on cue but once I got into the habit of not lifting the head on either the backswing or delivery I changed this to 'hit the object ball'.

I guess it all depends on what each individual player feels is the area he has to concentrate on and master in his technique.

Terry

[throtts]

For me ( dare I say it ) it's a tight chest contact. I also think that contact really aids the rear pause, making the cue feel as though its not just hovering about in thin air. You will have to be careful though with the chest contact because it can apply pressure on the grip contact...

The above is for me, may not suit others though..

[itsnoteasy]

Ah for me it's staying locked on till the shot is done(I know my eyes wander as sometimes I couldn't tell you where I hit on the ob) so I might try that Terry, if I don't do the one , two ,three, count it happens a lot. So it's ,locked on , deliver cue, one, contact with ob, two,ob in bag(fingers crossed) three ,cue ball comes to rest. End of stroke.When I don't do this its,locked on deliver cue look at pocket to see if its gone in, and of course it hasn't .
Throtts I have just a brushing chest contact, so it's more a reference point is yours a proper guide for your cue?.

[Sidd]

Mine used to be 'hit the OB with the cue-tip' just like Terry.

However, now tha tI am certain that I cue through well ... my biggest problem is missing due to not doing BOB so my swing thought these days is normally ... eyes locked on BOB. Even this gives me some anxiety at times and maybe Terry can help but at times when down on the shot I try to focus on BOB and then I have this spot while down but suddenly my eyes would switch just a couple of millimeters on that spot on BOB thinking this is the right one or maybe then again go back a couple of millimeters thinking no this was the one... and I miss !!!

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

If you are changing anything while down on the shot then you will have to sort out how you are changing that aiming point and control it. The most common method used to almost unconsciously change the aiming point is to slightly shift the hips left or right and if you are doing that you have to have the will to stop it and get back up and re-aim the pot (just so you are clear, the proper term for this is LAZINESS and we all do it from time to time).

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

Sidd try getting down into the shot slower, do you have back pause? When do you lock on during feathers, are you locked on too long or too short, all these things let your eyes wander I know as I have a battle with them all but ticking them off one by one
Most of all trust your aiming once down.

[pcb]

hi , can someone explain what they mean by hitting the object ball with the cue tip , my understanding is you aim the tip at BOB no matter what the angle / potting point . am i correct . can you please explain thanks

[DeanH]

hi , can someone explain what they mean by hitting the object ball with the cue tip , my understanding is you aim the tip at BOB no matter what the angle / potting point . am i correct . can you please explain thanks

Yes you always aim, look and focus at the BOB, but what "hitting the object ball with the tip means...
to me this means at the time of cue delivery you imagine the cue hitting the object ball at the BOB, i.e. you imagine the cue ball is no longer in the way
The method ensures that you hit "through" the cue ball, which gives the required "accelerating" through the cue ball effect.
This method also ensures that you never decelerate the cue at the point of hitting the cue ball, i.e. when a player "stabs or jabs" at the cue ball (we have all seen/done this) is when the cue has decelerated at the point of hitting the cue ball.
look forward to others' explanation...
cheers

[magicman]

It's 'imagining' you're hitting the ob with your tip. As DeanH says - this ensures you hit through the ball, but also tends to make you keep still and cue straight as well. It's nigh on impossible to 'hit' the ob with your tip if your heads moved or your cue is pointing up in the air! (Which is where an awful lot of amateurs cues end up pointing)

[Terry Davidson]

pcb:

The 'dummy' of trying to hit the object ball with the tip is exactly how DeanH has explained and it forces the player to accelerate through and beyond the cueball. The unconscious mind, for some players, has the habit of thinking 'OK, I've hit the cueball so the job is done' and they start decelerating the cue (called 'stabbing' or 'clutching the cue') and they tighten the grip at or just before the strike which will automatically take the cue off-line. This habit is very common.

