The Art of Break Building rather then nonsense of Safety Play

[vmax4steve]

The art of break building is correct strength of shot which can only come about through having a consistant cue action that gives the same result from the cue ball all the time.
If you don't strike the cue ball on the delivery stroke where you address it then you won't get the position you require, if you decelerate or drop the shoulder on the delivery stroke then you will cue across the cue ball and miss, if you don't look where you should then you won't get your cue on the line of aim in the first place and a good cue action won't matter.

As a beginner your practise should be to aquire all these things before you start to enter any kind of competition. Practise line ups where you're not allowed to disturb any ball in the line, this will help to improve your cue ball control, especially your soft deep screw shots, it will also force you to take on more difficult angled pots when the straighter option means a definite cannon has to be played.

Practising straight balls all the time will get you nowhere when it comes to match play; straight balls mean all three targets are on the same line, cue ball, object ball and pocket and your cue can come through straight while looking at any of them, on an angled pot however the only target is the object ball, and it's this you must learn to focus on when finding the line of aim and delivering the cue.

Practising straight balls all the time means that in match play you will subconsciously leave yourself the pot you're most secure with, and when it comes to break building, a straight shot means the cue ball can only go forwards or backwards, severely limiting your positional options.

[lesedwards]

I'm going to agree with tedisbill here Les. You just cannot improve any aspect of snooker (or any other sport for that matter) unless you get a LOT of practice. Before I got sick I was putting in at least 4 hours per day, mostly by myself and I used to play matches against myself, practicing all aspects of the game.

And at that I was mostly staying about level and not really improving at all. When you were an awful lot younger and learning to play golf I bet you spent a lot of time on thecourse and the range but now that you're older you have to factor in the problem of not being able to learn as quickly as you could when you were 25 or so.

I know golf season is coming up, or already here in fact, but if you want to improve at snooker you are going to have to put in the hours.

Just spent two hours tonight and will continue to practice all summer. Okay maybe not 50 & 60's but there has to be a time when I see improvements I hope. Seeing how we are running tournaments right through the summer I will continue to practice.

[lesedwards]

Okay everyone what should I be practicing?. Should I just stick to the challenges I have? Funny I work for myself and goals, time management and organizational skills are perfect but when I hit the snooker table I just grasp at straws. I really want help. Even running the odd 30 against most of our guys with my safety game I will do very well.

[tedisbill]

Well, I'd say yes. You've got a range of different challenges and until you can complete them all back to back, then keep practicing.

Why stop practicing clearing the colours until you can do it 5 times in a row? Even then, why stop practicing? Neil Robertson would probably never fail to do it in practice, so just keep going until you're perfect...

Making a break round the black spot? Can you make the Max yet? If not, keep practicing.

There's nothing magic about being good at things, Les. Just hours and hours of practice. So, at the end of the day, you've got to love what you're doing, otherwise, you'll be bored.

[lesedwards]

Well, I'd say yes. You've got a range of different challenges and until you can complete them all back to back, then keep practicing.

Why stop practicing clearing the colours until you can do it 5 times in a row? Even then, why stop practicing? Neil Robertson would probably never fail to do it in practice, so just keep going until you're perfect...

Making a break round the black spot? Can you make the Max yet? If not, keep practicing.

There's nothing magic about being good at things, Les. Just hours and hours of practice. So, at the end of the day, you've got to love what you're doing, otherwise, you'll be bored.

Thanks for your reply Ted, as TD has told me time after time you have to walk before you can run. At 52 you want to run as who knows how long you can continue to play this frustrating game. In four years I have improved immensely in almost every part of the game except potting balls.

[ace man]

My experience is the opposite. It is usually those kamikaze club snooker players who go for everything that tend to mess up the table and make the frames last forever.
I play lots of safety against those guys. It frustrates them to bits . The weaker they are, the more safety I play.

[itsnoteasy]

My experience is the opposite. It is usually those kamikaze club snooker players who go for everything that tend to mess up the table and make the frames last forever.
I play lots of safety against those guys. It frustrates them to bits . The weaker they are, the more safety I play.

SMASH, SMASH, SMASH every bloody shot lol.

[Byrom]

Thanks for your reply Ted, as TD has told me time after time you have to walk before you can run. At 52 you want to run as who knows how long you can continue to play this frustrating game. In four years I have improved immensely in almost every part of the game except potting balls.

Funniest thing I have read on here this year so far

[tedisbill]

Funniest thing I have read on here this year so far

Hahaha

[lesedwards]

Funniest thing I have read on here this year so far

What's funny about that. I now understand all the rules and I don't just go blasting at anything. Maybe I should...LOL

[itsnoteasy]

What's funny about that. I now understand all the rules and I don't just go blasting at anything. Maybe I should...LOL

It didn't stay the best one liner for long, that's a beauty

[Byrom]

Stop it yer killing me :biggrin-new:

[lesedwards]

Stop it yer killing me :biggrin-new:

You know what guys this is exactly why I don't post much anymore. This forum is not about helping it's about who can be little a player first.

[Byrom]

Oh come on Les it just tickled me and that's not true is it - you got the longest coaching thread I ever saw on here, almost everyone who comes on these threads here tries helping you especially Ted.

[itsnoteasy]

I don't know what you want from here Les, it's only an Internet forum, you have Terry, Floyd, and a world Champion called Cliff Throrburn helping you, what do you think anyone on here can add to that? It's all been said a thousand times, do the basics as best you can and practice,that's it, there is no magic bullet. You seem to want someone to magically tell you snookers secret,well there isn't one( unless they are keeping it from me as well as you) but just for you one more time
Get online, drop down online, four contact points, pull the cue back straight go through the cue ball and finish at the same place on your chest every time , stay perfectly still and practice.
Genuinely Les, watch the Barry Stark videos he's been uploading, very clear and covers the basics.