gotta get through this

[narl]

Not really...LOL The most frustrating game I have ever come across. I have some of the best players at my side but does not seem to help.,,,

Have to agree. Snooker can really get frustrating. I sort of play it in spurts, i generally don't play during the summer (mainly because the club i play in is like a sauna even in Winter) and find it hard to get back into it again around October. I only started playing for the first time since around May\June earlier this week and its like starting from scratch again.

It is one of those games though where it just seem that no-matter how much practice you put in some days nothing works. I can play for an hour or 2 potting nothing then suddenly start potting for no apparent reason. Other days I'll start off by potting well and it slowly unravels to me missing everything.

Think its the same for a lot of people, just gets frustrating then of course the cue is to blame or the table. When the balls are flying into the pockets its really enjoyable, when they're not you feel like snapping your cue, there doesn't seem to be any real explanation as to why its a game of swings and roundabouts. Just whatever happens on the day happens and that's it.

I do intend to try and concentrate on specific things though and see if any consistency comes from it, i do have some body movement that I've been told about (popping up on shots mainly) and i also need to get a more consistent cue action. I seem to speed up when i am potting well instead of keeping a steady pace.

[alabadi]

Have you considered playing Chess Alabadi?

Lol..haven't played that since I was a kid, I was good at it too

[vmax4steve]

Maybe I need to explain a few things about my vision . I had corrective surgery about 4 years ago so I have two different lenses on my eyes the left is a distance lens and the right for reading.

This can cause conflict because when I focus on objects around a meter or further away the left eye will be stronger . But when things are closer within a metre the right eye has the edge. I am not consciously switching eyes although at the beginning I did find it weird. The brain sorts it out now.

On the dominant eye thread mate you said you tried the method of sighting that I proposed to Laverda which was working well for him. To use your dominant left eye for sighting when stood behind the shot by moving your head or body to your submissive side to favour your dominant left eye at all stages of the stroke making process.

Do you still do this ?

[alabadi]

On the dominant eye thread mate you said you tried the method of sighting that I proposed to Laverda which was working well for him. To use your dominant left eye for sighting when stood behind the shot by moving your head or body to your submissive side to favour your dominant left eye at all stages of the stroke making process.

Do you still do this ?

I do tilt my head to the right slightly to favour the left eye, however I don't have the cue under that eye because it causes pain in my lower neck/ left shoulder blade, an issue which I have had for several years

[vmax4steve]

I do tilt my head to the right slightly to favour the left eye, however I don't have the cue under that eye because it causes pain in my lower neck/ left shoulder blade, an issue which I have had for several years

I don't understand this at all. The turn of the head should only be about an inch or so and if you play with a boxer stance then your head should naturally face to the right with your left eye over the cue, like I do.

Your coach should have worked with you on this from the get go as sighting is surely the most important aspect of the game.

[alabadi]

I don't understand this at all. The turn of the head should only be about an inch or so and if you play with a boxer stance then your head should naturally face to the right with your left eye over the cue, like I do.

Your coach should have worked with you on this from the get go as sighting is surely the most important aspect of the game.

the coach I have worked with doesn't believe the cue needs to be to one side or the other, and the cue will end up where which feels natural.
a few years ago I did hold the cue under my left eye because I believed that it should run under the dominant eye, however it really didn't make any difference. my current position which is almost center has come about naturally.

I think the coach is working on my stroke , approach and delivery and believes keeping these consistent will bring the most improvement.

I think I am not doing these consistently enough and therefore my results are inconsistent. I think that once I can consistently deliver the cue straight and play every stroke the same it should eventually help my improvement. at least if I miss after that it will be down to sighting which can be adjusted as long as all the other elements are solid

[Terry Davidson]

Terry my vision is fine and my latest eye test showed that, but i have found with my right eye which was really bad for over 30 years my left eye had been compensating my vision until i started using glasses.

i didn't like glasses and only wore them for 2 years before i had the surgery, so now my right eye is possibly the strongest but i am still left eye dominant and when sighting i am using my left eye.

however when i am down on the shot i'm using my right eye more and if you notice where my cue is on the chin it is slightly right of center.
so i have to work around this and compensate to a degree because it definitely is having an effect.

every time i am down on a shot when i pause at the front my cue tip seems slightly left of center on the cueball, but in fact i am dead center and i have been told this by a coach.

so i have to get down which looks slightly left to me, because if i put the tip where i think its center white its actually putting right hand side on the cueball. i only found this out not long ago so i am having to re-program the way i approach the shot and it is feeling weird, because what i see and what is happening are two different things.

its gonna take time until it feels natural.

Are you certain your left eye is dominant? My right eye has always been dominant but after my surgery they made the left eye the one with the sharp vision. I honestly can't remember what I played like before my surgery but I think I cued centre chin with my head pointed straight ahead. After not playing for 10 years after my surgery I noticed I was turning my head to the right more to relax the neck (as vmax says, no much, maybe an inch so my nose is pointed about 20* to the right of the line) and I have also confirmed I sight exclusively with my left eye.

Perhaps you are tilting the head too much to the upward? You should be almost looking through your eyebrows when down on the shot. I would say do a test by closing your right eye and trying shot of different distances and especially those close-in ones and check if you're actually using your left eye for everything because if it's 20-20 you should have no difficulty focusing on the cueball which should be still somewhere around 3ft in front of your eyes so an object ball has to be further away than that.

