The Les Edwards Snooker Challenge Thread

[GeordieDS]

put it vertical with brass facing up, you can stick it to another tables pocket or lean against something, takes all models of phones, etc :-)

If you get a chance do an example and take a photo and put it on this thread please

[lesedwards]

How about a cheap tripod? I have a couple here and they're not very expensive (also not of high quality either but I don't move them around a lot).

I was thinking the same thing. I have a decent Tripod with attachments for my IPad or IPhone. They work perfect.

[Master Blaster]

I am with you on that. TD has always told me to replay the shot, never start all over. It produces confidence that you can make the shot once you make it.

You try replacing the balls in a competitive or league match. You have to clear the colours to win sometimes, if you've put balls back to do it, you've leaned on a crutch. Your opponent won't give you a crutch to lean on. Ok, put the balls back if you're so bad that you can't complete the job 1/10. But once you can do the clearance, you do it fully every time or you put all the balls back.

[golferson123]

You try replacing the balls in a competitive or league match. You have to clear the colours to win sometimes, if you've put balls back to do it, you've leaned on a crutch. Your opponent won't give you a crutch to lean on. Ok, put the balls back if you're so bad that you can't complete the job 1/10. But once you can do the clearance, you do it fully every time or you put all the balls back.

That just don't make sense,how can you learn from your misses if you don't try the shot again,practice is practice,matches is matches

[lesedwards]

That just don't make sense,how can you learn from your misses if you don't try the shot again,practice is practice,matches is matches

I agree 100% . This is what TD has pushed on me since day one. This creates positive thought in your mind. If you just keep starting over you will just get frustrated and you find you miss the same shot again. Like the red to blue shot. I use to the red from that ang 80% of the time now I do not even think about it.

[alabadi]

yep as i said i don't see the point starting over again until you are confident u can pot each ball from a variety of positions.

i mean for instance if a beginner pots the yellow and green and keeps missing the brown, whats the point of starting all over again. doesn't make sense, he needs to practice the brown until he can pot it at least 7-8 out of 10.

the try and pot all three consistently before moving onto the blue and so on

[cyberheater]

I've started to add 20/30 mins of just potting blacks into my practice routine.

It's quite demanding but I'm really improving in that area. It's amazing that you get into a groove and I can pot over 20 blacks in a row before I do something silly.
It's a top exercise. I wish I had started doing it sooner.

One other exercise I recommend is learning how to pot the black and blue and smash into the pack. I've started doing this exercise quite a lot recently. Very useful. I've started to get to the point where I can pick a spot on the pack to smash into. It's quite handy to clip off a end red rather then go into a full pack on a normal club table as the white tends to stick on a red.

[tedisbill]

I must say I don't know what the right answer is in regards to setting shots up again. I must say it's not something I ever did. If I was clearing the colours, I just started again if I missed until I could do it. Same with the line-up. I always just started again if I missed.

I've worked on particular shots if it's something I notice I'm particularly struggling on, but that would be at a totally separate time.

I'd be interested to hear what a few other people do...

[ghost121]

You try replacing the balls in a competitive or league match. You have to clear the colours to win sometimes, if you've put balls back to do it, you've leaned on a crutch. Your opponent won't give you a crutch to lean on. Ok, put the balls back if you're so bad that you can't complete the job 1/10. But once you can do the clearance, you do it fully every time or you put all the balls back.

Learning how to do anything requires repetition and if you are at the stage where you struggle to clear the colours consistently, then you have to learn each shot in the sequence individually. Play just yellows to green, for example, from a variety of cue ball positions. Get on the green but don't pot it, go back and set up the yellow. Over and over. Then the same with green to brown and so on. Over and over. It's about building things up slowly on a firm foundation. Learning how to be tough mentally in a match is something entirely different and nothing to do with how you clear the colours or reset missed shots. The problem less experienced players have when they practise is that they do not reinforce the basics enough. Too much in a rush to do the more complicated stuff. Basics first, lots of them, boring but unavoidable. Many players are practising complex routines when they can't even strike the cue ball properly.

[Master Blaster]

I agree 100% . This is what TD has pushed on me since day one. This creates positive thought in your mind. If you just keep starting over you will just get frustrated and you find you miss the same shot again. Like the red to blue shot. I use to the red from that ang 80% of the time now I do not even think about it.

