Warm-up? Share your techniques!

[noel]

Pints aside, how do you players warm-up for a match?

Myself, I pot the 15 reds from the balkline... spotting reds on yellow then green then brown shooting to side pockets then up to end pockets, then reds on blue shooting to each end pocket then further up to pink spot... missed pots are redone til all are down.
Then starting with black I run down to the colours, missed individual shots are redone but I practice this until all colours are successfully run in a complete sequence. Then if there's time I run the red line from black spot to beyond the blue for as high a run as possible... this usually takes 45 minutes.

Then I'm confidently ready for a relaxing pint and a good match!

Noel

[spike]

My practise routines are pretty basic as i only have 30mins before my mate turns up. I always practise doing the line up and then after 20mins or so it's down to knocking in the colours off there spots. Sometimes i enjoy improving my long potting by placing the cue ball on either the green or yellow spot and pot the blue into either top pocket. I use to have many more practise routines but as i dont play as much as i use to i have cut down the way i practise. I have to say though i have always enjoyed practising and i never ever find it boring!

[bongo]

The line up is a good routine to use to warm up and get potting. It may not be a good routine to do all the time as it is important in break building practice, to open up reds etc. but line up gets you potting and makes your cue action smooth ready for the match.

[snooker warrior]

about four pints of carling !!!!!!!!!

[burwatchampion]

I believe he said pints aside lol

[poolqjunkie]

I find that when I practice too much before a tournament I actually do not play that well. I like to put in enough practice the week before a tournament, and then just relax on the day. I usually work on my weakness trying to get them off my mind to gain confidence beforehand. I have found that very important for me to have a good long practice session the day before.
On the day, I just put the balls on the table, and knock them in, get a feel of the table cushions room condition pocket sizes etc. It sets my mind on getting used to thinking about building a break. Line up is more about thick stun shots, I like to get a feel of the table by playing more shots that require the use of the cushions.
I like to knock the half table balls in, to get my eyes used to the lighting, not really too keen on trying too many long pots early in the morning of a tournament when I just get there. These pots just kind of come to me once I am warm up.

[snooker warrior]

I believe he said pints aside lol

ooops ,,,,,must read the post properly next time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[noel]

ooops ,,,,,must read the post properly next time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Props to you for the "Carling" reference. Childhood friends were great great grandchildren of John Carling ... interestingly, Carling is way down the list of popular ales here... I think favourite in Canda is... Molson Canadian.

=o)

Noel

[hegeland]

Chopin Op. 53. And a power-nap. Also some test shots to check cloth and cushions.

[kevy62]

Hi guys, my quick warm up.... i will pot blacks off it's spot & pot at least 20 in a row, gaining position for each pot in sequence,(no reds,just blacks) & starting from the begining if one is missed, until all 20 are potted clean.

this is then followed by the same again, but the cueball "must" to come off a cushion to gain position for the next pot, this can be a little tougher.

instead of the standard lineup try this, place 5 reds between the pink & black spots, with all colours approx 6 inches away from their spots,(in random directions) now pot each red (with blacks only) in sequence + the colours ... total 67 ... practicing this routine as a warm up is actually practicing a frame winning break.


whole warm up time 15 mins.

depending on your level of skill, reduce the number of blacks potted & use this as a target to beat for next time.(blacks routine) & (67 cleanup)

[luchtzak]

Tournaments in Belgium will not allow you to warm up, not even playing a ball or 2 to get used to the table. The referee kind of hides the white ball ;-)

I tend to find my game edgy in the first frames, most probably I didn't had a warm-up.

Any suggestion how to solve my edgy start ?

[Gimme Danger]

I have exactly the same problem. My first frame of any match with mates, practice match, is usually really ropey, and because our league matches are only 1 frame per person, I struggle to get going.

Any ideas guys?

[cueman]

work on your cue action, solid technique that you can repeat time after time works well under pressure and doesn't need much to get you warmed up and flowing. Sounds easy in practice but I worked hard on my cue action and now I can play well at the start of a match or practice session because I trust my technique. Yesterday I played a match and had 64 first frame, 103 next frame and a couple of 40's in the next all without any practice frames.