Why isn't the Trump technique and Set-up now the Textbook Standard?

[tedisbill]

I'm just an average ton breaker. Nothing special. lol

Interesting that. Very, very interesting. Very, very, very interesting. Very, very, very, very interesting.

[Byrom]

got to be careful with the trump technique - if you are full of beans like master blaster you might follow through more than you wished for

[Master Blaster]

Oh Byrom, you are a rascal. I gotta chastise you now with an infamous teaching video about 'situations and options' for you to watch and try:

Wow. Good, good!

[Ramon]

I'm just an average ton breaker. Nothing special. lol But I like to try different things, not just to stop me being bored but to investigate ways to improve in all aspects of the game. Having been foot in line, square on to the shot for years (ala Steve Davis), I'm moving away from that as it lacks cue power, not that I'm short of cue power when I need it, I just want easy cue power, the effortless type and I see this in Trump and Robbo, Smurf. Doesn't hurt trying these things when you have some solo practice time available.

I thoroughly recommend this set-up but you'll need to try it for a while for it to become comfortable. Works for Judd and he's only human.

Lol,,, what do you mean by nothing special ?? If you can and are average ton breaker then you must be a good player !! is not easy !! I wish I could play like that !!! my compliments !!

[golferson123]

Why isn't the Trump technique and Set-up now the Textbook Standard?

is this the new modest mb,nothing special!

[Master Blaster]

Good to hear you G123! The interesting thing for me is not so much the Trump technique, set-up and alignment per se but the desire to change to improve and learn. I find snooker education to be very rewarding and I take this lead from Ronnie who always investigates new things, technique changes, tips,cues, any advantage he can glean. And there's no way to understand a player than to try and see it his way on the table. Players can make any technique work, Steve Davis foot in line - square to the ball, Ronnie early career, Ronnie now, Joe Davis Boxer, Stephen Lee's unique cueing, Trump or Robbo's set-up. They can all be made to work with effort and I'm saying this having experimented with the lot. The choice then comes down to what feels good, what delivers the pots, what delivers the breaks, what delivers the cue power.

I've found SD to be accurate and very dependable since everything is built around the shot line, it's great in the balls, not so great over longer distances and lacks cue power. The simplest, quickest and most comfortable is Ronnie early career but the long potting is a let down for me and there's a bit of a trade off in cue power. JD with the foot pointing out leads to a loss of long potting accuracy and break-building isn't so good. If cue power, long potting and accuracy are your desires, Trump and Robbo should be ports of call. Or, you can make up your own set-up as most do. There is no one right or wrong set-up. It's all about what you want to achieve with your set-up if you get me? One thing I haven't done is use different set-ups in a frame. It could be quite possible to use SD or early Ronnie in the balls and JT for the long stuff but deciding when to use each might be tricky and require a lot of mental effort as well as losing rhythm due to more time being used before the shot. Sticking to a single set-up is highly recommended by coaches, so I'll give that one a miss!

I haven't gone into the Robbo/Lee set-ups as these are more extreme and difficult to learn than JT and too many discussions will get confusing, it's already hard enough to describe what Judd does without confusing myself and others.

Personally, I like the increased long potting accuracy and power, so I'm going to keep the JT method going this Summer and see what happens by Autumn and report. I've talked the talk about JT so now I have to walk the walk.

[Catch 22]

There are different textbooks, Joe Davis, Steve Davis, the Ronnie method and Judd aint' a textbook but it will be in a book one day. I used the tramline Judd stance today, right foot in line with the shot, toes slightly pointing out ala Terry Davidson. Left foot was a foot and a couple of inches ahead, slightly pointing out to the left (like the right foot). This brings things nicely into alignment for a right eye dominant right hander. Left shoulder down (very important as this elevates the cue elbow in effect), not far from the chin, bent arm bridge. Cue under the right side of the chin, cue resting on the last digit of the pinkie, pinkie at the end of the cue, ring grip. Cue under the right nipple. Take the cue back open the fingers gently but never lifting off the cue and bingo, what a brilliant 2 hour sesh. Immense through the ball travel, the most I've ever managed, flying through the ball, less is more. Tons of spin, loads of stun. This set-up is a bit special and something everyone should try just out of interest and to also understand what Judd is up to, a bit of practical snooker edu. The cue definitely goes through more and easier than the orthodox Davis or Ronnie set-ups. Which makes sense because few folk have as much cue power as Judd. Great day on the table, loved it. Loathed leaving.

