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

[j6uk]

players at all levels tweek so tweek away, nothing wrong with being a tweeker.
all good players nick something from each other



enjoy it

[Leo]

when i was a 40-50 breaker the reason i found myself on a difficult shot, out of position, on the cush would of been many reasons including shot selection, tempo, nerve, an overall technique

IMHO Wasn't your overall technique at all J6 when you ended up on the cush, it was as you say your shot selection, tempo, nerves and most of all taking your eye off the ball and not having consistency. We can agree to disagree on this one I think.

[vmax4steve]

Yes exactly.
Snooker is not as complicated as people think, if you're a 40-50 breaker and your break breaks down its not to do with you playing the game wrong or you're standing wrong it's to do with you taking your eye off the ball and losing your consistency which is a great strength to each player, you got the 50 break so you really weren't doing anything wrong up to then.

In bold is what most players do when they miss. It causes the cue to come off the line of aim, causes head and body movement, causes the cue to not be on the line of aim in the first place. You hit what you're looking at.

[vmax4steve]

Vmax, you have a better view of this game than me. so , correct me if I'm wrong !! I realy think this offset technique is because he uses two point contact technique !! but with a big difference compared to other players !! Most players useing two point contact technique in a vertical line down the length of the CB !! he does it in a horizontal line on The wide of the CB as well !! in other words, instead of aiming the cue down under the center of the CB, he's gonna aim the tip to the left side of The center of the CB ( when he wants to play with RH Side). I use 2 point contact technique . But I always keep ( aim ) the tip as L as possible down to the center of the CB and then deliver up ( to the angel i looking for ) to the left Or R Side of The center ( whenever I want to play with side ) which is Not the same way as JT does !!

I have no idea why he does it. It has to be his natural cue action and he either doesn't know he does it, or does, so he has to offset his address to compensate.

[tofushop193]

In bold is what most players do when they miss. It causes the cue to come off the line of aim, causes head and body movement, causes the cue to not be on the line of aim in the first place. You hit what you're looking at.

totally agree with you vmax. but how to keep constant concentration through out the game? normally i will lose my concentration after 2 hrs of playing and start looking at different place.

[Master Blaster]

The difference between being a fifty breaker and a member of the ton club is about two to three shots. These can be losing position and not having a pot or not making a difficult pot that might continue the break. So cue ball control is important and so is high accuracy. And that's why pros spend a lot of time correcting technique with coaches, including Ronnie. Bingo spent a lot of time, years correcting cueing across the ball and look at the results. Folk who say just play because changing things won't make any difference are talking guff. Robbo has changed a lot since he turned pro.

So which is the most accurate technique out there, giving you the potential tools to make that break saving pot? I'd say Trump, Robbo and Murphy, especially on long ball break savers. But whatever technique you use or choose, one thing is for certain, you need the cue on the correct shot line, you need to be sighting over the cue and you need to deliver it straight. You can move a bit just as Alex did but you need to have the correct alignment to begin with. And that's where walk-in and stance come into place. If you have the wrong base for your mind/body/coordination, a ton will always be tricky.

[Ramon]

I have no idea why he does it. It has to be his natural cue action and he either doesn't know he does it, or does, so he has to offset his address to compensate.

It is !!!
agree with u ,, is a very unusual way !! never seen a player useing 2 point contact technique on this way!!
anyway, it works for him and that is all what matters !!
I wish him luck !!!

[Master Blaster]

I took on board the criticism that playing right foot anchor, right hand grip and right eye dominant was a deviation of the JT Method with my head turned to the left to get sighting aligned over the cue and shot with the 'outside' R eye, unlike JT's 'inside' eye (sighting eye opposite to cue hand).

