Screwing back best method?

[Jonny]

Is the best method to lower your bridging hand so you're hitting the bottom of the cue ball with the cue parallel to the table

or

keep bridge where it usually is but aim downwards on the cue ball

[RocketRoy1983]

NEVER dig down. Very simply:

Keep your cue parallel to the table no raised butt.
Ensure you strike the cue ball with BELOW CENTRE STRIKING.
Make SURE you follow through with your cue that is ESSENTIAL.

And yes your bridge should lower slightly but at the same time ensure it is stable as the slight bit of movement will cause you to cue off-line.

[RocketRoy1983]

No worries 1lawyer you get the idea anyway. *thumbs up*

[Asi]

except all the technical things that were mentioned here, you must have a perfect timing. its something that is very hard to define. one day it comes very easy and natural, a day after, you struggle to get it... The beauty of snooker!

[bonoman1970]

Do you mean a gentle soft screw or a real hard deep screw ?

:snooker:

[DavisFan76]

except all the technical things that were mentioned here, you must have a perfect timing. its something that is very hard to define. one day it comes very easy and natural, a day after, you struggle to get it... The beauty of snooker!

True. Took me ages to learn it as a kid, and now, I have to do it all over again because I haven't played regularly for so long! I can get side and topspin no problem and the same goes for stun shots and the odd bit of back + side spin, but no pure straight backspin as yet.

Edit: Is this:

http://www.bbbilliards.co.uk/product.php?prod=419

any use for training your spin skills? It has spots, so you can see what spin you managed to get. Also, it'd be cool to have the Mosconi Cup cue ball added to my nice new Aramith pool balls!

[Anthony762]

Just go through the ball smothly and use your cue action and don't just go for power.

Some times if you use a longer backswing it can make it move more but thats when errors can creep in so take care with it mate.

[DavisFan76]

Just go through the ball smothly and use your cue action and don't just go for power.

Some times if you use a longer backswing it can make it move more but thats when errors can creep in so take care with it mate.

It's very easy to slip into that way of thinking, isn't it? So, it's just a case of practicing a nice, smooth cue action and getting the follow through right, isn't it? Practice then. Time, and practice.

I still want that Mosconi ball though! I was amazed when I saw it came in my size (1 7/8)!!

[davipp]

I have found by using the pool players loop bridge I tend to screw the ball back alot further and I tend to control the shot when playing with side.

[charlatan71]

one thing ive always been able to do is play deep screw shots, right from when i first started to play snooker. i play my screw shots like jimmy white, drag my tip right on the cloth then at the last second of contact i raise it slightly, keeping my hand as flat as possible,parallel cueing and following threw.

neil

[lkomarci]

good for you charlatan, wish I could say the same thing. I'm having big problems with my screw shots.

I started playing american pool several years ago. I never had a cue on my own, so I've used those "stock" cues, they weren't too bad actually, but they weren't very good either. Very often they'd use poor tips, wouldn't even make them dome shaped but rather just leave them stay flat, and the blue elk master chalk doesn't seem to grip the tip very well. So as a beginner, when trying to make screw shots with a lot of power, very often I would miscue, or make the cueball jump and whatnot. So instead I started using lots of topspins, and since the pool tables are a lot smaller than a full-size snooker table, I would usually use 2-3 cushions and topspin to get behind the object ball.

I can screw back from a shorter distance, but because all those miscues and cueball jumps, when I attempt to make a powerful screw shot, I aim very low on the cueball, but when I go through the cueball I tend to raise the cue, which results in a STUN shot.

This has been giving me problems in snooker because it's not as easy to get away with using the topspin all the time and sending the cueball to the other side of the table and get back behind the object ball because of the size of the table.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to improve this? Just for the record, I keep my cue parallel with the table, and I don't lift my head during the shots.

[SebastianZ]

I think it's more of the confidence in your case as you have miscued quite a lot in the past, now when you come to the shot you are afraid of getting through the cue ball.
so strike the cue ball below centre with confidence, let your elbow drop with lots of follow through. it's just like applying top spin but with different contact point.

[mooneyy]

One reason for not getting backspin but stun is a missing follow-through.
A friend of mine wasn't able to draw the cueball too until i told him to change
a couple of things.

Lower your bridge and hold the cue as parallel to the table as possible.
Aim for the bottom of the cueball and make sure you follow through without
raising the butt of your cue.
Time the shot! This is actually very important! Take your stance, get down
for the shot, feather a couple of times to make sure you aim at the right point.
Then pull the cue back (but only as far as necessary) and pause! The length of
this pause is individual, so find out what works best for you. After the pause
don't just strike the cueball - accelerate your cue through the cueball.
That means speed has to be at max. after you hit the ball.

Again: timing is very important to get screw!

Sebastian's statement about screw being virtually the same as top is of course
absolutly correct.

hope that helps!

cheers

[cm59]

cheers for the advice guys just started playing and wasnt sure how to do screw shots followed the advice on here and now can get good amounts of screw with little power drastrically improved my game

[khizzy]

just concentrate on the hit,let the cue flow,what most players do is give a jerk at the time of stroking the ball.if you master it then you'll be able to pull the ball the whole length of the table.