Snatchy/jerky cue action.

[throwawayttyl102]

I have recently started playing snooker after a 10 year break. Earlier I used to clean up the open balls by judging whether to stop on right or left of the next ball so that I could be able to stop my cue ball on either side of the 3rd ball. Regular 40-50 breaks with an odd 70+ break in a week when the reds were open nicely.
The problem now that I have noticed is that my action is switching between smooth and snatchy between shots which makes me miss the easiest of shots. I never had snatch in my action before.
Any tips on how I remove the snatch/jerk? Any exercises or routines?
I currently am playing 2 days a week.

[mikee]

Set up some easy practice routines , s few nice medium length straight Potts and practicing clearing the. colours in different ways .I find in practice the radio on always helps , or in the club ear buds ,stops you thinking of things you don’t need to be thinking about .In golf say ,which is the same thing ,saying your not going to shank the ball or put it in the lake is a negative thought still ,it’s positive to say I’m going to play a nice draw and drop the ball left side of the pin .Trying not to do something is fatal .Always think what you want to do not what you don’t want to do .I had the shanks years ago ,so bad I gave the game up for nearly a year , I naturally draw the ball so a shank is never too far away ,I do pipe one on the odd occasion still but I never dwell on it now .Snooker is no different both bloody hard frustrating games

[throwawayttyl102]

Set up some easy practice routines , s few nice medium length straight Potts and practicing clearing the. colours in different ways .I find in practice the radio on always helps , or in the club ear buds ,stops you thinking of things you don’t need to be thinking about .In golf say ,which is the same thing ,saying your not going to shank the ball or put it in the lake is a negative thought still ,it’s positive to say I’m going to play a nice draw and drop the ball left side of the pin .Trying not to do something is fatal .Always think what you want to do not what you don’t want to do .I had the shanks years ago ,so bad I gave the game up for nearly a year , I naturally draw the ball so a shank is never too far away ,I do pipe one on the odd occasion still but I never dwell on it now .Snooker is no different both bloody hard frustrating games

Thanks for the advise.. Will start working on it.

[itsnoteasy]

Light grip all the way through, stroke every shot don't over hit them.

[Cue crafty]

Try to get a pre shot routine but without being robotic, think John Higgins or Shaun Murphy for nice rhythmic actions always with the same number of feathers. I know I play well when I keep the same rhythm and timing on the stroke when you fail to do this it's easy to throw a quick one in especially on a screw shot etc.

[andycam]

I have been trying the same amount of feathers, pause at the cueball, pause at the backswing and play the shot. I always try to make sure the backhand opens and closes nicely to time the shots.

[vmax]

The problem now that I have noticed is that my action is switching between smooth and snatchy between shots which makes me miss the easiest of shots. I never had snatch in my action before.

You might be taking the easy ones for granted and simply not concentrating on them enough as you would for something more difficult. Your brain knows when the cue is not on line and the body reacts accordingly so treat every shot with the same respect, remember to look and find the contact point on the object ball before you get down into your stance, even if it's over the pocket, that's my achilles heel

[Richard pincott]

The reply’s to your question from everyone have pretty much covered different ways to try and sort it out. I would just add a few reasons why you might be snatching. Not being 100% sure of the total shot. Anticipation or uncertainty of the result. Not seeing the target/spot you want to hit as you are striking the cue ball. Or rushing the shot.
It may be one of the above. Obviously without seeing you play I don’t know wether you hit the cue ball or push it. Both work if executed correctly. It’s difficult to snatch if you push the cue ball properly so my guess is you do not push the cue ball. but if you follow the advice from vmax and think smooth when you cue , it might just sort it out.
Good luck. 👍

[Danger Steve]

I played in the 6 red handicap comp down at the club last night! I was gonna have a quick 20mins on my table before setting off but never did! I thought I’ve been cueing pretty good recently I’ll be ok!

No joke, it was though my arm didn’t belong to the rest of my body last night! I couldn’t see the angles, couldn’t get through the cue ball nicely, my palms where all sweaty, my cue was sticky!!… Seriously I think I have mental issues with playing that comp on a Thursday night.

Im now seriously worried about the upcoming Pro-Am… I just think the nerves are going to get the better of me as usual

(sorry to hijack the post)

[Starsky]

I played in the 6 red handicap comp down at the club last night! I was gonna have a quick 20mins on my table before setting off but never did! I thought I’ve been cueing pretty good recently I’ll be ok!

No joke, it was though my arm didn’t belong to the rest of my body last night! I couldn’t see the angles, couldn’t get through the cue ball nicely, my palms where all sweaty, my cue was sticky!!… Seriously I think I have mental issues with playing that comp on a Thursday night.

