Over thinking it

[alabadi]

To make myself aware of something I did naturally has effected my natural game very badly and I wish I never read it.

i'm not sure being aware of something would be a bad thing, thinking of something while your doing it is different and for sure would interfere with your natural rhythm. in the end if we are not aware of what we are doing we won't know what we did wrong.

i think for something to become natural and be done subconsciously it takes maybe 100s or 1000s of hours doing the same thing over and over.

[Sidd]

A blue pill for me too please....

Cheers

[pottr]

I have come to the conclusion, get shown the basics, then go and practice. I think that's all there is, if it goes wrong it's one of the basics, it's as simple as that, I am not doing them right and I must do better

I like to think I play to a decent standard... Last night I had a couple of tons and a few decent sized clearances to win.

But on the balls I missed, I can say they were either down to:

Movement, not enough care dropping into the shot, positional indecision.

All basic mistakes that players of all standards can do something about.

This forum is fantastic. But the coaching threads preach a lot of information which is too much for players at my standard to integrate into their game without collateral damage. That's when you consider I have my own table and play a few times a week competitively.

I believe players at levels below will cause severe disruptions to their game taking advice on the 'finite points' of a cue action. Particularly from the written word.

There are no silver bullets, it's a goal that can only be obtained through a journey of practice.

Take care of the basics... Practice sorts the rest out... I promise you.

having a Masonic style handshake hold on my cue won't change a thing.

Haha

[vmax4steve]

Thats not good is it? You must try to relax and find your groove, ok understood, but then you must keep looking for consistency... that is the biggest challenge for a snooker player... how can you simply give up on that.

Because in essence Sidd I'm just like you, if I look for relaxation and calm it becomes forced and I won't find it, but occasionally it will find me.
When I used to play pool I would be in the middle of a very busy pub on a saturday night, fights breaking out every ten minutes or so all around me yet when "that song" came on the jukebox I could get lost in it and play like a demon strumming my cue like a guitar between shots.
Maybe I need that and perhaps my mp3 player could help me. Think I'll give it a go next practise session, fill my head with great sounds and forget what I'm physically doing.

[Terry Davidson]

I think pottr has it correct even though I am a coach and do a lot of printed coaching on here. I think for the past 3 years I have advocated a few times there are really only about 5 things all good players do in common and if any player did all 5 of these things and practiced and didn't worry about the rest of the finer technique points he would improve as long as he is getting sufficient practice (say 15hrs per week or so, at least half of it solo).

So now I'll get the question 'what are those 5 points Terry'? So I will put them up again...
1. Stay absolutely still throughout the backswing and delivery (this is the biggest issue with most players).
2. Loose but firm grip that doesn't change configuration as far as the wrist joint is concerned.
3. Slow and absolutely straight backswing proportional to the amount of power required...but SLOW.
4. Start the delivery slow and build up acceleration BUT DO NOT TIGHTEN THE GRIP AT ALL.
5. Stop the cue at the end of the delivery, keep the body still and observe the results with the eyes only.

The one other point I think might be to have a good FRONT pause where you check everything one last time and if you can naturally do it then have a discernible REAR pause (since most pros do that in common too).

There...now I should be out of a job but thank goodness for those players like Sidd who constantly worry about the finer points of technique as I sometimes make decent pocket money from them.

Those 5 points (or 6 if you like) are NOT in jest or a joke. If a player can master them and practice he WILL improve as he will start delivering the cue consistently straight. Note I did not mention sighting at all as I believe it is a natural and unconscious thing a player automatically develops (and now Nic is saying we do it with our peripheral vision however I would need that proven to me).

Terry

[guernseygooner]

Because in essence Sidd I'm just like you, if I look for relaxation and calm it becomes forced and I won't find it, but occasionally it will find me.
When I used to play pool I would be in the middle of a very busy pub on a saturady night, fights breaking out every ten minutes or so all around me yet when "that song" came on the jukebox I could get lost in it and play like a demon strumming my cue like a guitar between shots.
Maybe I need that and perhaps my mp3 player could help me. Think I'll give it a go next practise session, fill my head with great sounds and forget what I'm physically doing.

I find listening to a favourite song in the car on the way to a match gets the head right.

I see a lot of me in your posts sometimes vmax. After advise on here I realise that I will never achieve the consistancy I'm looking for. Last Saturday for example against a mate I started off with 4 50+ breaks in the first 5 frames and then nothing over 40 for the next 10 frames.

Everything about my game is too ingrained after playing the same way for over 25 years that the only thing that could improve me is 5 hours a day practice. That is not going to happen so I have accepted that some days the game will be effortlessly easy and others will be rubbish.

[vmax4steve]

i think for something to become natural and be done subconsciously it takes maybe 100s or 1000s of hours doing the same thing over and over.

Eye on the object ball at the moment of the strike is something that is done straight away by the natural potter as the natural potter knows subconsciously that the target is the object ball and not the cue ball or the pocket. For the natural potter to think about this will upset his timing and balls his game up, I have no doubt about that. On the other hand those who do not do it at all need to know that that's the way it's done and have to implement it into their game somehow or they will forever struggle to pot balls.

