Potting with side

[benspurs]

Hi,

I regularly make breaks of 30+ and seem to be able to play most shots, my long potting and safety is good but one shot i am hopless at is when i misjudge the pace of the cueball and need to pot with side for the next red/colour anyone got any tips?

I'm not quite sure how far to compensate and which way the object ball will react. This is causing me some trouble and often causes me to miss or run out of position.

Thanks

[gerbisto]

I think its better to improve your cueball so you never need side

As for improving side, i would practice alone for 2 hours trying to pot with side only

[Welshsteve]

One thing I find a lot of people make a mistake on is the amount of side they put on. They think putting side on means striking the far side/corner or whetver on the cue ball. If you need a touch of side to square up the cue ball for instance, don't strike the cue ball on the far side of the ball, just a little will help. Only use "extreme" side, as I call it, when absolutely necessary to avoid or make cannons etc.

But as has been said, judging the pace of the cue ball rather than the side will help immensely. The better you judge the pace of the cue ball, the less need there will be for side.

[bongo]

If you are regularly making 30+ breaks then I would say that your speed control of the cue-ball isn't as bad as you might think.

[vmax4steve]

When playing with side you must remember that you have to play to hit the object ball thicker than you normally would. This varies with the amount of side you use, the speed of the shot, the distance of the shot and the condition of the cloth. Many, many hours of trial and error are required, but the benefits are great if mastered.

[Lux]

When potting with side, always cue through the ball with angle, not try to swipe the tip across the ball. It's also more controllable and predictable because of a firmer contact.

[vmax4steve]

Agree with Lux, never address the centre of the white and then put side on, address the the white exactly where you want to strike it with the tip of the cue.

[bongo]

Agree with Lux, never address the centre of the white and then put side on, address the the white exactly where you want to strike it with the tip of the cue.

Address the cue-ball where you mean to strike it!

[cantpotforshíte]

I'm with gerbisto on this one ... just try and make sure that you leave the cueball where you won't have to use side. (always try to leave yourself a shot with options, or the right side of the next ball. Often there's a big margin for error so long as you give it some thought and don't leave yourself straight).
Using side is, in my opinion, like opening a can of worms. As soon as you get used to using it, it's easy to rely on it, and you become lazy with positional play.
You can practice all you like on your own match table, but if you play somewhere else (like an away game in a league for instance) then it'll be a lottery whether you pot the ball or not.
Avoid using side (and cliches) like the plague.

[tomah]

Are you guys serious about not using side? I don't think it would be possible to make regular breaks of 50+ without using side on a small number of shots.

Everyone admits it's increases difficulty, and it's best avoided if possible. But, if someone is really going to improve, they're going to have to learn, not only when to use it, but also how to use it.

To the OP, I suggest you check out some YouTube videos on potting with side. There are a number there which may help you understand check vs. running, as well as the need for compensation, etc. Then get to the table and put together some scenarios you've faced in match play where you've felt side was necessary, and practice the shots over and over, memorising weight, cueball response, compensation, etc.

[cantpotforshíte]

Are you guys serious about not using side? I don't think it would be possible to make regular breaks of 50+ without using side on a small number of shots.

Everyone admits it's increases difficulty, and it's best avoided if possible. But, if someone is really going to improve, they're going to have to learn, not only when to use it, but also how to use it.

Yes I'm serious. Of course there are situations where you have no choice and have to use it. And of course it needs to be practiced. But I think it's more important to first of all stress that the overuse of side, and reliance on side stops a lot of players from becoming proficient at breakbuilding.

Apart from the obvious way that side makes a shot more difficult, (by making us have to compensate for the throw of the white ball and turn of the OB) there is an extra spanner that it throws into the works.

IMHO it can muddle the mind as you are getting down on the shot. Unless you put the exact ammount of side on the cueball that you were thinking of as you got down to play the shot, the mind knows subconsciously that something is wrong and then you are more likely to not commit to the shot.(I hope I haven't made this sound much more complicated than it is.)

There is also (I think) a common problem where a player might 'see' a shot with plain ball striking in his pre-shot routine, and on the way down to the shot decide to use a little side, resulting in the same un-comitted shot.
Or maybe it's just me that can't multi-task?

[tomah]

I know what you're getting at, and I'd advise any beginner the same. But, I don't think the OP is a beginner.

In a nutshell, never play side unless there's no other better option. It's never a safe option to play side, but occasionally it's the better option.

If you OP has a decent cue action, understands positional play, etc, then it can do no harm to practice using side, imo.

[cantpotforshíte]

I agree with you in part, tomah, side does need practising for when it's needed.
I just think (and I may be wrong) that a lot of people get to the regular 50-70break level and then actually regress because they are using side more than they need to. I think it muddles an already over-tasked brain on the shot.

I've just read my last post and realised that it's not very clear so to sum up:
playing with side makes it more difficult to 'see' the shot, and seeing the shot, I think, is 95% of it.

[khizzy]

i wonder how these acuerate cue behave when playing with side.

[cantpotforshíte]

i wonder how these acuerate cue behave when playing with side.

There is a review of one here:

http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...white+acuerate

It's worth reading for Ryan Day's comment alone.