Another great video ! You are now the no.1 Snooker coach on RU-vid imo. One thing that helped me was in a Barry Stark video where he talked about middle pockets and said you should aim for where the leather surrounding the pocket meets the cushion
Great advice. The constant adjusting when I'm down on the shot is what iv always done. I'l have to give this a go and learn the angles from the upright position. Looks like its difficult to be accurate on a blind shot from standing position, guess it takes some practice. Thanks for the tip, subscribed!
Another great tutorial. Been playing for a while now but never really think to use the ‘drop’ of the slate as an advantage to accept the ball. Always made harder in club tables that don’t run so true due to temp / lack of brushing.
Steve, like i have said earlier too, the sound when you strike the cue ball is one of the sweetest music ever at a Billiards table. You did say, that you use a century tip and I do not know which cue you use but i know this much; and that is you have a fantastic cue arm and action and that is what makes the music. I meant the rich sound of the cue going throoooough the object ball. As usual, your analysis and guidance on middle pockets, is outstanding and clear. Thank you. VishG (I hope you answer which cue you use)
Hi, very usefull and complete explanation, thanks a lot, For me, sometimes is very difficult to find the correct point of aiming and so the line of the shot 😐..
Hi! It will all come down to experience. The more you can pick the line standing up, and then learn whether you miss either thick or thin, you will start to recognise these angles better. But you must commit to picking the angle standing up, then just cue straight once you are down. Stay down on the shot, see where the balls go, and make adjustments next time.
You didn't mentioned or showed where to hit the ball.. If it should be on the right side or left or a top ball or a stun shot. Please show this as well in your videos so as to we can have clear vision on the shot. I do follow your channel and have improved a lot in my game. Thanks for that.
I think you choose one of the most difficult shot to the middle that I could imagine. I think you have to be quite good and make at least half centuries to go ahead and try this shot. I would have surely played safe from that red because if I had missed it to the middle pocket and played for the black I would have easily left those 2 reds near the cushion and maybe lost 18-24 points cause of that. And to lose 18-24 points for a beginner is a disaster :D
I have seen this one called the seven horseman, seven reds across the table and pot them all into the middle bags keeping position. You can start with three or five as seven is pretty tricky.
How about playing with side just so the object ball can spin off the far jaw and go into the pocket , while playing it firm with some pace for position ? I've personally used that tip and it helped me improve my middle pocket potting and keep the break going , anyways great video mate
Hi there. Side does not transfer to the object ball. We get a slight throw effect on the object ball when the white first hits in, but then any side we played on the shot won't make the object ball spin to the side at all. You're probably just finding the pot easier with side as many players do. I would play these shots with a bit of side myself, but not because it's going to make the object ball flick off the jaw, just because it makes the potting angle feel a bit easier. Thanks a lot for watching 🙂
This is of particular interest to me. I noticed up the club today I was missing half ball blacks off the spot until I focused on the shotline instead of being distracted by the pocket. Is this the same scenario?
And thank you once again for this video as my potting in middke pocket as well as in general has improved alot after watching this video. And today i hv won 6 frames straight while competing against some of the best players of our club
Hi steve, first off great explanation, i totally agree with the whole routine before shot. I have a question, hope you can help me clear my mind, For the longest time i've been told that when you play towards the bulk line to aim at the outside jaw with slow pace and let the nap of the cloth brings it to the pocket. of cause sometimes it works and sometime it doesn't. so the question is do i aim at the center of the pocket or still aim at the outside jaw and trust the nap? Cheers quester singapore
Hi. You should not really get much of the nap effect of these shots. On the shots that you describe I would just be aiming to pot the ball into the centre of the pocket. On the shot you describe, you're more likely to just have the general roll-off of the table making an effect more than the nap. So just aim the shot as you would with any other pot. The effect of the nap will be much more exaggerated when you play with side towards the baulk cushion. So if you play the white from the pink spot, up towards the brown spot - If you hit that shot slowly and with left hand side, you will see that the white will drift to the right. Obviously in your potting example, the object ball won't have side on it, so this effect won't happen. Hope that helps 🙂
One shot which constantly highlights the differences in nap is a ball played slowly towards a middle pocket from the area between the black and pink spots. On a table with a very heavy nap, the ball will fall very sharply towards the side cushion. If the shot is played dead weight, you should be aiming to pot it on to the far jaw of the middle pocket or even slightly beyond. On a very fine championship cloth, the ball will deviate very little on this type of shot so that the ball can be aimed at the pocket opening or the inside of the far jaw.
