You bring up a couple of really important points here. One is the pause. Almost all great snooker and pool players have some sort of a pause. Chris Melling, who I am sure everyone here is very familiar with, has a very distinct pause, much more so than most. While others have a very slight pause. For me, the pause (a short pause), is crucial to me shooting well. When I get quick from the backstroke to the forward stroke I start missing because I am NOT hitting the cue ball where I intended to hit it. Two, looking at the cue ball last or the target ball last. For me it is both and just depends on the shot. On MOST shots I look at the cue ball LAST. The cue is the only thing that hits the cue ball. So it is extremely important to hone in on what you are actually hitting. Once you have your aim, you get down on the shot with proper alignment, and you start your back swing. I feel the obvious (at least for me) thing to do is follow straight through where I intend to hit the cue ball. And for me it is best to do that by looking at the cue ball last. I totally get looking at your target ball and why some do that. But I think most players would benefit from making sure they are stroking through the cue ball EXACTLY where they intended to hit it. I get down on the shot, looking exactly on the line where I want to hit the cue ball in order to pocket the target ball. Then my eyes look at the target ball so I can feel if I am lined up correctly from the cue ball to the target ball. Then the last thing I do is look at the cue ball exactly where I want to hit it. I then start a controlled back swing, then a very slight pause, then transition to my forward swing by starting out slow for the first inch or so and then accelerating through the cue ball. This works really well for me and I have became very good at pocketing balls. Better than most. Everyone is different, but by FAR the highest percentage of top players have a pause, then accelerate through the ball. Looking at the cue ball last or the target ball last is a personal preference, but I really believe a lot of shots are missed because the player is not hitting the cue ball where they intended to hit it. Just being off by a 1/16 of an inch on the cue ball can wreck most shots. So, for me, looking at the cue ball last and making sure you hit it exactly where you intended makes the most sense.
You speak with "authority" as if you really "Know it all" . Are you a superstar player at such a level to be telling all of us more plebian folks "exactly how to do it" 😅
@@davidwright2454 did you get your little feelings hurt LITTLE GUY? My goodness. The point of my post was to reinforce what was said in the video. And, yes, I am a very good player. Probably a lot better than you, and I have a son in the Philippines that is one of the best young players in the country - which is saying a lot. By the way, should I speak like a timid little mouse - most likely the way you want everyone around you to speak to make you feel better. Go away, we have better things to do like travel the world and play pool. Comprende?
Hi Michael having watched this video some days ago. I tried it! I have watched many coaching videos and this is the best tip ever. My game has improved and I feel I am in more control of my cue ever! Thank you
When I practise in my own..i do this and pot more balls. Never realized I was doing it till you said it..but I deffo do..I will keep an eye out and bring it into my game permanently. Thank you.
I really like how he makes sure you can understand there is no right or wrong, the advice in these videos is top quality. Im a terrible player but love the game, i am an object ball player also, what helped me the most was for example if im playing backspin i focus on the bottom of the object ball as if thats the point i wish to hit with my tip
Good video and yes many top players use several methods as you described. I do exactly what you do back and forth and then my real back stroke I switch to the object ball and that pause it there and needed. I do the same thing at the top of my golf swing I have a slight pause when I’m playing my best. It relates to both games. Cheers.
was coached by eddie gills who coached hendry higgins mcguire , pause is so that you relax the muscle and tendon that is in opposition to the muscle and tendon you use to pull queue through , basically its like holding your fingers really stiff means you engage tendons on top and below the fingers , there are no muscles in the fingers just tendons , pool is same as piano in this regard to use the correct muscle and tendon you need be relaxed and learn what muscle tendon to use to generate strength and power timing etc . Good exercise is being able to have someone move your forearm while in position and relax everything the person will move your forearm back or forward then let it go , what should happen if understood is that the forearm will rock like a pendulum back to the 90 degree starting point or position , 99 percent of players when you let go there arm will stay there ie there mind is controlling using muscles and is tense …. you need to program the muscles to understand which ones you need to use and which ones must be relaxed switched off for good queing no effort max power
Looks very like a circle of death post this. I can assure you no professional players are thinking about tendons in their fingers when they play. Find something that’s comfortable and repeat. 👍
@@MichaelHoltSnookerCoaching you dont have to think about tendons i just explained the details , its simple mechanics , the pause gives time for the muscle bringing the cue back to relax so the one pulling the cue forward works without tension and generates much more power with less effort.
