Shaun Murhpy New Sighting Technique

[sealer]

Osullivan is addressing centre ball when he's down in the scoring zone, you can see it at the venue if you have a good enough seat and your behind him looking down over the shot he's on centre so like I said when they say they play every shot with side I take it with a pinch of salt maybe they all got together and said let's wind up the amatuers or maybe they are referring to safety shots and pots using cushions as you said.

I think what they mean is they cannot get themselves to cue perfect middle and their plain ball is a shot with side actually but it is very little and very consistent. On top of that they play normal side as in to create angles etc etc which good players will always be using quiet a lot even it it is fractions of centre.

[tomwalker147]

I think what they mean is they cannot get themselves to cue perfect middle and their plain ball is a shot with side actually but it is very little and very consistent. On top of that they play normal side as in to create angles etc etc which good players will always be using quiet a lot even it it is fractions of centre.

Yes think I agree with that Sealer, good point well made.

[Derek P]

I think what they mean is they cannot get themselves to cue perfect middle and their plain ball is a shot with side actually but it is very little and very consistent. On top of that they play normal side as in to create angles etc etc which good players will always be using quiet a lot even it it is fractions of centre.

I agree that they are saying it's impossible to hit perfectly middle white and everyone puts a little unintentional on but if your good enough or cueing well enough then it shouldn't deviate from where you are aiming.

The point about creating angle with side again I've been told by some that 'im not good enough' to understand this one but I just don't see why there is a need to turn a ball over with side to position the cue ball somewhere. You can do it with stun, top or screw and guarantee the pot and not have to worry about the variable of judgement on throw or turning the ball over.

Again I'm not saying I don't use the technique when the situation requires it but just saying if i can achieve the same thing with centre ball to me its the safest option.

[sealer]

I agree that they are saying it's impossible to hit perfectly middle white and everyone puts a little unintentional on but if your good enough or cueing well enough then it shouldn't deviate from where you are aiming.

The point about creating angle with side again I've been told by some that 'im not good enough' to understand this one but I just don't see why there is a need to turn a ball over with side to position the cue ball somewhere. You can do it with stun, top or screw and guarantee the pot and not have to worry about the variable of judgement on throw or turning the ball over.

Again I'm not saying I don't use the technique when the situation requires it but just saying if i can achieve the same thing with centre ball to me its the safest option.

You don't understand that every complex activity can be performed in many different ways. Snooker is like that and allows payers to express themselves and work out their own style. If you are at the top of your game in snooker like for instance Ronnie is he will be striking all over the cueball to get it to do what it does. What is more he will be using pace, rate of acceleration, tightness of grip and loads of other factors to do what he does. When he does it in his full subconscious flow it is mesmerising to look at. When you keep going on about centre ball striking it is like reducing a form of art to banging the ball in the middle. And no you cannot do with centre ball what you can do with touches of side.

[Derek P]

You don't understand that every complex activity can be performed in many different ways. Snooker is like that and allows payers to express themselves and work out their own style. If you are at the top of your game in snooker like for instance Ronnie is he will be striking all over the cueball to get it to do what it does. What is more he will be using pace, rate of acceleration, tightness of grip and loads of other factors to do what he does. When he does it in his full subconscious flow it is mesmerising to look at. When you keep going on about centre ball striking it is like reducing a form of art to banging the ball in the middle. And no you cannot do with centre ball what you can do with touches of side.

i love the way folk talk about side like it’s some mesmeroising art form when it’s actualt the reasons your missing half the time lol.

Keep it simple you’ll find Ronnie does when you watch him he’s hitting plain ball middle stun and screw in the balls if you don’t believe buy a ticket to the next event near you and watch him do it

[travisbickle]

i love the way folk talk about side like it’s some mesmeroising art form when it’s actualt the reasons your missing half the time lol.

Keep it simple you’ll find Ronnie does when you watch him he’s hitting plain ball middle stun and screw in the balls if you don’t believe buy a ticket to the next event near you and watch him do it

There is so much more to snooker then hitting the CB in the middle all the time and it isn’t that hard to learn if you put the time and effort in, trust me.

[Derek P]

There is so much more to snooker then hitting the CB in the middle all the time and it isn’t that hard to learn if you put the time and effort in, trust me.

That same response comes up to me every time and maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about I never claimed to be any guru on Snooker but I have had the benefit of some professional coaching both from an ex professional in Scotland and some WPBSA led stuff and this ‘use side on every shot’ thing is the opposite of what is taught in both cases.

Leonardo Da Vinci said ‘Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication’ and in terms of using simple shots to consistently make big breaks in my own humble opinion I believe that line perfectly sums it up.

So for the tenth time:

I know how to play with side, I use side, I was coached on various shots where I might find it useful. I’ve had my shot selection adjusted to be told when I should be using it so it’s not like there’s only those that rabbit on about the importance of side on the forum that can use it that’s just ridiculous.

The problem with it is and always will be it’s another variable your adding in to the shot that could potentially go wrong I don’t understand why anyone would complicate matters like that in a particular type of shot where it serves a purpose yes side is a great tool but it’s just a tool it’s not the full picture. The main body of the scoring game is made up of little soft stuns and screws around the black spot area which makes things very simple.

