What do people think of Roy Chisholm's Snooker Secrets?

[rimmer10]

This clearly haunts you because you remember. I was only teasing about my highest break but I remember feeling this way when I made my first ton - I was fixated by numbers even on line up etc., and in normal games I seemed to keep breaking down on 80's more than a few times. In reality you should be happy but you are haunted by the what if's.

Someone once told me at your stage - Practice more on your own just with a few reds to start around the black spot try and clear four or five -keep doing it you will learn about the line of the shot and use of the cushions and side - keep using stun and follow to try and clear five reds in line in practice. You bring that into your game you will start making 30's and 40's. Then you get fixated with 50 lol but their are more routines to help you do this. All takes table time

I got told do it in Practice and you start to believe you can do it in a game - Eventually I made a few centuries in practice with the balls all just spread i just used to replace the colours if I missed one and carry on and if I missed a red I would put two back on in open play and try and clear up. - Anyway I started to do it eventually and I learned better fluidity and timing which reinforced the idea in my mind I could do it in a match if the opportunity arose. When it did I never felt nervous until the last ball - and that was a straight black off the cushion - hit it sweet a a nut just concentrating on staying still and pushing the cue through straight.

After this the weight lifted off my shoulders and I did not give a stuff about numbers. I just enjoyed the game.

Thanks for that mate. Very much appreciated. But to be honest my post was just meant to be a light hearted response to gurnsey. Improving is not really that high on my agenda because I only play 3 or 4 frames once a week, have a few beers and then stagger home. But that doesn't mean I can't be a student of the game and want to educate myself as much as I can because I love snooker. By his logic only professional racing drivers are allowed to follow Formula 1. Btw i was jumping around like Dennis Taylor after that red.

[chrisg]

Well done, whatever works for you. It appears you are putting the time in, in a structured way and sticking to a pre-shot routine that works for you.

the main reason for your improvement I suspect.

Thanks. Yes, like anything it requires practice and finding a consistent technique that suits the individual. Repetition - doing the same things (right things) over and over will make you a better player at this game. When people miss, it's probably one of three reasons...


1) You didn't focus 100% on the pot...
2) You weren't on the right line of aim to start with...
3) Your cueing wasn't straight as a pencil...

Perfect those and people can become half decent players....IMHO!

[markz]

UPDATE:

Made a 51 break yesterday using the Approach Line System - that's third week in a row I've been testing it out with breaks so far of 68, 52, and 51. Not bad IMHO.

The beauty of this system is you can make slight tweaks to it in testing. I approach even more outside the ball than Roy does in his video and it seems to work nicely. In fact, I'm finding I'm potting a lot more balls where the white is off the cushion than ever now. Don't even look at bags now. Just 100% focus on OB and for me, it works!

Love this game...

Has all the solo hard work transferred to playing frames? It's so hard to take your practice game in to a real game, even some professionals struggle.

[chrisg]

Has all the solo hard work transferred to playing frames? It's so hard to take your practice game in to a real game, even some professionals struggle.

I think I mentioned on here already - the club where I play barely has any players you can play frames with (of my age anyway). My coach organises frames with other students occasionally when he has more than one student having a lesson at the club, but other than that I don't get the opportunity to play frames with people.

Had a mate originally who I played with but he doesn't play much now....

RE: Your point about transferring practice to frames etc. Yes it's difficult, but that's where the mental side comes in and I tend to read a lot of sports psychology books such as The Champion's Mind and of course Dr Steve Peters's Chimp Paradox which has been used by the Rocket O'Sullivan...

These books are all great for getting you into the competitive mindset and also can apply for practice as well!...

[jonny66]

I think I mentioned on here already - the club where I play barely has any players you can play frames with (of my age anyway). My coach organises frames with other students occasionally when he has more than one student having a lesson at the club, but other than that I don't get the opportunity to play frames with people.

Had a mate originally who I played with but he doesn't play much now....

