+nicbarrow My name is Etienne and I live in Japan and play pool here on US style tables. Snooker tables are rarities here. I am always amazed by the snooker player's skills at pocketing balls. I would like to get better, so here is my trivial question. What should I watch for (in terms of mistakes) as a beginner? What are the common mistakes people like me do...? Any comment is appreciated. Thanks and nice video.
+jceepf Before you learn pattern play (break-building) or aiming I would make sure you know which eye is your dominant eye. Always place the cue stick under your chin [on the side in between that dominant eye and your nose] when down on the shot and use that eye to line up shots. Next, learn how to execute a perfectly slow, smooth, and long stroke (no homo). Try gripping the cue in a variety of ways and see which grip allows you the least horizontal offset during your backswing and follow-through. One huge flaw almost every player starts off with is holding the grip how they naturally want to hold it (in this case do not follow your instinct). Very few players have a naturally complimentary grip that works perfectly with their straightest stroke, so experiment with grip*. However you perform your stroke make sure your elbow does not deviate from the shooting line. Honestly, learning and honing solid fundamentals in the novice stage is the single only thing you should focus on until you are sighting correctly and executing perfectly straight. That's what I did and I've won 4 local tournaments now with many 2nd and 3rd place finishes having only learned how to shoot billiards 2 1/2 years ago. (I played before then, but it was just careless whacking at the balls) Many players skip the fundamental stage and want to get right into potting balls but then their brain and bodies memorize that poor form and the bad habit becomes very hard to break. Snooker players are the best cueists because they have rock solid fundamentals and they practice fundamentals more than the actual game itself when they are learning. You can thank me in 2 years, Cheers from America, the land of no snooker tables:(
+IFranchisedI Hi Franchised.... Sorry to say but that advice about dominant eye the is worst advice it is possible to give, and destroys more players who have come through my doors than I can count. The money I have earned from helping players get themselves out of the 'cue under or near your dominant eye' mess has paid for my car a number of times over. Knowing your dominant eye/preferred eye or even stronger eye is irrelevant to knowing your vision centre. What most players don't realise is that the dominant eye (I prefer to call it the preferred eye because dominant implies strength) is often the WEAKER eye, invalidating the theory further. This video explains why the dominant eye theory is wrong (although there will be some exceptions where a player adapts to the position they start to learn in, it is better to find the natural vision centre without forcing the eyes to relearn how to see a shot properly) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FXEzWmhm5z0.html
Good points .. I will take your word for it in regards to "dominate eye" often being the weaker eye. I was just reiterating what Steve Davis talks about with cue sighting under one's good eye. And I trust you both know very well what you are talking about. So perhaps better advice would be to settle the cue under the chin and nose and let your vision center take over and naturally adjust over time and comfort level when accounting for body position. Really enjoy your videos & thanks for your speedy retort haha. I wish I could play snooker again but until I make a return visit I'll just continue to live through all these snooker videos. Warm regards from across the pond
One of the best videos i have seen for shoot, matters not for pool, billiards or snooker, you can take notes from this and implement it into your game.
Love that camera angle. Snooker tends to look easier than it is on the T.V. angles from the pocket. If only we could use this angle in the Championships on T.V. sometimes.
Really innovative use of a headcam. Look forward to watching your other vids. (Also I tick the boxes of all your typical club player bad habits! Time to practice...)
brilliant this is how the bbc should cover snooker, excellent insight , i love how every shot is centre ball striking, and how you focus on the white, this something i thought i was doing wrong.
This video is awesome! Thanks a bunch Nic!. I always wanted to learn how certain shots are played and watching it from first person view taught me a lot. Please load more videos like this, thanks so much for your efforts!