As my cue action developed to be consistent I gained the pause. Mine is about 1.5 seconds and in that time it’s like the final calibration for my brain, where I’m going to hit the white and how hard or soft. It forces smooth acceleration and delivery of the cue and stops me stabbing at the white as well. It just sorts my timing. I don’t consciously think about it ever now, it’s muscle memory, but I remember when I did and realised my screw shots in particular were so much better, got the cue ball moving much further.
Whether this is right or wrong it seems to work for me...mostly. I like to exhale in my pause which in turn helps me relax so I don't snatch at balls, this is especially helpful with the harder shots because I can tell myself not to 'hit' the ball, but stroke it to make sure I get a consistent strike. Good advice as always sir 👌🏻
I'm object ball focused on close and medium shots and cue ball focused on long ones. I like to look at the contact point and decide my speed on a scale from 1 to 10. Honestly though it's an exorcize in intention. When I'm wishy-washy about my shot that's often when I miss. Of course some shots are just extremely difficult, there's always that.
This is interesting, i've only ever looked at the white ball at the point of contact. Never even realised that people might be looking at the object ball instead, i'll definitely be experimenting with it in practise!
Pause is probably the most misunderstood concept in the game. A pause is not a "stop", it is just a change of direction. You can't emulate it. It comes naturally to all of us provided the stance is balanced and stable leaving the cueing arm free to do what it likes. The point of the pause is not for your eyes to settle on the object ball. It is to enable a good accelerating cue action. People who don't like to pause have an imbalanced stance. When the balance is right, its natural to have a pause. I have looked hard for an explanation of this pause and haven't found anything that makes sense. So here goes: Definition of a swing : The speed of the cue should increase in the following fashion -> 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128......km/h (or m/s or whatever unit) Definition of a backswing : The speed should reduce in the following fashion -> 8, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125.....etc Law : A swing cant truly be a swing unless it had 2 pauses -> one at the beginning and one at the end. So, if the goal is to have a forward swing then the forward swing must have 2 pauses -> one at the back (backpause) and one at the front (end of the stroke). Now the question arises, where did the backpause come from? The backpause is ending part of another swing called the backswing. So, if you want a back pause, your backswing needs to be a "swing". If your backswing needs to be a "swing" then it too must have 2 pauses - one at the end (backpause) and one at the beginning (front pause). This front pause comes from the ending of feathers. So the following is the sequence for the perfect cue action : Feathers -> Front Pause -> Backswing -> Backpause -> Forward Swing ->End pause. If the is no front pause, your backswing will not be a swing. If your backswing is not a swing then your backpause is not really a pause. if you dont have a backpause then your forward delivery is not a swing (lack of cue power). Conclusion : 1. The stance must be balanced so that the arm can pause naturally. 2. If you achieve a proper front pause, the rest of the sequence will take care of itself. As far as which ball to look at when - this is a rabbit hole. Just let your eyes do what they feel like. Sometimes they look at the object ball, sometimes cue ball, sometimes somewhere is between and sometimes nowhere and the whole thing is in the peripheral vision. It all depends on the kind of shot you are playing. Do not try to control your eyes.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but your comment is pretty much the thing that Michael Holt says is the over complicating of technique of snooker coaches on the web. Yes, you’ve got to make a controlled forward motion, and find a way to do that, either with a long pause or a quick pause (Ronnie O Sullivan has a fluid motion where it’s hard to distinguish a pause, and he’s not too bad). About the eyes thing, I agree, whatever feels natural and as long as you are in the right line, it will work.
hi, how to hold the grip on line of aim? while standing should the grip hand be already on line of aim above the right leg? seems that as i am getting down and my body turns my grip hand goes offline ??? tnx
Practice getting your cue action right at home, then you aren't distracted by balls and aiming. Just make sure your "table hand" is 32" off the ground, so muscle memory will build correctly. Most dining tables are only 30". A use for the wife's cookery books at last!
