Long Straight Blue Challenge

[OmaMiesta]

the young potting machine from Canada !
! very Nice !! my compliments !!
Btw,, what kind of cue ( which brand ) you playing with ?? I'm going to buy one !! Maybe I can pot a few balls like this !!

Haha thanks buddy! The cue is a red glue John Parris Classic, 3/4 inch

[OmaMiesta]

oma:

Actually, I think your 2nd last red was the wrong one and you should have taken the other red to get either pink or black (difficult to assess the angle on the screen) then come back up for the last red. This would mean your cueball is traveling less and thus your position would be more accurate. Depending on the angle you got on the last red from black or pink would determine whether you take blue, pink or black to get on the yellow.

I favour the blue ball but I also practice using pink or black and play for position where the cueball will be running on a line towards the yellow and I also practice a longer yellow if I end up straight on the blue or pink.

Ah yea you're probably right, for some reason Im always reluctant to play on the pink or black from reds higher up on the table, mainly just a fear of over running it or leaving my self a tough angle to get back up table. Will definitely work on that, thanks for the tip!

[markz]

My best is 13 in a row, alternating sides and taking the shot straight from the actual baulk line, softish with a bit of stun. Got fed up and threw in a sloppy one that missed by a mile on number 14. I usually manage about 7 or 8 out of 10. I agree with vmaxsteve, with me it doesn't really make much difference to subsequent live games. In fact, if you don't do as well as you think you should and it's just before a game, it can be a confidence wrecker for no real value.

I liked the idea of alternating the long blue shot so had a go at it today, I've been playing pretty well lately so thought I'd get maybe 7 or 8 from the 10 but made 10/10. Swapping sides made me focus a little more as your not looking at the same pocket for 10 shots or just playing from the side you favour. Cheers ghost.

[tedisbill]

I doubt I'd get 5 haha!!

What did you do then Mark, 5 from each side and got all 10?

[markz]

I doubt I'd get 5 haha!!

What did you do then Mark, 5 from each side and got all 10?

Just did few line ups and couple of T's. I been playing table 10 and private room at Goldencue so concentrating much better now. Those tables the tightest I play on. Today I was just down the social club I use. I'm sure you would do better than 5 Ted.

[bolton-cueman]

@markz

I do quite a bit of time on the long blues. 5 from a side then swap sides and another 5 etc x 2 until I pot 20 in all. I always pot 20 no matter even if it took me 50 attempts.

If I could get your opinion please... most days, these days at least, I feel I can do this routine with a degree of success. Sometimes though I'll do my first five (always start on green side) and I'll do the five first go - occasional miss but no repetitive misses.

I'll swap sides pot a couple then it all goes pete tong. and I mean not even jawing the ball. Obviously you aint seen me play but would you think this is a concentration / focus issue or an inconsistent stance / technique?

I am concerned I may have a sighting issue when playing from the yellow side! Is it possible to sight balls incorrectly from a particular side??

[jonny66]

Apparently everyone has a favoured side of the table, not sure why. I think the way to practice that one is to play from one side till you pot, then switch to the other side and play till you pot, then switch again. That way you get more practice on your weaker side.

[markz]

I'm still learning the game Bolton mate. Been back playing for 3 1/2 years after not playing for 20 years. I've not been coached and just try keep everything simple. I'd say this routine is 3 things, getting down on line of aim, delivering cue straight and concentration. I do the usual, stand back, walk in, foot on line of shot, nice loose grip and play medium pace stun shot. Then try and just repeat. I find any tension in the grip hand can easily throw the shot off, so that's the main thing I try get right all the time with foot on line of shot as well (solid wide enough stance).

[Terry Davidson]

If you're cueing from the baulkline then on one side or the other you'll have a slightly different set-up. For right-handed players the yellow side is usually more comfortable and for lefty players the green side is more comfortable. The difference between the 2 sides is on one of them the bridge arm gets interfered with by the cushion. If you spot the cueball about 6" in front of the baulkline then that removes that problem.

For bolton...pretty hard to have a sighting problem with a dead-in shot. Now if you use the yellow or green spots it might come into play but I've found most players with any experience at all will sight correctly but then either set up wrong or change things when down in the address position. I still maintain most pots are missed because the cue isn't being delivered straight.

There are a whole lot of players who put a trace of unintentional side on the cueball. I discovered I was doing it by playing a straight blue with a spotted cueball and seeing the cueball rotate with left-hand side when it hits the blue ball. I think I've always done that, especially with power and let me tell you it is an absolute b*tch to get rid of. I'm still working on it and slowly (VERY SLOWLY) it's getting less and less. (Looser grip, slower backswing to keep it straight, leave cue extended at the end of the shot seems to work best). (How many times have I said on here and to my students 'STAY DOWN AND STILL AT THE END OF THE DELIVERY' and yet I find I don't do that consistently myself.) Certainly a pee-off.

I've found in my coaching right-handers will put unintentional left side and vice-versa with leftys. Get yourself a spotted cueball and play some long blues with a bit of screw and a fair amount of power and watch for the cueball rotating.

[bolton-cueman]

For bolton...pretty hard to have a sighting problem with a dead-in shot. Now if you use the yellow or green spots it might come into play but I've found most players with any experience at all will sight correctly but then either set up wrong or change things when down in the address position. I still maintain most pots are missed because the cue isn't being delivered straight.

.

perhaps sighting was wrong terminology.. to elaborate.

From green side - yes I miss long blues, but the percentage of misses are low. While I'm nowhere near being a good player, I'd say I'm a regular 8+/10 pots on long blues.

From the yellow side - id say my pot success is more 5-6/10. When I miss it is consistently to the left of the pocket. Something is going wrong with the walk in or getting down on the shot.

I'll try and get a video done this week of my walk in, getting down and delivering the cue for you....

[markz]

perhaps sighting was wrong terminology.. to elaborate.

From green side - yes I miss long blues, but the percentage of misses are low. While I'm nowhere near being a good player, I'd say I'm a regular 8+/10 pots on long blues.

From the yellow side - id say my pot success is more 5-6/10. When I miss it is consistently to the left of the pocket. Something is going wrong with the walk in or getting down on the shot.

I'll try and get a video done this week of my walk in, getting down and delivering the cue for you....

It could be your walk in and your not lining the shot up correctly, I was doing this then I just thought to myself if I'm hitting the left side I must be aiming centre to left of the pocket which is the lowest margin of error so then I just line up to aim to the other side of the pocket which is the largest margin of error. Told you I keep it simple, helped me, might not help everyone.