Advice on technique

[Bradley129]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on here, I would love some feedback on my cue action. I started playing when I was young (10) and played to a decent standard by 13/14 years old (70+ breaks). I picked up my cue again at 17 and decided to play snooker again. I found I couldn't really play it, the knowledge was there but due to mental weakness and technique I was no where near what I used to be. I sought out help from a coach, he told me I was aiming slightly off centre. This was easily corrected. He also said that when I followed through I grabbed the cue and suggested that when I followed the cue through to try to allow my grip hand to open so it looks like my index finger is coming forward (like Ronnie, Murphy) with this I made a few 50s but struggled to make any breaks due to concentration etc.

When I went to university I was made more aware of the technique aspect of my game and became unhappy with game as I didn't like the fact my elbow would drop 6+ inches and I've always found that in solo practice I would struggle to pot a long straight blue. I took it upon myself to change my technique, this ranged from using new grips (some more cocked than others) along with a different stances. It has now been 10 months since started the changes and I am still no closer to having something I can replicate every time. This is due to every solo practise session I am always changing my technique hoping to find the "perfect cue action." A couple of weeks ago I made a drastic change to my grip and was playing well with it but everyone commented on how it looked odd and uncomfortable (and it was) and I was fed up with it midway through a tournament so I tried my hardest to go back what I thought was "natural." Remarkably I felt in that zone where I couldn't miss and was visualising the shots perfectly. In 5 frames I had a 51, 63 (highest break since picking up my cue again) and few 40s. I thought that this was it. I'd solved my issues, however every time playing since then I have noticed my wrist is slightly cocked at varying angles and suddenly back to being inconsistent.

Here is a video of myself practising a few long straight pots from a side on view, although you can't see if they go in or not by the sound you can tell if the ball goes in or not.

Here is a different video of myself potting straight long pots from an angle in line with the pocket.

It would be greatly appreciated if people could give me feedback/advice on how to improve it, I have always struggled with timing the ball and feel like this comes from my cue action, I just can't seem to accelerate through it without spearing someone with my cue. I wouldn't mind actually getting into contact with a coach to aid in any corrections/struggles with the mental aspect of the game.

Thanks very much.
Brad!

[DeanH]

The vid links are marked as private.

[vmax4steve]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on here, I would love some feedback on my cue action. I started playing when I was young (10) and played to a decent standard by 13/14 years old (70+ breaks). I picked up my cue again at 17 and decided to play snooker again. I found I couldn't really play it, the knowledge was there but due to mental weakness and technique I was no where near what I used to be. I sought out help from a coach, he told me I was aiming slightly off centre. This was easily corrected. He also said that when I followed through I grabbed the cue and suggested that when I followed the cue through to try to allow my grip hand to open so it looks like my index finger is coming forward (like Ronnie, Murphy) with this I made a few 50s but struggled to make any breaks due to concentration etc.

When I went to university I was made more aware of the technique aspect of my game and became unhappy with game as I didn't like the fact my elbow would drop 6+ inches and I've always found that in solo practice I would struggle to pot a long straight blue. I took it upon myself to change my technique, this ranged from using new grips (some more cocked than others) along with a different stances. It has now been 10 months since started the changes and I am still no closer to having something I can replicate every time. This is due to every solo practise session I am always changing my technique hoping to find the "perfect cue action." A couple of weeks ago I made a drastic change to my grip and was playing well with it but everyone commented on how it looked odd and uncomfortable (and it was) and I was fed up with it midway through a tournament so I tried my hardest to go back what I thought was "natural." Remarkably I felt in that zone where I couldn't miss and was visualising the shots perfectly. In 5 frames I had a 51, 63 (highest break since picking up my cue again) and few 40s. I thought that this was it. I'd solved my issues, however every time playing since then I have noticed my wrist is slightly cocked at varying angles and suddenly back to being inconsistent.

Just pick up the cue and hold it vertically in your hand with enough strength that it can't fall to the floor, that's your grip strength. At the address position your hand should not be fully closed, keep the fingers of the hand slightly open at address so that it fully closes after the cue ball is struck.

Open your hand on the backswing and close it as the stroke progesses until it's fully closed at the end of the stroke, which should now be beyond the cue ball and not at the address position. This will give you a natural follow through that isn't forced, keeping the elbow high and negating the shoulder drop before the cue ball is struck.
Practise this by playing practise strokes with four balls in a line parallel to the cue ball to guage your follow through, which should be about two balls before the hand fully closes and the momentum of the stroke carries the cue about another two balls.