If your the kind of guy who prefers playing high on the black and bouncing off the back rail with a bit of side then yes you may use it little more on that shot I use both obviously but tend to favour the lower position on the black cos then I can make the majority of the break without using a cushion again limiting the variables of what could and does often go wrong.

I know I’ll be told I don’t know how to play and I should learn what side does and train myself to use it at the end of this post cos it happens every single time side is brought up but to save anyone else who is responding repeating the same daft statement back to me I can use it I know what it’s for I know how it works my highest break isn’t 10 and I’m not plain ball Jim I’m expressing the importance of taking away a variable that could go wrong

[magicman]

Not to disappoint you Derek P but I'd certainly suggest your break building might improve by staying high on the black more frequently. Very slightly too low and you're struggling to keep the cueball on the same side of the table as the white, whereas a high cueball and both sides of the table is an easy positional shot and still shouldn't require side either way.

[Derek P]

Not to disappoint you Derek P but I'd certainly suggest your break building might improve by staying high on the black more frequently. Very slightly too low and you're struggling to keep the cueball on the same side of the table as the white, whereas a high cueball and both sides of the table is an easy positional shot and still shouldn't require side either way.

Yeah it’s prob a bad habit I have of playing low frequently and limiting my options I know top side does give lot more flexibility it’s probably just a comfort thing that I go low so I’m not using the cushion but I do work on the zig zag line up which helps develop the shot some days I tend to favour it but mainly positionally I seem to have the weight of landing low from the reds which as you quite rightly said has to be precise.

[dcrackers147]

Not to disappoint you Derek P but I'd certainly suggest your break building might improve by staying high on the black more frequently. Very slightly too low and you're struggling to keep the cueball on the same side of the table as the white, whereas a high cueball and both sides of the table is an easy positional shot and still shouldn't require side either way.

good advice - bread and butter positional shots off high blacks up and down the centre of the cue ball and also with "TRACES" of side are essential for players to get comfortable with and offer the most important thing in break building OPTIONS!

[markz]

good advice - bread and butter positional shots off high blacks up and down the centre of the cue ball and also with "TRACES" of side are essential for players to get comfortable with and offer the most important thing in break building OPTIONS!

Got to agree, when I realised this it helped my game no end. Like most guys I was scared of losing the white off the cushion. I practiced 2 reds below black and tried to finish high on reds and blacks, replacing the red as I'd potted to keep both on table. I aimed for a fake century and it helped my break building in frames, wasn't long then till I got a century in a game.

[dcrackers147]

Got to agree, when I realised this it helped my game no end. Like most guys I was scared of losing the white off the cushion. I practiced 2 reds below black and tried to finish high on reds and blacks, replacing the red as I'd potted to keep both on table. I aimed for a fake century and it helped my break building in frames, wasn't long then till I got a century in a game.

As you will now know nothing to be scared of once you are comfortable with cue ball line on those shots you actually give yourself a large room for error. Also all guys playing for their first or even first few centuries should be forgetting about black off last red and be playing up for blue as this gives you a huge scope of good position to get nicely on the yellow...obviously if you over hit it you have baulk colours or even blue to the bottom to stay perfect on the yellow. The amount of adrenaline rushed final black to yellows I have seen cost players 100s is unreal.

[Derek P]

As you will now know nothing to be scared of once you are comfortable with cue ball line on those shots you actually give yourself a large room for error. Also all guys playing for their first or even first few centuries should be forgetting about black off last red and be playing up for blue as this gives you a huge scope of good position to get nicely on the yellow...obviously if you over hit it you have baulk colours or even blue to the bottom to stay perfect on the yellow. The amount of adrenaline rushed final black to yellows I have seen cost players 100s is unreal.

I always wondered about that too chasing my first ton I would defo favour going for the blue to get up to yellow cos it's 100% less likely to twitch it than the last black even tho it's a shot which isn't too difficult under normal circumstances.

It's nice to hear so much advice from the 100 break players on this thread and my other one it defo inspires me to keep pushing forward and hopefully break it. Am going to practice some line up tonight with 4 reds below the black and do what markz was saying I normally just play it safe with little stun angles on the black and only time i really work the bounce off the back cushion is when am doing the zig zag line up which i do fair bit but i should think out the box also and incorporate this shot more into my breaks and be more comfortable using it cos i would normally favour low over high.

[Derek P]

Not to disappoint you Derek P but I'd certainly suggest your break building might improve by staying high on the black more frequently. Very slightly too low and you're struggling to keep the cueball on the same side of the table as the white, whereas a high cueball and both sides of the table is an easy positional shot and still shouldn't require side either way.

Can I just say thanks for this bit of advice.

I set up my solo practice to only clear the line up by being high on the black and red so I was constantly punching off the black cushion up for the reds and vice versa, I very much have seen the benefit of adjusting my shot selection to more consistently play for the high black as you said allowing more options and also bigger margin for error my scoring in games is becoming more consistent thanks to your help on this practice.

Can always learn more from experienced players thanks again.

[magicman]

Not a problem Derek P, good to hear its helped you, and kudos to you for accepting advice and trying to implement it.