Aiming/Sighting Consistency

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Had you read the thread carefully, you would know i have said several times it is not possible for a pool player to become a top snooker player.

The rest of your post is all rubbish or littered with inaccuracy. Davis didn't win the worlds, the mosconi cup is a dog and pony show, hendry is mediocre at chinese 8 ball, and that is being kind, Gray is decent at 9 ball but no world beater by any means, and drago has not dominated 9 ball in any way shape or form. I believe he won the world 10 ball but thats pretty much it. Ultimately, they are all at a certain level, which is a long way short of being genuine contenders for any competition with a world class field.

Hendry is only the face of Chinese 8 ball, He goes and plays a few matches to promote it now and then that is it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABT4r0wEMIs
Skip to 5 mins then 21 mins because Hendry does not look mediocre to me. Grey was European world number 1 after 2 years of playing pool but no world beater heh. Drago won a few pool tournaments despite being a mediocre snooker player compared to the top standard. Efran is the best pool player ever and Earl is up there too and SVB is the blue eyes boy in you eyes. What have they ever done in snooker? Have they ever won a snooker event or ever got a high ranking? Case closed and dismissed.

Case closed and dismissed? Lol.

When was gray 'european world number one'? And WTF does that mean? He qualified for the MC this year on the basis of being ranked top of the euro league (big wow) but he's nowhere near the best in the UK, let alone europe or the rest of the world. 99% of america had never even heard of him a year ago.

The brutal truth is, lower ranked snooker pros make lower ranked pool pros. This has been demonstrated countless times, but doesnt sit well with snooker snobs, who think their occasional 50 breaks makes them superior to mere pool players.

It doesn't.

[j6uk]

biggy your so competitive, giving it loads of yaps whilst jack rustling around our poor twitchy shredded ankles

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

biggy your so competitive, giving it loads of yaps whilst jack rustling around our poor twitchy shredded ankles

Just, ahem, woofing.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Had you read the thread carefully, you would know i have said several times it is not possible for a pool player to become a top snooker player.

The rest of your post is all rubbish or littered with inaccuracy. Davis didn't win the worlds, the mosconi cup is a dog and pony show, hendry is mediocre at chinese 8 ball, and that is being kind, Gray is decent at 9 ball but no world beater by any means, and drago has not dominated 9 ball in any way shape or form. I believe he won the world 10 ball but thats pretty much it. Ultimately, they are all at a certain level, which is a long way short of being genuine contenders for any competition with a world class field.

My mistake, he lost to Efren in the World pool league finals...but made it to the last 16 losing to earl in 2003 World....and how did Drago not dominate at one point lol he won the World pool masters, made it to semi finals of the World pool championship, won international 10 ball....Won MVP in mosconi cup. Point is if all these guys dedicated more time to the game they would no doubt be on top.....the problem is the game isnt very financially rewarding so why bother?

Well that's certainly true.

I think part of the reason for getting davis etc invloved was to boost its profile to attract sponsors etc. I really wouldn't take too much notice of the events he finished highly in if i were you as many are promotional events with the word 'world' attached to them to gain some sort of credibility. They would have to be open events with the world's best there to make them credible in my eyes.

[thelongbomber]

A coach once said to me that picking the right contact point with the eye is easy but hitting it with the white is difficult. I think I am at a level where every ball I miss is down to poor cueing.

Also agree. We all know how the cue ball and object ball are meant to connect with each other. Actually executing is the real issue. One thing I have always known is that you actually aim during your APPROACH to the table. How and where you walk in needs to be very precise and deliberate.

You can't really change cue action as much as you think, in so far as your aiming is concerned. Once you are down on the shot, your aim is pretty much set and nothing you do is going to change it. You can even try to adjusting aiming during feathering by sighting and visualizing, but on the final swing, those adjustments are often nullified by your automatic cue action. Amateur players try to adjust the aim after getting down on the shot, but pros know and understand that aiming starts with your walk in.

Have a look at some of Ronnie's videos. On long/medium range shots, you will often see his eyes move from the CB to OB a few times before he gets down. He is aiming before he gets into the shot and then when down, just focuses on execution, timing, and cue ball control.