I prefer not to pause, just try and keep it smooth. Every time I add a pause, my arm wont go straight forward. So many great players have almost no pause, so I've never liked commentators saying a long pause is good. I do the last two feathers looking at the object ball, so that gives me time to fix my eyes on the potting point.
frank callan was great advocate of pause.but if you look at steve davis one of his first students,he started with a shorter pause which became longer and then shorter again.i believe he won 3 world championships then had a couple years off then won 3 more probably playing his best
Ghost ball middle, yeah you're aiming at air, I find it helpful to locate the spot on the felt where the ghost ball would be sitting and aim at that. Unless of course you're putting side on it. Then it just takes repetition and becoming "familiar" with where to aim.
when i was a kid, i bought steve davis' book, and he says you need to look at the object ball. i just couldnt get the hang of this. so i went back to being an cue ball player, but thinking id never improve because i couldnt do that, as all pro's must do it. then recently on stephen hendry's channel, he says he's a cue ball player. so a 7 time world champion must be doing something right
I find when I play and some of the old boys in my club have told me I naturally pause but not on the backswing, I pause when I finish my feathers then strike the cue ball. Dunno if I should change it…
Hi Michael, I think your idea of deliberately focusing your eyes on the contact area of the object ball while in the final back pause position is excellent. This helps to keep your eyes looking along the line of aim as you deliver the cue and prolongs the pause time. Some players start focusing on the contact area of the object ball before they begin the final backswing; others watch their cue during the initial phase of the backswing. I've been experimenting with both methods to find which one suits me best.
I can’t imagine looking at the cue ball. That’s like looking at a basketball during a shot instead of the basket, sort of. In golf, one looks real hard at the hole, but ultimately concentrates on the golf ball. I look back and forth between the object ball and the cue, but I always try to make sure that I’m hitting the cue ball were I need to. I’ll be thinking on this. Thank You sir.
Your analogy about looking at the basketball during a shot instead of the basket doesn't make sense. Your hands, your arms, are not hitting the basket. Only the ball hits the basket. With golf, baseball, or tennis (and other sports like this) what you are holding in your hand hits the ball. And you are taught to look at that ball until contact. The same applies for many that hit the cue ball. The cue stick does not hit the target ball. The cue stick hits the cue ball. So I find in sorta strange you say you "can't imagine looking at the cue ball." Whether you do or not is not the issue. The issue is that you say you can't imagine looking at the only ball you actually hit with the cue - the cue ball. If you do not hit the cue ball exactly where you intended when you get down on the shot, then there is a very good chance you are going to miss the shot. Years a go I saw a video (wish I could find it) and it showed where players intended to hit the cue ball. Then the cue tip was marked with a special chalk that easily stuck to the cue ball so you could see where the player really hit the ball. In many cases, with average players, they were not hitting the cue ball where they intended and THOUGHT they were going to hit it. By taking their eye off the spot on the cue ball they intended to hit they lost aim somewhere on the back swing to the forward swing. It only takes being off a bit to miss even an easy shot. So while some players look at the target ball last, some look at the cue ball last, and some do both depending on the shot - I think most players would pocket more balls if they looked at the cue ball last and made sure they were stroking through the cue ball where they actually intended to hit it.
I always felt the pause, for me, was easier if you kept your eyes on the white ball striking point as you drew the cue stick back and then you would automatically pause as your eyes switched from cue ball to object ball point. Now I just look at the white ball l find l don't have a pause, have more power on my screw backs, stretch reflex probably and my accuracy is as below average as it ever was haha.
So…Look at white ball or cue during backswing, then switch eyes to object ball during pause, then smoothly accelerate through the ball, starting slowly and finish with a positive punch, trying to accelerate through the ball, to maximise the amount of time the tip is in contact with the cue ball….This is how I teach.