I decided to play some practice balls (long blues, long 1/2 and 1/4 balls, tight middle pocket shots, narrow blacks, down the rail - all the usual test shots with stun, run-through, screw, top) as a mirror image of JT, so Right foot anchor, right hand grip and left 'inside' eye over the cue. This involved turning the head slightly but not as much with the cue under the right eye. Once I'd mastered the correct head position the cue appeared dead straight when I closed my R eye, magic, the cue is under my left eye for aiming. Same stance, shoulder near the cue, etc, etc. A reflection of JT. It went quite well. What I understood I was doing was sighting the shot with my R eye on walk-in. It was a bit strange at first, taking the shot with my 'wrong' eye but because my R eye was out of play I forced my brain to choose the left eye and then it clicked, after about half an hour. From then on it felt different (as it would for someone who has always used his R eye for aiming, sighting, driving, coordination, etc etc) but it also looked superior to when I use my R eye. A lot of players use the 'inside' eye, Ronnie, Judd, Robbo, etc. So it's no shock that it works really well for aiming.

I only got to practice an hour with the pure JT technique but I hit a 124 on line-up. Not sure what to do now? Maintain it and see if I can hit a ton in a comp frame or fall back to my R eye. My coach says he's only ever come across one other player who sights and takes the shot with different eyes, pretty rare. Long potting is really lush with JT and the cue slips through so well, power is effortless. So I'm going to keep using it, just a question of which eye to use on the shot?

Coaches, help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alabadi]

I took on board the criticism that playing right foot anchor, right hand grip and right eye dominant was a deviation of the JT Method with my head turned to the left to get sighting aligned over the cue and shot with the 'outside' R eye, unlike JT's 'inside' eye (sighting eye opposite to cue hand).

I decided to play some practice balls (long blues, long 1/2 and 1/4 balls, tight middle pocket shots, narrow blacks, down the rail - all the usual test shots with stun, run-through, screw, top) as a mirror image of JT, so Right foot anchor, right hand grip and left 'inside' eye over the cue. This involved turning the head slightly but not as much with the cue under the right eye. Once I'd mastered the correct head position the cue appeared dead straight when I closed my R eye, magic, the cue is under my left eye for aiming. Same stance, shoulder near the cue, etc, etc. A reflection of JT. It went quite well. What I understood I was doing was sighting the shot with my R eye on walk-in. It was a bit strange at first, taking the shot with my 'wrong' eye but because my R eye was out of play I forced my brain to choose the left eye and then it clicked, after about half an hour. From then on it felt different (as it would for someone who has always used his R eye for aiming, sighting, driving, coordination, etc etc) but it also looked superior to when I use my R eye. A lot of players use the 'inside' eye, Ronnie, Judd, Robbo, etc. So it's no shock that it works really well for aiming.

I only got to practice an hour with the pure JT technique but I hit a 124 on line-up. Not sure what to do now? Maintain it and see if I can hit a ton in a comp frame or fall back to my R eye. My coach says he's only ever come across one other player who sights and takes the shot with different eyes, pretty rare. Long potting is really lush with JT and the cue slips through so well, power is effortless. So I'm going to keep using it, just a question of which eye to use on the shot?

Coaches, help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe i am one of the strange people that sight with different eyes too. i have had corrective eye surgery and have two different lenses in my eyes, my right eye is for close up and my left eye for distance. so when i am standing i am sighting with my left eye ( which is my dominant eye) however when i am down in the address position my right eye is trying to focus especially when i look at the white.

i have to force myself to use my left eye, however there are times when i struggle.

[GeordieDS]

maybe i am one of the strange people that sight with different eyes too. i have had corrective eye surgery and have two different lenses in my eyes, my right eye is for close up and my left eye for distance. so when i am standing i am sighting with my left eye ( which is my dominant eye) however when i am down in the address position my right eye is trying to focus especially when i look at the white.

i have to force myself to use my left eye, however there are times when i struggle.

