Center Ball Striking

[tedisbill]

It really depends what your goals are with the game and how much time you're going to allocate to snooker.

[Noelos237]

Implementing side into your game will really improve your positional play. Some shots side is essential, such as playing in and out of baulk off the blue when you are the wrong side. However the majority of shots do not require the use of side. It is especially helpful when playing safety shots aswell.

[vmax]

Try potting half ball blacks off the spot with just a trace of side and see what happens to the white. By "trace" I mean just a half or full tip width from the centre of the white.

With a high break of only 22 then he might, unkowingly, be doing the half tip already and missing a good percentage of shots as a result. If you're going to experiment with side then go the whole hog and and strike the outside edge as much as you can without miscueing and see what happens, then fine tune it towards the centre of the cue ball and see what happens.

Most of us already play the break off shot with side to go around the angles and back to baulk the other side of the blue so side is not something to be afraid of. In fact it's essential to making good breaks as no one plays perfect position all the time and if you need some running side to make position on the next ball it's just as easy to aim for the near jaw with one tip of side as it is to aim for the middle of the pocket plain ball, then you rely on your cue action and learn your cues deflection of the cue ball. Don't be afraid to aim to miss when using side as that is what you must do to allow for the deflection and swerve of the cue ball, and, if you believe in fairies the transfered spin.
Damn!!!! I said I wasn't going to go there, that's it for this thread.

[Bigmeek]

Thx Vmax, personally I find it extremely difficult to pot anything at all with extreme side lol. After years of playing still can't get my head round it!

[blahblah01]

With a high break of only 22 then he might, unkowingly, be doing the half tip already and missing a good percentage of shots as a result. If you're going to experiment with side then go the whole hog and and strike the outside edge as much as you can without miscueing and see what happens, then fine tune it towards the centre of the cue ball and see what happens.

Most of us already play the break off shot with side to go around the angles and back to baulk the other side of the blue so side is not something to be afraid of. In fact it's essential to making good breaks as no one plays perfect position all the time and if you need some running side to make position on the next ball it's just as easy to aim for the near jaw with one tip of side as it is to aim for the middle of the pocket plain ball, then you rely on your cue action and learn your cues deflection of the cue ball. Don't be afraid to aim to miss when using side as that is what you must do to allow for the deflection and swerve of the cue ball, and, if you believe in fairies the transfered spin.
Damn!!!! I said I wasn't going to go there, that's it for this thread.

SIT not SIS, lol.

I'd go Blue an inch away from spot and CB in line across table then nice gentle CB with loads of helping side, be amazed wen it goes in and repeat with less throw\cut and graduate to blue into the corner from off straight, but use side.

This can be very gentle and minimal CB throw\deflection of cue. I had a bash with the Peradon Newbury(?) laminated Maple and Walnut to create the visual of an ash, and there was no\minimal throw and this **** was kinda fun, as bod with the new cue used side but was missing loads anticipating throw......

I am still loathe to use "unhelping side" to make a pots, but it is the same as the running top side of slightly off pots to corner pockets which sends CB.....

[travisbickle]

SIT not SIS, lol.

I'd go Blue an inch away from spot and CB in line across table then nice gentle CB with loads of helping side, be amazed wen it goes in and repeat with less throw\cut and graduate to blue into the corner from off straight, but use side.

This can be very gentle and minimal CB throw\deflection of cue. I had a bash with the Peradon Newbury(?) laminated Maple and Walnut to create the visual of an ash, and there was no\minimal throw and this **** was kinda fun, as bod with the new cue used side but was missing loads anticipating throw......

I am still loathe to use "unhelping side" to make a pots, but it is the same as the running top side of slightly off pots to corner pockets which sends CB.....

Lol at vmax.
A whole year has passed and he is still confused

[chrisg]

Barry Stark recommended this as a useful guide for finding center ball striking in one of his videos. Sometimes people think their striking center but aren't. Here's a review of it...

https://snookerzone.co.uk/thomas-van-ecks-icueball/

[vmax]

SIT not SIS, lol.

I'd go Blue an inch away from spot and CB in line across table then nice gentle CB with loads of helping side, be amazed wen it goes in and repeat with less throw\cut and graduate to blue into the corner from off straight, but use side.

This can be very gentle and minimal CB throw\deflection of cue. I had a bash with the Peradon Newbury(?) laminated Maple and Walnut to create the visual of an ash, and there was no\minimal throw and this **** was kinda fun, as bod with the new cue used side but was missing loads anticipating throw......

I am still loathe to use "unhelping side" to make a pots, but it is the same as the running top side of slightly off pots to corner pockets which sends CB.....

You see what I mean ! the bods at Bletchly Park would have been hard pushed to decipher this let alone a beginner with a high break of 22. Ignore and experiment and you'll succeed like a budgie with no beak.

[Bigmeek]

Barry Stark recommended this as a useful guide for finding center ball striking in one of his videos. Sometimes people think their striking center but aren't. Here's a review of it...

https://snookerzone.co.uk/thomas-van-ecks-icueball/

I think this cue ball is not suitable for snooker. I sent an enquiry off and was told it was 166 grammes. More suitable for pool.
The Nic Barrow version is about 138g which is closer to snooker TC balls.
I like the idea of practicing with a ball which has a diagram of where to hit but I think it would mess me up if I practiced with a ball which was too heavy.

[Bigmeek]

You see what I mean ! the bods at Bletchly Park would have been hard pushed to decipher this let alone a beginner with a high break of 22. Ignore and experiment and you'll succeed like a budgie with no beak.

Agreed, didn't understand a word of it! Complete gibberrish IMO.

[Bigmeek]

Here's the Barry Stark video Chris G was referring to. I like the idea of hitting an area about the size of a two Pence piece.
https://youtu.be/y6iryGvE9zA

[MrRottweiler]

The Steve Davis era took the old game as far as it could go and then Hendry showed how using spin can lead to consistent big breaks and started the new era. I used to play someone who had made 147s and he could make a frame winning break from nothing and would do it with a lot of tapping balls in around the pink and black spot. He had put in the thousands of hours practice to be able to play like that.

[vmax]

Here's the Barry Stark video Chris G was referring to. I like the idea of hitting an area about the size of a two Pence piece.
https://youtu.be/y6iryGvE9zA

With that video once again nothing is said about compensating your aiming to allow for the deflection and swerve of the cue ball.
As for that cue ball, well I strike outside that circle very, very often without miscueing and unlike Barry I'm not afraid of the realms of deflection and swerve on the cue ball that that creates.
If you fear to use that much side then you shouldn't try to teach it just using trace amounts at slow pace that amount to nothing more than a plain ball pot. Side is very useful and great fun so experiment, learn, and use it with no fear and you'll put the fear into your opponent.
Set up a high 3/4 ball black off its spot and aim to pot it in the exact centre of each corner pocket using both right and left hand side, see by how much you miss and to what side of the pocket and adjust your aiming until you get it right, then do the same with a low 3/4 pot, that's your starting point. Then do exactly the same with the brown off its spot or mark a fake black spot with chalk at the baulk end and learn how playing against the nap gives you different results.