I play so much better with a pause but do find it difficult to do. I will try this out and hopefully find it easier by pausing while concentrating on the object ball
Always looking at the object ball last ,if your cueing straight you won’t need to look at the cue ball last , that’s a bit like driving and looking at the steering wheel .i reckon .Hendry said recently that he looks at the cue ball last ,he’s either forgot what he did or he’s just trying to be edgy ,look at videos of Hendry in his prime ,eyes wide open staring at the object ball on impact
It's weird that different players can look at totally different balls when feathering! I've always been cue ball.. can't look at the OB for the life of me! I've never had a problem with the pause though. A mate once said I resemble Stephen Lee's ... which was nice. The guys full of shit though. John Higgins has a very good technique where he looks at the CB on the BS, and the OB on the FS.
Hi Michael, Right, I am one of the people who look at The Cue ball,, With a Pause a second after the LOOK at the spot I wish to hit. Seems to work,, you are very similar but that time on the Object ball,, is My time on the Cue ball.. Hmmmm , Same difference.. eh.
The Pause has helped my game immensely.........Learn it, know it, live it and use it folks!!!
You bring up a couple of really important points here. One is the pause. Almost all great snooker and pool players have some sort of a pause. Chris Melling, who I am sure everyone here is very familiar with, has a very distinct pause, much more so than most. While others have a very slight pause. For me, the pause (a short pause), is crucial to me shooting well. When I get quick from the backstroke to the forward stroke I start missing because I am NOT hitting the cue ball where I intended to hit it.
Two, looking at the cue ball last or the target ball last. For me it is both and just depends on the shot. On MOST shots I look at the cue ball LAST. The cue is the only thing that hits the cue ball. So it is extremely important to hone in on what you are actually hitting. Once you have your aim, you get down on the shot with proper alignment, and you start your back swing. I feel the obvious (at least for me) thing to do is follow straight through where I intend to hit the cue ball. And for me it is best to do that by looking at the cue ball last.
I totally get looking at your target ball and why some do that. But I think most players would benefit from making sure they are stroking through the cue ball EXACTLY where they intended to hit it. I get down on the shot, looking exactly on the line where I want to hit the cue ball in order to pocket the target ball. Then my eyes look at the target ball so I can feel if I am lined up correctly from the cue ball to the target ball.
Then the last thing I do is look at the cue ball exactly where I want to hit it. I then start a controlled back swing, then a very slight pause, then transition to my forward swing by starting out slow for the first inch or so and then accelerating through the cue ball. This works really well for me and I have became very good at pocketing balls. Better than most.
Everyone is different, but by FAR the highest percentage of top players have a pause, then accelerate through the ball. Looking at the cue ball last or the target ball last is a personal preference, but I really believe a lot of shots are missed because the player is not hitting the cue ball where they intended to hit it. Just being off by a 1/16 of an inch on the cue ball can wreck most shots. So, for me, looking at the cue ball last and making sure you hit it exactly where you intended makes the most sense.
Thanks bud. I will try this more purposefully.
You speak with "authority" as if you really "Know it all" . Are you a superstar player at such a level to be telling all of us more plebian folks "exactly how to do it" 😅
@@davidwright2454 did you get your little feelings hurt LITTLE GUY? My goodness. The point of my post was to reinforce what was said in the video. And, yes, I am a very good player. Probably a lot better than you, and I have a son in the Philippines that is one of the best young players in the country - which is saying a lot. By the way, should I speak like a timid little mouse - most likely the way you want everyone around you to speak to make you feel better. Go away, we have better things to do like travel the world and play pool. Comprende?
Hi Michael having watched this video some days ago. I tried it!
I have watched many coaching videos and this is the best tip ever.
My game has improved and I feel I am in more control of my cue ever!
Thank you
Hello.
My pleasure. Keep going! 👍
When I practise in my own..i do this and pot more balls. Never realized I was doing it till you said it..but I deffo do..I will keep an eye out and bring it into my game permanently. Thank you.
