Natural ability

[vmax4steve]

It doesn't bloody describe me that's for sure
I would have lobbed my cue straight in the bin today, but it would probably have missed.

Is your improvement regarding looking at the contact point on the object ball on the strike now deserting you ?

There are those who do it naturally and those like you who do it inconsistantly. Make it the first thought you have when you pick up your cue, put a note in your cue case if neccessary.
I have one in mine and I start off a session well, forget it after an hour, lose my rag, remember it and finish well.
Maybe if there was a poster on the wall down the club that said, LOOK AT THE OBJECT BALL YOU IDIOT I'd play well all the time.

[j6uk]

Is your improvement regarding looking at the contact point on the object ball on the strike now deserting you ?

There are those who do it naturally and those like you who do it inconsistantly. Make it the first thought you have when you pick up your cue, put a note in your cue case if neccessary.
I have one in mine and I start off a session well, forget it after an hour, lose my rag, remember it and finish well.

this is another thing that stunt growth at this game, the temper tantrums. how many times have we gotten hot under the collar after missing an easy ball, we're doing the lineup miss a black off the spot only to see it coming back to mess the lineup, we rush over and stretch across to stop the balls colliding and feel that heat rise
yep been there as a junior and its yet another learning curve. don't go jumping over the table for an in-off and banging the balls around with the side of your cue. let the balls crash into one another big deal, set them up again without feeling the heat and carry on

[itsnoteasy]

This is it Vmax, my nemesis lol, It's the only thing Chris pulled me up on , he said my cue is coming through straight, and my technique is fine ,but I just can't do it , I try all different timing with my eyes, but off they go wandering all over the place.
I don't want this to sound big headed but when I do lock on I just don't miss , doesn't matter how long the shot is, but it's so inconsistent , half the time even when I pot a ball I couldn't tell you where I have hit it as I'm looking somewhere else, and I have basically potted it because I have got down online and cued through straight. It's very frustrating, especially say doing the line up or something get up around seventy or eighty, then miss a little run through shot because I have taken my eyes off the ball, saying that this can happen at any stage and every line up over seventy I will have taken my eyes off the ball anything up to four or five times, but sometimes I get away with them, other days twenty , miss, twenty miss, lol.

[itsnoteasy]

You are right J6, but it's very hard when you repeat the same mistake over and over, tell yourself not to do it, three shots later you have done it again , I'm not a table thumper , or foot stamper , and can generally work out what's wrong calmly and keep working on it, but sometimes I get on my own nerves.

[vmax4steve]

I don't want this to sound big headed but when I do lock on I just don't miss , doesn't matter how long the shot is, but it's so inconsistent , half the time even when I pot a ball I couldn't tell you where I have hit it as I'm looking somewhere else

You and me both mate, and that's why I'm convinced that this is the secret to playing great snooker. I find when I'm playing well that I play very, very fast, and strike the cue ball as soon as I look up at the object ball.
Sometimes though there is a slight delay when I'm aware of this and trying to be more certain of locking on and that's when my timing goes astray.

I believe though that this locking on to the contact point is tied in with ones concentration. When focussed with a need and a want to play well I find it invariably happens. When I'm going through the motions and don't really care I play badly, which is most of the time lately.

J6

A punchbag in the corner of the snooker room always felt like a great idea to me.

[ace man]

It's very frustrating, especially say doing the line up or something get up around seventy or eighty, then miss a little run through shot because I have taken my eyes off the ball, saying that this can happen at any stage and every line up over seventy I will have taken my eyes off the ball anything up to four or five times, but sometimes I get away with them, other days twenty , miss, twenty miss, lol.

You were probably looking at a place where the cueball was supposed to end up just slightly prior to pulling the trigger. Very common and not surprising. A big no no, worse than looking at the pocket. But that can happen even to the very best players out there, so no worries here.
This is normal part of the learning process, especially when position is involved. As you put more time and get more confident with positioning and technique, this should be happening less and less. Just don't beat yourself up when it happens. Because it will, many hundreds of times. No player can completely eliminate this habit. But it can be reduced severely.

[itsnoteasy]

I am just back from the club, and it started badly but then, I tried a couple of things which are obvious but hard for me to do, number one I believed in my technique , so once down no thinking about what I'm doing just making sure I'm cueing straight and locked on, and number two and I know this sounds daft but I just potted the ball, I just concentrated on that one ball, not where it went ,not what the white will do, just that one shot, lo and behold my arm relaxed my grip relaxed my timing came back (which for a bit ruined my game because I was over hitting everything for a while ).
When playing well I do a wee routine of two reds below the black and six above and just clear them with only the black on, today I replaced one of the reds with the pink , so it was two below five between pink and black, and I was clearing this thirty to forty percent of the time, which isn't bad at all for me, considering it was absolutely boiling in the club and my cue was sticky as anything.
My long potting was good and I tried the long blue follow through, potted eight out of ten but only followed with three, although maybe another one or two would have went but didnt make the pocket.
I am definitely going to take your advice Vmax but my note will say, pot one ball at a time and stay locked on.
Thanks for your input Aceman, I was shown to track the ob, just to eliminate me doing exactly what you have said, but my bad habit sneaked back in, damn the folk on here are good at fault finding lol.
The long blue follow routine was done after I felt better, I tried it yesterday and only potted three and followed with one.

