Starting to think it isn't object ball

[Ramon]

More like i don't actively force myself to look at the object ball on the strike

well, in that case i do wish you good luck!!
of crs, I have to say I admire you!! I mean they are players who looking at the CB until the last second and then sw to the OB. these players re also OB players !!
But when a player says, I don't look at the OB , (not even for one or two seconds), that means: we have a blind man who is able to make a breaks of 30/40 or more. I can imagine you can pott one or 2 balls this way. but to make a breaks this way?? sounds really hard !!
just like someone who drives a car and he looks only at the steering wheel and not at the road and can drive and go where he wants without hurt someone or get a accident !!
haveing said that,, i think is all a matter of personal preference. So, if this works for you ,, stick with it. why not !!
many thanks for replay and hope u enjoy ur game !!

[inevermissblue]

well, in that case i do wish you good luck!!
of crs, I have to say I admire you!! I mean they are players who looking at the CB until the last second and then sw to the OB. these players re also OB players !!
But when a player says, I don't look at the OB , (not even for one or two seconds), that means: we have a blind man who is able to make a breaks of 30/40 or more. I can imagine you can pott one or 2 balls this way. but to make a breaks this way?? sounds really hard !!
just like someone who drives a car and he looks only at the steering wheel and not at the road and can drive and go where he wants without hurt someone or get a accident !!
haveing said that,, i think is all a matter of personal preference. So, if this works for you ,, stick with it. why not !!
many thanks for replay and hope u enjoy ur game !!

This driving a car analogy is easy to explain. Cueball sight strikers don't look at the steering wheel. As this would be the cue. We look more to the bonnet and part of the road I suppose.

[GeordieDS]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest and I didn't mean my post to come across like that.

No probs the written word and all that

[GeordieDS]

no time for that stuff there are threads to tend too

To be fair you could practice eight hours a day and still attend to threads though

[Ramon]

This driving a car analogy is easy to explain. Cueball sight strikers don't look at the steering wheel. As this would be the cue. We look more to the bonnet and part of the road I suppose.

NOP!!
you're missing the point. the cue is not the wheel. in this case, the cue is the car.
When you're driving with a car, you have to look where you are going.
When you're driving with your cue (cue action), you have to look where you are going with that cue and which way you send the CB!!
is easy,,,it's not sum kind of science.
of crs,, as i already mantioned , if u have sum other kind of technique and that makes u improving ur game,, then stick with it !! It's ur game !!

[GeordieDS]

This driving a car analogy is easy to explain. Cueball sight strikers don't look at the steering wheel. As this would be the cue. We look more to the bonnet and part of the road I suppose.

This is how i see it as well, you don't always need to look at the road or the object ball

[Master Blaster]

surely when you have to start considering so many factors like where to hit the cue ball, where you want the cue ball, sighting, pace, adjusting for side, where to put your feet, where you put your eyes at which milli second, etc, you can't then concentrate on the pot, and even then will you really be enjoying the game?

No you can't. You spend the hard hours improving your game and later when you have improved your game, you enjoy it even more, the fruits of hard labour. If you stick with your game and you're happy, this is a nice place to be. But some become frustrated and sticking with what they have is worse than selling their cue. So for them, changing and improving, progress is the way forward. Each to their own. But if you choose to change and try to improve, their will be rebuilding work to do in the practice gym.

[alabadi]

Have you tried a bridge length of 8.72347"? Just wondering because I'd think that with a bridge length of 8.72347", you'd be able to pull the cue back 3.666" and then the throw on shots with left hand side when cueing on the right side of the table, would produce less throw and allow the cue hand to go through to the chest. I was trying this the other day and when watching Barry Pinches, he seems to do this a lot on shots with top spin. I only do it on shots with left hand side though. On most shots now, I make sure I'm looking at the pocket leather when I strike the cue ball. This allows my eyes time to adjust after doing my checks to see if I've picked the correct line as I step sideways into the shot. I've been knocking in loads of 20s using this method, so I'm going to stick with it for a bit.

nice one Ted, i would have thought 8.845 - 8.865" would give you much more power and accuracy...you should be making a 30 break any time soon .

[Terry Davidson]

The problem with TOO MANY players on here is they forget the absolute basic rule for your snooker technique. Consistency, consistency, consistency. As long as you have decent basics (NOT perfect basics, just decent ones) then STICK WITH IT and don't grab on to every little new thing that appears on this site you will improve.

