knocking a break in with an i phone one yer head and a lump o wood worth 20 quid?

[Byrom]

I can understand that. I often find that my tip plays just about perfectly for me just before I have to replace it. Odd that.

yep I find that strange too

[itsnoteasy]

Well I went in today, but before I start since it has been mentioned I better say I was playing with a new cue, that I had only played with for two hours yesterday and it had a brand new Robbin Scott tip on it.
I placed the black on the spot and the reds above it to the left one half ball wide of the centre line and to the right one half ball to the centre line three to four ball deep from the pink spot as that looked about right from the video. I placed the white eight inches in from the side Cush and six inches up from the bottom one, this to me was nowhere near a half ball shot, I played what I though was a half ball and hit maybe an inch to an inch and a half up the side Cush , it felt closer to a thick quarter ball shot( but I could be wrong this was just my perspective on it ).
Now to how I got on, I could hit the pack on the right hand ball just glancing it with straight bottom on the ball, couldn't hit it with stun at all, but as Byrom suggested a little lefthand side, not a lot , and bottom and I could hit the pack basically anywhere I wanted, I don't have the same feel with my new cue and tip but I'm not going to say it made any great difference as I just don't know.
Would I have played that shot in a comp, yes, but I play very aggressive , would a lot of players I play against in the league play it, well the century makers without a doubt! but not everyone. Lastly I should say I missed this shot four times until I got the hang of it ,then got it nearly every time although not them all, I would say to me it was a toss of a coin if it was too risky to play, but I'm not at the standard of most(or probably all) of the people discussing this shot.
I think Terry did the right thing, if it looked too risky and he didn't fancy it ,don't play it, I know to my cost that the right shot isn't always the best shot, especially if you miss it and scatter the pack everywhere for your opponent.
Lastly the pack split quite nice for me on a few occasions I had it set a bit loosely as it looked that way on the video. Although when I checked the video today I may have had a ball or two less in the pack, so that could have made a big difference .
Pottr, that's just bloody ridiculous lol, I take back my statement about having decent cue power, I can screw back to the yellow pocket from the baulk line with a red at most(with the table ironed lol) ten inches past the blue spot, but it's a very streaky shot at best, maybe get back to the baulk cushion with a pot three out of ten on a good day ,a very good day come to think of it.
Sorry just re read this, the reds were not a half ball wide of the centre line, they were a half ball wide of the black looking up towards the pink spot, I hope that's a better explanation.

[j6uk]

a thick 1/4 ball is cueing over the pocket and thats not a nice shot anytime of the day

[itsnoteasy]

Yes your right I know that, it's a well known shot in billiards, I will set the shot up tomorrow and put a ball in the plant position and get a better view of it from the cue ball, I'm not the best at judging cut back angles, I can pot them ok but not judge if it's quarter ball etc, but I know your right.
I just looked at it again and it does look an easy stun or screw up into the pack, but when I set it up live so to speak it looked a lot thinner, maybe in was a bit closer to the top Cush , I will check again tomorrow , just for my own curiosity.

[j6uk]

you might need table grid implant surgery

[itsnoteasy]

Oh I definitely need something, I've got my reading specs now, so my eyes aren't as tired when I play , but they don't help me spot half ball cut backs, think I might take them back and ask for a pair with the table grid etched onto them.

[j6uk]

let me know how you get on. do one lens at a time just in case they scratch out a pic of mini mouse. see ya 2mw

[itsnoteasy]

image.jpg
This is a split second after contact, does look half ball.

[thelongbomber]

i think what vmax spotted was your reluctance to play bread and butter shots. in the match below at 1:10:00 you had a 2/3 black to open a few reds but you rolled it in. then on 1:16:00 you had a similar angle 2/3 or 3/4 on a pink to get into the reds but you played safe. there were many more puzzling shot choices in your next matches.. but, i don't remember you missing a long ball

Can't agree with your assessment. The pink black looked like half ball and it was a slight back cut. Getting into the reds at best he could hit the right edge of the pack. CB would likely end up on side cushion. Perhaps if the shot as played with more pace, he could have a thinner safety off the reds. Pink into middle was not a pack opener considering where CB was located. If the CB was 2 feet closer to the pink, then yes, you can put the necessary spin and torque to get into the pack from that location.

