Critique Please!

[CeeJay147]

Alright guys, I've recently taken up the game again in an attempt to get back to my previous form and then improve furthermore. I started recording my practice session the other day, in hoping to uncover any bad habits or kinks in my technique etc.

I was hoping if anyone would be able to help me out here or give me some tips on what I may be doing wrong, or any obvious mistakes I am making that is causing me problems.

Here's the links to one of the videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_4TbMrd6gg

A little bit of back story: I started playing when I was around 15 and played on average 5/6 hours a week for about a year. I also competed in a few Cuestars tourneys around the region, amassing my highest break of 52. I then unfortuantely broke my left wrist in a rugby match which resulted in my long period away from snooker. From then up until now (21 years old) I have played maybe once/twice every few months max. The club I also played the majority of time at has now closed down, so I now play at a local social club which has a one table setup.

After watching the videos back I couldn't believe some of the shots I was missing, I'd have never had missed them back when I was playing regularly and I can't quite work out why I am now.

Anyway any help at all would be much appreciated, cheers!

[j6uk]

your not accelerating through the white and your cue ball control is all floppy
come down to this end and do a lineup of just 15 reds so we can get a better look at you

[j6uk]

your better in the second half of the vid. nice approach and i like your feathering, you could cut out a feather or two and giddy up a bit

[cyberheater]

1. You don't walk in on your shots.
2. There is a slight movement of your body when you take your shots.

But really. I think you just need to spend more time potting balls. You're technique looks pretty good to me.

[vmax4steve]

Your wrist goes from cocked out on the feathers and moves inside as you close your grip on the delivery stroke, especially so when playing at pace.

Don't snap the fingers on your grip hand shut on the delivery stroke, keep it loose and drive through the cue ball before any closing of the grip happens. Maybe hold the cue only with the first two fingers and keep the wrist cocked out all through the stroke with the other fingers only touching the cue, not holding it, or off the cue altogether.

[j6uk]

Your wrist goes from cocked out on the feathers and moves inside as you close your grip on the delivery stroke, especially so when playing at pace.

Don't snap the fingers on your grip hand shut on the delivery stroke, keep it loose and drive through the cue ball before any closing of the grip happens. Maybe hold the cue only with the first two fingers and keep the wrist cocked out all through the stroke with the other fingers only touching the cue, not holding it, or off the cue altogether.

yeah hes just snatching at pace and he just need some time to trust his elbow. if he get to the stage when he works out for 4-6 hrs a day a few times a week he'll sus it

[Byrom]

If the ball is straight in line with the pocket then there is a way that might help -

You need to cue through the white ball not decelerate you need to accelerate - try and imagine your tip is hitting the pocket in a straight line and cue through the ball positively - you are not accelerating through the ball properly by imagining this it just might help on this shot.

Stop being tentative and attack the shot - your technique aside from this is quite good - you will get it almost right away once you do this I think.

[CeeJay147]

your better in the second half of the vid. nice approach and i like your feathering, you could cut out a feather or two and giddy up a bit

Yes this is something I noticed when watching the video back, I used to play a lot quicker before until I got into the habit of tinkering my game when it wasn't necessary. I ended up changing the basics which I think may have messed up my natural rhythm.

1. You don't walk in on your shots.
2. There is a slight movement of your body when you take your shots.

But really. I think you just need to spend more time potting balls. You're technique looks pretty good to me.

This is something that has always been a bit of a problem unfortunately, the body movement. When I'm cueing it feels like I'm shaking quite considerably, I've tried controlling my breathing etc. thinking that may help but as you can see it still exists.

yeah hes just snatching at pace and he just need some time to trust his elbow. if he get to the stage when he works out for 4-6 hrs a day a few times a week he'll sus it

I'm hoping to commit a lot more time to the game so fingers crossed I'll get this sorted.

If the ball is straight in line with the pocket then there is a way that might help -

You need to cue through the white ball not decelerate you need to accelerate - try and imagine your tip is hitting the pocket in a straight line and cue through the ball positively - you are not accelerating through the ball properly by imagining this it just might help on this shot.

Stop being tentative and attack the shot - your technique aside from this is quite good - you will get it almost right away once you do this I think.

I'll try this out next time definitely, I think from memory I only tend to ensure I do this when applying backspin

Thanks again for the quick replies guys, I'll be going for a few hours later this evening so will incorporate all your advice

[OmaMiesta]

I think your rushing the line up a little bit, try taking a few steps back and stare at the point of contact (centre of object ball) in relation to the middle of the white as you walk in to align properly. And then make sure you are looking back and forth from object ball to cue ball as you feather up and down, time it in a way that your backswing and front pause are synced with your eyes. So make sure you're looking at the object ball during the backswing and cue ball during the front pause. I spent many hours practising this exact drill because I think straight shots are the most important to learn considering every other angle is just a variation of a straight shot. As long as you're cueing in a straight line all you have to focus on is the point of contact for any shot.