Im now seriously worried about the upcoming Pro-Am… I just think the nerves are going to get the better of me as usual

(sorry to hijack the post)

Steve ,
Your putting way too much pressure on yourself .
What is there to be worried about ? . It’s just a game of snooker which your playing for enjoyment and not to make a living .
Nerves are normal and you’ll find the more comps you go in and the more you play better players the anxiety will subside .
Try to play people at your local clubs more if you can to help get used to playing away from your home set up which is your comfort zone .

[tomwalker147]

I played in the 6 red handicap comp down at the club last night! I was gonna have a quick 20mins on my table before setting off but never did! I thought I’ve been cueing pretty good recently I’ll be ok!

No joke, it was though my arm didn’t belong to the rest of my body last night! I couldn’t see the angles, couldn’t get through the cue ball nicely, my palms where all sweaty, my cue was sticky!!… Seriously I think I have mental issues with playing that comp on a Thursday night.

Im now seriously worried about the upcoming Pro-Am… I just think the nerves are going to get the better of me as usual

(sorry to hijack the post)

Sunday's comp at the Atack has a strong field mate, good warm up for the Pro Am at Stratford - having seen the field i wish i was playing in it!!
At least you'll get your usual confidence booster tomorrow mate.

In all seriousness sometimes we have off days/nights. "It's just one of them" , dust yourself off and get back on it

[Danger Steve]

Steve ,
Your putting way too much pressure on yourself .
What is there to be worried about ? . It’s just a game of snooker which your playing for enjoyment and not to make a living .
Nerves are normal and you’ll find the more comps you go in and the more you play better players the anxiety will subside .
Try to play people at your local clubs more if you can to help get used to playing away from your home set up which is your comfort zone .

I know your right about it being just a game, the problem is with me I always want to be the best at whatever I’m doing! So when I’m not the best it frustrates me and that doesn’t help with snooker being a tough game to master! I do get this buildup of anxiety I think, so even when I play players who are much worse at snooker, in games that mean absolutely nothing, I still want to win and perform and think I should be beating them in style with big breaks or something? Then when I know I’m going to be up against someone who can play a bit I get this crushing pressure on nearly every shot, like I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of them? Lol mental I know. I actually don’t know why I do it to myself?

I’ve definitely thrown myself in at the deep end over the past 12months with all these comps and inviting players round. I know I’m seeing rapid improvement in practice but I’m getting this mental block when it comes to transferring that into a match. The problem is then the mental stuff causes physical issues like last night, where my arm just wasn’t doing what it should be doing! Lol

Hopefully things will start to change the more I keep going for these comps etc and it will just become the norm to be in these situations. Then I can stop moaning and just enjoy it!

[Danger Steve]

Sunday's comp at the Atack has a strong field mate, good warm up for the Pro Am at Stratford - having seen the field i wish i was playing in it!!
At least you'll get your usual confidence booster tomorrow mate.

In all seriousness sometimes we have off days/nights. "It's just one of them" , dust yourself off and get back on it

Something tells me you’ll be a different player tomorrow mate

[Starsky]

I know your right about it being just a game, the problem is with me I always want to be the best at whatever I’m doing! So when I’m not the best it frustrates me and that doesn’t help with snooker being a tough game to master! I do get this buildup of anxiety I think, so even when I play players who are much worse at snooker, in games that mean absolutely nothing, I still want to win and perform and think I should be beating them in style with big breaks or something? Then when I know I’m going to be up against someone who can play a bit I get this crushing pressure on nearly every shot, like I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of them? Lol mental I know. I actually don’t know why I do it to myself?

I’ve definitely thrown myself in at the deep end over the past 12months with all these comps and inviting players round. I know I’m seeing rapid improvement in practice but I’m getting this mental block when it comes to transferring that into a match. The problem is then the mental stuff causes physical issues like last night, where my arm just wasn’t doing what it should be doing! Lol

Hopefully things will start to change the more I keep going for these comps etc and it will just become the norm to be in these situations. Then I can stop moaning and just enjoy it!

Trust me Steve I know all the emotions your going through as I’ve been there and done it myself.
Good luck tomorrow against Tom and good luck in your comps you’ve got coming up.
I’m sure we’ll have a discussion on this topic in a couple of weeks time over a beer or two

[Danger Steve]

Trust me Steve I know all the emotions your going through as I’ve been there and done it myself.
Good luck tomorrow against Tom and good luck in your comps you’ve got coming up.
I’m sure we’ll have a discussion on this topic in a couple of weeks time over a beer or two

Looking forward to it!