Once you have developed a refined your walk in and approach to the table, and have turned it into an automatic movement, then aiming will improve. Making it automatic means visualizing the shot the same way, assessing cue ball position and awkward bridging the same way, holding the cue the same way, chalking the same way, standing the same way, walking in the same way, moving your head the same way. The more you can make this "robotic", the better results you will have with aiming and eventually execution and then going further, break making.

You could try the 1/4 ball, 1/2 ball and 3/4 ball system, but I'm not a fan. It might work on a pool table with sloppy pockets, but snooker is a precision sport, and trying to dumb down the cuts into 3 categories won't help you, imho. This system might be useful for understand ABC's of cue ball control, but it's only a start point for other aspects of the game.

[Terry Davidson]

Very astute post by longbomber ^^. You can see when a pro gets down on the shot he is only now thinking about cueball control (height/power/any side) and is not concentrating on the sighting because that has already been confirmed in his mind and it's all automatic.

I think this plus thoughts about technique are what costs us amateurs a lot since we are splitting our concentration. I try and forget about the technique thing but as I've been working on that for years now (and still haven't got it mastered) it is DAMNED HARD!

I'd like to get to 95% concentration on cueball control and about 5% on pot and technique as I feel that is about where the really good pros are.

[rimmer10]

Very astute post by longbomber ^^. You can see when a pro gets down on the shot he is only now thinking about cueball control (height/power/any side) and is not concentrating on the sighting because that has already been confirmed in his mind and it's all automatic.

I think this plus thoughts about technique are what costs us amateurs a lot since we are splitting our concentration. I try and forget about the technique thing but as I've been working on that for years now (and still haven't got it mastered) it is DAMNED HARD!

I'd like to get to 95% concentration on cueball control and about 5% on pot and technique as I feel that is about where the really good pros are.

What advice would you give to somebody who can't help but micro adjust when down on the shot? I could stand behind the shot for an hour, make sure my head drops down dead straight, everything looks good and all of a sudden everything would look wrong and I feel the need to adjust. Sure enough I miss, but I would also miss if I would force myself to stick with my original set up. I'm at a loss, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[tedisbill]

I'd like to get to 95% concentration on cueball control and about 5% on pot and technique as I feel that is about where the really good pros are.

That's interesting, Terry, because I was thinking the same myself yesterday. I had a session and I was just way too focused on my technique. It just doesn't work in proper frames. Your position is too sloppy, and you can miss basic pots by just trying too hard basically.

[OmaMiesta]

That's interesting, Terry, because I was thinking the same myself yesterday. I had a session and I was just way too focused on my technique. It just doesn't work in proper frames. Your position is too sloppy, and you can miss basic pots by just trying too hard basically.

How can Ted be Bill and Ted at the same time?

[tedisbill]

How can Ted be Bill and Ted at the same time?

Ted IS Bill

[DeanH]

Aiming/Sighting Consistency

I thought it was "Bill and Ted"?

[tedisbill]

I thought it was "Bill and Ted"?

Nope! Nothing to do with Bill and Ted. Although it kind of is, because as I mentioned, Ted IS Bill

[Terry Davidson]

What advice would you give to somebody who can't help but micro adjust when down on the shot? I could stand behind the shot for an hour, make sure my head drops down dead straight, everything looks good and all of a sudden everything would look wrong and I feel the need to adjust. Sure enough I miss, but I would also miss if I would force myself to stick with my original set up. I'm at a loss, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You have to try and cut out the micro-adjustments (which are usually you shifting your hips around). Lock the hips when in the address position but also ensure your stance is solid and COMFORTABLE for you, as it has to be stable for you to lock it.

To explain (and in line with what is posted above)...you will ALWAYS get the best look and line of aim on a shot when standing up behind the shot. As has been said literally EVERYONE can pick out exactly where they want to have the cueball contact the object ball (call it BOB) and can also pick out the correct line of aim of the cue. (This is the AIMING function)

When you drop down into the address position it is vital you do just 2 things, the first is while dropping down KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OBJECT BALL and secondly DROP THE HEAD ABSOLUTELY STRAIGHT DOWN - called the SIGHTING function because you are sighting along the cue, through the cueball to the object ball (BUT NOT TO THE POCKET), do not even look at the pocket when getting down or in the address position.

You must develop the confidence and believe you are selecting the correct line of aim while standing behind the shot and if you drop down straight with no lateral movement AT ALL and keep the eyes locked on the object ball until you are in the address position you have to trust you are on the correct SIGHTING line of aim.

