Particular type of shot

[Terry Davidson]

jonny:

I'm not advocating a screw shot and with this type of shot the screw turns into top spin after the cueball hits the top cushion and you will end up in baulk!

I'm advocating a 'DRAG SHOT' which is where you hit the cueball very low as per deep screw but with the correct power so the screw dissipates just as the cueball reaches the object ball. This means the cueball is traveling very slow as it hits the object ball.

Drag has the beneficial effect of keeping the cueball on line for the pot as opposed to hitting the cueball centre-ball and very slow as there's every chance it will roll off the line of aim unless the table is perfect, which not many are.

To be a good player you MUST master the drag shot as it has many applications in positional play

Terry

[jonny klu]

thats great terry thanks for the advice on the black i will give that a go tonight in practice, as for potting the red its not the potting of the red which is the issue as i can get that about 16 out of 20 its knowing how hard to hit it with that much top spin on but i am gathering from what you are saying is play a screw shot and if its to fine a cut to hold on for the black play for bue instead of plaing with a lot of top to hold for the black?

[Terry Davidson]

jonny:

The cut-back black is one of the most difficult shots in snooker since the pocket is not in your vision normally.

Most players will adjust their aim as they are feathering this shot (even pros who miss this shot more than other types) and that is why this shot is missed a lot.

To practice it, decide on the aim of your cue while you are standing behind the shot, then drop your head absolutely STRAIGHT DOWN as you put your bridge hand on the table or cushion.

Now in practice only, DO NOT FEATHER THE CUEBALL. Just drop straight down into the shot, check your line of aim and do not adjust it or allow your body to move and have the tip of the cue in the address position, 1/8" from the cueball. Now do a slow backswing and deliver the cue, keeping a nice loose grip. Practice this way for a few shots and them move on to feathering as per normal, but ensure you DO NOT ADJUST YOUR BODY OR THE LINE OF AIM OF THE CUE.

Your other shot of having a ball over the pocket and trying to hold with tons of top stuff is a very specialised shot and should not be attempted by anyone who doesn't make REGULAR 50+ breaks. It is much better and much more accurate to use DRAG with less power. The drag keeps the cueball on line and once you get the amount of drag correct you can easily pot the ball over the hole and have the cueball hit the cushion and come out a foot or so for the black.

I don't use the top spin option unless I have no other choice and then only use it with side spin to bounce the cueball off the cushion a couple of times to get to the OTHER side of the black so I can pot it into the same pocket as the red. I always use drag or else play the shot normally and come up for the blue into the middle or top pocket if I go too far.

Remember, it is not much good to get great position on the black but miss the pot because you are applying a lot of power and thus more inaccurate on the delivery. Drag is much, much better (even though you have probably watched Jimmy White do the top spin shot or even Nic Barrow on his website but remember both of them are pros and have practiced and mastered this shot plus are pretty certain they will delivery the cue straight.

Terry

[jonny klu]

there are 2 shots i struggle with 1 is potting the black when you are below it so potting with reverse angle i miss far too many of them, and the other 1 is when the red is over the pocket ish near the black and the white is around the baulk line i find it hard to pot the red and put enough top spin on the cue ball to keep it down for the black and when i do keep it down there keeping position on the black.

[hl1991210]

sidespin shot so hard = =

[gettingbetter]

Thanks for the reply Terry.

I don't think that I am the best exponent of cue power, but with the tips you provided I'll hopefully be able to incorporate that into my game. Its a rather important shot, because running through or stunning isn't that helpful.

Could you be able to explain the basic physics or even logic behind it? If the natural angle of the ball is heading towards the top cushion...

Also, is it a plain ball shot?

[Terry Davidson]

gettingbetter:

You are partially correct as it is the cue power, however it's how you GET the cue power that is the answer.

In fact, you are not accelerating through (and beyond) the cueball or else not hitting the bottom of the cueball and it's very likely both.