[tedisbill]

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[thelongbomber]

Is your improvement regarding looking at the contact point on the object ball on the strike now deserting you ?

There are those who do it naturally and those like you who do it inconsistantly. Make it the first thought you have when you pick up your cue, put a note in your cue case if neccessary.
I have one in mine and I start off a session well, forget it after an hour, lose my rag, remember it and finish well.
Maybe if there was a poster on the wall down the club that said, LOOK AT THE OBJECT BALL YOU IDIOT I'd play well all the time.

Don't get too locked on to any one idea. Rigidity won't serve you well in life or in this game. Be capable of flexible thinking.

[j6uk]

Don't get too locked on to any one idea. Rigidity won't serve you well in life or in this game. Be capable of flexible thinking.

i an see this being applicable in shot making, safety, shot selection and creativity amongst the balls, but i think technically this game demands the body to be automotive

[thelongbomber]

i an see this being applicable in shot making, safety, shot selection and creativity amongst the balls, but i think technically this game demands the body to be automotive

Personally, as far as I'm concerned, there are at least 3 distinct (and very different) methodologies in ball striking that I know work. I use all three as needed by the shot at hand and based on how in-tune I am at that moment. Yes, I agree that in large part cue action needs to be automatic (and repeatable), but ball striking isn't just black/white or 2-dimensional. Imparting drift, slide, bounce, arc, curve, drag and more in ball potting and cue ball positioning is not something that can be easily explained and yet it can be felt and visualized in real time if one is aware of it. I don't believe the game demands full-auto all the time. In fact, I would say that semi-auto and manual keep you more level headed and able to win in one visit.

[itsnoteasy]

Personally, as far as I'm concerned, there are at least 3 distinct (and very different) methodologies in ball striking that I know work. I use all three as needed by the shot at hand and based on how in-tune I am at that moment. Yes, I agree that in large part cue action needs to be automatic (and repeatable), but ball striking isn't just black/white or 2-dimensional. Imparting drift, slide, bounce, arc, curve, drag and more in ball potting and cue ball positioning is not something that can be easily explained and yet it can be felt and visualized in real time if one is aware of it. I don't believe the game demands full-auto all the time. In fact, I would say that semi-auto and manual keep you more level headed and able to win in one visit.

Could you explain the three and the differences between them LB

[j6uk]

these ball striking methodologies sound curious, ive never heard of such a thing, sounds like another fantastical bomberism..
yeah i think i know what you mean with drift slid bounce arc curve drag, but i don't see what it has to do with the strike. if you think you need drag or arc from the white then so be it, this would be skill and judgment. you only have one shot at a time and it can only be one dimensional to use your words, its one shot one line one strike and this needs to be timed well once because you only get one chance.
you might feel technically/mentally to be on semi auto whatever that feels like but for me to get the best out of my game i feel my cue action becoming automotive/ machine like as im not missing much, and that would mean im doing that one thing right on most shots, thats timing.
if im cueing well the head would follow in suite 'because its all there your not scratching around looking for form' and that makes things very tough for the opponent

Personally, as far as I'm concerned, there are at least 3 distinct (and very different) methodologies in ball striking that I know work. I use all three as needed by the shot at hand and based on how in-tune I am at that moment. Yes, I agree that in large part cue action needs to be automatic (and repeatable), but ball striking isn't just black/white or 2-dimensional. Imparting drift, slide, bounce, arc, curve, drag and more in ball potting and cue ball positioning is not something that can be easily explained and yet it can be felt and visualized in real time if one is aware of it. I don't believe the game demands full-auto all the time. In fact, I would say that semi-auto and manual keep you more level headed and able to win in one visit.

[itsnoteasy]

This is why I asked but when I come to think of it, LB might mean something like 1/2 ball, ghost ball or contact point, to find the point to strike the object ball,or to find the line of aim, rather than cue ball striking, but I'm not sure.
I think a lot of these things are easily explained but hard to master, like playing with side ,it's easy to explain how to impart side on the cue ball, but a lot harder to master it.

[thelongbomber]

This is why I asked but when I come to think of it, LB might mean something like 1/2 ball, ghost ball or contact point, to find the point to strike the object ball,or to find the line of aim, rather than cue ball striking, but I'm not sure.
I think a lot of these things are easily explained but hard to master, like playing with side ,it's easy to explain how to impart side on the cue ball, but a lot harder to master it.

No no, I don't mean that m8. I will write up my fantastical bomberism shortly. It's going to be a long post