***** Thankyou AJ (is that your real name?!)... I have one for a 3 minute 45 second line up that I completed... I was going to play frames with it on until I knock in a ton. But so busy coaching at the moment it is tough to find the time! Where do you play?
nicbarrow My real name is Ajith, my friends call me AJ. I play at KSBA, it's a Club in Bangalore, India. I wish i could play as good as you. I try and learn as much as i can watching others and this video answered many questions I had about some shots. Lol just that i suck when i play it but i'm trying to get there, thanks!
from 12:13 to 12:50 it looks so familiar to me, guess why! Hands down best snooker video on youtube for me so far and I've watched O'Sullivan's 5:20 maximum a hundred times. The camera angle is perfect and very educational. I'm gonna try fixing the line of shot before the going down on the shot next time I play and see how it works out. Thnx for the tips; great break and great video, keep it up!
nicbarrow Sure! It improved my shots drastically. The concept of fixing the line of shot before going down comes pretty in handy to me since I realized once I'm down due to the binocular vision I have two ghost images of the cue and estimating the straight line is very tough. I'm too close to see the straight line there. Moreover, I realized once I am down, I also can't reposition my stance and body and especially my elbow. Now I'm trying to come up with a routine that fits me to put the center of my eyes, my right leg, elbow and hand in the same plane at the same time while getting down. Cheers, -Iman
yes the ideal third eye position is where your eyes need to be then your brain will form the 2X2d images into the centralised 3d image it needs to see to aim consistently and without compensation. please let me know progress!
nicbarrow So I got to try the new concepts tonight: I am now fairly comfortable with finding the line of shot before going down on the shot with my third eye on the plane of shot as you suggested (I don't have a dominant eye so I guess I'm double eyed). Let me tell you that not worrying about the line of shot while I'm down feels great! However, I realized while I saw the line of shot rather well before going down I would still miss some shots since the cueball still didn't go as desired. So I checked the execution of the shot and realized that my cue, despite being in the plane of shot during my whole warm-up moves, gets out of the plane at the time of execution due to the extra load of the cueball. Looking at my right hand (cue hand) I realized that my elbow was not in the plane of shot while I was down. It seemed like I would start with my forearm at the plane of shot but while going down, it would become bent and out of the plane with only my hand (and grip) remaining in the plane of shot. I believe this made my cue action very unstable especially while the additional (cue ball) load was applied. I decided to: 1- fix the grip, rather firmly, at the 90 deg angle (between the forearm and the cue) keeping my grip (and the cue angle with my forearm) very solid while going down, forcing my forearm movement to be in the same plane as my upper arm. 2- focus on hanging my forearm while going down to keep it in the plane of shot by relaxing my forearm and letting the gravity do its job 3- relax the grip once settled and go for the shot routine And this worked great! Although I have to try it more times before concluding if this is the best routine for me, I can say I was potting like a machine-gun this way! Felt great! Sorry for the lengthy message, I just wanted to be exact. I would love to hear your take on this. Thanks again Nic!
Nice video nic👍 A good method of cueing straight ,also keeping still on the shot.. I couldn't help but chuckle tho.... When you was waking you sounded like RoboCop 😁.👍
I think that when you're able to make something look easy and simple you're definitely doing it right. In this video that principle definitely applies. Amazing cueing and cue ball control! I would love to see some long pots (possibly including some table lenght screw shots) videos filmed with head cam like in this video. Greetings from Finland!
Cheers dude great video. I've heard these tips before, however can never hear it too many times. Seems like something the more i hear and coaches say, the more i pay attention to what I'm doing. My pre shot routine is almost where I want it now that is to people like yourself. Great work on this channel being done. Excellent
Thank you Dermot... now all you need is the POST shot routine and eye pattern to be in place! (IE watch ob like a hawk until after it hits cushion or pocket, then transfer eyes to cb as you stand up and fix them on cb until it stops moving)
@@TheSnookerGym yes exactly I will work on this also. It's something people don't give much thought to. Including myself. Little differences make the difference in this beautiful game 👍
The headcam could be very handy for demonstrating the effects of using side - not only forcing the cue ball off line but also the swerve effect that needs considering on longer shots. Would be interesting to see.