Those who have the biggest hill to climb in this regard as those who do it occasionally, fail to recognise it and try to change all the other things that they could be doing wrong while going in and out of good form no matter what grip, stance, pause etc etc that they try.

[pottr]

Those 5 points (or 6 if you like) are NOT in jest or a joke. If a player can master them and practice he WILL improve as he will start delivering the cue consistently straight. Note I did not mention sighting at all as I believe it is a natural and unconscious thing a player automatically develops (and now Nic is saying we do it with our peripheral vision however I would need that proven to me).

Pretty much sums up my thinking.

[Byrom]

I agree with pottr n v-max -

Plan this week is to drink - play music and speed up or one of these - free my mind again

Found this quote from pro player Michael Holt

Holt just needs to get the mental side of his game right. He has always over-analysed and fretted when he is playing.
"I cannot remember a time - even as kid - when I felt completely free," Holt said. "My biggest problem snooker-wise is that I am aware of everything and that is not an asset.
"There have been some incredibly good snooker players who are good because they are daft.
"If you can switch off and go into a zone easily that is a big asset. When the pressure gets to you, naturally your brain wants to think of something else.
"A one-track mind has made some great champions. But it's something I have to battle with."

Not just me then I see

[SouthPaw]

I agree with pottr n v-max -

Plan this week is to drink - play music and speed up or one of these - free my mind again

Found this quote from pro player Michael Holt

Holt just needs to get the mental side of his game right. He has always over-analysed and fretted when he is playing.
"I cannot remember a time - even as kid - when I felt completely free," Holt said. "My biggest problem snooker-wise is that I am aware of everything and that is not an asset.
"There have been some incredibly good snooker players who are good because they are daft.
"If you can switch off and go into a zone easily that is a big asset. When the pressure gets to you, naturally your brain wants to think of something else.
"A one-track mind has made some great champions. But it's something I have to battle with."

Not just me then I see

I'd say this is the hardest point in snooker to master... to teach yourself to play the game like it means nothing, speaking for myself i know I'd become a more consistent player if i went with the flow but it's hard to change a habit of a lifetime(being a tinkerer...)

[Sidd]

Because in essence Sidd I'm just like you, if I look for relaxation and calm it becomes forced and I won't find it, but occasionally it will find me.
When I used to play pool I would be in the middle of a very busy pub on a saturday night, fights breaking out every ten minutes or so all around me yet when "that song" came on the jukebox I could get lost in it and play like a demon strumming my cue like a guitar between shots.
Maybe I need that and perhaps my mp3 player could help me. Think I'll give it a go next practise session, fill my head with great sounds and forget what I'm physically doing.

Your opening statement just reminded me of myself. Yes indeed it is so true for me too. For you its the song so at least you know it but for me what is it I do not know ... On a Saturday I would get up and think its a snookering day. The air is fresh and its a lovely day. I go and take a shower and shave, put on my dress and perfume, feel so good about snooker and go and play bad bad bad... on days I sometimes get up and go directly to the club without shaving without being in the mood or groove and then it happens for me sometimes like that You are right, I also try to find it- I have even been listening to the alpha brainwave entertainment and the deep breathing and imagining yourself on a beach thingi- nothing seems to work ... its just like this for me too.... whenever she wants or likes, she finds me herself- I never get her whenever I look for her so she wants to be left alone and only then she comes to me.

Get your mp3 player quickly with earphones and be the devil that you are on the table

[Csmith]

I think I agree with this concept to a point. But I'm not sure what standard is the cut off point and what we mean by tinkering. O'sullivan and Hendry changed their cue actions during their career. Hendry added a pause and O'sullivan added a slight pause. Perhaps slight adjustments may be in order to keep moving forward in your development, but I'd say these adjustments are likely going to involve alignment and cue action. I don't think it's a good idea however to completely tear down and rebuild you fundamentals unless they are causing serious issues.

But I can relate to overthinking things. My biggest issue is going from being completely fluent and confident in practice and then freezing in match play. In practice I just pot the balls, not concerned about the breaks, I don't worry about how many high breaks I've had or what breaks I've had today, and as a result I run more. In matches I'm hyper aware of everything, which leads to poor performance. I understand there is always going to be a drop off between your practice form and match form, but I'm starting to think mine is quite significant. So my goal right now is to just...PLAY.

[GeordieDS]

Snooker is all in the mind and average players will believe anything if it will help turn them into 100+ break builders , a lot of these players dismantle their natural game to try and achieve a level they will never reach and end up head fcked because they can't play as well as they used to.

I've just recently got rid of the bull**** in my head and I'm playing as well as I did when I used to nigh on live in a snooker club.

Pottr on here makes a lot of sense and simplifies things with his anologies which is exactly what the club player needs to help his game.

[Byrom]

And how did you do that then Geordie - pray tell - because at the moment -

As they say in Newcastle I used to be a canny player and now I can nay play.

[pottr]

Pottr on here makes a lot of sense and simplifies things with his anologies which is exactly what the club player needs to help his game.

It is simple. To get to anything to a decent standard, you have to put the hours in... All the know how won't help if you can't find the hours upon hours necessary.

10% talent, 90% dedication and practice... I can't remember who on here coined that phrase but it makes point.