Snooker Timing The Shot - Snooker Perfect Timing 

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Thank you! Yes when you over-screw, you've actually hit the white at the exact sweet spot that I describe in this video. So you get 100% of the possible backspin. Most of the time, you're hitting the white either slightly before OR after that perfect sweet spot. That means you'll get less spin on the white, than was actually possible. Obviously some shots have got a much smaller sweet spot for perfect timing. If you're just rolling a ball in, with no spin, there's a very big margin of error. If you're timing a screw shot, the margin of error is a lot smaller, you must catch the white perfectly as you intended.

It's pretty simple, just poorly explained due to the use of the word "timing" and then saying it's all about "speed". The two are related, but not the same thing. For maximum screw it depends on the distance between the cue ball and the object ball. That determines where you need to hit the white, and how hard (i.e. at what speed) to make sure that when that white makes contact with the object ball it is spinning at its maximum rate: - Hit it with too little cue speed (i.e. too soft) the ball will have too much time to slow down and lose backspin before reaching the object ball. - Hit it with too much cue speed (i.e. too hard) the ball won't have enough time to reach maximum backspin before reaching the object ball. In that sense, yes it's about timing - the time taken for the cue ball to reach the object ball. But, cue speed at contact is just a small part of the equation. How the player cues, how they accelerate and deliver the cue, how they make contact and how they follow the cue through will all have an effect on the final level of backspin achieved.

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

Thank you! Thanks for watching 🙂

Well, you are actually right that you still want to be accelerating at the time you strike the cue ball. For us humans, we have to be accelerating as we hit, as it's not possible to immediately stop the arm the second you make contact with the white. This video was really just to explain about actually 'catching' the white in the 'sweet spot' in your action. Don't catch the white just BEFORE optimal speed, and don't catch it just AFTER optimal speed. Catch the white right at the point when you're accelerating at the perfect point.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate the support 🙂🙂

Brendan Passey this!

Hi Daryl! I have a video coming soon talking about cues. I briefly talk about tips in there. My view on tips generally is that it's more just personal preference in terms of the feedback a player likes. Some players like softer tips, and some players prefer a former tip. There really won't be much difference in terms of the actual reaction you can get out of the ball. Most of the reaction and spin generated on the cue ball comes from the players technique and cue action.

Hi there! Yes you are exactly right. It is probably that the MAXIMUM cue speed on my shot example ends up at 10.8 mph, but the perfect sweet spot for your timing, is hitting the white at 10 mph. So yes, absolutely correct, in order for our human bodies to hit the white at 10 mph, we need to accelerate beyond that and slow down again.

Thanks@@BartonSnooker(Steve I guess?) for the reply and the comprehensiveness of your answer. I also noticed that if you manage to pull that type of timing off, it FEELS REALLY GOOD, so I'm relieved you confirmed my feeling. Already looking forward to the next one! Good luck with the channel and the game!

@@mikehollants Hi Michael! Yes it's Steve 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the video and good luck with your snooker. I really appreciate your support with the channel.

And i want to know, this video mention Timing is represented Stun shot perfect timing? That the highest cue speed when hitting the cue ball. How about screw back and high cue follow shot?

Yes! You can always hear when a shot has been timed nicely 🙂

Yes, and it would have been good to also explain what actually happens if you timed it poorly so your cue was a bit slow when it actually hits - it would have caught on the cloth earlier and therefore likely started rolling forwards by the time it hits the object ball, causing the ball to roll forward a bit after contact. Similarly if you hit it a bit hard and the cue was going too fast at the time of contact, you might get some unintended backspin, but _technically_ that's not timing, because timing is about getting the maximum cue speed of the shot timed with the hit, but in order to over hit it the maximum speed is too high regardless of timing. Anyway, just wanted to mention it.

Hi! I'll do a follow up video to this one I think. You're absolutely right, the MAXIMUM speed of the cue in my example may be 10.7 mph. So for the human body, it might be necessary that in order to deliver the cue perfectly at 10 mph (on impact), you need to accelerate the cue to 10 mph, hit the white, and then carry on until 10.7 mph, and then slow down. If you programmed a robot, you'd just say "hit the white at 10 mph". For us, yes, you maybe need to hit at 10 mph and then still be accelerating. But the principal for this video remains the same. Hit the white at the "sweet spot" in your cue action.

