Chin Off The Cue

[tommy_boi]

What are your views on putting your chin on the cue, i used to always play with my chin about 6 inches off the cue but then decided one day to try and play with my chin on the cue, i have kept this up for some months now but seem to struggle to pot the long pots still, anyway last night i decided to go back to playing with my chin off the cue and to see how well i played, everything seemed to change from that point on for the better, long pots seemed much easier, and my potting was much improved, i was very confused about this as i thought chin on the cue was the standard better way of playing, it is how you see most good players play, am i doing something wrong maybe when my chin is on the cue, advice appreciated?.

[vmax4steve]

The late great John Spencer had his chin well off the cue and won three world titles. I myself play with my chin well off the cue probably due to me wearing glasses for years and now that I wear contact lenses I still play the same. The correct way to do it is what works for you.

[damienlch]

Hi Tommy_boi... there is always a purpose behind each technique, for e.g. a light grip may lessen the chance of snatching at the cue or a rear pause may help in a smooth transition between the pull back and push through during the final delivery.

Similarly, having your chin on the cue may help to maintain your alignment and sighting of the pot. It may also lessen body movements since your head would have to remain still to maintain the chin on cue position.

By changing your addressment, you have changed how you would normally play a shot. A number of things could have happened. For e.g. you could have lifted the cue to your chin (as opposed to putting your chin on the cue), your follow through could be compromised if your head or upper body is lowered and thus restricts the forward motion of your cue arm... basically, your body dynamics have changed and as a result, you feel awkward and play badly.

Sometimes, you need to change another aspect of your stance to accomodate for the difference. Maybe you need to stand more square to the shot or maybe lift your elbow higher, stand further/nearer to the shot, i.e. experiment around.

What I've mentioned are just some of my thoughts and what I would do in my own "self coaching". I would suggest seeing a certified coach to sort it out if possible.

Oh, if you are already knocking in the long ones consistently, maybe you don't need to put your chin to the cue.

Hope this helps somewhat...

[CoachGavin]

Also remember the lower your chin is then the more of the back of the white you can see. As your chin rises you see more of the top of the white and less of the bottom. This will affect where you strike the white for your spins.

[tommy_boi]

The late great John Spencer had his chin well off the cue and won three world titles. I myself play with my chin well off the cue probably due to me wearing glasses for years and now that I wear contact lenses I still play the same. The correct way to do it is what works for you.

I did look at some videos of him on youtube but all of them was with his chin on the cue?.

[tommy_boi]

Hi Tommy_boi... there is always a purpose behind each technique, for e.g. a light grip may lessen the chance of snatching at the cue or a rear pause may help in a smooth transition between the pull back and push through during the final delivery.

Similarly, having your chin on the cue may help to maintain your alignment and sighting of the pot. It may also lessen body movements since your head would have to remain still to maintain the chin on cue position.

By changing your addressment, you have changed how you would normally play a shot. A number of things could have happened. For e.g. you could have lifted the cue to your chin (as opposed to putting your chin on the cue), your follow through could be compromised if your head or upper body is lowered and thus restricts the forward motion of your cue arm... basically, your body dynamics have changed and as a result, you feel awkward and play badly.

Sometimes, you need to change another aspect of your stance to accomodate for the difference. Maybe you need to stand more square to the shot or maybe lift your elbow higher, stand further/nearer to the shot, i.e. experiment around.

What I've mentioned are just some of my thoughts and what I would do in my own "self coaching". I would suggest seeing a certified coach to sort it out if possible.

Oh, if you are already knocking in the long ones consistently, maybe you don't need to put your chin to the cue.

Hope this helps somewhat...

This has give me something to think about, i think i do put my chin to the cue rather than lifting the cue up to my chin but i will double check this the next time i go for a game, cause i always try and make sure that the cue is straight unless i'm going for a bridge shot, i am quite confused really as i would of thought my potting would be much more consistent with my chin on the cue rather than off the cue, you seem many very good players and they all seem to have the chin on the cue, does it matter how much pressure you put on the cue with you shin, are you suppose to just lightly rub it against the chin or rub it (like john higgins) seems to do, look forwards to your reply.

