Some basic draw questions

[-Blade-]

1) Everyone says keep the cue level but if the cue is raised and the white jumps with the backspin, then the spin will remain so over a long distance some spin will be retrieved. However, it's also bad because you're pressing the cue ball into the table slate and causing friction.

BUT, when cueing, the cue has to be raised to clear the rails so what is the best thing to do? :S

Surely the cue can never be 100% straight?

2) Wouldn't the best way to get acceleration be to place the bridge next to the write so when the cue is accelerating, the white will be close enough to recieve acceleration from the cue. So if the bridge is far and you begin accelerating, you might stop or wobble. Whereas a close bridge will prevent this. Also, doesn't a longer bridge make follow through harder?

3) With acceleration, would it be acceptable to make initial contact with the white at one speed then shift to a much faster speed? Or does the white have to recieve a constant acceleration.

4) Does weightlifting help improve cueing? A lot of people say it does as it can steady your arm and other related body parts and thus prevent jitters etc.

I'm trying to get some long distance draw on a pool table, but I guess I'll have to go to the extremest measure and get some professional help. Is the ability to get long distance draw a talent-related thing? I.E. some people are born with a gift to do it, and some not, or is it all just down to practise and hard work resulting in anyone being able to produce extreme spin? I'm wondering this because I don't want to get tuition and then realise it is down to talent. However, on youtube you see all sorts of amateur players who are not famous at all, produce lots of draw. I guess I should get a really small, domed tipped, heavy cue to make my life easier.... Looking at youtube vids, reading and beating a dead horse with the same exercises is getting a bit boring.


Thanks

[bongo]

Hi, I will answer your questions,

1) I reccommend that you keep the cue as parallel to the table as possible, there is no need to keep the cue 3 microns from the cushion rail, but just above it will be fine, 100% flat is not what I would reccommend. Just cue up and down the slope that the cushion rail makes.

2) I would reccommend that a bridge hand about 7-8 inches away from the cue ball would be correct. If the bridge is too close to the white, then accselleration (spelling?!) would be harder in my opinion. Try it in practise but I find it very difficult. If you have the bridge too far away from the cue ball, like 12 inches then you can dip the cue into a miscue, the cue has to go forward to the cue ball and then past the cue ball for a follow through. Just try to find the 'middle' bridge distance from cue ball that suits you.

I need to go now, will answer rest later!

Thanks!

[screwball]

There is nothing wrong in raising the butt of the cue. As you indicate there are times when you have to - close to a rail or if the cueball is too close to the object ball - but it is vital to hit the cueball on its vertical axis otherwise you'll swerve it. Even with the cue level or nearly level hitting on the vertical axis is necessary in order to impart the most efficient spin. Don't worry about the smaller tip; (Parrott, Ebdon, McCullough) have no problem with a bigger tip. I would suggest lining up a straight pot with the cueball a foot or so from the object ball and just try to hit the cueball as low as you can on the vertical axis and as slowly as you can. This slow stroke will develop your technique quicker than anything. At first you will find you have to hit the ball with some pace to get the proper backspin but after a while you'll be amazed how slowly you can hit it and still get draw. Watch Ali Carter, he has remarkable draw technique.

[wildJONESEYE]

Steve Davis in his prime and now lifted the but slightly....it wasent parallell as some think it was...even Ronnie has a slight lift......

Stephen Hendry on the other hand is parallell.......what makes you comfterbull to play efficiantly is what counts......

[CoachGavin]

good screw shot

helps to create even more acceleration just as the cue goes through the white. As you pull the cue back try and keep you cueing elbow up and pull the cue back using the wrist and not just with your arm. Then when you follow through dont be afraid of allowing your cueing elbow to drop down which will shut the grip, creating more power. Watch a video of ronnie and watch his elbow when he is facing the camera. One moment it is above his head and then it drops when he plays the shot. This allows for a long follow through.

[CoachGavin]

lost the start

sorry,the start of my last post got lost so it doesnt make proper sense

It just mentioned that the players who get the best screw from the white use a lot of wrist in their technique. Watch ebdon, ronnie or carter and they all use the wrist as well as the arm to pull the cue back before driving the cue through so that the arm and wrist combine for maximum acceleration.

[CTquick147]

The Screw Shot

Gavin is right about the wrist playing role, but he doesn't say what to do. Your wrist should be fairly loose(watch Neil Robertson's grip, it's perfect) and many players like to spread the fingers a bit more during a deep screw shot to aid this. But it also depends on wether or not you wrist turns in or out natrually.

To answer Blade's 1st question, it should be the goal of every player to cue as straight as humanly possible, of course the cushons can play a role, as can balls scattered about the table, but the goal should always be the same, a mechanical, piston like action. Best example: Shaun Murphy, this is how your stroke should look. Dead #%&*ing straight!

As to Blade's question 2. about bridging close to the white, the answer would be NO!!!! If you bridge only a few inches from the white then you won't be able to generate enough momentum on your back-swing, and your follow though will be greatly limited, both these draw backs ensure failure when trying to apply deep screw.


Blade's fourth question: I would say not really, though being fit can help with your overall game, screw shots are not in any way about brute strength, they're about timing and touch. Also getting stronger, bigger arms can have funny affects on your stroke, so I wouldn't put any stock in lifting as a means to improve. Alex Higgins is 90 pounds soaking wet, and he can screw the ball back better than anyone.

Blade's 3rd question: I would say no, the pace you put on should be consistant during your follow through. A big problem for a lot of players is losing control during the follow through, it's hard to master, remember you don't have to snap the cue backward fast on you backswing to make the cueball screw back really far(again, watch Murphy).

