pause - pro's and con's

[itsnoteasy]

I pause at the front before feathering and pause at the rear before striking the cue ball. Works for me.

Sounds about right.

[tomwalker147]

Sounds about right.

I'd expect the majority of players do this??

[GD73]

i have had some coaching on trying to put the pause in my game.

when i was there at the time the coach would count 1 (i couldn't get to 2) trying to get me to hold the pause at the end,
as i could never manage it myself..(possible anxiety)

when i did manage to hold the pause it felt like an age ...

on the occassions it did work the delivery felt smoother and more controlled effortless even.

I was getting a lot more action on the cue ball...for less effort.

it is something i do need to work on..

i should probably video myself) i will look like a knob (doing this down the local club)
but at least i might be able see where i am in the process..

i am not sure i will ever have pronounced pause (sean murphy)

but when it does work it does feel good..

thks for the advice gents...

[Terry Davidson]

The reason for the rear pause is usually that it helps the player to drive the cue through the cueball better (Del Hill's...are you a pecker or a driver? A player can have either one or both front and rear pauses however it's my belief that older players like myself really need the front pause and should concentrate on locking their eyes on the object ball during that front pause and keep them there through the delivery. P J Nolan teaches all players of any age to lock their eyes on the object ball at the front pause.

Most pros (but not all) have a rear pause and a shorter front pause so if you feel you should take your example from the pros then by all means try getting a natural rear pause. However, anything that isn't natural will be a chore to develop and will screw up your game, possibly for up to 6 months as Steve Davis told me when I asked him as I have never had a rear pause.

I also believe it's much better to go with your own natural flow and play your own game, don't try to copy other players once you have developed your own style and technique. I don't think many of us on here are trying to turn professional so don't over-analyse your technique.

[djax]

The reason for the rear pause is usually that it helps the player to drive the cue through the cueball better (Del Hill's...are you a pecker or a driver? A player can have either one or both front and rear pauses however it's my belief that older players like myself really need the front pause and should concentrate on locking their eyes on the object ball during that front pause and keep them there through the delivery. P J Nolan teaches all players of any age to lock their eyes on the object ball at the front pause.

Most pros (but not all) have a rear pause and a shorter front pause so if you feel you should take your example from the pros then by all means try getting a natural rear pause. However, anything that isn't natural will be a chore to develop and will screw up your game, possibly for up to 6 months as Steve Davis told me when I asked him as I have never had a rear pause.

I also believe it's much better to go with your own natural flow and play your own game, don't try to copy other players once you have developed your own style and technique. I don't think many of us on here are trying to turn professional so don't over-analyse your technique.

Interesting Terry. I never had a natural pause until introducing one a few years ago. Guess I was fortunate that it never presented me with a problem and became second nature, very quickly. But what a difference it made for me? Cue ball control improvement benefited enormously, especially on screw back. The one small issue I had initially was over screw, because it had become so much easier to follow through with a pause.

[acesinc]

Interesting Terry. I never had a natural pause until introducing one a few years ago. Guess I was fortunate that it never presented me with a problem and became second nature, very quickly. But what a difference it made for me? Cue ball control improvement benefited enormously, especially on screw back. The one small issue I had initially was over screw, because it had become so much easier to follow through with a pause.

The bolded statement was exactly the same for me. Watching the other players in my club (mostly American Pool player converts or dual Snooker/Pool players), none of them have a significant rear pause and watching objectively, their screw shots can end up practically anywhere other than where it is supposed to be. I actually actively look for opportunities to "test out" the accuracy of my screw shot such as potting a Red and drawing back a critical 8 to 10 inches to be on my colour directly through a small window made by two other Reds. It would be the wrong shot to play at in a critical frame because there is so little margin for error but I quite regularly get EXACTLY the amount of screw I need. Makes for wonderful "practise within a frame". I can't see how anyone could possibly do that reliably without the Pause.

...However, anything that isn't natural will be a chore to develop and will screw up your game, possibly for up to 6 months as Steve Davis told me when I asked him as I have never had a rear pause...

Terry, going back to your earlier post about Steve Davis' words....it does sound like you were in one-on-one conversation with him? I wish I could be so lucky! What I am wondering is if maybe he had given you that six month time frame because you have been playing the game for so, so long and consequently, all of your habits are so deeply ingrained. I know for me it was not nearly so long before I was feeling some comfort in the technique. You know, maybe the old "teach an old dog a new trick" adage. I have been playing myself over a thirty year span but on virtual hiatus for half of that time and of the other fifteen years, my actual "time at the table" I am certain would be just a small fraction of your experience. Maybe a younger player, not so set in his ways will have an easier time making the conversion. I only say it because I don't want your words to discourage anyone from at least giving it a go. As I said earlier, when I was learning the Pause, there were a couple times I nearly gave up but in the end, I am so happy that I continued. Surely, you are correct that it is not for everyone but I would suggest that ANYONE who is exploring the game and on a path to improvement should try it for at least a week if they are a daily player or maybe 15 to 20 hours table time minimum if only playing occasionally.

[j6uk]

the pros are that your able to develop good timing into your psr, and the cons are miss timing and inconsistency

[golferson123]

It's my belief that there is no pause at all, there is a change of direction and this cannot occur with stop and go hence opening the grip, picture a train wheel and piston a reversal of direction but still with motion