The distances of follow through will naturally vary according to the strength of the shot played, but practising this will help prevent closing the hand too early which leads to deceleration and snatching and thus playing across the cue ball and putting on unwanted side.

Eye on the contact point of the object ball when delivering the cue and if you have your cue on the line of aim and don't move on the shot then it should all work out.

[Bradley129]

I've changed the privacy of the videos.

[Bradley129]

Just pick up the cue and hold it vertically in your hand with enough strength that it can't fall to the floor, that's your grip strength. At the address position your hand should not be fully closed, keep the fingers of the hand slightly open at address so that it fully closes after the cue ball is struck.

Open your hand on the backswing and close it as the stroke progesses until it's fully closed at the end of the stroke, which should now be beyond the cue ball and not at the address position. This will give you a natural follow through that isn't forced, keeping the elbow high and negating the shoulder drop before the cue ball is struck.
Practise this by playing practise strokes with four balls in a line parallel to the cue ball to guage your follow through, which should be about two balls before the hand fully closes and the momentum of the stroke carries the cue about another two balls.

The distances of follow through will naturally vary according to the strength of the shot played, but practising this will help prevent closing the hand too early which leads to deceleration and snatching and thus playing across the cue ball and putting on unwanted side.

Eye on the contact point of the object ball when delivering the cue and if you have your cue on the line of aim and don't move on the shot then it should all work out.

Thanks very much, I'll give it a try, I've always struggled to close my hand to avoid snatching etc, also if i don't drop my elbow I thump my chest which hurts after 20mins of playing power shots as i have little fat on my body.

Also as I pull the cue back sometimes my wrist bends inwards towards my body and I'm not sure how to stop that.

[Byrom]

Stop smacking it so hard

[Bradley129]

Stop smacking it so hard

But you need to test your technique

[tomperty]

I think the last video is a perfect demonstration of you losing your head due to a miss. Potting a long blue should never be taken for granted and it seems like you're expecting them to fly in every single time.

You hit a few good long pots in with good rhythm to your shots and solid cue action. You happen to miss one and both of those go completely out of the window! You throw the missed ball into the pocket, you don't even line the balls up straight, you don't even feather the cue before your delivery it seems. This is why the commentators will put so much praise into the mental strength part of the game - the ability to concentrate 99.9% of the time without slipping or letting your emotions get in the way.

With regards to your technique it's looking fairly sound though it's hard to tell from a video alone. Mechanics appear sound. Your acceleration appears smooth but make sure you're REALLY accelerating smoothly. Nic Barrow's video explains nicely the importance of this in order to generate power while keeping the cue on line. You grip does look fairly closed to me. On the backswing, I notice your fingers hardly move so I'm guessing you're keeping all four fingers tightly gripped on the cue which usually isn't recommended. You should be looking to unfurl your fingers on the backswing. Barry Stark explains this very very well in his first cue action video. I'd recommend watching all of his videos on cue action and paying attention to every comment he makes.

Best of luck!

[Byrom]

But you need to test your technique

How do you plan to do that by smacking it hard? This is why your technique is flawed those reds you missed would be still rolling around the table now if you had not stopped them no need to whack em -or maybe you love that thwak of leather ...- regardless its all a little rushed. Does not matter if you miss a few - just try getting more a feel into the shot. Try staying down a bit longer after the miss too - learn to check alignment keep cue forwards stay still learn why you missed - did you hit where you wanted - to thick or thin? At the moment you are acting like a machine gun - not learning anything like that.

I suggest giving it a go - Hit lower and softer on the white then keep cue forwards and keep still - you said you want to improve technique - I think it would help if you stop being a thumper and try learning to use a more controlled acceleration thro the white - this should help improve your timing if you ask me.

[Bradley129]

I think the last video is a perfect demonstration of you losing your head due to a miss. Potting a long blue should never be taken for granted and it seems like you're expecting them to fly in every single time.

You hit a few good long pots in with good rhythm to your shots and solid cue action. You happen to miss one and both of those go completely out of the window! You throw the missed ball into the pocket, you don't even line the balls up straight, you don't even feather the cue before your delivery it seems. This is why the commentators will put so much praise into the mental strength part of the game - the ability to concentrate 99.9% of the time without slipping or letting your emotions get in the way.

