J6UK's TUCA... my first thoughts.

[itsnoteasy]

Unless you are letting go of your cue , your grips not too light IMO . Things I have been told or have seen about cue actions, in no particular order are. Most people hit the ball to hard, your action should be as controlled on the way forward as it is on the way back. If at the end of your stroke you feel like you have made any effort , you have done it wrong. Maximum reaction for minimum effort. It's all timing. There are many others that are very good but I can't remember them.
I think you need to use the TUCA more, it takes a while( months and months maybe, I need to go back to it regularly or my cueing slips a bit) but eventually that nice controlled stroke you use through the TUCA will eventually end up on the table. Personally I don't see the difference between stroking through the TUCA at full speed and stroking through the cue ball at full speed, it's just the same stroke, it's only different if you are hitting AT the White and not going THROUGH it, that's only my take on it though.Also I think it was Terry who told me when I first started, to cue at the object ball , as if the cue balls not there, I found this very good advice.
How long have you been playing Jonny? As it takes a long time to cue well and consistently every shot.

[Big Splash!]

You have to hit the ball a hell of a lot of times to hit it as if it's not there...

Can't learn it without the ball being there

That's what I've said, except you said it shorter.

Long blues, then line up or balls spread all over and random potting/4-10 Reds and Blacks/2 reds, blacks and the colours. This should take up the first hour of practice for the improver.

@INE Dead weight long blue, utterly straight, plain ball. When you can pot this one 10/10, one's cue action is gold. Pot it from the yellow pocket gap and its diamond!

It's all about straight cueing. The problem with cueing the matchbox or tuca is that you may still be cueing across the ball or actually induce cueing across a ball. The only way to change this is to do it on the table. Keeping the cue straight enough to cue through a hole an inch in front of your cue is not the same tolerance as cueing so straight that you can pot something on a 12ft table. I don't know any pros who cue through holes of any kind. Why?

Up and down the spots, I get that one, I can see merit but for me, any exercise should always involve an object ball or we get into dry land swimming. Damn, I may have to practise now I've read this thread! lol

[pottr]

J6UK's TUCA... my first thoughts.

Yes, I agree...

A slight deviance will not be shown with the TUCA.

not knocking j6's efforts though coz innovators are rare in life.

[j6uk]

That's what I've said, except you said it shorter.

Long blues, then line up or balls spread all over and random potting/4-10 Reds and Blacks/2 reds, blacks and the colours. This should take up the first hour of practice for the improver.

@INE Dead weight long blue, utterly straight, plain ball. When you can pot this one 10/10, one's cue action is gold. Pot it from the yellow pocket gap and its diamond!

It's all about straight cueing. The problem with cueing the matchbox or tuca is that you may still be cueing across the ball or actually induce cueing across a ball. The only way to change this is to do it on the table. Keeping the cue straight enough to cue through a hole an inch in front of your cue is not the same tolerance as cueing so straight that you can pot something on a 12ft table. I don't know any pros who cue through holes of any kind. Why?

Up and down the spots, I get that one, I can see merit but for me, any exercise should always involve an object ball or we get into dry land swimming. Damn, I may have to practise now I've read this thread! lol

Yes, I agree...

A slight deviance will not be shown with the TUCA.

not knocking j6's efforts though coz innovators are rare in life.

lots of pros have and still do this exercise

i put the effort in cus it really help me develop my cue action, thats not to say mine is perfect cus i still cue across from time to time, but that could be for a number of reasons. but yeah timing can throw you off the shot and that you do need to work at on the table hitting balls
its an old routine, its not the only one, but if your at home with no 12 by 6 in sight then its the best one

[itsnoteasy]

That's what I've said, except you said it shorter.

Long blues, then line up or balls spread all over and random potting/4-10 Reds and Blacks/2 reds, blacks and the colours. This should take up the first hour of practice for the improver.

@INE Dead weight long blue, utterly straight, plain ball. When you can pot this one 10/10, one's cue action is gold. Pot it from the yellow pocket gap and its diamond!

