how often do the professionals use side?

[stjimmy18-1991]

as the title says, how often do the pros use side?

[MasterBreak147]

Good question but i would have to say majority would try and play 90% of times with no side but there are times its needed.
Thats a guess btw and probs why im not so good lol because i loveeeeeee side

kev

[atm147iwish]

i think thats a great question..
of course the pros have such amazin control of the white ball due to how they cue the ball
a team mate of mine maintains he plays with side (usually reverse) on every shot to 'correct' the line etc... which seems like garbage to me... but what do i know, ill stick to my own game however.

[RGCirencester]

In pro tournaments these days (with super fast cloths) isn't it largely a plain ball game?

[JamesFoster]

Yeah alot of plain ball and stun.

[RocketRoy1983]

Id recommend you use plain ball as often as possible to be honest as side will only make things more difficult. Once mastered (or as closest to) it is a great to have in your armour.

To answer your question...there can be no answer. Simply whenever needed.

[DandyA]

as the title says, how often do the pros use side?

as others have already said, that is a GREAT question ...

my view ... it may be my eyes or even my TV screen but it seems to me that most pros will always on short to mid-range 3/4 to 1/2 ball cuts, play with a little bit of "helping" side ... I guess if that's all you practice, the adjustment in angle becomes automatic ...

apart from that, other shots they hit as centre ball as possible unless they really absolutely need side ...

I remember one of the lesser pro's (maybe Dave Harold?) being interviewed before a tournament two or three years ago and he said "I'm quite hopeful cos I'm hitting the ball straighter than I've ever done" ... the commentators explained what he meant was that he was pleased he was hitting the cue ball dead centre without imparting any unintentional side at all ...

as I'm sure RR and other renowned coaches will tell you ... if you can sight well, aim well, and hit the cue ball dead centre without unwanted side, you're well on your way to being a reasonable snooker player

[bongo]

Side isn't always necessary and many players think they must play with side to control the cue ball. Some players may think that the pros use side all the time as it is more of an advanced form of positional play. This is incorrect, professionals find it very tough to apply side as amateurs do.

There is no real exact figure for how often professional use side, but probably only about 5% of shots they play they use side.

You will need to use side on occasions, but if you control the cue ball well enough then you shouldn't need to use side very much. You can concentrate on the vertical line of strike without side spin.

In English billiards, side is more important. But for snooker, only around 5% of shots the pros use side.

[gettingbetter]

To answer your question...there can be no answer. Simply whenever needed.

The last three words is what I hear most often when I ask better players the same question.

[vmax4steve]

I read John Spencers book, a long time ago now, and he had reached a certain standard with a plain ball game and couldn't get any further. An old bloke in his club suggested he needed to play billiards to improve his positional play, so that's what he did, learning the mysteries of side in the process. He played nothing but billiards for six months and when he went back to snooker he found that he played rubbish for a week until it clicked in his mind and side became second nature.
Then again he also developed his pendulum cue action for deep screw shots with the old crystalate balls and became the best player in the world until Alex Higgins came along.
The game was different then, and tables and conditions were different and varied. It is no coincidence that Spencer, Higgins and Reardon, who used side, were the winners in the seventies, while Eddie Charlton, who played a plain ball game, was the perrenial runner up.
It is also no coincidence that Higgins, White and Drago faded as cloths became napless, balls became lighter and pockets got bigger, which gave the advantage to the plain ball players.
If you want to learn to play with side, then do so, you will be a better player as a result, but it won't stop you getting beaten by someone with a straight cue action and a plain ball game who can get the white around the table with stun and screw far easier than you can with side.