To accelerate through the cueball ensure you drive your grip hand all the way through to your chest and use the hand hitting the chest as the stopping point for your cue. (Most players stop the cue using their grip and this is not correct, although the grip tightens on the cue of course, it should ONLY be when the hand hits the chest).

Not hitting the bottom of the cueball can only be mastered with solitary practice. You start out with a simple slow screw shot with minimal power. Say the pink on spot and cueball 1ft behind it and off straight (so the cueball doesn't hit your tip coming back).

Concentrate on aiming very low on the cueball, less than one tip width off the cloth. Keep your bridge absolutely steady, absolutely no upper body movement, and probably most important - a very loose grip. Slow backswing, pause, and then drive the grip hand through to the chest.

As you start to 'get' it, increase the distance between the pink and cueball to 18in and then 24in but always off straight so you would screw to the green pocket on a power screw.

Also very important...always place the cueball on the same spot and then note where the cueball hits the cushion. The closer to the middle pocket means the more screw you have achieved.

Terry

[gettingbetter]

Is this shot a matter of cue power?

On the black. Just off straight. 3/4-7/8 angle, going towards the top cushion.

With such a shot, all the pros can screw the ball back off the cushion as it were straight and en between black and pink spots or whever else they may. When I play such a shot, I never get such reaction, I get rather close to going in off and ultimately, I never get position.

So is this a shot that requires great cue power?

[dantuck_7]

Terry, I remember on another thread you said that you'd been using that 360 training cue. Have you been able to get deep screw-shots working with it?

[Terry Davidson]

jrob:

It sounds to me like on deep screw shots you are not hitting the bottom of the cueball. A lot of players insist they are hitting the bottom but when you video them it turns out the tip is more into the middle of the cueball and up off the cloth by at least 2 tip widths.

This problem is normally caused by dropping your grip arm elbow prematurely, i.e. - before you actually hit the cueball. To correct it (in practice) lift the cue into your chest and keep it there throughout the backswing and delivery and be sure to keep your chin on the cue throughout the shot.

The correct position for DEEP screw is less than one tip width off the cloth, but a lot of players feel a little antsy about mis-cueing at this height.

Best thing to do (as has been stated here) is to start with a nice easy screw shot, like pink or brown on spot, and gradually increase the distance as you master the deep screw at the shorter distance. Work your way up slowly.

Terry

[brendan147]

i have real trouble screwing back 2 or 3 feet on an routine, simple straight pot. my straight pots are usually fine but as soon as i am required to put backspin on it the chances of me making the pot and the getting the position are 100000 to 1. help please!
if yuo need me to explain a bit more about what i mean then let me know
thanks

1) Try screw back from 1 feet distance consistently. Then gradually increase the distance to 1.5ft, 2ft, 2.5ft etc etc...check where is your mistake; &

2) Avoid practicing using bad snooker balls+cloth. They are not helping at all.

Cheers.

[JRobbins]

i have real trouble screwing back 2 or 3 feet on an routine, simple straight pot. my straight pots are usually fine but as soon as i am required to put backspin on it the chances of me making the pot and the getting the position are 100000 to 1. help please!
if yuo need me to explain a bit more about what i mean then let me know
thanks

[rob_27685]

Many thanks guys, this is what I suspected but wanted clarification! Cheers

[cantpotforshíte]

For top spin, that's the banana shot mate. For bottom spin, you need a lot of power and hardwork to screw back the ball all the way from green ball pocket to black spot area.

Since potting is very easy in this case, try to use loads of side (left/right...depends where your CB angle prior the OB) with loads of power.

I might try using plain ball strike with full power to experiment this type of situation.

Cheers.

???

Just use bottom spin as Krypton says. You don't need loads of power if you are coming off the cushion immediately after hitting the green. The bottom won't have taken effect before the cueball has hit the cushion and will take effect after it has hit the cushion, bringing it back to the black area.

[Krypton]

If topspin STOPS the cueball after its contact with the cushion (because the cue ball is rotating towards the cushion), use bottom. That will do the job.