Causing Kick in snooker !!!

[Ramon]

What causing kick between 2 balls in snooker ?? everyone has their own opinion !! bad contact / balls with chalk mark / and .......... !!! my question is: how about the technique of the player (cueing)?
can we avoid t kick with less effort and fluent cueing ?? Your opinion will be appreciated !!

[Leo]

What causing kick between 2 balls in snooker ?? everyone has their own opinion !! bad contact / balls with chalk mark / and .......... !!! my question is: how about the technique of the player (cueing)?
can we avoid t kick with less effort and fluent cueing ?? Your opinion will be appreciated !!

Kicks are part of snooker and every player will either be lucky with a kick or they wouldn't and each player will get their fair share of kicks through the course of their careers.
What we see with the naked eye being watching or playing the game you'd be surprised under a microscope what lurks on the table dust particles etc etc and the cleaner the balls IMHO the more likely you'll get a reaction. Cleaning the balls after every shot doesnt compensate what's ever hiding on the table.

[Master Blaster]

Ramon has a point, unsmooth cueing can cause stun and kicks but the pros get lots of kicks. I think it is chalk, table heaters and friction.

[OmaMiesta]

I think it mainly has to do with chalk and dust particles as I get a lot of kicks on my table ( needs new cloth ) Who knows maybe a nice cue action can help prevent them too cause you never really see Ronnie or Murphy complain too much about them and it rarely effects their game.

[LittleMissAlexa]

I think its a combination of all the theories have you noticed you get more kicks on a damp cloth (Damn will amplify Electricity hence the Static argument) speed of the cloths (less grip) weight of the balls (Gravity) chalk (foreign substance) cue action (if you are cueing slightly downwards will slightly bounce the ball) I personally think rather than 1 thing it can be a combination of these things would someone like to back me up scientifically or make me feel stupid?

[golferson123]

I think its a combination of all the theories have you noticed you get more kicks on a damp cloth (Damn will amplify Electricity hence the Static argument) speed of the cloths (less grip) weight of the balls (Gravity) chalk (foreign substance) cue action (if you are cueing slightly downwards will slightly bounce the ball) I personally think rather than 1 thing it can be a combination of these things would someone like to back me up scientifically or make me feel stupid?

a bouncing cue ball is not a kick it will still have its spin but a true kick will lose its spin due to the gear effect it will either try to climb up the ob or the ob will try to climb up the cb, on that basis no kick will occur on a stun shot if the cb has no spin

[LittleMissAlexa]

fell like an idiot now

[Terry Davidson]

Shaun Murphy just finished a big study of kicks and came to the conclusion friction is the main cause. I think static electricity is also a player here along with dust/chalk which will increase friction between the 2 balls. Even the static electricity will cause the balls to stick together longer than they normally would so you could argue friction again.

Another big factor for us amateurs is when there is a pit on the spot and the coloured ball is sitting very slightly below the cueball when it makes contact and the cueball will tend to climb the object balls and thus a 'kick'. My cloth is now well worn and I notice with almost every 3/4 black ball which I'm playing below medium pace will generate some kind of kick. I badly need to replace this cloth.

[LittleMissAlexa]

Shaun Murphy just finished a big study of kicks and came to the conclusion friction is the main cause. I think static electricity is also a player here along with dust/chalk which will increase friction between the 2 balls. Even the static electricity will cause the balls to stick together longer than they normally would so you could argue friction again.

Another big factor for us amateurs is when there is a pit on the spot and the coloured ball is sitting very slightly below the cueball when it makes contact and the cueball will tend to climb the object balls and thus a 'kick'. My cloth is now well worn and I notice with almost every 3/4 black ball which I'm playing below medium pace will generate some kind of kick. I badly need to replace this cloth.

Terry with the dampness of the cloth am I right that that will amplify the static?

[Terry Davidson]

Terry with the dampness of the cloth am I right that that will amplify the static?

I would think dry conditions would make the static worse because in the winter time here when the humidity is very low in the house I get more shocks when I touch a light switch or metal than in the summer when there is a bit of humidity in the air. In the winter my facility in the basement runs between 35% and 40% humidity and I get some static kicks and in the summer I have to keep the dehumidifier on to keep it below 50%.

However, I think humid conditions are worse for kicks because they will cause dust/chalk to stick to all the balls, not just the cueball, since no matter how well a table is cleaned there is still a lot of chalk dust on the cloth and all the balls will pick some of that up with humid conditions. In addition of course the table will play a lot slower with humidity so there is more resistance between the balls.

I note Shaun Murphy tries to practice every day and before he plays he will clean the balls (maybe using that new polish they have) and will also lightly brush, block and iron his practice table not only to get some speed but also to reduce kicks as much as he possibly can. And I will bet he's using a newish #10 cloth on his table.

I know when he used the Precision cloth in China recently he said on Twitter 'it was the fastest cloth he ever played on but had a lot less kicks'. I think he also tried that polish at that tournament too and he put the less kicks down to using the polish. I believe it was a combination as except for my pitted spots I almost never get a kick on my Precision cloth. That said, it's killing me in tournaments because they only iron the tables once a month or so and they play super slow whereas I practice on a super fast cloth all the time.

I have a 6811 Club 30oz cloth here and I will see how it does for kicks once I get it installed (if the damned table fitter ever calls me back that is).

[Ramon]

Ramon has a point, unsmooth cueing can cause stun and kicks but the pros get lots of kicks. I think it is chalk, table heaters and friction.

Not saying do'nt agree with you ,, But do u realy think that pro's cueing is always smooth ??
Btw,, Sum Great replays guys !! Many thanks !!

[vmax4steve]

In the days of the super crystalate ball the only reason for kicks was dirt or chalk on the balls. Humid or cold conditions amplified this because dirt or chalk sticks more easily to something a little damp and the damp itself on the surface of the balls is something that ensures a poor contact.

The phenolic resin ball is a different story; this ball I'm afraid isn't up to scratch as it cannot be polished to such a smooth surface as the super crystalate ball and thus the friction between the two balls is increased even when the balls are totally clean and free from any humidity.

The reason the pros now use such super fine cloths are because on a normal club cloth the friction between the balls is increased by the nap. The phenolic resin ball with it's less smooth surface will not only kick more often, as a rougher surface will hold more chalk/dirt, but you also get what is known as a bad contact between two clean surfaces simply because the friction between the balls is increased by the nature and thus the surface of the material itself.

This new polish is obviously smoothing out the surface of the balls making the contact between them cleaner.

BTW neither super crystalate or phenolic resin can be charged with static electricity, saw Steve Davis try it with a dry polishing mop on a drill once on tv and the voltmeter showed nothing.

[OmaMiesta]

fell like an idiot now

No you had some really good points, not to sure about the bouncing ball one but it does sort of look like a form of kick.. probably more to do with force and resistance.