One other point in your post...except for a straight-in pot you NEVER aim the cue directly at BOB as there's always an off-set. However your eyes should be focused on BOB or at least the object ball but the brain realizes there is an off-set and automatically adjusts for that and with experience a player never has to think about it. This is why I am a proponent of the 'ghost ball' theory (which is the same as BOB) however in a player's mind it puts a ghost cueball in the plant position on the object ball and the player has to aim the cue at the centre of the ghost cueball, which automatically is also the correct aiming line for the cue, centre of the real cueball to the centre of the ghost cueball.

Terry

[pcb]

thanks for the advice , so just to get it right , when we are down on the shot i am aiming my tip at the contact point on the object ball i wish to strike with the cue ball to pot it no matter what potting angle . i have asked this before and some said this is not correct to play this way . please help thanks

[Terry Davidson]

pcb:

What you are saying just above is not precisely correct, but I don't want to screw with your head.

As I said before, except for straight-in pots you NEVER aim the cue tip at the contact point on the object ball, which is actually BOB. Because we are dealing with 2 spheres here there is always an off-set which means your cue will be pointed OUTSIDE of BOB all the time. However, the eyes should be locked on BOB but the cue isn't actually pointed the same way as the eyes are.

If you think about it you will soon realize this is true. If you have a very fine cut shot, let's say 85degrees into the middle your cue would be pointed outside of the object ball however you can't place your eyes on anything off the object ball as it would be a molecule of air. Another example, and where you also have a definite aiming point, is a pure half-ball cut where your cue would be pointed right at the outside edge of the waistline of the object ball.

Except for a straight-in pot your cue is always pointed in a different direction that your eyes are looking, but don't worry about this as it becomes automatic. Remember to think you must get the cueball to the plant position on the object ball and therefore you are actually aiming the cue at the middle of a ghost cueball sitting in the plant position on the object ball.

I was worried as you said you thought you should always point your cue at BOB and if you did that you would always under-cut the object ball.

Terry

[sydneygeorge]

pcb:

What you are saying just above is not precisely correct, but I don't want to screw with your head.

As I said before, except for straight-in pots you NEVER aim the cue tip at the contact point on the object ball, which is actually BOB. Because we are dealing with 2 spheres here there is always an off-set which means your cue will be pointed OUTSIDE of BOB all the time. However, the eyes should be locked on BOB but the cue isn't actually pointed the same way as the eyes are.

If you think about it you will soon realize this is true. If you have a very fine cut shot, let's say 85degrees into the middle your cue would be pointed outside of the object ball however you can't place your eyes on anything off the object ball as it would be a molecule of air. Another example, and where you also have a definite aiming point, is a pure half-ball cut where your cue would be pointed right at the outside edge of the waistline of the object ball.

Except for a straight-in pot your cue is always pointed in a different direction that your eyes are looking, but don't worry about this as it becomes automatic. Remember to think you must get the cueball to the plant position on the object ball and therefore you are actually aiming the cue at the middle of a ghost cueball sitting in the plant position on the object ball.

I was worried as you said you thought you should always point your cue at BOB and if you did that you would always under-cut the object ball.

Terry

Hi Terry

Greetings from Australia !!

When I am forced to aim at a point outside the the cue ball ie into space I am trying to measure the gap in terms of tip size, which doesn't result in a good success or rate, any suggestions ?

[j6uk]

My mantra would be: 100% into the pot, hit from the elbow, stay down and don't move!
After shot completion and Ive potted the ball, an instant check list would popup in my mind like:
Was the pot clean?
Did I play the shot as imagined and get my desired position?
How did the shot feel technically?
What's the pace of the table?

I would build on this shot by shot, generate momentum and assess my form. Try and stay on the table when I'm in and compliment it with nice safety:snooker:

When down on the shot ,back pause done and the delivery is just about to begin, what goes through your mind?,by that I mean do you make a real effort to push cue through straight, or empty the thoughts and let it just happen naturally as with eyes locked on it will just happen.
Also did it change as you improved, or was the drill always the same.