Thank you coach for a great lesson. We have another point and that is, the same shot in your demo, if we were playing for just the pot [say the last black of the table of just the colour needed for clinching the frame] and if the object ball were closer to the cushion thenwhether playing the ball with right side [as the pot is slightly against the nap] would help deflecting the object ball favourably into the pot? pl guide us sir; Vish
I don't know what it is with me, I can pot balls in the middle for fun. I'm honestly one of the best middle pocket potters I've ever seen. I can't pot in the corners to save my life though, it's really bizarre.
When I am unsure of the angle even from a standing position I sometimes move around to see the direct line the ball will take to the pocket. Then I keep my eyes on this spot on the object ball and then go to the original position of addressing the cue ball. Is this something that I should eliminate?
Do you have to pick line of aim before you strick the object ball in any situation like if you poting it to the blind pocket ,I mean if the center of the pocket is not in your eye sight ,?
On a professional table it is actually even harder to pot balls to the middle. If you are very accurate, the professional tables will accept the ball at a faster pace. But if you hit the near jaw or far jaw even slightly on the professional tables, they will just bounce out.
5:29 remember that time-spot we'll come back to that in a moment. Okay, so red-alert. I'm high, like looking down I see the sky that's how high I am. Think about it, imagine it. That's pretty high dude. But now that's said, please understand exactly how SATISFIED I AM ABOUT THIS SOUND THE COACH MAKES AS HE SAYS "Awkward". Thank you god for making this awkward moment so succulent to my ear-balls. Thank you.
@@BartonSnooker Hahaha, excuse my enthusiasm, haha I was really out of it. On a lighter note, I really appreciate your videos. The content has been very relevant to me and I've been growing as an avid pool player. So you've made a friend out me mate. Thanks for your sharing of knowledge. I'll pay it forward.
I have few questions to ask related to cue care. 1. My cue gets damp. Due to rainy weather in my city. And tips feels damp after a day or two of continuous raining... Although i put my cue in a good and secured cue case with foam. Lining inside. To get it dry i put it in sunlight for few minutes every now. And than. Is it a good practice?? Or shall i do something else to avoid its tip from. Getting damp? 2. There is a minor crack at the joint of ash peace with the brass peace.. Is it ok or something serious? How can i control this crack and what i can i do to avoid any such occurrences in future again? 3. How can i repair this crack please respond.
Hi. I have never heard of cue tips going damp when they are secured and kept in a case. You can actually buy little leather tip protectors, so I would look at getting something like this. I would not advise leaving your cue out in the sun after it is damp. I think repeating this process could cause the wood to dry out and if may break. If you have a small crack in the butt end, I would see if you can take your cue to a cue maker to have it looked at, and maybe repaired.
@@BartonSnooker thank you for your advice. I have shown it to the cue makers around they said that this crack near the brass joint is not effecting the playing or stroke capability of the cue. And that if i insist they can repair it. But they recommended that there is no need of it. Actually the crack is just like a hair line fracture in any thing. And its between the joint of ash piece and black wood peaces. Just where the brass joint is connected the ash shaft
Often is pronounced with a silent ‘t’. You give me a snooker lesson, I give you an English lesson... Just kidding man- great vid, can’t wait to try the tips!
Gravity? what a...?? it all was going well and then you feel like you need to mention science?? I feel like I need to crawl back into my safe space now... I've been irredeemably hurt by the social constructs you use to explain the dynamics of snooker... couldn't we just carve lanes on the table so that balls just roll straight into the pockets? otherwise you'll need stuff like skills and discipline, and talent and all that crap, all of them constructs of the male patriarchy we're obliged to live in.... jokes aside, I learn more in a 7 minutes video by you than in years of selfpaced practice, and I thank you for that!! SUB+
you talk too much and keep repeating the same thing, just keep it short n simple, might've helped to explain where to aim on the white/red, you mentioned getting on the black to continue the break but didn't decide to show.
You hit the white in the centre. This whole video is about keeping the shot simple. You hit in the centre. If it is not specified, ASSUME YOU HIT THE CENTRE. You aim on the red to POT THE BALL. HE MENTIONS THAT THIS WILL COME WITH PRACTISE, AND THIS IS WHY YOU DONT MOVE AROUND WHILE DOWN ON THE SHOT. If you pay ANY attention to the video whatsoever, you find this out and don't make yourself look like an overcritical tit head.
When I am unsure of the angle even from a standing position I sometimes move around to see the direct line the ball will take to the pocket. Then I keep my eyes on this spot on the object ball and then go to the original position of addressing the cue ball. Is this something that I should eliminate?