The Les Edwards Snooker Challenge Thread

[lesedwards]

No Shaun Murphy the line up can't be that good and versatile. Cliff thorburn said it's useless and the balls won't end up down the middle of the table in any frame.
No offence Les but Cliff is wrong.

Your telling me that Cliff Thorburn once a World Champion is wrong? You have to remember he is coaching me not anyone else. This is what he sees as the best way to get me potting balls and planing for position. There is no substitute for playing games with other players but when you have no one to play with from one week to the next playing by myself and potting balls works. I already feel more confident at the table.

[lesedwards]

You potted some good balls there Les, enjoyed that brown which took you back up for that red in the corner, thought you were going to go for the easier green, but as I said to you before, look for the natural angles rather play forcing shots on the straighter ones.

The ex world champion knows more than anyone else on this forum, keep it up.

Thanks Vmax it is always nice to get the odd compliment. It goes along way.

[LucLex3119]

I am not saying he is wrong. All I'm saying is the line up works for everyone. Cliff will know what can work for you and that's great but why come on here looking for advice to get better when you have Cliff there? I just don't agree that knocking balls around a table is the best way of practicing. There are specific routines for all aspects of your game that will help you more.
Good luck with your snooker.

[Csmith]

Your telling me that Cliff Thorburn once a World Champion is wrong? You have to remember he is coaching me not anyone else. This is what he sees as the best way to get me potting balls and planing for position. There is no substitute for playing games with other players but when you have no one to play with from one week to the next playing by myself and potting balls works. I already feel more confident at the table.

I think you have to both the routines and games against yourself. I used to be against these drills and I agreed with people saying that it's silly to prepare for situations where the balls are lined up down the table or a layout where the balls are in a shape of a tree. But the truth is, each of these routines teach different aspects of game or forces you to work on specific elements of position play.

They give you a consistent layout that allows you to determine which positional shots you struggle with. Playing games against yourself can be misleading as sometimes the layouts can be pretty favourable all day. Or difficult positions won't reoccur more than once. I personally use this type of practice to bring together what I've been working on in a simulated game.

[lesedwards]

I am not saying he is wrong. All I'm saying is the line up works for everyone. Cliff will know what can work for you and that's great but why come on here looking for advice to get better when you have Cliff there? I just don't agree that knocking balls around a table is the best way of practicing. There are specific routines for all aspects of your game that will help you more.
Good luck with your snooker.

Thanks. I am not looking for advice I am looking for encouragement.... sometimes it is not always about totally knocking the wind out of the sails but helping make the sails stronger.

[Ramon]

I am going to get better. I played a game against myself this morning and I am uploading it now. I will put this one up just so you guys can see that I can pot balls and make some decent shape. But this will be it for now. Man I am addicted to this game. I can say one thing I enjoy the game much more playing games against myself rather then beating my head against the wall trying to perfect routines. Cliff says there is no better practice. His comment in regards to the line up was how many times do you find even four balls all in a straight line in the middle of the table. You will notice in my video I put the black back on its spot if it gets down table. This practice is not about playing safe it's all about making balls and positional play.

I hope you do'nt mind me to intervene with this topic ( just for a few seconds ).
I think what Cliff says is regarding to psychological side of the game. thr re many players who can clear the lin up while during the real match They do'nt get the chance to score. (Especially if they are playing against a better player). and as a result a big disappointment. I think that's what Cliff wanna learn you. to deal with pressure and not be disappointed. (When you play tournaments Or real game ).
Imo , doing both routins is very good .
Btw, lin up is Not the only prtc routin . Thr re more routins which re mutch more diff to complt ( even for pro's ). And Cliff knows that .
Anyway , I wish u luck and hope u enjoy ur game .

[lesedwards]

I hope you do'nt mind me to intervene with this topic ( just for a few seconds ).
I think what Cliff says is regarding to psychological side of the game. thr re many players who can clear the lin up while during the real match They do'nt get the chance to score. (Especially if they are playing against a better player). and as a result a big disappointment. I think that's what Cliff wanna learn you. to deal with pressure and not be disappointed. (When you play tournaments Or real game ).
Imo , doing both routins is very good .
Btw, lin up is Not the only prtc routin . Thr re more routins which re mutch more diff to complt ( even for pro's ). And Cliff knows that .
Anyway , I wish u luck and hope u enjoy ur game .

You hit the nail on the head. Now I can't wait to get down to my Snooker Room and practice. My mind set has changed and now I have positive thoughts. Cliff likes the T Routine 5 reds both sides of pinks and 5 below. Better positional play required and not many multiple choice shots.

[vmax4steve]

I am not saying he is wrong. All I'm saying is the line up works for everyone. Cliff will know what can work for you and that's great but why come on here looking for advice to get better when you have Cliff there? I just don't agree that knocking balls around a table is the best way of practicing. There are specific routines for all aspects of your game that will help you more.
Good luck with your snooker.

First you have to learn your angles and pot balls, with the line up there is always the easier straight one to go for rather than the only one you have on when it comes to actual frame play, in matches or against yourself.
Constantly playing line ups and taking the easy straight ones does you no favours when it comes to match time, you surely must be able to see that.

When you have a better understanding of the natural angles then the line up and all its derivatives is/are great for refining your cue ball control, but as an actual potting exercise is a waste of time, Les has proved that as he has attempted them all and is still at the beginner stage after three years.

As an asides to this argument, playing billiards is a far better practise for learning your natural angles than almost any other. All the greats of the past played billiards when younger, even Steve Davis and Alex Higgins.