With regards to your technique it's looking fairly sound though it's hard to tell from a video alone. Mechanics appear sound. Your acceleration appears smooth but make sure you're REALLY accelerating smoothly. Nic Barrow's video explains nicely the importance of this in order to generate power while keeping the cue on line. You grip does look fairly closed to me. On the backswing, I notice your fingers hardly move so I'm guessing you're keeping all four fingers tightly gripped on the cue which usually isn't recommended. You should be looking to unfurl your fingers on the backswing. Barry Stark explains this very very well in his first cue action video. I'd recommend watching all of his videos on cue action and paying attention to every comment he makes.

Best of luck!

Yeah my mental side is definitely my weakest, I think Autism doesn't help my mental aspect of my game. With regards to my technique I just feel like it's not that consistent, even though I can knock in 3-4 long blues in a row, starting fresh another day I won't even get close.
I have already watched all of those videos but before playing today I re-watched them to get it fresh in my mind, took some advice on board with regards to unfurling and closing of the fingers and seemed to be quite consistent. From the video I also noticed how my cue wasn't very parallel to the table. So tried to get my cue lower to the table and overall for the two hours my cue action was consistent. Seemed very similar to Kyren Wilson with the amount of unfurling of the fingers. Thank you very much for the help though, really do appreciate it.

[Bradley129]

How do you plan to do that by smacking it hard? This is why your technique is flawed those reds you missed would be still rolling around the table now if you had not stopped them no need to whack em -or maybe you love that thwak of leather ...- regardless its all a little rushed. Does not matter if you miss a few - just try getting more a feel into the shot. Try staying down a bit longer after the miss too - learn to check alignment keep cue forwards stay still learn why you missed - did you hit where you wanted - to thick or thin? At the moment you are acting like a machine gun - not learning anything like that.

I suggest giving it a go - Hit lower and softer on the white then keep cue forwards and keep still - you said you want to improve technique - I think it would help if you stop being a thumper and try learning to use a more controlled acceleration thro the white - this should help improve your timing if you ask me.

Thanks for the feedback, my reasoning behind hitting it hard is that it shows any weakness in it, if you're not striking the white in the correct place, you'll miss. I think that and seeing the young resident Chinese professionals smack 10+ long blues in a row sorta influenced the pace I was hitting them at. Plus I can't pot a long straight red if the white is in baulk and the red is in line with the pink or anything longer because I lack the technique (I think I do)

How would you suggest to stop being a thumper and try to control the acceleration better?

Appreciate all the help I can get

[jonny66]

Seen as you're a natural elbow dropper, it might be worth watching these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yFhk4m_DZA

[tomperty]

Yeah my mental side is definitely my weakest, I think Autism doesn't help my mental aspect of my game. With regards to my technique I just feel like it's not that consistent, even though I can knock in 3-4 long blues in a row, starting fresh another day I won't even get close.
I have already watched all of those videos but before playing today I re-watched them to get it fresh in my mind, took some advice on board with regards to unfurling and closing of the fingers and seemed to be quite consistent. From the video I also noticed how my cue wasn't very parallel to the table. So tried to get my cue lower to the table and overall for the two hours my cue action was consistent. Seemed very similar to Kyren Wilson with the amount of unfurling of the fingers. Thank you very much for the help though, really do appreciate it.

I find those videos very useful to revisit. Even if I think I've followed them closely, the coach may say a small hint that I have previously missed and it can really help me. It took me a good few years to really think about what 'smooth acceleration' meant despite hearing it hundreds of times in the videos.

[Byrom]

Thanks for the feedback, my reasoning behind hitting it hard is that it shows any weakness in it, if you're not striking the white in the correct place, you'll miss. I think that and seeing the young resident Chinese professionals smack 10+ long blues in a row sorta influenced the pace I was hitting them at. Plus I can't pot a long straight red if the white is in baulk and the red is in line with the pink or anything longer because I lack the technique (I think I do)

How would you suggest to stop being a thumper and try to control the acceleration better?

Appreciate all the help I can get

check out 420 on this video...

[tomperty]

I believe you'll progress more and more if you learn to walk before you can run. These Chinese professionals are very talented and played a hundredfold the hours you have on a table at least. It is commonly known that increasing the power used in a shot will show the imperfections in your cue action. Instead of jumping into the deep end I'd advise building up to these power levels while maintaining good technique.

One thing I'm picturing, using your previous statements that you are struggling with timing, is that you're not actually delivering the cue where you intend reducing the action on the cue ball. This is likely caused by using too much power before you can deliver the cue at that speed with good technique.