can't cue straight

[Master Blaster]

all cueing is done from the elbow, the hand is netral only opening and closing th back few fingers

Exactly. Don't use your shoulder, elbow or body on the shot. The shoulder should be elevated as much as possible, the forearm hanging down from the hinge (elbow). The ring grip stabilises the cue and the rear fingers generate the pace. Cues weigh around 17-18oz and they're balanced on a smooth bridge. You should never need to consciously use the muscles of the forearm or the upper arm and never the shoulder. Obviously, these muscles do come in to play but the feel of which muscles are taking the shot should all be in the fingers. FEEL. JT is a skinny runt and he produces more power than anyone. It's all about the fingers. Take the shot like JT.

[Zhuge]

someone from another forum told me that the reason for not cueing straight is because i twirl the cue every time i open & close my grip & that i shoot with my hand,not my arm.i believe that is the problem myself.the thing is even if i know the problem,i just cannot keep the cue from rotating in my hand while i'm feathering.any ideas on how to stop the cue from twirling?thanks.

Suggestion from an amature:
Try this, it works for me. I call this a "reset" on your grip/feathering motion. This may sound wrong at first but please hear me out. Try to tighten your grip and locking your wrist as much as possible and start feathering. You will notice that you have a very limited backswing and follow thru, hence, you won't even drop your elbow as your grip will end the forward cue motion once you get near your chest. Then try to pot a few straight blues to the middle, then to the corner pocket. Once you get the hang of it, try to gentle loosen the grip finger by finger until you are comfortable with your feathering and cueing motion. This was taught to me by a veteran player which helps me realize that straight shots are the easiest when you are in line and in control of your cue motion, and often, it is our "other" habits that screw up the shot.

Z

[j6uk]

all cueing is done from the elbow, the hand is netral only opening and closing th back few fingers

[kflps]

J6 has it right. The problem with the elbow drop is that it happens before the strike with a lot of players, especially those with shorter backswings during power shots. I don't think it should be taught or even demonstrated until a player can play without dropping the elbow at all and then if he feels natural with it he can go ahead an learn it but it's all about the correct timing. If you drop the elbow before the strike that means you've brought the larger shoulder muscle into the shot.

Absolutely nothing wrong with dropping the elbow if a player can control it and time it right. (I'm talking on delivery here though. The elbow SHOULD drop near the end of a longer backswing).

someone from another forum told me that the reason for not cueing straight is because i twirl the cue every time i open & close my grip & that i shoot with my hand,not my arm.i believe that is the problem myself.the thing is even if i know the problem,i just cannot keep the cue from rotating in my hand while i'm feathering.any ideas on how to stop the cue from twirling?thanks.

[Terry Davidson]

I can't completely agree with Terry here. Yes, elbow drop is an advanced technique but that doesn't mean it can't be taught or learned over time, ask Del Hill. The GOAT uses it, so there's no reason why someone else can't. If you can teach people to stand this way, bridge that way, grip this way, you can teach elbow drop as well. But then it's tons of practice afterwards to bed it in.

J6 has it right. The problem with the elbow drop is that it happens before the strike with a lot of players, especially those with shorter backswings during power shots. I don't think it should be taught or even demonstrated until a player can play without dropping the elbow at all and then if he feels natural with it he can go ahead an learn it but it's all about the correct timing. If you drop the elbow before the strike that means you've brought the larger shoulder muscle into the shot.

Absolutely nothing wrong with dropping the elbow if a player can control it and time it right. (I'm talking on delivery here though. The elbow SHOULD drop near the end of a longer backswing).

[j6uk]

i see you like your juddisms kfips an why not.. but if you look at him as a boy from 4:00 you can see he has a solid technique all the way though the shot. you playing pool dont really help much but you still seem unsteay around that pool table. i think if you show us some moves on a snooker table it would be more helpfull but if pool is your thing thats cool, just look to go for a more pool technique

[kflps]

I hate to tell you but Ray Reardon had a dislocated shoulder when he was young which was never set right and as an adult he won 5 world championships. The reason is the upper arm should NOT be involved with the delivery at all with the exception of at the end of a long backswing when the elbow drops a bit and on a power delivery when just the mass of the cue will drag the elbow down.

I should mention there are some players who drop the elbow on almost every shot. Ronnie is an example of this in the modern day and Tony Knowles was a prime example back in the 80's HOWEVER you have to realize both these players started playing when very young and dropping the elbow (or using the upper arm and shoulder muscle in other words) is NATURAL and NORMAL to them. It will not be normal for you and using the upper arm and shoulder muscle is a big mistake because those muscles are meant for power and NOT for fine motor skills.

You are going to have to learn to keep the elbow up all the time and not allow the elbow to drop at all. The temptation is to use the shoulder muscle to develop more power but power shouldn't come from that it should come from the length of the backswing and the rate of acceleration of the cue. The longer the backswing the more distance the cue has to accelerate.

No excuses here. Learn to pot power shots by lengthening the backswing and not allowing the elbow to drop (look at Judd Trump who gets all the power he needs without dropping the elbow at all).