Great advice this , the feel and the repetitive flow is what it's all about
Excellent,superb,fantastc vídeo.Thanks my brother.
I really like how he makes sure you can understand there is no right or wrong, the advice in these videos is top quality. Im a terrible player but love the game, i am an object ball player also, what helped me the most was for example if im playing backspin i focus on the bottom of the object ball as if thats the point i wish to hit with my tip
Good video and yes many top players use several methods as you described. I do exactly what you do back and forth and then my real back stroke I switch to the object ball and that pause it there and needed. I do the same thing at the top of my golf swing I have a slight pause when I’m playing my best. It relates to both games. Cheers.
was coached by eddie gills who coached hendry higgins mcguire , pause is so that you relax the muscle and tendon that is in opposition to the muscle and tendon you use to pull queue through , basically its like holding your fingers really stiff means you engage tendons on top and below the fingers , there are no muscles in the fingers just tendons , pool is same as piano in this regard to use the correct muscle and tendon you need be relaxed and learn what muscle tendon to use to generate strength and power timing etc . Good exercise is being able to have someone move your forearm while in position and relax everything the person will move your forearm back or forward then let it go , what should happen if understood is that the forearm will rock like a pendulum back to the 90 degree starting point or position , 99 percent of players when you let go there arm will stay there ie there mind is controlling using muscles and is tense …. you need to program the muscles to understand which ones you need to use and which ones must be relaxed switched off for good queing no effort max power
Looks very like a circle of death post this.
I can assure you no professional players are thinking about tendons in their fingers when they play.
Find something that’s comfortable and repeat. 👍
@@MichaelHoltSnookerCoaching you dont have to think about tendons i just explained the details , its simple mechanics , the pause gives time for the muscle bringing the cue back to relax so the one pulling the cue forward works without tension and generates much more power with less effort.
As my cue action developed to be consistent I gained the pause. Mine is about 1.5 seconds and in that time it’s like the final calibration for my brain, where I’m going to hit the white and how hard or soft. It forces smooth acceleration and delivery of the cue and stops me stabbing at the white as well. It just sorts my timing. I don’t consciously think about it ever now, it’s muscle memory, but I remember when I did and realised my screw shots in particular were so much better, got the cue ball moving much further.
Whether this is right or wrong it seems to work for me...mostly.
I like to exhale in my pause which in turn helps me relax so I don't snatch at balls, this is especially helpful with the harder shots because I can tell myself not to 'hit' the ball, but stroke it to make sure I get a consistent strike.
Good advice as always sir 👌🏻
Will try the exhale ,,, I know Senna held his breathe allegedly on his warm up lap !
@highwaytohelles4561 that's exactly what I do and why
I'm object ball focused on close and medium shots and cue ball focused on long ones. I like to look at the contact point and decide my speed on a scale from 1 to 10.
Honestly though it's an exorcize in intention. When I'm wishy-washy about my shot that's often when I miss. Of course some shots are just extremely difficult, there's always that.
This is interesting, i've only ever looked at the white ball at the point of contact. Never even realised that people might be looking at the object ball instead, i'll definitely be experimenting with it in practise!
Great tip Mike thanks bud. I might try this one.
Pause is probably the most misunderstood concept in the game. A pause is not a "stop", it is just a change of direction. You can't emulate it. It comes naturally to all of us provided the stance is balanced and stable leaving the cueing arm free to do what it likes.
The point of the pause is not for your eyes to settle on the object ball. It is to enable a good accelerating cue action.
People who don't like to pause have an imbalanced stance. When the balance is right, its natural to have a pause.
I have looked hard for an explanation of this pause and haven't found anything that makes sense. So here goes:
Definition of a swing : The speed of the cue should increase in the following fashion -> 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128......km/h (or m/s or whatever unit)
Definition of a backswing : The speed should reduce in the following fashion -> 8, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125.....etc
Law : A swing cant truly be a swing unless it had 2 pauses -> one at the beginning and one at the end.
So, if the goal is to have a forward swing then the forward swing must have 2 pauses -> one at the back (backpause) and one at the front (end of the stroke).
