Up and Down the Spots

Elsewhere within the site I have illustrated the importance of straight cueing - the basic foundation for successful snooker.

A useful routine to test your cueing can be undertaken before any of the balls are placed on the table. Simply line yourself up along the baulk line situated at the bottom of the table, begin your waggles (preliminary address) and then push the cue through as though a shot had been played. Should the cue completely cover the baulk line at the finish of the shot then you are cueing straight.

Another exercise which can test the straightness of an individual's cueing can be completed using just the cue ball. Place the white on the brown spot and then proceed to hit the cue ball over the blue, pink and black spots with enough pace to bring the white back down the table to the baulk area.

If you have played he shot with straight cueing, then the white should return back down the table off the top cushion, over the black, pink and blue spot, until it reaches the brown spot. Should side have been imparted onto the cue ball then the white will not return over the spots but will deviate, consistent with the side that has inadvertenly been applied.

The tendency at first, is to play the shot slowly. Played at medium pace or below the shot will often come back close to the spots. As you increase the pace of the shot however, you will notice that the cue ball deviates further and further from its intended path on its return from the top cushion.

This clearly illustrates, that the harder you strike the cue ball - the harder it is to guarantee straight cueing.

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