[damienlch]

This has give me something to think about, i think i do put my chin to the cue rather than lifting the cue up to my chin but i will double check this the next time i go for a game, cause i always try and make sure that the cue is straight unless i'm going for a bridge shot, i am quite confused really as i would of thought my potting would be much more consistent with my chin on the cue rather than off the cue, you seem many very good players and they all seem to have the chin on the cue, does it matter how much pressure you put on the cue with you shin, are you suppose to just lightly rub it against the chin or rub it (like john higgins) seems to do, look forwards to your reply.

Yes, most players all seem to have their chin on the cue... It's hard to tell how strongly they press onto the cue, some do it more than others but imo, you only need to feel the cue gently brushing your chin to achieve the objective of maintaining alignment to the shot.

I have tried maintaining a stronger chin pressure on the cue but it did not work well. I find that the rubbing impedes my cue through and I have a tendency to grip harder because of that... and a hard grip is the bane of a good cue action.

So, it's just a light brushing on the chin for me... Different folks different strokes, you'll have to find out what works best for you...

Another recent thing I found that worked really well for me was to look at the cue on the final pull back to ensure that I am pulling it back straight before flicking my eyes back to the object ball. That has helped me quite a bit in my long potting... i.e. if I timed it correctly.

[shailendra]

Lowering or touching your chin to the cue gives you two dimensional view .

[vmax4steve]

I did look at some videos of him on youtube but all of them was with his chin on the cue?.

I know it looks like that but I can assure you that his chin was about two or three inches off the cue, which is considered well off by todays coaches. I have read his book and he mentions in that that his chin didn't touch his cue so don't believe shaky old video that doesn't show any close ups. But that is irrelevant, do what works for you rather than changing to some alledged perfect technique. In practise yesterday I knocked in a couple of 50+s and a 72, chin off the cue at all times.

[thelongbomber]

It's better to have your head as down low. I was a "standup" shooter for a long time but once I got my mechanics sorted, I found that getting down low was beneficial. This does several things in principal:

1. Forces your elbow to rise, and your forearm to come to a 90-degree angle which improves chances of striking the cue ball at "maximum velocity"
2. Lowers, straightens, and flattens your back which reduces strain
3. Improves accuracy and cue ball control because are seeing more of the cue ball and can visualize lines more accurately.

I suspect the reason your long shots are failing you with a lower stance is probably due to inability to strike them properly. Most people will elevate their head or body when doing power shots because they don't feel comfortable bringing their fist to their chest and past their armpit. You also probably think (without knowing even) that you need to use more pace on long shots.

[unclevit]

my chin never touches the cue, since day one. perhaps this is why i never done a century but i feel very comfortable playing chin-off It's in the shaft, not the chin

[Monsoon]

IMO its simply a case of doing something different to what you have become accustomed to, at the moment you are used to "viewing" from higher up and are used to this regardless how well (or not) you play. Making any changes does take time for your brain to adapt. I think if you are trying to improve then stick with it for a period until you feel comfortable as there are benefits as mentioned in the other replies, the main one being reducing the chances of head/shoulder movement. You also need to remove any doubt that you are doing the right thing as confidence plays a major part, so either commit to the change and forget about wondering if you are doing the right thing, if you cannot do this your wasting your time.

[tommy_boi]

Instead of putting my cue directly centre on my chin, i have started locking it into place on the left of my chin, this would probably be on the right of the chin for left hand players as the stance would be different, i have found i pot more consistently this way, especially the long shots, does anyone else cue / line up this way and find it works better?.

[nrage]

Instead of putting my cue directly centre on my chin, i have started locking it into place on the left of my chin, this would probably be on the right of the chin for left hand players as the stance would be different, i have found i pot more consistently this way, especially the long shots, does anyone else cue / line up this way and find it works better?.

There are several pros who have the cue to the left or right of the chin. I think the key point is, to get it in the same place on every shot consistently. So, if this chin position is more consistent for you than directly below, then it's the right technique for you.

[tommy_boi]

The only thing i find with putting the cue to the left of the chin, is sometimes it can put you off sight of the ball if you are doing a cut shot or something, but maybe i just need to get used to putting the cue to the left of my chin and get the technique right, does anyone else find this or is this just me, and that i need to get used to cueing this way?.