Hi! Feathering is covered in my detailed video about cue action. Here is the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lDgEBIKQJI8.html

Hi! Feathering is covered in my detailed video about cue action. Here is the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lDgEBIKQJI8.html

😄

Hi. You asked this same question last week and this was my reply: "I personally use my middle two fingers mostly with my grip. It's then mainly my ring finger that helps with the delivery. I also tend to have a little bit of a flick of the wrist at times. It's very individual for each player. Even among the top players, they will all have different grips. It's not a one-size-fits-all." Hope that helps, John 🙂

Jeez, Sorry :) (old age - 72) After watching your video I had to find a way of how to feel cue acceleration. I use the middle finger and sometimes the middle and ring fingers. I can now feel on my fingers accelerating the cue from 0 mph to whatever mph I need. Feathering as you have described has really turned my feel for the shot around. When I'm practicing all I think about is throwing a wad of paper into a waste paper basket. Thanks again.

@@johncummings9446 thanks, John. Glad it's helping your game. It's great to know people are finding the videos useful. Thanks for watching 🙂

Well as described in this video, you have an area where the cue is about to reach it's maximum speed, it then is accelerating and hits the white at the perfect point of acceleration as shown in the video. Then obviously the cue slows down and comes to rest. The tip of the cue is only in contact with the white for tiny fractions of a second. What you're really after is the feel of hitting that white in the sweet spot of your action. If you are just rolling a ball in, obviously that sweet spot has massive margin of error. The timing of the shot is just not held to high standards. But if you are playing a screw shot and are trying to generate maximum spin on the white, then the point at which your tip hits the white is absolutely crucial. As it shows in the video, strike the white slightly before or after the cue is perfectly accelerating, and you won't achieve 100% screw. The spin is generated from both the position you strike on the white, and also the speed that the cue is travelling as it hits the white ball. But the cue speed is the thing we can't measure. So that's the "feel" I talk about. Your brain is making a judgment about precisely the speed that the cue needs to be going just as you catch the white. That's the timing! Only way for us humans to get better at that is through practice! Good luck!

@@BartonSnooker Ive also noticed it can help when you move the bridge hand slightly closer to the CB. it means you got more cue going through the ball at strike point and makes the whole action a little more compact too

Well, you are actually right that you still want to be accelerating at the time you strike the cue ball. For us humans, we have to be accelerating as we hit, as it's not possible to immediately stop the arm the second you make contact with the white. This video was really just to explain about actually 'catching' the white in the 'sweet spot' in your action. Don't catch the white just BEFORE optimal speed, and don't catch it just AFTER optimal speed. Catch the white right at the point when you're accelerating at the perfect point.

​@@BartonSnooker thanks a lot for this explanation Eureka , Eureka , Eureka 🤗🤗 got it ... cheers

It may be that the actual MAXIMUM cue speed ends up at 10.7 mph, so yes you are right. I think I'll do a follow up video on this as a lot of people are asking the same thing. Obviously you want to hit at 10 mph, but in order for your human body to achieve that, it could well be that the cue accelerates slightly more than that and then slows down.

Thank you very much for your reply. Keep up the great job. You are amazing teacher!

Contact me on my email address below for all the details of my training and coaching sessions. steve@bartonsnooker.co.uk

Hi! Thanks! There is no special reason that players row the cue up and down when using the rest. It's just the comfortable way of moving the arm backwards and forwards. If you try and keep the cue really flat, you just end up being a bit tight with the muscles, so the up and down action just comes from trying to remain nice and loose and relaxed.

​@@BartonSnooker Thank you very much for your great and quick response . Thanks for always explaining the various aspects and issues of the game in every single of the videos that you have published . I really recommend your channel for people looking to learn Snooker in easy, right and one-of-a-kind Manner . 👍👍👍👍👍

Yes. If I understand timingnckrrectly, yes. You must hit the ball harder in order to get the same result on a slower cloth

Yes! All shots should feel the same to you. Top spin makes us do the correct things. But all shots should have good timing and follow through.

Thanks Barton!

Yes that's right! If you're playing side, or you don't quite hit centre ball... if your timing is off, you'll miss the pot. Thanks for watching 🙂

Hi! As I say in the video, if you could program a machine to hit the white for the example in my video, you would need to enter the speed that the cue needs to be travelling at as it hits the cue ball. Obviously then with the human body there are lots of factors that come into play. You're accelerating your arm, and then at the time of impact with the cue ball, this will then take a little bit of speed out of the cue as you're hitting 'mass' (the cue-ball), that is stationary. The cue tip is only in contact for a tiny fraction of a second, then the white has gone. The video is really there to try and give a beginner the understanding of hitting the cue-ball in the 'sweet spot' in their action. It's no good hitting the cue ball BEFORE you've reached maximum acceleration... Or JUST AFTER and then the cue is slowing down. Getting the 'timing' right, is catching the cue ball right in the fastest part of your action. One way us humans can achieve that very well, is to push right past the white. I was trying really to give people an understanding of what timing is, and not what follow through is.