Screw Talent? Of course at all levels of snooker or pool you'll see people who screw the ball back better than others. Stephen Hendry never had Jimmy White's cue power, But I wouldn't say Jimmy was a more talented player. Some players are better on stun, plain ball, top, screw, masse, ect, but that doesn't make you a complete player. I'm not gonna back Robertson to beat O'Sullivan just cause he's got a bit more power to his stroke. That being said, i know and understand the desire to be able to pull these spectacular draw shots, I used to wonder if it was talent I was missing, but now that I can bring off these types of shots, I would have to say that while you may never be Jimmy White or Alex Higgins, if you are capable of learning and working hard, then you should be able to add the deep screw to your arsenal.

Here's a couple tips:

1. Test your limits, if you're bringing the ball back 6 feet( or six inches) try to double the distance, you may fail 99 out of 100, but that 1 stroke that goes right, you'll feel it, and hopfully you can figure out what you did differently.

2. Remember that the nap of the cloth plays a huge part in playing these shots. If you're at the top(black) end of the snooker table, shooting into a baulk pocket on the green side, wanting to draw back off the top rail, you've got to use right hand( running) sidespin. The same of course is true on the other(yellow) side, you need running english to come up the table because you are shooting AGAINST the nap. Shooting with the nap, for instance screwing back towards the baulk end after potting a blue to a top pocket, you need to use check side. It's amazing how many players never figure this part out, and as a result, never get any better at screwing a ball back. This also applies to the pool table, Check the ball the to come back towards the headstring going with the nap, and use running side when shooting against the nap.

3. OK. Now this may cause some controversy, but I'm passing on a little tip I recieved from a former Embassy World Champion, and had it confermed by my coach whom is an outstanding exponent of the screw shot . . . it sounds mad I know but . . . LOOK AT THE WHITE as you play the shot, fixate on it like you normally would the object ball. The reasoning here is that often, players subconsiously fear the white zipping back and hitting the tip of the cue, and don't completely follow through because of it. Now I know every book you've ever picked up says this is wrong, but watch Alex Higgins when he plays those freakish screw backs, he looks at he white, and Cliff Thorburn also did this "trick" sighting on certain shots, so it's not as crazy as it may sound. Also try this on long straight balls too far away(for most of us anyway) to get any screw back on. You'll find if you don't get the screw back on a strtaight red ten feet away, level with the black spot, you'll stop the cue ball dead, from ten feet out that's a hell of a stun shot, and another deadly weapon in the bag. try it, it worked for me.

CT

[trevs1]

Good post above here, I agree with much of the first few points raised, however.........

I don't agree with the second last or the very last points.

There is no need to put side on the white ball to create any level of backspin on the cueball when potting the likes of a long blue into a top pocket, or any other shots for that matter, none at all. The key to playing such shots effectively and consistantly is to cue that white in the centre. Any off centre striking over distance is best avoided if at all possible.

The nap of any cloth has a minimal effect on screw shots due to the speed at which the cueball will be travelling. If you were to try playing a screw shot on a kitchen worktop, you'd be totally amazed at how much backspin you can get on the white ball, even when there is no 'nap' to speak of.

I definitely would'nt recommend anyone look at the white on contact either, then change back to looking at the object ball for other shots, that can't help you. If doing this helps the poster above, then that's fine, but it really isn't recommended, it only serves to bring more inconsistancy to your technique.

The secret to being able to play these types of shots efficiently is ability + experience, no more and no less. No one would be able to play these shots within a few days of playing the game for the first time, it has to be learnt and felt, to improve the technique required to be proficient at it, just as CTquick147 points out above. It 'IS' one of the more difficult shots to master, especially over any sizeable distance, so the skills to do it won't come quickly for most people.

[RonnieJunior]

I don't have much time, but wanted to say a few things on here, since it was Frank Callan who tought me to play screw shots

The secret if you wanna call it that
to screw the white -
1. Using the 1st or 1st and 2nd finger bring your cue back so your wrist's cocked
If you do it RIGHT you'll notice the the cue tightens agains the V when you pull the cue back.
Pull back so the tip is near the v o your bridge hand
keeping your waggles/feathers whatever you wanna call them smooth and the cues level.
When hitting the white MAKE SURE THAT that acceleration is at it's fastest when going through the white

And yea Gav, Ebdon get's the wrist going
when pulling the cue back
but doesn't actually get the wrist involved
when going through the white. :-)

RJ

[-Blade-]

Interesting ideas.

It's a good thing to ask about draw technique because even though it's a very common topic, there's always a new technique to learn which could just be the key...

If the cue has to be at its fastest when going through the white, then there has to be a fairly significant bridge distance but of course I need to factor in what I am used to.

Trevs1 - you have PM.

[bongo]

Just remember all, big draw shots are the games' danger, are we ever going to need monster draw shots in matches? We should ask ourselves that.

[bongo]

3) With acceleration, would it be acceptable to make initial contact with the white at one speed then shift to a much faster speed? Or does the white have to recieve a constant acceleration.

Your answer.....

[bongo]

MAKE SURE THAT the acceleration is at it's fastest when going through the white

Correct, a smooth action is required, not jerky, jerky = fast, slow, fast, IMO

Some good replies here too.

[snooligan]

are we ever going to need monster draw shots in matches? We should ask ourselves that.

Yeah, sometimes it's a good shot to nothing when there is no obvious path around the angles & back to baulk.

[bongo]

Yeah, sometimes it's a good shot to nothing when there is no obvious path around the angles & back to baulk.

Correct, and a good shot to be able to play too.

Not too often though that you need it!