As for not being able to see and recognize the centre of the cueball I have no idea what is causing that. What if you look at the bottom of the cueball against the cloth, can you still not see the centre?

[Terry Davidson]

I have been practicing with prescription snooker glasses, its been over 2 months and they still bother me, its like playing with a glass bowl over your head, its getting better but its allot of work. At least I can see what i am doing. Lol Cheers and good luck, seems like nothing about this game is easy....

Mr. Sharkster...when I see you at the Annex this Saturday I'm going to give you a SLAP UPSIDE THE HEAD!!! I keep telling everyone since glasses are off the eyes they will distort what you see but there is no doubt with enough practice a player can get used to them.

Contact lenses are MUCH, MUCH better for snooker because they are against the eyeball and there's no distortion so if you want to have better vision for playing snooker go and get 'gas permeable' contact lenses which are comfortable and semi-rigid and they allow the cornea to get oxygen and you can wear them all day and even fall asleep with them in (although that's not recommended but after a lot of wobbly-pops I have done that).

This type of contact lens will give the visual acuity of glasses and I have mine set up for 20-15 in my sighting (left) eye so I can see the chalk dust on the ball from 12ft away. After all, if it's good enough for Cliff then perhaps it should be considered good enough for you (and no BS about 'I don't like wearing contact lenses because I can't see me putting my finger in my eye and it will feel YUCKY'...you'll get used to wearing them with 4 hours and after a couple of days you'll forget they're in there. I've been wearing them for years.

I wear a set for 3yrs and just clean them under tap water each night. No messy problems with this type of lens

[lesedwards]

I figured out Sharksters Problem. If I spent as long as he does over the ball re aligning and feathering my eyes would be out of focus by the time I played the shot.....LOL chalk one up for me....

[Terry Davidson]

I figured out Sharksters Problem. If I spent as long as he does over the ball re aligning and feathering my eyes would be out of focus by the time I played the shot.....LOL chalk one up for me....

You might be on to something there Les

[alabadi]

As for not being able to see and recognize the centre of the cueball I have no idea what is causing that. What if you look at the bottom of the cueball against the cloth, can you still not see the centre?

With regards to my left eye being dominant yes I'm pretty sure . I've done the chalk test where you point at it and closes alternate eyes and with the left eye the fingers is still pointing at the chalk, but if I close it it moves.
The finding center cueball, well as I said to me it looks centre but it's not every one that stood behind me has said I'm slightly to the right, I've even left my cue tip there and lifted my head to check and they are right.
I can't explain why but that's how it is. I once had a chat with Peter Ebdon and he's the same, actually a lot worse than me whn he was cueing what he sees centre is almost a tip away from it. But he said he made the adjustment and that's how he plays. As long as it's consistent doesn't matter.
So I aim what looks slightly left on the cueball and its bang center. So the coach said as long as I recognise this and I am consistent it's fine, but I have to keep checking from time to time to make sure I don't drift further left.

[narl]

With regards to my left eye being dominant yes I'm pretty sure . I've done the chalk test where you point at it and closes alternate eyes and with the left eye the fingers is still pointing at the chalk, but if I close it it moves.
The finding center cueball, well as I said to me it looks centre but it's not every one that stood behind me has said I'm slightly to the right, I've even left my cue tip there and lifted my head to check and they are right.
I can't explain why but that's how it is. I once had a chat with Peter Ebdon and he's the same, actually a lot worse than me whn he was cueing what he sees centre is almost a tip away from it. But he said he made the adjustment and that's how he plays. As long as it's consistent doesn't matter.
So I aim what looks slightly left on the cueball and its bang center. So the coach said as long as I recognise this and I am consistent it's fine, but I have to keep checking from time to time to make sure I don't drift further left.

Same here with the chalk, left eye closed my fingers not near it, right eye closed its dead on it.

[Terry Davidson]

Same here with the chalk, left eye closed my fingers not near it, right eye closed its dead on it.

So how come you both don't sight with your left eyes all the time because if you're right-handed that makes for a more compact and comfortable set-up?

[narl]

So how come you both don't sight with your left eyes all the time because if you're right-handed that makes for a more compact and comfortable set-up?

I generally do sight with my left eye while playing, years ago i was more in the middle of my chin but over time it just seems to have naturally went more to the left.

[sharkster63]

Mr. Sharkster...when I see you at the Annex this Saturday I'm going to give you a SLAP UPSIDE THE HEAD!!! I keep telling everyone since glasses are off the eyes they will distort what you see but there is no doubt with enough practice a player can get used to them.

Contact lenses are MUCH, MUCH better for snooker because they are against the eyeball and there's no distortion so if you want to have better vision for playing snooker go and get 'gas permeable' contact lenses which are comfortable and semi-rigid and they allow the cornea to get oxygen and you can wear them all day and even fall asleep with them in (although that's not recommended but after a lot of wobbly-pops I have done that).

This type of contact lens will give the visual acuity of glasses and I have mine set up for 20-15 in my sighting (left) eye so I can see the chalk dust on the ball from 12ft away. After all, if it's good enough for Cliff then perhaps it should be considered good enough for you (and no BS about 'I don't like wearing contact lenses because I can't see me putting my finger in my eye and it will feel YUCKY'...you'll get used to wearing them with 4 hours and after a couple of days you'll forget they're in there. I've been wearing them for years.

I wear a set for 3yrs and just clean them under tap water each night. No messy problems with this type of lens

I will make an appointment with doctor and my banker. Might have to make a loan... lol