+Cowmilker98 Dont use side if you can help it. In the meantime practice simple pots with side with different amounts of side and power and distances to object ball to learn how to compensate.
Hi Nic congratulations on your success of coaching snooker, that was a fantastic video and I didn't think you would clear the whole table so neatly in one go! The cam is absolutely brilliant :) I look forward to booking a one hour snooker session with you later on this year :)
hello nic, I did the line up today, potted 14 reds and 14 colours missed the last difficult red.. but within a few days I know I can do a complete clearance especially amazing how I couldn't even make 40 on the line up last year and now thinking of a proper clearance like you here, but now I realize also how easy the line up is compared with say just 5 reds scattered around the table and the colours off their spots. somebody mentioned how 'pointless the line up was guaranteed not to prepare any player for match play' and dare I say it although it definitely does help it's just funny how 14 reds and colours felt like nothing... but 5 on a match play... haha
Go for an average of 5 or 10 line ups. And maybe try a line up where you MUST choose ONLY ONE BALL to get position on, and where you MUST play that ball. No cannons with other balls allowed.
The thing to see from this is Nic picks the line, gets the cue on line and cues straight on the line (3 ingredients for a pot) plus trusts the line once down and commits to it. With the feet together technique of getting into position you cant come off seeing the line when moving the head down onto the cue, because the balls of the left or right foot (depending on if you are right or left handed) will be on the line. With the stepping in technique the tendancy is for body weight to transfer over onto the leg moved in (right leg for right handed player) meaning your eyes come off the line. I don't like this and I don't like the feet together technique because you cant positively come into position and you often have to shuffle left and right to get on line. Can you offer some advice Nic on this important part of getting the cue on the line ?
Very good point Simon as you stand behind the shot, do as the pros do.... tip your body forwards 1 or 2 cm ONLY (and WITHOUT bending at the hips to prevent yourself falling).... you will then be tipping yourself into a shot like carefully pouring a glass of water. do this, and your feet will follow your body - allowing your head to keep on the line of aim on approach (if you dont tip, you have to LEAN to one side in order to LIFT one foot to allow the OTHER foot to come off the ground and step forward!) TRY IT!
Thank you Key Gee - what most players who have never made a 50 break don't realise is that just going up and down the vertical centre line on the cue ball earns you 90% of positional shots on a ton. They incorrectly think that side manipulates the direction of the cue ball, rather than the Height & Speed combo... which is why they can never improve
Great video! I am getting back into snooker after a long break ( no pun intended!!) so these tips are great to get me back to where I was! Thanks again :-)
Nic, i am just getting back to basics. i spent a few hours in the local club this weekend practicing potting using the "line up" drill. i must say it was great to sink a few balls, but need to keep the practice going to get consistency back and eventually focus on basic position play. I am looking to get back to the table at least 2/3 times per week (i used to play 6 hrs per day when a junior!) :-)
Dont use spin - pros dont unless they have to. It always amuses me when club players look amazed when I tell them they are using five times more side than professionals so it is no wonder they cannot pot anything!
Very well played. Excellent shot from black to yellow, and with the head-cam on, it showed how to go from yellow to green easily, although I can do that part myself. Nice idea you have though.
Nice video Nick. I was searching for a video like this on youtube and found none before. I hope you will record more of this type head cam videos. It really helps to understand how a professional player should select their shots and how to control the white ball from almost 1st person's view. Also, hope to be able to catch up with you in Hong Kong next time.