Generally the reason for this in most players is first of all having a backswing which is too short for the power required so the use the shoulder muscle to develop the power, too fast a backswing also causes upper body movement, no rear pause or an abrupt change in direction of the cue will also cause upper body movement and probably the most common problem is combined with all the above the player will tighten his grip too early in the delivery in order to get the acceleration required. I have seen players who tighten their grip at the start of the delivery which will automatically take the butt of the cue off-line. If these players pot a long ball it is mostly good luck.

but i thought that i wasn't dropping my elbow,does my elbow drop in the videos that i posted?i thought i only had side to side movement of the upper arm which is causing the cue to go offline.although in the vid where i pot a few balls i didn't play any power shot at all,i don't think my elbow drops on power shots but i will check it out as i might be wrong.

[Master Blaster]

yeah this shoulder muscle stuff always gets me on the belt buckles. this is worth another look, ron like most player hit from the elbow an the droping of the elbow is on shot completion. its timing, letting the cue do the work
no need to access the excess

I think Terry may mean he elbow drops on power and spin shots more than the tip-tap stun run through stuff. Nice vid bud.

[j6uk]

yeah this shoulder muscle stuff always gets me on the belt buckles. this is worth another look, ron like most player hit from the elbow an the droping of the elbow is on shot completion. its timing, letting the cue do the work
no need to access the excess

[jonny66]

If the GOAT doesn't use it, I'm not using it, it's only fair.

[DeanH]

Haha, I love his riddles, he's then rhymer! Fish are jumping out the barrel tday.

from a quote 4 days ago, ?

I can't completely agree with Terry here. Yes, elbow drop is an advanced technique but that doesn't mean it can't be taught or learned over time, ask Del Hill. The GOAT uses it, so there's no reason why someone else can't. If you can teach people to stand this way, bridge that way, grip this way, you can teach elbow drop as well. But then it's tons of practice afterwards to bed it in.

advanced? or just one of many techniques? How is it "advanced" compared to other techniques? by the way who is GOAT?

[Master Blaster]

I can't completely agree with Terry here. Yes, elbow drop is an advanced technique but that doesn't mean it can't be taught or learned over time, ask Del Hill. The GOAT uses it, so there's no reason why someone else can't. If you can teach people to stand this way, bridge that way, grip this way, you can teach elbow drop as well. But then it's tons of practice afterwards to bed it in.

[Master Blaster]

oh I know he used to and can write correctly and sometimes his posts can be informative and helpful; but, as you say, for some unknown reason he tries to confuse and belittle people with his riddles?

Haha, I love his riddles, he's then rhymer! Fish are jumping out the barrel tday.

[tedisbill]

i've tried just about everything yet nothing seems to work

Have you tried playing snooker 5 times a week for 4-5 hours for 2 years?

You're not gonna go down the club after changing a couple of things in your technique and never miss again. Becoming a good snooker player takes years and years.

[Terry Davidson]

you can see the 'veering offline' which i described in my last post in the 1st vid that i posted here on this thread.since these videos i've changed my weight distribution (about 60% weight on the back foot),i have my cue in contact with the chest at all times (not bringing the cue into chest but slowly lowering down until the chest touches the cue),i have my forearm point straight down the floor and not too far back & i have my right toe pointing almost directly on the shot line.but i still have the upper arm movement despite these changes.might post another video with these changes but i really don't think the upper arm movement has much to do with my technique i've tried just about everything yet nothing seems to work,i believe it has to do with the shoulder dislocation i suffered in the past causing my upper arm to be unstable

I hate to tell you but Ray Reardon had a dislocated shoulder when he was young which was never set right and as an adult he won 5 world championships. The reason is the upper arm should NOT be involved with the delivery at all with the exception of at the end of a long backswing when the elbow drops a bit and on a power delivery when just the mass of the cue will drag the elbow down.

I should mention there are some players who drop the elbow on almost every shot. Ronnie is an example of this in the modern day and Tony Knowles was a prime example back in the 80's HOWEVER you have to realize both these players started playing when very young and dropping the elbow (or using the upper arm and shoulder muscle in other words) is NATURAL and NORMAL to them. It will not be normal for you and using the upper arm and shoulder muscle is a big mistake because those muscles are meant for power and NOT for fine motor skills.

You are going to have to learn to keep the elbow up all the time and not allow the elbow to drop at all. The temptation is to use the shoulder muscle to develop more power but power shouldn't come from that it should come from the length of the backswing and the rate of acceleration of the cue. The longer the backswing the more distance the cue has to accelerate.

No excuses here. Learn to pot power shots by lengthening the backswing and not allowing the elbow to drop (look at Judd Trump who gets all the power he needs without dropping the elbow at all).

Generally the reason for this in most players is first of all having a backswing which is too short for the power required so the use the shoulder muscle to develop the power, too fast a backswing also causes upper body movement, no rear pause or an abrupt change in direction of the cue will also cause upper body movement and probably the most common problem is combined with all the above the player will tighten his grip too early in the delivery in order to get the acceleration required. I have seen players who tighten their grip at the start of the delivery which will automatically take the butt of the cue off-line. If these players pot a long ball it is mostly good luck.