Looks above the nipple to me

[Inoffthered]

talks more crap than a tory with his mouth open

My condolences for the morning of May 8th

[Master Blaster]

Looks above the nipple to me

You could be right. Judd plays on the inside of his chin with the cue close to his bridge arm because he is a left anchor, left hander with R eye dominance. I play R eye dominant with the cue to the R side of my chin, R handed so the position of the cue under the chest for me is slightly different to JT (R R R). I had to adapt it a bit to get the sight line, cue line and shot line layered over each other correctly.

JT is L, L, R and if you're L L L or R R R or you may need to make an adjustment as well. R R L will be exact mirror of JT.

[Byrom]

Good to hear you G123! The interesting thing for me is not so much the Trump technique, set-up and alignment per se but the desire to change to improve and learn. I find snooker education to be very rewarding and I take this lead from Ronnie who always investigates new things, technique changes, tips,cues, any advantage he can glean. And there's no way to understand a player than to try and see it his way on the table. Players can make any technique work, Steve Davis foot in line - square to the ball, Ronnie early career, Ronnie now, Joe Davis Boxer, Stephen Lee's unique cueing, Trump or Robbo's set-up. They can all be made to work with effort and I'm saying this having experimented with the lot. The choice then comes down to what feels good, what delivers the pots, what delivers the breaks, what delivers the cue power.

I've found SD to be accurate and very dependable since everything is built around the shot line, it's great in the balls, not so great over longer distances and lacks cue power. The simplest, quickest and most comfortable is Ronnie early career but the long potting is a let down for me and there's a bit of a trade off in cue power. JD with the foot pointing out leads to a loss of long potting accuracy and break-building isn't so good. If cue power, long potting and accuracy are your desires, Trump and Robbo should be ports of call. Or, you can make up your own set-up as most do. There is no one right or wrong set-up. It's all about what you want to achieve with your set-up if you get me? One thing I haven't done is use different set-ups in a frame. It could be quite possible to use SD or early Ronnie in the balls and JT for the long stuff but deciding when to use each might be tricky and require a lot of mental effort as well as losing rhythm due to more time being used before the shot. Sticking to a single set-up is highly recommended by coaches, so I'll give that one a miss!

I haven't gone into the Robbo/Lee set-ups as these are more extreme and difficult to learn than JT and too many discussions will get confusing, it's already hard enough to describe what Judd does without confusing myself and others.

Personally, I like the increased long potting accuracy and power, so I'm going to keep the JT method going this Summer and see what happens by Autumn and report. I've talked the talk about JT so now I have to walk the walk.

Changing your technique during play and imitating other players set ups is not new - it has been done before - man you are old school - I worked it out master blaster are you John Virgo in disguise?

[tedisbill]

Any chance of a video of you potting some balls using the Judd Trump technique and then swapping and potting a few using the Ronnie technique. I'd be very interested to see someone swapping technique like this.

[timcunnell]

I read through the whole of this thread yesterday, and I have to say I've found the whole thing very interesting. Always up for trying new things, I practiced last night and tried copying the technique of Ronnie O'Sullivan. And I have to say that the results were absolutely astonishing!
You might think I am just making this up, but I am serious! Within a few minutes I found myself taking my shoes off, placing chalk in the table and blaming the referee. Unbelievable it was!
Oh - I don't make any 5 minute 147's unfortunately - or in fact play any differently at all.

[gavpowell]

Oh - I don't make any 5 minute 147's unfortunately - or in fact play any differently at all.

You sir, are an idiot who does not listen. How many times have you heard Ronnie say he played his best snooker in his teens and early 20s?

Now, go back and punch someone, pee in a pot plant and smoke a joint, and try it again!

[Catch 22]

You could be right. Judd plays on the inside of his chin with the cue close to his bridge arm because he is a left anchor, left hander with R eye dominance. I play R eye dominant with the cue to the R side of my chin, R handed so the position of the cue under the chest for me is slightly different to JT (R R R). I had to adapt it a bit to get the sight line, cue line and shot line layered over each other correctly.

JT is L, L, R and if you're L L L or R R R or you may need to make an adjustment as well. R R L will be exact mirror of JT.

I play with my bridge arm armpit as close to the cloth as I can , my chin is tight against my shoulder and cue is under left eye (right hander) . This make the contact point on my chest a lot higher that my nipple .

I have bad impingement in my bridge arm shoulder from when I was a kid , and snooker kills it . Il need to start raising my armpit up a bit as this takes pressure off the shoulder .....but my game suffers

I'm cr@p anyway so it shouldn't matter lol

[guernseygooner]

Being left handed myself and with the JT one been done I thought I would give the Robbo one a bash.

No joke, on a shag pile cloth with 20 year old balls I managed 28ft of screw back. This was a straight back screw back with 8ft between the balls to start with. Windows were open and it was a damp overcast day.

Paired with turning vegan, I'm convinced this technique is the only way to go.