RE: Your point about transferring practice to frames etc. Yes it's difficult, but that's where the mental side comes in and I tend to read a lot of sports psychology books such as The Champion's Mind and of course Dr Steve Peters's Chimp Paradox which has been used by the Rocket O'Sullivan...

These books are all great for getting you into the competitive mindset and also can apply for practice as well!...

Taking it into a game is all about your pre-shot routine IMO, that and taking it as it comes. You can't really put a number on a great break, Ronnie's best was only 60-odd, that one where the table was a mess and he cleared it like it was nothing.

Del Hill'd theory about cummies is good as well, I'm sure it's online somewhere.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Because there're crap. Get on the table and experiment with side - it's great fun

I know. I used it a lot.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Taking it into a game is all about your pre-shot routine IMO, that and taking it as it comes. You can't really put a number on a great break, Ronnie's best was only 60-odd, that one where the table was a mess and he cleared it like it was nothing.

Del Hill'd theory about cummies is good as well, I'm sure it's online somewhere.

Cummies?

....

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

I think I mentioned on here already - the club where I play barely has any players you can play frames with (of my age anyway). My coach organises frames with other students occasionally when he has more than one student having a lesson at the club, but other than that I don't get the opportunity to play frames with people.

Had a mate originally who I played with but he doesn't play much now....

RE: Your point about transferring practice to frames etc. Yes it's difficult, but that's where the mental side comes in and I tend to read a lot of sports psychology books such as The Champion's Mind and of course Dr Steve Peters's Chimp Paradox which has been used by the Rocket O'Sullivan...

These books are all great for getting you into the competitive mindset and also can apply for practice as well!...

The Inner Game of Tennis gets good reviews for developing the mental side of the things. I gave up after the first chapter, but that's more me being lazy than anything.

[jonny66]

Cummies?

....

I'm just going to leave that typo there, no offence to Del Hill.

[markz]

I think I mentioned on here already - the club where I play barely has any players you can play frames with (of my age anyway). My coach organises frames with other students occasionally when he has more than one student having a lesson at the club, but other than that I don't get the opportunity to play frames with people.

Had a mate originally who I played with but he doesn't play much now....

RE: Your point about transferring practice to frames etc. Yes it's difficult, but that's where the mental side comes in and I tend to read a lot of sports psychology books such as The Champion's Mind and of course Dr Steve Peters's Chimp Paradox which has been used by the Rocket O'Sullivan...

These books are all great for getting you into the competitive mindset and also can apply for practice as well!...

I found the book the inner game of golf useful for the mental side of the game. I've always preferred solo to playing frames myself but I know if I'm knocking 80,90,100 in line up I'll still probably be getting 30,40,50 breaks in frames as the table is usually set up ten times more difficult for break building than solo routines.

[jonny66]

One thing almost every snooker player overlooks, that is very important to break building, is the tightness of the rack. If they are tight any cannons you play into the pack will work out better and you'll have more reds in the open, even pool players tend to overlook this when they play snooker, put them in a basic triangle shape and make sure they don't touch the pink, wrong.

[itsnoteasy]

One thing almost every snooker player overlooks, that is very important to break building, is the tightness of the rack. If they are tight any cannons you play into the pack will work out better and you'll have more reds in the open, even pool players tend to overlook this when they play snooker, put them in a basic triangle shape and make sure they don't touch the pink, wrong.

Two or three safety shots at the start and all that's changed.

[jonny66]

Two or three safety shots at the start and all that's changed.

Safety shots can loosen the pack, yes, but they can't tighten it. If it's loose in the first place then the reds stay where they are, if it's tight every safety shot off the pack will/should free a red or two, makes the safetys harder, but that's not a bad thing.

[Byrom]

Taking it into a game is all about your pre-shot routine IMO, that and taking it as it comes. You can't really put a number on a great break, Ronnie's best was only 60-odd, that one where the table was a mess and he cleared it like it was nothing.

Del Hill'd theory about cummies is good as well, I'm sure it's online somewhere.

A lot of people are excited to learn things from him?

[jonny66]

A lot of people are excited to learn things from him?

Too exited I must admit. Where's the white going!?