Yes it may be that it is still accelerating very slightly at the point of contact that's right. So the maximum speed my cue might reach is 10.5 mph. Timing is really just catching the cue ball right at the 'sweet spot' in your own action. If you were programming a computer, you'd tell it to strike the cue ball exactly as the cue is travelling at 10 mph. Obviously because we aren't computers, and we need to make our human body deliver the cue, the maximum speed of the cue when measured in my example reached 10.6 or 10.7 mph, but in order for the 'Perfect Timing', the tip had to contact the white at exactly 10 mph. The tip is then only in contact with the white for tiny fractions of a second.

@@BartonSnooker So, it's really a combination of timing and power. In your video, if the "best" speed for a stun was actually 9mph and you intended to hit the ball at 10mph, if your timing was off and you hit at 9mph, that could actually be to your advantage?

@@jackhayden3953 no Jack. For my stun shot in the video. I need to hit the white at 10 mph. So because we are human beings (and not a machine), it may be that we hit the white at 10 mph, but then the cue is still accelerating slightly.... So maybe the peak speed of the cue is 10.7 mph. But what you're really after is the feeling of timing the shot in that "sweet spot" in your action.

I'm afraid that's very risky. The cue will travel back in time and end up in 1955 😁

Yes, the longer the final backswing, the more time you have got to then gradually build up the speed of the cue. This is important because it's easier to keep the cue online with a smoother and slower start to the acceleration. Of course, for us playing on club tables it's even more useful. Mark Allen doesn't need to worry as much because the tables he plays on are about 5x as quick!

BartonSnooker thanks for the reply! Can having a slow build up of acceleration lead to deceleration?? Love your vids mate and would love to see your analysis on some of the top professional players different cue actions and technique 👍

@@stuartbond2280 it's shouldn't lead to deceleration. Any good snooker player controls the cue in this way. Although I could understand at first why you may concentrate on starting slow and then not be up to speed properly by the time you hit the white. It's just a smooth acceleration of the cue. Takes a bit of practice you you soon get used to it.

BartonSnooker reason why I asked is because I know maguire has this type of cue action and I thought that the blue he missed when plum in against ding in the uk where it didn’t even reach the pocket may of been due to a decel not a kick or anything! I have a similar action and with ne a lot of it comes from my back hand and when I actual close the grip

kyren wilson is the most obvious acceleration ive ever seen ....you see his initial push is so slow almost like its pausing going forward then speeds up smoothly ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p2NwdewAMlg.htmlsi=PPM2USApVC_JVhya&t=401

You are not very bright, aren't you? The green area, as well as all the other areas are just to show how a cue accelerates during a shot and what is happening when a bad timed shot is made... Wait a minute, reading your comment again makes me think you are just a troll...

aboriani i’m really not trolling, we are very close to proving that timing actually means being in contact with the cue ball for an incredibly small fraction of a second more than a regular player. For example, O’Sullivan has the best timing in the world because he keeps his cue in contact with the cue ball for 0.00000....1 seconds more than anybody else on the planet. THAT is what timing is, not shooting a shot at the correct speed, although that obviously influences timing

@@rob-lk4ud That was the first thing that came to my mind when started playing the video. It's all about contact time, I agree, and there are videos about it. But, you have to agree that there is one cue velocity that can achieve that good contact with the cue ball. It's obvious that the velocity varies depending on a lot of factors. Now imagine you are developing a machine that delivers the cue, what variables would you look at? The speed and the acceleration of the cue. Those are the things you would tweak to achieve that perfect timed shot. And that is exactly what he is showing in the video, so he is not THAT wrong.

Hi John. Thanks a lot for your feedback 👍

@@BartonSnooker hi, sorry if I came across rudely, your videos have been very useful for my playing. Basically I just think there's some controversy about 'timing' was the point I'm making.

@@johnm3187 yes, I agree John. It's a hard thing to try and convey to people. Really glad the videos have helped. Thanks for watching 🙂