Great video,I'd love you to do one with head cam on cutting back blacks off their spot in black pocket(blind pocket).ive had loads of centuries but still feel uncomfortable with this shot.your snooker set up with all the cameras and gadgets are amazing.never ever thought I'd study coaching lessons as I've always played with my own natural ability but have started to search for help as I really am not much better than a five or six out of ten(at best).my highest breaks are 123 x 3.thanks mike.
can you make one where you miss a bunch of very easy shots? i wanna see how fixing games would look like from the point of view of Stephen Lee and John Higgins...
thanks Tahir I will consider getting this cam and doing some more vids - but search for screw back shots in my channel and there is one from the side view
Thanks for your post , I will give it a go. I still find that I get better potting consistency when I've picked the line standing up and come down into the shot after a very slight step forward with my right foot (am right handed), not deviating at all with a left or right movement of the head off seeing the line of the shot as with the feet apart step in technique of slightly balancing the body over. I find that if I don't do this and use the feet apart technique I have to reset myself to finding the line twice, once standing up and then again after my nose has come back onto the line after weight transfer onto the right leg. I fell this means I've not got the cue on the line all the time, I think what I then do is cue the shot to the pocket reasonably straight, but with the cue off line I feel the cue come across always right to left in my back hand. Does that ring any bells to you or are all players so unique.
whichever way is comfortable to keep your vision centre / third eye on the line of aim all the way during the approach down to the shot. i used to place back foot on loa and then tilt my head over to see the lineofaim. but i foudn that both feet either side of loa is more comfortable and has less body tension and still gives me a good result
Very good video Nic. I have been thinking along when I miss the shot, it voices down to either I did not stay on the intended line of aim or I have misjudge the potting angle. But soon I realised that you pay 70% on 3/4 and full ball shot. But what amazes me is that your ball control after each pot, you can stay 4 to 6 inches away from the cushion but with the same stroke and strength. May I know how is that strength control, length of follow through, or the exact striking point of the cue ball? Any simple exercise that I can learn about this. Regards
Hi Jeff at the end of the day you must know three things: 1.the range of possibility of the cue ball with top spin, backspin, and also where the cue ball will land when you drop the ball in at pocket speed. 2. within that range, what angle and distance you want to be from the next ball. 3. the height and speed on the cue ball to get there one you know these you can then worry about shot selection and strategy which will improve over time and with more experience (and if we ever get a chance to spend time on the table together we can post some strategy videos up if you like!)
nicbarrow my highest break as far as I remember goes at about 35. I am 21 now and I am very passionate about snooker. I started playing about 2 years ago and fell in love with the game. sadly, I have very little free time to play and to be able to stick to a regular practicing habit, so it's kind of a hard thing for me to improve. however, watching such impressive videos entertain me a lot and help me improve and keep fresh - even when I can't get to the table. thanks for it again!
Do u have a technique as to predict the angle to hit the ball ? I mean body postures,sighting and cueing are important,but if u cant hit the ball at the right angle ,it wont go in will it ?
amrimrn Delivering the cue 100% straight to reduce the variables, and delivering from the same cue ball spot at the same height with the same side and speed, test ten to twenty different aimings until you deliver straight and miss the black to left and right side of pockets. then you will learn it for yourself!
+Tim Riley Hi Tim. Thank you for the reply. As Barry Hawkins said on TV yesterday on that match winning blue against Judd Trump in the 2016 Masters semi final: 'Sometimes you have to just pick an angle and hope for the best!' This should also give you some extra information www.thesnookergym.com/aim-frame-page/
A bit of magnetism from the tip (together with the waving of the cue hoping the cue ball can position itself under the command from the cue) .....hahaha......i was like that until I learned the proper routine approach from your video.....
Do not breathe on the shot - when you get down exhale gently, hold the breathe until you stand up when you can gently breathe in. If you breather when down your body will move and you will move the cue off line
I'm 14 and I'm very interested in snooker , I only started playing it recently but I know a few people that play the sport a good bit and they are very good but the main thing I struggle with is when I am positioning myself to take a show I am not comfortable and my hand always feels so awkward I try different ways to lay me hand down on the table and try find the right way but I just can't soo far
HardyBucks123 Hi Hardy, put your fingers spread out on the table like a starfish, pull the thumb tight to the first finger to form a V for the cue, then gently lift the knuckle line of the hand depending on the cue ball height you need.
