Best Cue Action

[BoBnoGG!n]

i like neil robertsons cue action. and he gets a lot of cue power without really dropping his elbow. but i guess wen you hav arms that long, you might not need to. i drop my elbow. sigh. i wish i was neil robertson...

[Freddie Ng]

i like neil robertsons cue action. and he gets a lot of cue power without really dropping his elbow. but i guess wen you hav arms that long, you might not need to. i drop my elbow. sigh. i wish i was neil robertson...

His cue action is nice and powerful. His long pot is also accurate.
Wonder how he maintain the cueing with so much power apply to it ?

[BoBnoGG!n]

haha alex higgins :P LOVE his cue action aswell. =D

[gettingbetter]

What is unique about William's grip?

[matoski]

So from the 'ideal' point of view and the 'perfect' cue action the 2 players who stand out are Stephen Lee and Shaun Murphy.
Terry

I'm so glad that a knowledgable person such as Terry Davidson shares my oppinion about the best cueists in the game.

[1lawyer]

I think Terry makes an important point, everyone is unique. The most important aspect of any cue action is to try to do the same thing and remain consistent. (as long as your technique is correct). Once you do some change it should only be slight and should only be one aspect at once or you may throw other things off.

I once told a player I had been practicing with for two days to lengthen his back swing slightly because it was too short and I noticed on occasion on certain shots when power was needed he was over driving the ball. His standard improved almost immediately and so did his results. He proceeded to score 88 and missed a maximum in the following frame and his confidence was back along with his beak building almost instantly. Funny thing but he gave me some tips on stance and my play improved too. I must admit I felt a bit strange giving a player like him advice but it worked and he started potting them off the light shades.

[cazmac1]

Does any body remember the TV program with Steve Davis when they made a robotic arm and programmed it to play snooker? Needless to say it didn’t beat Steve, although it was hard to tell which one was the robot Ha Ha. Although this was a very crude robot by today standards I think it proves the point that a perfect cue action is only one part of the game and on it's own will only bring limited success. For instance you may be able to pot every straight ball you attempt but are unable to pot 1/2 or 3/4 balls with the same consistency, because you can't Judge the angle and of course there is the ability the play with side. The point I'm making is the best cue action is the one that puts the ball in the pocket consistently.u

[cazmac1]

I must admit I felt a bit strange giving a player like him advice but it worked and he started potting them off the light shades.[/QUOTE]

Who was the player?

[spike]

Does any body remember the TV program with Steve Davis when they made a robotic arm and programmed it to play snooker? Needless to say it didn’t beat Steve, although it was hard to tell which one was the robot Ha Ha. Although this was a very crude robot by today standards I think it proves the point that a perfect cue action is only one part of the game and on it's own will only bring limited success. For instance you may be able to pot every straight ball you attempt but are unable to pot 1/2 or 3/4 balls with the same consistency, because you can't Judge the angle and of course there is the ability the play with side. The point I'm making is the best cue action is the one that puts the ball in the pocket consistently.u

That programme with the robot your talking about was called QED. I remember the robot playing a frame with Ted Lowe, but cant remember now if was Ted or the robot that won the frame..

[cally]

Took a while to play a shot did that robot...3-5 mins on every shot...

Bit of info here on it...
http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/cig/2007/papers/2073.pdf

[levon]

Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson, IMO.

[Erwan_BZH]

No love for the Scots here?

I'm obviously a bit biased being a John Higgins fan but trying to be really honnest and objective, I still think John, along with Steve Maguire and Hendry, has the best cue action. I mean, every single time I watch John, it's pure joy....His stance is steady, firm bridge, smooth cue action, rear pause, nice backswing, and perfect acceleration through the shot, head still.....To me, it's the perfection. Mags has the same robotic, clinical, cue action and even though it's not as spectular, visually speaking, as a ROS or a Alex Higgins back in the days,...man....it's so efficient!

Here is an example of Stephen's cue action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHVaNyDvOzY

And here is John's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Mo201_RLo

To me, this is perfect cue action, that allows you to control every single shot with calm and focus. No wonder why these two are amongst the best breakbuilders on the planet.


BTW, I have never figured out why so much hype on Lee's cue action? Kinda smooth, yeah, but nothing exceptionnal to me....

[gettingbetter]

There is a coach who comes down to my club occasionally who has coached Ebdon and done exhibitions with A. Higgins and White who says that Higgins is the most technical correct player. As another person mentioned, cue actions/technique are all unique and once again, another poster mentioned that its not only the cue action that is important.

The coach that I talk to says that Higgins is the only player who keeps his chin on the cue all the time, regardless of what time of shot he is playing.

BTW Ervan, for some reason, I've always thought that Higgin's bridge hand looks odd. Doesn't seem very strong.

[Erwan_BZH]

Which Higgins are you talking about? Alex or John?
Cuz Alex has one of most unorthodox technique!

As for John's bridge, his hand is strong on the table and fingers well spread and firmly fit into the cloth. Looks rather steady to me.

[goku]

The Rolls Royce of cue actions is Dave Harold.

what!!!! dave harold has no cue action, but i'm guessing your joking

having said that i think shaun murphy has a very good cue action but my fav of all time goes to jimmy white