3 Important Snooker Tips For Beginners:
Snooker is a game with a steep learning curve. It is very difficult and time-consuming to even just get to the stage where we can’t determine through luck. If you’ve played snooker for many years you know how difficult it was to get into the groove, getting even a string of 2-3 pots on a 12ft table requires a lot of practice and effort.
Ignore the Pocket When You’re Down on the Table:
Too many people say that you should be flicking your eyes between the cue ball, object ball, and pocket when you’re down. Even snooker commentators state that blind pockets (shots where the pocket isn’t in your peripheral vision because it’s a thin cut) make a shot far more difficult. No, this is wrong! Yes, blind pocket shots are difficult, but not because you can’t see the pocket, it’s because it’s typically such a thin cut which gives it a lot of room for error.
You should NOT be looking at the pocket when you’re down and cueing, if you are then it is already too late and you are just guessing and hoping. What you need to do is stand back at the table before your shot and determine exactly what angle the shot is, and have a vision in your mind of exactly where you want the point of contact between the cue ball and the object ball should be PRIOR to going down onto the table. Once you’re down, aiming and feathering, all you should be focusing on is getting that cue ball to hit that point of the object ball that you’ve already predetermined. Do not let the pocket in your peripheral vision have any influence on the predetermined spot on the balls. Ignore it.
Where to Look Before Your Shot:
When striking the cue ball it is unanimously agreed that you should be looking at the object ball. Nobody really ever explained why this was the case and whenever I asked, nobody could give me a straight answer. But I now know why and I’ll share it with you.
By looking at the object ball when you strike, it pushes you towards a certain style of aiming which provides a lot more consistency. Unfortunately, most people still don’t do it and just stare at the object ball upon striking and wonder why there’s effectively no difference. The style of aiming I refer to is where you don’t incorporate your cue in the equation of your aiming. Let’s take a look at what comes into the aiming equation for many snooker players.
The Professional Break off Shot:
Breaking off isn’t terribly important if you’re a newer player. I would also argue that it’s really not that important if you’re a good player. It only really starts making a difference once you reach pro-am/professional level. Nonetheless, it’s a good habit and once you start playing with the side, you should try to break off with what we know most commonly as the professional break-off shot.
To do this, put the cue ball on the balkline to the right of the brown, with about a ball’s width of space in between. Aim for the right-most red ball, trying to hit it 1/2 ball using right-hand spin (3 o’clock). The cue ball should bounce off the back cushion at a wider than natural angle, causing the cue ball to travel between the pink and blue ball, traveling down to the balk cushion.
Final Words:
When playing a shot, many beginners get straight down onto the shot, adjust their cueing, search for the line of aim and then shoot. This is the wrong way to go about your shot approach. You have to know exactly where you want to hit the cue ball, where to hit the object ball, and what power you want to hit it at before going down and begin cueing.
3 Important Snooker Tips For Beginners
Also Read: Importance of Martial arts