What are you doing when you pause?

[Catch 22]

I'm thinking about a lose open grip . I have a habbit of being tense in the grip hand

[Saint Michael]

Depends who I'm playing................ In practice with friends. probably thinking, who's round is it or shut up trying to put me off you wazzack!

If a match I try go on auto pilot, but if i'm not able to usually thinking about the next shot!

[alabadi]

Such a strange game, in order to be competitive you need to be less competitive, if you know what I mean.

this might be going of original OP question, however in terms of pressure , when i play in the league i am nervous and the game seems difficult even against players that i should beat easily.

but when i play in the individual tournaments i am nerve free , i play carefree . win or lose .

i think the reasons are playing for a team , i want to win for them and it effects how i play because i don't want to let them down. however, when its a singles comp, its just for myself and i have no expectations , i just want to play well.

oh and when i am down on the shot, i have a longish rear pause to allow my eyes to refocus on the OB, however no thoughts i just try and push the cue through smoothly

[GeordieDS]

Please go in

[vmax4steve]

I was thinking about what goes through peoples mind when they pause.

Nothing at all, I'm delaying my orgasm

[Shockerz]

It sounds daft when you put it like that, and it is when you think about it, but it sure doesn't feel that way at times. Such a strange game, in order to be competitive you need to be less competitive, if you know what I mean.

You need a clear train of thought on the objective and that only, that's the focus........as soon as you have 2 thoughts, there's the dilemma!

[jonny66]

I like this analogy.

Snooker and aerial assault courses both have consequences when you miss so that adds pressure.

It sounds daft when you put it like that, and it is when you think about it, but it sure doesn't feel that way at times. Such a strange game, in order to be competitive you need to be less competitive, if you know what I mean.

[Shockerz]

Pressure also comes into it obviously, put a 10 foot plank on the floor you can walk straight along it easily, put the same plank 100 foot in the air and it's a different story.

I like this analogy.

Snooker and aerial assault courses both have consequences when you miss so that adds pressure.

[jonny66]

I am coming to this a little late but I love this topic. In the last several years, I have developed quite a significant pause, probably between a second or two though I have never actually timed it. When I am not playing well, timing of the pause is one of the first things I look at to find correction. My best game seems to come with several eye switches during feathers. When ready to strike, short pause with tip at cue ball, eyes on tip of cue and exact contact point of cue ball I intend to hit as dictated by the shot choice. Begin slow pull back and at this time, switch eyes to object ball contact point for final time. And wait.....I have found I am best to allow my eyes this second or so to actually focus on the contact point. Our eyes are really a mechanical device like the aperture of a camera lens so some time is necessary for the component parts to physically make their adjustments for proper focus from a near target (cue ball) to a far target (object ball). Meanwhile, as some others have said, when I am hitting well, during this pause, my brain should do......absolutely nothing. If anything comes into my mind, I ought to stop and start over, but I usually don't so I often miss those shots.

A statement I like to make is "How does Ronnie O make it look so easy? Exactly the same way he ties his shoes....doesn't think about it, just does it." The brain is obviously needed to figure out WHAT to do, but I think the brain will mainly cause interference when you are actually trying to do it. Do you THINK about how you tie your shoes?

Agreed, snooker is like walking, it's just difficult to accept that you're still a toddler. Not you personally, I think most people on here are probably still toddlers, I definitely am. Pressure also comes into it obviously, put a 10 foot plank on the floor you can walk straight along it easily, put the same plank 100 foot in the air and it's a different story.

[acesinc]

I am coming to this a little late but I love this topic. In the last several years, I have developed quite a significant pause, probably between a second or two though I have never actually timed it. When I am not playing well, timing of the pause is one of the first things I look at to find correction. My best game seems to come with several eye switches during feathers. When ready to strike, short pause with tip at cue ball, eyes on tip of cue and exact contact point of cue ball I intend to hit as dictated by the shot choice. Begin slow pull back and at this time, switch eyes to object ball contact point for final time. And wait.....I have found I am best to allow my eyes this second or so to actually focus on the contact point. Our eyes are really a mechanical device like the aperture of a camera lens so some time is necessary for the component parts to physically make their adjustments for proper focus from a near target (cue ball) to a far target (object ball). Meanwhile, as some others have said, when I am hitting well, during this pause, my brain should do......absolutely nothing. If anything comes into my mind, I ought to stop and start over, but I usually don't so I often miss those shots.

A statement I like to make is "How does Ronnie O make it look so easy? Exactly the same way he ties his shoes....doesn't think about it, just does it." The brain is obviously needed to figure out WHAT to do, but I think the brain will mainly cause interference when you are actually trying to do it. Do you THINK about how you tie your shoes?

[Byrom]

On a serious note - I pause before delivering the cue - I pick out the line get down and have purposeful feathers to the white I push up to it and imagine the shot being played without going through the white - I imagine the ball going in and if its of I make minor adjustments - if the adjustment is too much I get back up. The pause helps me with the timing of the shot as when I push the cue forward I drive through sort of a coiled build up before going right through the white. I slowed the feathers to allow time to sight each shot and get a better feel of each shot - eliminating the guess work and this has increased my shot percentage and also improved my positional play.

I used to have a flicky cue action on the grip but was too inconsistent often decelerating through the ball or cueing across it under pressure occasionally - so anyway I eliminated it using a more closed grip and went for a more positive striking technique - and am working on keeping it consistent now

[narl]

Trying not to pass gas.

[OmaMiesta]

Thinking about boobies

[dcrackers147]

I was thinking about what goes through peoples mind when they pause.

For me, When I am in the back swing and pause I wait for a picture of the ball going in...........why do you pause and what do you see?

I just focus on completing my backswing and consciously think about keeping a loose grip prior to delivery. I have a minimal pause as whenever I put a deliberate longer pause in I lost feel. Players shouldn't really force a pause IMO...all good players I know with a deliberate pause were taught this when they first picked up a cue so they don't even think about it as it's ingrained into them.

[JohnF14722]

Thinking about what I'm having for dinner!