If, as you say above, when you get down into the address position things don't look right to you and you consciously mini-adjust then you are beat already and the good book tells us to stand up and do it all over again (how many players actually do that? I've seen Steve Davis and a few others do it a few times).

My suggestion would be for you to decide what shot on the table is generally the most difficult for you and which you miss the most frequently then place the yellow ball in the plant position on the object ball, return to behind the cueball and look at the line of aim, get into the address position and check and see if the cue is aligned with the exact centre of the yellow ball. If it is then you're good but if it isn't then you have dropped down into the address position incorrectly and from one side or the other. Experiment and try your micro adjustments here but read again what longbomber said about the actual backswing and delivery cancelling out those micro-adjustments. Hopefully when you do the micro-adjustment the shot will appear to be aimed wrong, which would be progress for you.

BUT, there is one fact you must remember...(this is my own personal take on the matter and some might disagree)...99.99% of pots (barring kicks) are missed because the player DID NOT DELIVER THE CUE STRAIGHT DOWN THE LINE OF AIM. Believe me, it is a very rare player who can say 'I deliver my cue straight 100% of the time, I know because I can shoot the spots at any speed and the cueball always comes back to the centre of my tip even after 4 lengths'. That statement in quotes is ABSOLUTE BS and not even Ronnie or Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry cue perfectly 100% of the time, just a higher percentage than any other players in the world.

[OmaMiesta]

Nope! Nothing to do with Bill and Ted. Although it kind of is, because as I mentioned, Ted IS Bill

Hmm, you've given me a lot to ponder.

[rimmer10]

You have to try and cut out the micro-adjustments (which are usually you shifting your hips around). Lock the hips when in the address position but also ensure your stance is solid and COMFORTABLE for you, as it has to be stable for you to lock it.

To explain (and in line with what is posted above)...you will ALWAYS get the best look and line of aim on a shot when standing up behind the shot. As has been said literally EVERYONE can pick out exactly where they want to have the cueball contact the object ball (call it BOB) and can also pick out the correct line of aim of the cue. (This is the AIMING function)

When you drop down into the address position it is vital you do just 2 things, the first is while dropping down KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OBJECT BALL and secondly DROP THE HEAD ABSOLUTELY STRAIGHT DOWN - called the SIGHTING function because you are sighting along the cue, through the cueball to the object ball (BUT NOT TO THE POCKET), do not even look at the pocket when getting down or in the address position.

You must develop the confidence and believe you are selecting the correct line of aim while standing behind the shot and if you drop down straight with no lateral movement AT ALL and keep the eyes locked on the object ball until you are in the address position you have to trust you are on the correct SIGHTING line of aim.

If, as you say above, when you get down into the address position things don't look right to you and you consciously mini-adjust then you are beat already and the good book tells us to stand up and do it all over again (how many players actually do that? I've seen Steve Davis and a few others do it a few times).

My suggestion would be for you to decide what shot on the table is generally the most difficult for you and which you miss the most frequently then place the yellow ball in the plant position on the object ball, return to behind the cueball and look at the line of aim, get into the address position and check and see if the cue is aligned with the exact centre of the yellow ball. If it is then you're good but if it isn't then you have dropped down into the address position incorrectly and from one side or the other. Experiment and try your micro adjustments here but read again what longbomber said about the actual backswing and delivery cancelling out those micro-adjustments. Hopefully when you do the micro-adjustment the shot will appear to be aimed wrong, which would be progress for you.

BUT, there is one fact you must remember...(this is my own personal take on the matter and some might disagree)...99.99% of pots (barring kicks) are missed because the player DID NOT DELIVER THE CUE STRAIGHT DOWN THE LINE OF AIM. Believe me, it is a very rare player who can say 'I deliver my cue straight 100% of the time, I know because I can shoot the spots at any speed and the cueball always comes back to the centre of my tip even after 4 lengths'. That statement in quotes is ABSOLUTE BS and not even Ronnie or Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry cue perfectly 100% of the time, just a higher percentage than any other players in the world.

Thanks Terry, I will read this till I am sure that every single word has sunk in. And also LB's post as you suggested. I truly believe you when you say that 99.99% of shot's are missed because you're not cueing straight but does that mean your subconscious knows you're not gonna cue straight and tells you do cue off the correct line? I'm not trying to get too technical here, just trying to get to the bottom of this.