Don't let thoughts like that in your head or your doomed.
Head still
Eye on object ball on strike
Accelerate right through white
And repeat

[Terry Davidson]

maybe i am one of the strange people that sight with different eyes too. i have had corrective eye surgery and have two different lenses in my eyes, my right eye is for close up and my left eye for distance. so when i am standing i am sighting with my left eye ( which is my dominant eye) however when i am down in the address position my right eye is trying to focus especially when i look at the white.

i have to force myself to use my left eye, however there are times when i struggle.

I had the same done with cataract lens replacement surgery although my case is slightly different in that my right eye has always been the dominant eye but now that my vision is sharper from the left eye via the surgery I sight with that eye. I turn my head slightly to the right (right-handed player) but it has never been for vision but rather to ease the strain on my lower neck.

I have never experienced the problems you're having and what I did was to just not even think about it and keep practicing.

[tedisbill]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure Alabadi has just become aware of exactly what his eyes are seeing and is analysing something that we never think about.

[Master Blaster]

Afternoon everyone.

We take our eyes for granted and it's amazing the huge effect sighting has above the shots, on the shots, even blinking by accident during the shot. And most of all, looking around at the table to take in all the options, not just the obvious one. I didn't realise that you had had such problems Alabadi, so I gotta take my hat off to you and TD for playing through that; tough stuff!

I only had an hour yesterday but it did feel strange using the left eye instead but really exact as well. Hard to explain but it felt perfectly wrong, or wrong but perfect? I'm itching to have another go but life is busy all week, so maybe not until Saturday. Grrrrr

[OmaMiesta]

Afternoon everyone.

We take our eyes for granted and it's amazing the huge effect sighting has above the shots, on the shots, even blinking by accident during the shot. And most of all, looking around at the table to take in all the options, not just the obvious one. I didn't realise that you had had such problems Alabadi, so I gotta take my hat off to you and TD for playing through that; tough stuff!

I only had an hour yesterday but it did feel strange using the left eye instead but really exact as well. Hard to explain but it felt perfectly wrong, or wrong but perfect? I'm itching to have another go but life is busy all week, so maybe not until Saturday. Grrrrr

I think the dominant eye is really important and often overlooked by many players. Im ambidextrous and left eye dominant but usually prefer to play left handed even though my right arm is much stronger. The reason I know my left eye makes a huge difference is when I do the simple straight cue ball down the table drill, it really only comes back straight when my left eye is over the cue. Ive tried various positions (middle, right eye, slightly to the left, etc) and found that the most consistent results are when I'm strictly using my left eye. I found it a bit uncomfortable at first having to turn my head awkwardly and got neck pain sometimes which gave me a tendency to revert back to middle chin but if I consciously ensure I use my left eye, I usually play much better and it gives me more confidence.

[Master Blaster]

I think the dominant eye is really important and often overlooked by many players. Im ambidextrous and left eye dominant but usually prefer to play left handed even though my right arm is much stronger. The reason I know my left eye makes a huge difference is when I do the simple straight cue ball down the table drill, it really only comes back straight when my left eye is over the cue. Ive tried various positions (middle, right eye, slightly to the left, etc) and found that the most consistent results are when I'm strictly using my left eye. I found it a bit uncomfortable at first having to turn my head awkwardly and got neck pain sometimes which gave me a tendency to revert back to middle chin but if I consciously ensure I use my left eye, I usually play much better and it gives me more confidence.

The recieved wisdom in the past was to play with the cue middle chin, down the groove and then angle the cue to make the cue look straight to the dominant eye or to simply learn to adjust the shot to a cue that didn't look straight to the dominant eye; making a consistent angle offset each time. But the great players of today go right underneath the eye, often moving the cue to one side of the chin or even up the face as in Mark Allen. The centuries we are seeing put in by the top pros is testament to improved technique. There are some so and sos on here who will argue that snooker hasn't changed one iota in the last 50 eyes, you just get down and pot balls apparently. Of course, even the greatest potter and breakbuilder of all has been busy changing his technique over a long career and it's those changes that have kept him up to speed. So there's no reason why we should not look for improvements and tweaks or at least try them.