relay done a great job with hedcaome u cont see on tv where is player hiting the cue ball please make an other video about side spin and sucrow bak Thanx
I PLAYED LINE-UPS shooting from baulk just beyond the green' 6 between blue and pink 5 between pink and black and 4 behind the black I managed 2 -132's and 2 -147's when I was Confident i could give out 100 handicaps and win in 2 shots or less I gave a heckler 100 and scored a 147 on him on undersized pockets but I was Playing everyday and had Supreme confidence now i'm not a shadow of myself doing everything wrong but IF I had you 4 a coach i'd surly have Won more.
KristaL Mac LeoD Thank you very much for your kind words. Do you play much now - and if so what are your targets in the game / what problems are you working on?
theres something i would like you to cover, and that's acceleration, if i'm right i think ronnie has the slowest delivery at impact but one of the fastest acceleration's which is why he imparts effortless spin , sometimes i overscrew the ball when i'm playing a soft screw shot and the white seems to take off, when this happens the cue ball feels very "soft" , is there a way you could perhaps highlight this?
fradaja this is the essence of the game isnt it? hanging the tip on the cue ball for more time = better and softer strike. i have a new book coming out soon which will cover it!
Nic, do you grip the cue at the same place every time? I find this helps me keep my cue straight just by observing the cue grain and making sure i pull the cue back in a straight line
This looks a really good video idea , would you , or Have you , ever re recorded it with Better sound and also using the Ultimate Training Ball ? all the best :)
The GoPro does not have better sound! BUT, we may place the UTB map on the screen as a graphic to show the height / speed combos used on every shot... perhaps in a paid product to compensate for the huge amount of time it would take.
Hi Nic, great video. I cant help but notice when you pull the cue back, its not dead straight, it almost pulls back and slightly to the right? When i play i can see this happening too. In my head, i would say the only difference is, you must deliver the cue straight or you wouldnt pot the balls?? **HEAD GONE** confused.
Hi Nick. A few months ago I saw our local pro using a rubber training ball. He was hitting it without any object ball into each corner pocket from distance. It was testing his straight cueing and hitting the ball centre. Any deviations and the ball moved off line quickly. Im trying to find one. Any ideas?
It is not rubber it is plastic. I have a pair and they are Chris Henry's The Balls. This is my alternative which offers a lot more: www.thesnookergym.com/cue-action-trainer-2019 I also have this ball made by Aramith which offers something slightly different - Here is our most popular problem solver for POSITIONAL PLAY: www.thesnookergym.com/ultimate-training-ball
Great video, watched it a few times. I got a question that's been annoying me for years. After watching your video I notice or it looks like you don't always play center white ball (obviously not when playing side,screw,follow etc). But like When you play the green in particular. It looks to me that you put on a little bottom right? (9:48) Is this to push the green over to pocket & you still it the green full in the face or is it purely to just screw back and over the to left for the brown?. Quite hard to explain the question.
drunkanmaster No - I played that shot with centre cue ball so it may be the wide angle camera view. Probably only used side on 4 of those shots. Remember this rule - side spin makes no difference to cue ball position until the cue ball hits a cushion.
+nicbarrow Thanks for your reply, Would you adjust where the white hits the object ball if applying side then? Or still aim where you would hit it if playing centre ball? If I am applying say left hand side to the shot would you under hit the angle to compensate for the side? Just another thing I try on the table but unsure why sometimes it works and sometimes it don't.
+drunkanmaster There are four main variables to include when compensating for side with your aim: The amount of side, the speed of the shot, the distance to the object ball, the speed of the cloth. They all come with experience, but are irrelevant unless your cueing is good enough to make regular 50 breaks.