Now the question arises, where did the backpause come from?
The backpause is ending part of another swing called the backswing. So, if you want a back pause, your backswing needs to be a "swing".
If your backswing needs to be a "swing" then it too must have 2 pauses - one at the end (backpause) and one at the beginning (front pause).
This front pause comes from the ending of feathers.
So the following is the sequence for the perfect cue action :
Feathers -> Front Pause -> Backswing -> Backpause -> Forward Swing ->End pause.
If the is no front pause, your backswing will not be a swing.
If your backswing is not a swing then your backpause is not really a pause.
if you dont have a backpause then your forward delivery is not a swing (lack of cue power).
Conclusion :
1. The stance must be balanced so that the arm can pause naturally.
2. If you achieve a proper front pause, the rest of the sequence will take care of itself.
As far as which ball to look at when - this is a rabbit hole.
Just let your eyes do what they feel like. Sometimes they look at the object ball, sometimes cue ball, sometimes somewhere is between and sometimes nowhere and the whole thing is in the peripheral vision. It all depends on the kind of shot you are playing. Do not try to control your eyes.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but your comment is pretty much the thing that Michael Holt says is the over complicating of technique of snooker coaches on the web. Yes, you’ve got to make a controlled forward motion, and find a way to do that, either with a long pause or a quick pause (Ronnie O Sullivan has a fluid motion where it’s hard to distinguish a pause, and he’s not too bad).
About the eyes thing, I agree, whatever feels natural and as long as you are in the right line, it will work.
Why are bears good at snooker? Cause of their big pause
555.... #5 in Thai language is pronounced "ha" .... ergo, we text 55 say "ha, ha" 😊
hi, how to hold the grip on line of aim? while standing should the grip hand be already on line of aim above the right leg? seems that as i am getting down and my body turns my grip hand goes offline ???
tnx
draw back the bow!!! it is pure magic...changes your game unbelievably...
Love the videos
Great advice Michael thank you
My pleasure. 👍
Practice getting your cue action right at home, then you aren't distracted by balls and aiming. Just make sure your "table hand" is 32" off the ground, so muscle memory will build correctly. Most dining tables are only 30". A use for the wife's cookery books at last!
I prefer not to pause, just try and keep it smooth. Every time I add a pause, my arm wont go straight forward. So many great players have almost no pause, so I've never liked commentators saying a long pause is good. I do the last two feathers looking at the object ball, so that gives me time to fix my eyes on the potting point.
frank callan was great advocate of pause.but if you look at steve davis one of his first students,he started with a shorter pause which became longer and then shorter again.i believe he won 3 world championships then had a couple years off then won 3 more probably playing his best
What do you visualise if youre cutting more than half ball Michael? (So youre aiming at air essentially)
😂 why air?
Aiming at the contact point
Ghost ball middle, yeah you're aiming at air, I find it helpful to locate the spot on the felt where the ghost ball would be sitting and aim at that.
Unless of course you're putting side on it. Then it just takes repetition and becoming "familiar" with where to aim.
Class as always ☑️
when i was a kid, i bought steve davis' book, and he says you need to look at the object ball. i just couldnt get the hang of this. so i went back to being an cue ball player, but thinking id never improve because i couldnt do that, as all pro's must do it. then recently on stephen hendry's channel, he says he's a cue ball player. so a 7 time world champion must be doing something right
Helpful, thanks
Make vídeo about STAY STILL after of stroke.Thanks
I find when I play and some of the old boys in my club have told me I naturally pause but not on the backswing, I pause when I finish my feathers then strike the cue ball. Dunno if I should change it…
I know this is a snooker channel, but what do you think of Chris Melling's cue action? Greeting.
i cant pot anything with such a long and slow backswing!
É exatamente como penso e busco executar! Muito bom saber que estou no caminho certo.
You are. Keep going. 👍
Hi Michael, I think your idea of deliberately focusing your eyes on the contact area of the object ball while in the final back pause position is excellent. This helps to keep your eyes looking along the line of aim as you deliver the cue and prolongs the pause time. Some players start focusing on the contact area of the object ball before they begin the final backswing; others watch their cue during the initial phase of the backswing. I've been experimenting with both methods to find which one suits me best.