It's all about straight cueing. The problem with cueing the matchbox or tuca is that you may still be cueing across the ball or actually induce cueing across a ball. The only way to change this is to do it on the table. Keeping the cue straight enough to cue through a hole an inch in front of your cue is not the same tolerance as cueing so straight that you can pot something on a 12ft table. I don't know any pros who cue through holes of any kind. Why?

Up and down the spots, I get that one, I can see merit but for me, any exercise should always involve an object ball or we get into dry land swimming. Damn, I may have to practise now I've read this thread! lol

Totally agree, the TUCA or matchbox is an aid, it's not the be all and end all. For me most poor cueing is tension that causes movement( don't want to get into being online it's too big a subject lol) as Pottr said a slight cue across won't show up but it will be a slight one of about half a mill( with a ten mill tip) , while not ideal, it's probably far more accurate than seventy percent of club players, and if you struggle at first with a 14 mm hole then get down to full speed on a 12 that has to improve your game even if just slightly. It builds in muscle memory, it lets you check you are coming back straight( mostly overlooked I feel) it can give you a nice tempo and drill in that finishing position, it also lets you feel if your stance is solid or your bridge is week, you can check a lot of things with it.There is also the point of table time or cost , not many can practice for the time needed at £7 an hour , so if you don't have your own table, even if you think it's a poor second best ,it's at least something to help. I do agree it's far better on a table hitting balls,of course it is , i put the matchbox alongside a practice swing at golf, they are always perfect , but then address the ball and it means something and the tension creeps in ,we then hit a shank and say" wish I could hit it like my practice swing" , the funny thing is the folk that practice their swing most often are the folk that can hit their ball like their practice swing, so the TUCA is for working on things ,not to teach you snooker if that makes any sense( or if Infact that's right lol, but that's what I use it for).

[tomwalker147]

If I used a TUCA I think my Mrs would try and have me sectioned, I have no doubt she'd ask why I'm putting my tip into a hole repeatedly...

In all seriousness if it works for you that's great. I prefer to get on a table and practice but I do know players who rehearse using mirrors to check their elbow,chin etc are online.

[thunder66]

I've been using Jason's TUCA for about a month now, I must say this is among the best investments I've made on snooker stuff (and only $15), including books, cues, countless hours and a table in the basement

The TUCA teaches me to concentrate on hitting the white on the exact spot where I intended during aiming/feathering, and this has helped my potting success, more over, improved confidence, and also knowing what to concentrate on when delivering.

Good stuff and thank you Jason!

- Thunder66

[Big Splash!]

If I used a TUCA I think my Mrs would try and have me sectioned, I have no doubt she'd ask why I'm putting my tip into a hole repeatedly...

In all seriousness if it works for you that's great. I prefer to get on a table and practice but I do know players who rehearse using mirrors to check their elbow,chin etc are online.

Yeah, this tuca biz sounds weird to me. You can either cue straight through the middle or you can't. It's all about switching muscle memory on. Use the ironing board for some soft feathers and cueing. Mate does this and he's the best player in the league and he only plays one frame a week.

[itsnoteasy]

Yeah, this tuca biz sounds weird to me. You can either cue straight through the middle or you can't. It's all about switching muscle memory on. Use the ironing board for some soft feathers and cueing. Mate does this and he's the best player in the league and he only plays one frame a week.

How does your mate know he's cueing straight when on the ironing board? I would suggest what he needs is something with a hole in it to check
That's a good point though Splasher, the TUCA is for getting that muscle memory.

[Big Splash!]

Apart from nothing like a table experience (that's forgiven, only a cue and VR will solve that one), there's one big problem with this tuca. Can anyone guess what it is?

@INE, he can feel what feels right. He spent a lot of time on technique to be able to beat the likes of Ronnie and Higgins. He gets into the zone, like a meditation thing. Once it clicks on the ironing board, he knows his cueing is spot on, the same as on a table, every muscle feels right. It's deep man! And scarily good.

[itsnoteasy]

Yep if your that good it's is just a matter of oiling the wheels. When I watch the pros I say right that's how I will play, then I move and snatch, or take my eye off the ball , it's so frustrating( had a bad day on the table today lol).

[Big Splash!]

Yep if your that good it's is just a matter of oiling the wheels. When I watch the pros I say right that's how I will play, then I move and snatch, or take my eye off the ball , it's so frustrating( had a bad day on the table today lol).

