In
modern professional snooker, today's player's have taken
this skill to a new dimension. Gone are the days when superb
tactical players could defeat the natural potter, as today's
players pot too many balls for that strategy to work.
Today
it is simply pot balls or lose.
To
win any frame, at any level will require balls to be potted.
So how do you do it? Where do you start? What technique
should be employed? What should the eyes be doing?
In the past he great Joe Davis talked about having one final
look at the cue ball to check that he was still addressing
it dead center before commencing the last back swing.
His eyes are on the cue ball. Before he actually hits the
cue ball, he has to switch his eyes back to the object ball.
But in his book he failed to say exactly when the switch
took place.
I think this is very important. If you go along with Joe
in this, there are three points at which the eyes can make
this switch.
The
three methods above assume you are following Joe's principle
of having one last look at the cue ball before striking.
Some players do not use any of the above techniques.
They simply switch their eyes from the cue ball to the object
ball while they are lining up the shot. Some do this a lot
more than others; it is something, which comes naturally
to them. One problem with this method is that as a player
gets older, his eyes focus less quickly.
It is in fact a snag with any method, but with an adequate
pause at the back of the last back- swing, a player's eyes
have time to focus back on the object ball.
All we should be concerned with is that the cue ball is
struck correctly - in the middle - and that the eyes are
back on the spot of the object ball the cue ball is supposed
to hit. If your cue has strayed off slightly you can, of
course, stand up and begin the preparation for the shot
again.
Having taken up his position at the table, a player will
glance at the pocket into which he wants to pot a particular
ball. He should then look for the spot on the object ball
that he needs to hit for him to do so.
The
point to remember is that this is a matter of your own judgment
because if you miss the shot, having struck the cue ball
correctly and not put any side on it, your estimation has
been at fault. You have assessed the potting angle incorrectly.
Only by trial and error can the right estimate be made so
regularly, that with practice, you will automatically look
at the right spot on the object ball and pot it. This is
why practice is so important. Players will tend to recognize
the potting angle more easily for some shots than others.
Players - not just novices - should regularly practice striking
the cue ball correctly using only the cue ball. No object
ball is needed. The old method of going up and down over
the brown, blue, pink and black spots is not one I use because
a player could put a little side on the cue ball which sends
it off-line slightly going up the table, only for it to
correct itself on the way back.
I personally believe it is better to use the baulk line.
You don't even need a cue ball. A player will soon find
out whether he is cueing straight just by checking the direction
of the cue along the baulk line. The cue should be hiding
the baulk line from view as you look from above. It is surprising
how many players have difficulty doing this accurately.
Begin your waggles and then complete your imaginary shot
along the baulk line. Stay down upon completion and slowly
lift up to see whether your cue is still covering the baulk
line at the end of your shot. This will illustrate whether
you are cueing straight.
If the cue starts to go off line as it strikes the cue ball,
it means a player is coming through across the line of the
cue ball instead of straight through it. A true, straight
follow-through is essential to prevent this happening. Keep
practicing this. It sounds boring but the rewards will make
it worthwhile.
Even players who know only a little about snooker appreciate
that if you do not hit the cue ball in the center then left
or right-hand side will be applied to it. But even if the
cue ball has been struck in the center, side will still
be applied if the cue does not proceed through the cue ball
still on a straight line. This is one of the most
common faults in the game.
After
practicing both with and without a cue ball on the baulk
line, attempt some straight pots. Four reds are sufficient.
They should be placed across the table - not too far apart
- some 18 inches (45 cm) from the baulk line and parallel
to it on the center spot side.
Place
the cue ball on the baulk line and try to pot each red into
a top pocket. Make each pot dead straight so that you have
to strike the cue ball dead center and, of course, the object
ball too. If you make the pot, you know you have played
the shot correctly. But if you have missed, you must stay
down at the table. Don't get up and don't move the cue until
you have found out whether it is pointing at the middle
of the pocket you are aiming at. If it isn't, you are not
cueing straight.
Once again, the hard work starts as you practice the shot
time and time again, setting yourself the target of knocking
in all four reds in successive shots (see Figure 1). If
you can do that, you are not doing too badly.
To improve even more, the reds can be taken further back
and placed between the two center pockets (See figure 2).
The cue ball now has to travel further before arriving at
the object ball, and this is where a player discovers that
the greater the distance between cue ball and object ball,
the more difficult the shot.
Only by constant practice can a player achieve any significant
degree of consistency, for the more you progress with this
exercise, the harder it 
becomes.
Steve Davis used to place all 21 balls from one middle pocket
to the other. He used to try to knock in all 21 and I can
tell you that his record is 19. He told me his 'bottle'
went as he attempted the twentieth pot.
Steve would rather knock in those 21 balls in consecutive
shots than make a maximum. Why? By potting all 21 balls,
he, would know he was cueing absolutely correctly, and that
is the basis of his game.
When John Parrott practices the same exercise, he puts the
15 reds between the middle pockets, one on the blue spot
and seven either side of it.
Again this is good, solid practice and an excellent daily
routine to make sure your cue is not only going through
on a straight line but is also going through the cue ball.
No power
is needed.
Just
concentrate on good cueing - the foundation of the game.