I can’t imagine looking at the cue ball. That’s like looking at a basketball during a shot instead of the basket, sort of. In golf, one looks real hard at the hole, but ultimately concentrates on the golf ball. I look back and forth between the object ball and the cue, but I always try to make sure that I’m hitting the cue ball were I need to. I’ll be thinking on this. Thank You sir.
Your analogy about looking at the basketball during a shot instead of the basket doesn't make sense. Your hands, your arms, are not hitting the basket. Only the ball hits the basket. With golf, baseball, or tennis (and other sports like this) what you are holding in your hand hits the ball. And you are taught to look at that ball until contact. The same applies for many that hit the cue ball. The cue stick does not hit the target ball. The cue stick hits the cue ball. So I find in sorta strange you say you "can't imagine looking at the cue ball."
Whether you do or not is not the issue. The issue is that you say you can't imagine looking at the only ball you actually hit with the cue - the cue ball. If you do not hit the cue ball exactly where you intended when you get down on the shot, then there is a very good chance you are going to miss the shot.
Years a go I saw a video (wish I could find it) and it showed where players intended to hit the cue ball. Then the cue tip was marked with a special chalk that easily stuck to the cue ball so you could see where the player really hit the ball. In many cases, with average players, they were not hitting the cue ball where they intended and THOUGHT they were going to hit it. By taking their eye off the spot on the cue ball they intended to hit they lost aim somewhere on the back swing to the forward swing.
It only takes being off a bit to miss even an easy shot. So while some players look at the target ball last, some look at the cue ball last, and some do both depending on the shot - I think most players would pocket more balls if they looked at the cue ball last and made sure they were stroking through the cue ball where they actually intended to hit it.
@@LetsTravelOurWorld I meant to say that I can’t imagine looking at the object ball. I wrote it wrong.
I always felt the pause, for me, was easier if you kept your eyes on the white ball striking point as you drew the cue stick back and then you would automatically pause as your eyes switched from cue ball to object ball point. Now I just look at the white ball l find l don't have a pause, have more power on my screw backs, stretch reflex probably and my accuracy is as below average as it ever was haha.
Same here, the pause ruins my timing, as it makes me think about the shot too much.
Preach!
So…Look at white ball or cue during backswing, then switch eyes to object ball during pause, then smoothly accelerate through the ball, starting slowly and finish with a positive punch, trying to accelerate through the ball, to maximise the amount of time the tip is in contact with the cue ball….This is how I teach.
I play so much better with a pause but do find it difficult to do. I will try this out and hopefully find it easier by pausing while concentrating on the object ball
Mark Selby has the best pause
I always hold my breath on the pause and during that final concentration phase. Am I weird or does everyone do that?
One pause i dont mind but the double pause some players use looks horrendous.
Guaranteed to destroy anyones cue action!
Always looking at the object ball last ,if your cueing straight you won’t need to look at the cue ball last , that’s a bit like driving and looking at the steering wheel .i reckon .Hendry said recently that he looks at the cue ball last ,he’s either forgot what he did or he’s just trying to be edgy ,look at videos of Hendry in his prime ,eyes wide open staring at the object ball on impact
I paused this video, now stuck..
It's weird that different players can look at totally different balls when feathering! I've always been cue ball.. can't look at the OB for the life of me! I've never had a problem with the pause though. A mate once said I resemble Stephen Lee's ... which was nice. The guys full of shit though.
John Higgins has a very good technique where he looks at the CB on the BS, and the OB on the FS.
Hi Michael,
Right, I am one of the people who look at The Cue ball,, With a Pause a second after the LOOK at the spot I wish to hit.
Seems to work,, you are very similar but that time on the Object ball,, is My time on the Cue ball..
Hmmmm , Same difference.. eh.
Unless these exhales of breath are natural,..
(You dont realise you're doing it)..
Another added distraction I think guys.?.