I think the pros have this sort of Bhudist way of zoning and getting on with it even though they're under pressure, they've mastered control of the demons and fears and positive experiences have taught them that good things happen to the fearless and that every visit is an opportunity, so I guess they're pretty positive people. A lot of good ams lose frames they shouldn't and it's not down to bad technique. The snatching or moving on the shot is down to other things. The body doesn't move without a thought from the brain and it is here, that the monkey hijacks the situation, sows doubt in a thousanth of a second as you take the cue back and FFF ruins a shot that the rational part of your brain decided ten seconds ago. Unfortunately, when this happens, the rational brain doesn't have time to interupt and shut the monkey down. It's only when you stand up, you realise that it wasn't you that took the shot, it was someone else. The monkey is so fast that lots of people never twig and they blame themselves or don't even consciously remember the split second thought the monkey generated. And you ask yourself, how could I have played that shot so badly and the answer is, you didn't. The pros can shut the monkey down and even when things go wrong, keep him quiet. That's why you rarely see pros getting angry. They practice peace, calm and staying quiet and thinking positive thoughts in the chair. Most do it naturally but other players can learn it.

Me mate doesn't ever get angry, not in his nature. Some players have a temperament that helps them a lot. Ronnie has struggled with this aspect and even with huge talent, he's had to work on it with Steve Peters. He knows how to silence the monkey now.

Have you guessed what's fundamentally wrong with the tuca?

[itsnoteasy]

Is it because it's a flat surface and a cue ball is a sphere? Please don't tell me it's that.
When cueing well, I don't feel it, I don't feel my grip, I don't feel myself pushing the cue through, it just glides through, but today everything was hard work and I was having to try to fix everything at once, then of course the doubt creeps in and it's game over. I made a very poor mistake today and played with another cue, so I went from a springy one to a poker stiff one and it just threw me, by the time I went back to my playing cue I had lost it and it just never came back. Think I will have to get rid of all my cues and just keep my playing cue.

[Big Splash!]

Is it because it's a flat surface and a cue ball is a sphere? Please don't tell me it's that.
When cueing well, I don't feel it, I don't feel my grip, I don't feel myself pushing the cue through, it just glides through, but today everything was hard work and I was having to try to fix everything at once, then of course the doubt creeps in and it's game over. I made a very poor mistake today and played with another cue, so I went from a springy one to a poker stiff one and it just threw me, by the time I went back to my playing cue I had lost it and it just never came back. Think I will have to get rid of all my cues and just keep my playing cue.

Sell the rest. Don't add ingredients to the recipe it doesn't need. Unless you've got AC I'm feeling for ya. It's hard to concentrate I find in stifling heat. It's not a Summer game tbf. I gave it a miss today and had a F&F bbq instead. No margheritas or sea bass, just English sausages, burgers, upside down apple cake, toasted marshmallows and cider. No broken bones either. lol Glad I wasn't in the snooker room, I would have been getting frustrated and not fully concentrating. We forget how much effort we put in during solo practice, no breaks. Just not enjoyable at the mo. Going in to a club tomorrow that is bearable but it's got pockets tighter than a Star so that will be a true test of a wider boxer type stance and lining up from the tummy button. Keep ya chin up mate, you love it!

The big problem and thing that is missing from the tuca is the object ball. Now, you'll be saying, how can he include that in a card cut out? And of course, he can't. Does it matter? You shouldn't be aiming for a point on the CB when you take a shot, it's a no no. And that's exactly what you will do with a tuca or a matchbox. You can't help it, we are programmed to hit the target. On a table we flick from CB to OB but most find it reasonable to concentrate on the OB as they deliver the cue. All coaches advise it. Now how can you do that with a tuca? You may even be building the bad habit of concentrating on the CB on the tuca card then taking that to the table later. It's one very good reason to avoid the tuca.

[itsnoteasy]

Ah! it's a fair point, I have never looked at the hole apart from checking what I would when feathering anyway. Remember this isn't the magic bullet, it is an aid, that helps, it's not THE answer but it can help you towards it. Seems to me everyone seems to be picking on the flaws and not even considering the plus points.