If you are experimenting then ask yourself 'what works for me?' and then stick with that. You are not going to know which change improves your technique until you try it and use it for at least 3-4 weeks. Changing something and seeing an immediate improvement means NOTHING!!!

[ace man]

Changing something and seeing an immediate improvement means NOTHING!!!

I think players are also far too quick to claim improvement. To me, improvement can only be seen in 3 ways:
1. You suddenly start beating players that you could not beat before.
2. You still lose to players better than you, but now you get closer, consistently.
3. You continue to beat lesser players, but now with much bigger margin, consistently.

Everything else is just placebo, including getting lucky and scoring personal highest break.

[GeordieDS]

I think players are also far too quick to claim improvement. To me, improvement can only be seen in 3 ways:
1. You suddenly start beating players that you could not beat before.
2. You still lose to players better than you, but now you get closer, consistently.
3. You continue to beat lesser players, but now with much bigger margin, consistently.

Everything else is just placebo, including getting lucky and scoring personal highest break.

Yeah i agree with this

[GeordieDS]

The problem with TOO MANY players on here is they forget the absolute basic rule for your snooker technique. Consistency, consistency, consistency. As long as you have decent basics (NOT perfect basics, just decent ones) then STICK WITH IT and don't grab on to every little new thing that appears on this site you will improve.

If you are experimenting then ask yourself 'what works for me?' and then stick with that. You are not going to know which change improves your technique until you try it and use it for at least 3-4 weeks. Changing something and seeing an immediate improvement means NOTHING!!!

I understand Terry i've been playing 33 years , we have one more match this season then i can find out before the start of next season what works best for me.
I've been playing so bad all season that a change is most definitely needed now

[vmax4steve]

You have two hands to place the cue on the line of aim, for arguments sake I'm explaining it as a right hander. My left hand puts the tip of the cue on the line of aim, also to the centre of the cue ball, while my right hand puts the butt of the cue on the line of aim.

Now if I'm only looking at the cue ball then the line of aim extends only that far and although my left hand will put the tip on the line of aim to the centre of the cue ball the right hand holding the butt can be off the line of aim because the eyes are only giving information to the brain regarding the cueball.

If I'm looking at the object ball then the brain knows the line of aim extends all the way to the target and my right hand will put the butt of the cue on this line while the left hand puts the tip to the centre of the cue ball. Cue is now exactly on the correct line of aim, and in order to keep it there the eyes must lock onto the target (object ball) on the strike because as the hand follows the eye (and if your eyes are open it's a fact that it does), and I'm looking down a line of aim, if my eyes wander off this line, even shortening it to the cue ball then my right hand can come off this line leading to cueing across the ball just the same if I only looked at the cueball when stood up behind the shot.

This looking at the cue ball nonsense really needs to be debunked forever as all on this forum who advocate it are pretty poor players to be perfectly honest, and any good players who advocate that they indeed do this are deluded as to what they are really looking at on the strike, they like Ronnie just don't know because it is part of their natural sighting and timing and for them to analyse and think about it would take their game apart.

Those who don't do it are poor players, those who are inconsistant do it about 50 to 75% of the time while the pros do it 90% of the time, practically 100% in practise and it's anxiety that takes away that 10% in them and the 25 to 50% in me. The anxiety of checking the tip is hitting the cue ball where you want it to and the anxiety of whether the object ball is going in the pocket.

[tedisbill]

Thanks vmax. You've put what I couldn't be bothered to write.

[pottr]

This old chestnut loves a good dusting on TSF...

I am yet to feel my eyes detach themselves from my optic nerve, leap out from my orbits and grab the cue to clear up.
Your arms deliver the cue, once your down on the shot... you should have aimed before you even draw the cue back... and you draw it back with your arms! If you keep still and deliver the cue straight, nothing else can affect the delivery other than movement...

Your eyes don't deliver the cue... this is madness!

Do you eyes matter? Of course they do. But just let them do their own thing... You don't need conscious control of this. If it works for you, then it's a placebo.

This whole 'eyes at a certain point' nonsense was just cooked up by some coach at some point as if to validate his own position... Your mind will sort it out for you.

I'm gonna have to make a video knocking in long blues with my eyes shut or some bollocks?

For what it's worth, I'm convinced you have to be looking at the OB. But that's not worth thinking about... When you catch a ball, do you really need to remind yourself to keep your eye on the ball?

of course not... This is a pointless thought...

oh, remember to breathe in too and make sure you're stomach keeps digesting the food you eat... especially on your back swing x