What did you mean when you said " Always looking at the white, to stay engaged in the game" Do you look at the white ball when executing the shot or did I misinterpret.. Nice Video my friend.
i meant as it comes to a stop after you have played your shot, keep an eye on it to check how it behaves. also when you are sat down and you opponent is at the table, you can watch the cue ball to help your mind stay fixed in the game and not drift away completely.
silly question but i have searched everywhere and i keep getting a mix response, when playing the shot do you look at the cue ball, or where you are trying to the object ball?
Object ball, look at the aiming point. Get your line from *middle* of the pocket to object ball, white ball hits object ball on that line. Cue should be in line with that, look at white only to make sure you are hitting the desired spin, when you take the shot your eyes should be on the object ball.
That is a big subject because there is the 'Eye Cue Action' during the feathers, then the backswing, then the delivery. Each needs to be addressed separately. I have made a low priced product which answers all of these topics though.... www.thesnookergym.com/aim-frame-page/
+Sound & VIsion It was just a ball they had on the table, and I used it to help demonstrate the cue ball spins on various shots to make it better for the viewers. As a player, you learn to ignore them. If you want a training ball, there is some information on one here: www.thesnookergym.com/ultimate-training-ball/
what was interesting to me was how little side you used throughout the break, I'm always thinking i need side and then missing the pot, and even when you did use it, it was just a trace
+Kevin mc donnell Side is a Plan D option and used only when I have lost position, or if the positional gains far outweigh the extra difficulty of the pot. The other mistake that most players (other than pros!) make is aim to pot the ball in the side of the pocket. Always aim centre pocket.
+Kevin mc donnell I am talking about with centre cue ball shots - club players are greedy and try to pinch the pocket even then. That is separate from how to compensate the cue ball aim when playing with side. Some players aim to miss the object ball, estimating that compensation is correct to pot the ball. OThers aim to pot the object ball and adjust where they point the cue ball, estimating that compensation is correct to pot the ball. Either method is correct if it works for the player.
Hi Nic- I know it's an old video but it's an amazing break none the less. I'm a keen snooker player but not very talented! Highest break in the 30s. One thing I noticed in this break, you always seemed to have the cue ball in good position (just off straight most of time) it was very rare that you had a tight angle to play on. May sound like a silly question but was that done purposely? Were you aiming to get as close to being straight without being exactly straight, but with a bias to a specific side so that you can make an angle to the next ball? Watching this video gave me the idea that wen thinking about positioning of Whitehall, to aim to get a straighter position for the next ball with a bias to which ever side I would like the cue ball to go after. I think I might place cue balls around the cushions where they are in a straight line to the object ball and pocket as guide where the white ball should finish Thanks
Thankyou Junaid for your very good comment I never approach any shot until i have calculated: 1. The range of possibility of where I can put the cue ball 2. The exact angle and distance I need to be for the next ball 3. The exact height and speed I must play the cue ball to achieve 2. As such, positional play is more demanding than potting for two reasons: A. The target is invisible and you have to create it with thinking (unlike a pocket which is always there) B. With potting only DIRECTION needs to be correct, with positional play HEIGHT and also SPEED must be correct When calculating 2, percentages and margins of error are taken into account so that I am playing for a spot where I know I can make the biggest error and still be the correct side of the next ball. I am also of course taking into account the next NEXT ball in establishing ideal position for the next ball, hence thinking always at least two shots ahead.
very clever- I agree with the pre shot routine and go through those same points you mentioned. However, I think what I lack- my understanding of the movement of the cueball after making contact with the object ball differs from what I expect to what occurs. ie. if I expect a screback to come back on X line, after playing the shot it goes on Y line. Generally speaking I have this problem when im playing high on the black and stunning it off the cushion. I stay well clear of cushion shots for this same reason! Thanks Nic
OK got it - the set of videos that come with this product will educate you on the 12 principles of positional play that all the pro's use. www.thesnookergym.com/ultimate-training-ball/
Guesswork! But built on a foundation of correct learning which is explained here: Here is our most popular problem solver for AIMING AND SIGHTING: www.thesnookergym.com/aim-frame-page/ £25