[vmax4steve]

I do disagree with you that I should hold the cue behind the vertical since the object of the delivery is to return the cue to the EXACT address position at the time of strike. In order for the brain to recognize that exact address position there are two keys, the first is the vertical position of the forearm (or the actual bottom of the pendulum in the words of Joe Davis - although he was actually ahead of the vertical on most shots) and the other is the back of the palm coming back onto the butt of the cue, pretty forcefully on a power shot. With the forearm behind the vertical you lose one of those memory keys as the back of the palm will still be off the butt. I have found having the vertical and getting the back of the palm down at address is a help for both myself and my students.

Terry

Jesus wept Terry, do you honestly believe and think about all that

Just take a really good look at Barry Hawkins. Addresses the cue ball with the cue arm slightly behind the vertical, grip still slightly open and therefore the grip doesn't close until after the strike, not right on the strike like what you are trying to achieve.
A really good cue action that drives through the cue ball before the grip closes ensuring a relaxed hit, a good follow through and with much less chance of clutching at the cue before the strike or indeed dropping the shoulder into the shot.

[thelongbomber]

it was 1/2 ball. if it was 1/3 you would of been cueing over the other corner pocket. and if that ani't a bread and butter shot for you you've never made a max

No matter how things look on video, your shot will always be different from someone else's. What that person can see as a possible shot is based on on their own prior experience. Terry saw what he saw and chose that shot at that moment in time. So many factors can play a role - match score, his tip, the balls, the cloth, the environment. Our shot selection and execution is such a finely tuned and sensitive emotional instrument that even a cough in the crowd, or a mobile phone ring can put us off. Shot selection changes over time and experience. Beginner's play shots a pro would never attempt because the pro knows what can and cannot be done. Even more important, a pro understands his own limitations. I'm not saying Terry is a pro, I'm mentioning that to show contrast. Shot selection isn't a black/white decision matrix that never changes. It's an ever fluctuating system based on what feels right at that moment in time. Yes, sometimes, there are shots you should always play, but what if it doesn't feel right or you aren't ready? Success in snooker can also mean knowing your own limitations and how focused you are at that moment in time.

Haven't we all looked back at past matches and said to ourselves, "I wish I hadn't done that shot", or "I would never try that shot under normal circumstances" ? If we were dumb as dogs, we would just sniff, bark, poo, and run. We aren't dogs, we are humans with emotions.

[tedisbill]

we would just sniff, bark, poo, and run.

Sounds like a night out I had when I was 19.

[itsnoteasy]

I reckon if I saw one of my matches back on video I would never play again. I would never say anyone plays the wrong shot, you can only play the shot you think is right at the time, i was just interested if the shot was possible, for my own learning.

[vmax4steve]

If we were dumb as dogs, we would just sniff, bark, poo, and run.

You forgot 'shag'.

[Terry Davidson]

You need some cue power like my good self Terry...

This is from last month where Chris Wakelin set me the challenge of screwing a ball from in line with the black spot from the baulk line to the baulk cushion and potting the ball... I told Chris, not only have I done that many times, I could get it in off in the yellow or green pocket...

http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/po...86428.mp4.html

Proper table, proper cloth with 1G Tournament Champion balls...

Chris couldn't get the ball back past the blue... In his words: "Jack can do that all day... can't make 20!"

I couldn't get the link I guess, as I only got your cues, snooker room and car (along with your trainers in one photo). I doubt very much I could accomplish the shot you describe even on a fast table but I might come close if I used a loop bridge (helps me keep the tip low) and a 11" backswing but even then I would likely miss the pot anyway using all that power.

For j6 especially, I will quote Clint Eastwood from Unforgiven...'a man's got to know his limitations'. pottr...despite what you say splitting the pack on a cut-back black that is a little less than 1/2-ball for me would be a difficult and risky shot. Now if I had your cue power then it might have been a 'bread and butter' shot but I don't and I have to live with that. Hell, if I had the cue power now that I had when I was 40 years old I likely would have taken it on but the reality is 'limitations' and I have to play within myself. I don't doubt yourself, Ronnie, Murphy, Hendry and a host of others would have potted the black and split the pack and run out...although with a cut-back they might have juggled the black, split the pack and then sat down while their opponent cleared up.

It isn't always about big breaks as they only win one frame. It's the guy who wins the match that played the best on that day no matter what his shot selection and cue power was. In my opinion I played smarter than my opponent, given my 'limitations'.

By the way, as I said before on that green ball safety I played exactly the shot I intended. You are focused on playing the snooker which would force my opponent to come off the side cushion into a tight group of balls however my leave forced him to try and roll up to the pack as he had no out. In the end because of the roll in the table he hit the black. Had he hit the top red thin as he intended he would have probably left me a pot to the top pocket and likely would have nudged the black closer to the top pocket.

Terry