Most common reasons not cueing straight

[thunder66]

Rifle, I tried the ring grip (thumb and index finger), as you said, the key is to keep the ring constant, and I think that improved my potting significantly.

Could you further elaborate on what you said about the pinkie? how does it help to balance?

"Some coaches also advise a more open grip, where the cue rests on the fingertip of the pinkie, and the pinkie forms a balancing act."

Thanks!

Hello mate, the index finger problem can be solved by adopting the ring grip. This grip is just tight enough to stop the cue falling if you hold the cue upright and don't use the other fingers. The ring should never move or tighten, you try and keep it as constant as possible and you should be able to pot most balls with just this ring grip and nothing else. In fact, some coaches advise this method to get rid of index finger movement and over-gripping, and to improve feel of the cue from the index finger and thumb, especially in the balls for those delicate stuns and cannons. Some coaches also advise a more open grip, where the cue rests on the fingertip of the pinkie, and the pinkie forms a balancing act.


As ever, try things and see if they improve matters. If not, bin them.

[Ramon]

I've always found the contact point on the chest really debatable even though great coaches like Barrow recommend it. I use it and like it, maybe it makes me feel more secure or maybe it represents a lack of confidence in my action? Smurf uses it and he's got a great action but Ronnie doesn't and his cueing is beautiful. Maybe it's better to cue freely the Ronnie way? Though that feels too wobbly to me though. It's an interesting one.

Sorry for the aside in topic.

Rifle ,,, how about long backswing !! I mean ros Or S Lee ,, They have a long backswing during t cue action !!! Do'nt u think that a long backswing cus a less effort and a better timeing ?? Something like ,, just let The cue do his work !!!! If u do'nt mind me asking this , do u have a long Or short backswing ?? And what is ur opinion about that ?? Btw,, cue action is a intresting topic , imo.

[pottr]

I actually think his technique's dropped a level watching that...

There's a few shots where he lets his wrist get overly involved on the follow through...

Not a problem at all for someone of his ability, but not text book that's for sure.

[CoachGavin]

Most common reasons not cueing straight

As a side note Chris Henry who is Murphys coach as well as Nic Barrow and some other coaches say that very few of the top players cue straight and many cue across to some degree or another. However their cue actions are very consistent and so their mind can compensate for it. I know that Peter Ebdon cues accross and i have coached some very good amateurs who certainly do and it hasn't stopped them reaching a high standard.

[Terry Davidson]

As a side note Chris Henry who is Murphys coach as well as Nic Barrow and some other coaches say that very few of the top players cue straight and many cue across to some degree or another. However their cue actions are very consistent and so their mind can compensate for it. I know that Peter Ebdon cues accross and i have coached some very good amateurs who certainly do and it hasn't stopped them reaching a high standard.

I agree with that. As long as your technique is near normal if you do the same thing all the time the brain will become trained and you will improve, just maybe not as fast than if you had a good technique which delivers the cue consistently straight.

[tomlimcj]

firm n smooth delivery can cut down alot of cueing issues. its a habit thing but sometimes I slowdown my delivery on soft shots and they can have quite disastrous results, especially if I'm trying to roll in a straight red to come down for the black..

[svendh]

i found out that i can cue laser straight if i focus on the white during delivery like chris henry suggests to try

[ghost121]

i found out that i can cue laser straight if i focus on the white during delivery like chris henry suggests to try

I thought a lot about this years ago and remember watching lots of videos of Hendry in the 90s I had taped. Every time I could reliably see his eye movement on a shot it was on the cue ball at the point of tip impact. The split second afterwards it switched to the object ball. Coaches who doggedly recommend the eyes on the object ball often cite the golf analogy because you look at the ball when taking the shot. This has always seemed ridiculous to me because you are delivering the cue tip to the cue ball, not the object ball. The potting angle is a consequence of how you are lined up and how straight your cue action delivers the cue. The most common reason why people miss pots once they can play okay is because they don't hit the white ball as they should. Unwanted side all over the place, particularly over medium to long range. I have also been a target shooter for over 40 years and know you always focus on the target. The target is the cue ball. However, since folks make century after century with either method, or a combination of the two depending on the shot, the best advice is to do what comes naturally to you and practise that.

[svendh]

the best advice is to do what comes naturally to you and practise that.

totally agree with that. for me focusing on the cue ball is more naturally. i realized that when i did the "matchbox" routine. i can cue perfectly every time through the hole when looking at it.

[ace man]

I think to strike the ball consistently straight, or even with a very slight (consistent) cross habit, one needs to start very very early with snooker under the right environment. Anything less than that will undoubtedly result in more inconsistencies with technique...proportionally I would say.
Let me give you a simple analogy. Imagine you want to learn a foreing language, but you are not satisfied with merely being reasonably good at it...you want to sound exactly like native speakers, despite never living in that country for years as a child. How realistic is that?

[Catch 22]

I thought a lot about this years ago and remember watching lots of videos of Hendry in the 90s I had taped. Every time I could reliably see his eye movement on a shot it was on the cue ball at the point of tip impact. The split second afterwards it switched to the object ball. Coaches who doggedly recommend the eyes on the object ball often cite the golf analogy because you look at the ball when taking the shot. This has always seemed ridiculous to me because you are delivering the cue tip to the cue ball, not the object ball. The potting angle is a consequence of how you are lined up and how straight your cue action delivers the cue. The most common reason why people miss pots once they can play okay is because they don't hit the white ball as they should. Unwanted side all over the place, particularly over medium to long range. I have also been a target shooter for over 40 years and know you always focus on the target. The target is the cue ball. However, since folks make century after century with either method, or a combination of the two depending on the shot, the best advice is to do what comes naturally to you and practise that.

I was reading a "debate" on facebook the other day about CB vs OB . I downloaded a slow motion ap on the iPad and took some videos of players striking the ball during the welsh open . Sometimes you get a good view of the players eyes . Also some players have only a very slight eye movement so even in slow mo it's hard to tell .

One player I can say I'm very confident that is looking at CB at time of strike is John Higgins . On the slow mo frame by frame you can see the white has started to travel before the eyes lift to OB . I also videoed a bunch of cut shots too to make sure it wasn't the pocket the eyes were lifting to

[svendh]

I don't think it matters how John, Steven or Ronnie do it, they could knock a ton with their eyes shut. Important thing is was comes naturally to you.

[svendh]

Just try the matchbox routine to see if you can cue through the hole better looking at it or not

[tofushop193]

what is a matchbox routine?

[j6uk]

cueing through a hole 12-15mm in the center of the matchbox an keeping the action as stright as you can