[tedisbill]

First you have to learn your angles and pot balls, with the line up there is always the easier straight one to go for rather than the only one you have on when it comes to actual frame play, in matches or against yourself.
Constantly playing line ups and taking the easy straight ones does you no favours when it comes to match time, you surely must be able to see that.

When you have a better understanding of the natural angles then the line up and all its derivatives is/are great for refining your cue ball control, but as an actual potting exercise is a waste of time, Les has proved that as he has attempted them all and is still at the beginner stage after three years.

As an asides to this argument, playing billiards is a far better practise for learning your natural angles than almost any other. All the greats of the past played billiards when younger, even Steve Davis and Alex Higgins.

Les hasn't proved anything. You do the line-up and you don't stop until you can clear the table. I'd imagine anybody that is any good approached it like that. The first 50-60 points will be "easy" if you like, but after that, you need better skills to be able to clear the table. If you're happy making a 50 in the line-up (and seriously want to improve at the game), then you're wasting your time.

[j6uk]

I am going to get better. I played a game against myself this morning and I am uploading it now. I will put this one up just so you guys can see that I can pot balls and make some decent shape. But this will be it for now. Man I am addicted to this game. I can say one thing I enjoy the game much more playing games against myself rather then beating my head against the wall trying to perfect routines. Cliff says there is no better practice. His comment in regards to the line up was how many times do you find even four balls all in a straight line in the middle of the table. You will notice in my video I put the black back on its spot if it gets down table. This practice is not about playing safe it's all about making balls and positional play.

nothing wrong with playing frames on your lone, knowing nothing about practice age 13 in 1983 after sitting in a smoke filled room for an hour waiting for a table, i would go out there set the table up, smash em an try an pot everything.

i too played a few lonely frames today, couldnt resist. i miss many easy ones, by a mile, few fluks, potted a few and played some safty. bit painful in parts



takes me back
.
.

[markz]

i too played a few lonely frames today, couldnt resist. i miss many easy ones, by a mile, few fluks, potted a few and played some safty. bit painful in parts



takes me back
.
.

Am I right in thinking in the second video you played a touch of check side on the last pink lol

[lesedwards]

Les hasn't proved anything. You do the line-up and you don't stop until you can clear the table. I'd imagine anybody that is any good approached it like that. The first 50-60 points will be "easy" if you like, but after that, you need better skills to be able to clear the table. If you're happy making a 50 in the line-up (and seriously want to improve at the game), then you're wasting your time.

Hi Ted, okay I see your point also. I also understand what J6 is saying about learning the potting angles and moving the cue ball around. I will continue to play matches against myself and mix it up with some line up practice. I will report back with a video when I feel I have made considerable leaps in my game.

[alabadi]

i've been doing the line up extensively lately and Saturday night was gutted. i potted 10 6 with blacks and 4 with pinks reds and was on a relatively easy 10th black 3/4 high had 2 reds just above the pink and the other 3 just above the blue.

took it for granted and played for the top red rather than either and finished short, middle of the two, too close to make the pot, well lets say if i didn't have a valuable cue i would have smashed it to bits, i was fuming this was the first time in a long time every shot i played was spot on, i had a good feeling i was going to get my first clearance.

anyway after calming myself back down i replaced the black reset the shot and played it again potted it and landed where i should have before and from there i cleared the table.

what a shame it would have been my first. i have a feeling with the way i am playing its coming pretty soon.

[LucLex3119]

Alabadi,

Sounds like you are having fun with the line up. Your getting close to a total clearance which is great. You will notice how the line up routine affects (for the better) your match play. And the constant practice will give your cue ball control a boost.

Can you explain what your mind set is when going in to the line up? Do you try to take all blacks or do you concentrate more on the clearance?
This can add pressure and will sometimes hinder your performance. Especially when trying to go from high reds down to black. Also thinking of the clearance can put you off once you get down to the last couple of reds.
I always set myself achievable goals.

Potting 5 reds with blacks is a good start, then move up the table to pot 5 reds with pinks, then on to blues. By doing it this way the clearance is more achievable because the emphasis is on just 5 reds at any one time.

It's well worth a go

[alabadi]

Alabadi,

Sounds like you are having fun with the line up. Your getting close to a total clearance which is great. You will notice how the line up routine affects (for the better) your match play. And the constant practice will give your cue ball control a boost.

Can you explain what your mind set is when going in to the line up? Do you try to take all blacks or do you concentrate more on the clearance?
This can add pressure and will sometimes hinder your performance. Especially when trying to go from high reds down to black. Also thinking of the clearance can put you off once you get down to the last couple of reds.
I always set myself achievable goals.

Potting 5 reds with blacks is a good start, then move up the table to pot 5 reds with pinks, then on to blues. By doing it this way the clearance is more achievable because the emphasis is on just 5 reds at any one time.

It's well worth a go

maybe setting smaller targets will be something to think about. my aim usually is a clearance, especially now i am getting closer and closer. in the earlier days all i aimed at is to get 3-4-5 ...etc, just make as much as possible.

i set up 2-5-8 lineup, the first 8-10 reds are with blacks and pinks i find mostly pinks because i still have trouble getting good angles on blacks (landing straight more times than i like) and find pinks are the better option.

so far i have only got down to the last 2-3 reds on a few occasions , however this is all recently which shows i am improving and getting better.

i have noticed this in games. a lot of these angles do crop up in games and by repeatedly doing the lineup i know what i can achieve when i get a similar shot. i use the line up for cueball control and its helping me in match situations.