It's this kind of baby thinking that's limited people. If you can't clear the colours after playing for three years, the player is crap. You put all the balls back and start again to beat the clearance and man up. It's called pressure and every good player can handle it. If you have to put the balls back one by one, it only shows mental weakness. You need to return to the art of straight cueing and sighting. Everyone should be able to put long blues 7/10 in practice. If you can't then there are fundamental flaws in your set up you need to address. Anyone who can't make a fifty after three years has real problems. Don't do these routines if this is you, go see a coach. My coach would never let me put balls back in routines, I have to start again. Doing it in one attempt breeds great confidence for match situations.

[aucott80]

I agree 100% . This is what TD has pushed on me since day one. This creates positive thought in your mind. If you just keep starting over you will just get frustrated and you find you miss the same shot again. Like the red to blue shot. I use to the red from that ang 80% of the time now I do not even think about it.

It's this kind of baby thinking that's limited people. If you can't clear the colours after playing for three years, the player is crap. You put all the balls back and start again to beat the clearance and man up. It's called pressure and every good player can handle it. If you have to put the balls back one by one, it only shows mental weakness. You need to return to the art of straight cueing and sighting. Everyone should be able to put long blues 7/10 in practice. If you can't then there are fundamental flaws in your set up you need to address. Anyone who can't make a fifty after three years has real problems. Don't do these routines if this is you, go see a coach. My coach would never let me put balls back in routines, I have to start again. Doing it in one attempt breeds great confidence for match situations.

Where do you find the time for all these essays?

[Master Blaster]

Where do you find the time for all these essays?

I multi-task. I'm at practice and squeezing this during breaks. Methi, or was it Advani spent two years sorting their set up and cue action. That's right, two years. If you're blessed like Ronnie you won't need to do this but everyone on this thread isn't. So go back to basics and get it right if you can't clear the colours in one go and pot five long straight blues out of ten. And I'm being soft there. If you don't get the basics right your gamer will be limited forever or you will have to go back to basics eventually and look back on wasted years. You do the job right the first time then move on.

[lesedwards]

I must say I don't know what the right answer is in regards to setting shots up again. I must say it's not something I ever did. If I was clearing the colours, I just started again if I missed until I could do it. Same with the line-up. I always just started again if I missed.

I've worked on particular shots if it's something I notice I'm particularly struggling on, but that would be at a totally separate time.

I'd be interested to hear what a few other people do...

Hi Ted I think this replaying shots maybe has gotten out of hand. Shooting the colours for example if you cannot clear them because of a specific shot then dig out five reds and start playing that shot till you master it. Then shoot the colours if you miss you start over and the same goes for any of the other challenges. I try to play three tough games against myself each day after working on my challenges and this is when I will set a shot up and try again. For example if I miss a specific shot I am trying to play such as a cannon onto a red while making the black and I get the cannon but miss the black or make the black and miss the cannon I will set it up and do it until I get it right. I am doing very well at all the challenges but one. The fifteen red still has my number and normally a shot to a middle bag stops me so today is middle bag day. Pot reds in the middle from every angle until it feels natural. I will say my middle pockets have very little room for error.

[Terry Davidson]

When I said re-set the shot I was referring more to a routine where you have a lot of balls on the table like the full line-up or 'T', but I think it would apply to clearing the colours as well in some specific instances.

For instance, the shot that I miss more of than any other is when I get on the green when I am just past the baulkline and I have to use top-check-side to make the green and hold for the brown. I miss this pot too much so I do what Les has said and put up a bunch of balls on the green spot and put the cueball about 2" in front of the yellow spot and try it. With side across the nap this shot (for me at least) is very difficult and it does come up more than it should, especially if I screw up the yellow when using a rest and I forget there is actually about 2ft of room for error when getting on the green and you can also be down level with the blue and still get position on the brown.

[Master Blaster]

Can you imagine a SM in the marines saying, it's ok son, just leave the cargo net, were can see you're struggling. Come back and do it by itself another day? Snooker is a battle as Griffiths said and that's why we must all fight. The first and greatest opponent is us. We overcome doubt and weakness through discipline and everyone who does is already a winner. Show no fear and hug adversity and give it a kiss because harder than you think is a beautiful thing.