Frustration

[The Statman]

Aaaarrrggh!

I'm a sort of reasonable average club player, make regular 20s and 30s, the occasional 40 or 50 and even once a year or so the odd 60 or 70. I have a pretty good safety game and, I would say, a better than average knowledge of the angles.

But, just recently, I have been completely rubbish.

I can pinpoint the start of my downfall to the time my tip came off. This is absurd since the old tip was atrocious. It wasn't even on completely straight; when I played screw shots I had to turn the cue one way up and when playing follow through I had to turn it the other way!

Now I have a tip that is perfectly formed and perfectly fixed.

I'm thinking maybe that this timing is just coincidence. But I cannot pot anything that isn't over the pocket, and what I do miss does not even threaten the jaws.

Maybe I'm just going through a bad patch which I will naturally come out of.

Any thoughts? I was seriously peed off last night and gave my cue a hard knock into the cushion rail (something I consider exceedingly bad manners and can hardly believe I did!).

[elvaago]

Jimmy White was heard to say he takes about 6 weeks to get used to a new cue, which he considered very short. Some pros take months if not years to get used to a new one and they treat their cue like holy shrines.

Maybe you need to get back to the basis. Line up some easy balls and pot them. If you fail at those, your stance, grip and cue action was probably adjusted for your bad tip. Having a new tip might require you to change those factors a little.

[Semih_Sayginer]

just a bad patch of form brought on perhaps by the fact you were in a slightly strange routine due to your last cuetips failings.

now that the new tips ok, and youre not focusing on that fault you will perhaps now be readjusting to setting up your stance and shot normally, without other influences having to be concentrated on.

more time in practice session and less time in matches should see an improvement, especially if a better player can help view your routine and give pointers to anything they think could be significant. (beware though that the person isnt being too critical as that could just make you focus on things that arent really wrong, so make sure the person is a good player, and a good judge of technique etc...)

[dannyd0g]

I know the feeling.

I usually try to console myself by trying to convince myself that even the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan occasionally cant string more than one or 2 pots together. So if sometimes even a top pro can completely loose their game it must be just some sort of bad batch.

For me at the moment its even worse though. I'm only playing a few times a year and probably as a result of that , I am usually pretty woefull these days, seldom producing the feel or form that seemed to come naturally or easily before. But at least I can always keep blaming that on lack of practice.

[Jay1]

I'm no expert by any means being a player with a highest break in the low 30's and one that gets very excited every time I break 20. But thought I would offer some thoughts.

Firstly, this one comes from golf, which I am far more proficient at, you have now changed your preshot routine as you don't need the cue a certain way up to play certain shots, this may have a subconscious mental effect, and at the least alter the time it take you to play a shot, in golf, as I believe is the case in snooker, the pre-shot routine is very very important. I would suggest going back to playing different shots turning the cue, as you used to with your old tip. Although you may no longer need to it may just bring that bit of familiarity back.

Second, I would change the tip. Even though it may look fine and possibly feel fine, you clearly don't have faith in it. Rip it off and try another one. Any psychological boost can help.

[Semih_Sayginer]

fair points jay1, although he could rip off a tip that looks fine and actually is fine and replace it with one that is fine, but is "off". that would certtainly not help.

i wouldnt take off the tip unless youre 100 % sure theres something wrong with it[in this case].

[Jay1]

I agree with you mate to an extent, but even if something appears to be fine, if you simply don't trust it you are going to struggle to get confidence in it. As it is such an inexpensive and relatively straight forward job, I would be inclined to change the tip, if you then get a bad one you just change it again. I'm sure most of us have had times when a tip has only stayed on for a couple of games before being replaced for one reason or another.

[Semih_Sayginer]

wasnt saying you were wrong either, just tha going by TS's post hes more than happy with the tip, and from the experience of playing id expect someone who can get half century breaks to be able to tell an "off" tip almost straight away, or at least be suspicious that its not perfect

it may be the tip, and he doesnt know. he could change it, and start playing great, but that might not mean it was the tip that wasnt good.

basically, its a case of advising, and trial and error until it comes good, and you may never know if anything tried was actually the solution, or if mentally it gave you the confidence youd lost......

[MrRottweiler]

I need to retip my cue but as I always have to break it in and inevitabely play terrible for a few hours I'm reluctant to do so. I always position the cue with the brass plaqu facing up but when breaking in a tip I'll rotate the cue so it evens the tip out and compresses it evenly. If you've retipped your cue this might explain the dip in your performance Statman but a few hours on your own trying different testing pots should remind you of your ability and reverse the 'bad patch'.

[Semih_Sayginer]

I need to retip my cue but as I always have to break it in and inevitabely play terrible for a few hours I'm reluctant to do so. I always position the cue with the brass plaqu facing up but when breaking in a tip I'll rotate the cue so it evens the tip out and compresses it evenly. If you've retipped your cue this might explain the dip in your performance Statman but a few hours on your own trying different testing pots should remind you of your ability and reverse the 'bad patch'.

good point there rottsy, although hopefully statman will already know that a tip should be played in and that should be done while rotating the cue to try to not wear it down unevenly when bedding the tip in.

thats the reason why most folk who hold their cue in the exact same way wear out their tip quicker that folk who dont, as the tip becomes lop sided and wears towards the ferrule much more quickly than an even wear.


(ive heard of some people who bed in new tips at home with a spare ball playing it on surfaces like a kitchen worktop(covered with a towel). practises cueing at a similar height to a table, and also saves table light time to bed the tip in)

[The Statman]

Thanks for your responses.

The most surprising thing I've found is not so much that I'm going through a bad patch (at the moment, that's all I'm putting it down to), but how depressing it seems to be.

Usually if I have a bad patch I obviously don't like it, but I can tolerate it with a sort of "Oh well, it'll be better in a week or two."

But I seem to be extremely exasperated at the moment even though it is nowhere near a week or two that it's been going on!

I will keep you posted about how (or if) things improve.

[Cue_147]

Im in the same situation The Statman, im playing some rubbish stuff at the minute. It feels as though i can't given hold the cue correctly but my coach thinks im playing well and its all mental.

I get fustrated but never show it untill recently when i rapped my knuckles on the table and one cut them, i felt really stupid left the club soon after and didn't play for a couple of days.

Got a league match tonight aswell.

[PaulTheSoave]

Oh Well, I better join the club. I have been playing horrendous and want to chuck it in, would it not be for the after drinks! I wonder what it is. I have to say that lately i actually need reading glasses. Does this have an effect on my vision to play snooker? as my normal sight is okay.

[austrian_girl]

Seems to be a greater problem these days than one would think. I am affected too. Is this contagious?

I've actually decided last week never to pick up that **** cue again and never spend a **** cent for the table again. Usually I change my mind as soon as I watch some snooker but as even my trip to the Swiss Open hasn't changed my mind, I don't think I'll break my promise to me this time.

Good luck to you, tho, Statman! Hope it'll be back to normal soon.

[Snooker Rocks!]

I went through exactly the same thing about a year ago.

I just couldn't play.

The way I got out out of it (which might help you) is by going down to your club and in practice, play every shot reaaallllly slowly.
Think about the spin you'll be appliying, the power of the shot, the angle you should be hitting it at, and once you're very sure you'll sink it in the heart of the pocket, strike through, keeping your head down.

It worked with me, and it might work with you. Just remember to take every shot very, very slowly, and make sure you leave yourself an easy next shot.

Good luck