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This advice is Gold. I went to see Steve recently for some help. Experienced player but stuck for months on 50 to 60 breaks. Struggling with stupidity and all the fundamental elements doing my head in what Steve speaks about in this video. Elements that I should no longer even be thinking of. Most of what Steve spoke about in this video was me, but finnaly no longer. I just needed 1 lesson with him and he has given me major confidence in my game, no more lessons needed. What a stand up coach. I've been to 2 prior coaches who tried to make me start from the beggining (madness) In comparison I would highly recommend him for all levels of players, from new to more experienced. He keeps it simple and develops your game and does not try to plaster his game on to yours. This is very rare in Snooker Coaching today. Great guy and great content as usual.
Keeping it simple should be your tagline, you explain in a totally relatable and easily digestible fashion every time - and here's another great video to prove it!
Thank you for this reminder!!! I'm here in Columbus, Georgia, USA, practicing on my home table. No coaching available here, so I rely heavily on your videos and a few others! I felt you were talking directly to me on this video. I'd get so wrapped up in all the details, I'd neglect to pot the ball!! Again, thank you, for ALL the coaching videos, and , please keep them coming!!! Regards, John Henry
As usual a great help for my game, I’m 70 years old and played league snooker for more than 30 years. Barton Snooker is helping me be a better all round player, many thanks.
Hi Steve its just under two month's since i came to see you for coaching.i have cleared the colours over 10 times now! getting regular 20 _30 breaks also . I'll be back when i reach my first 50.thank you so much for your help Barry
Thank you again Steve for such wonderful lesson! Just want to request if possible to make a video also how to shape a tip. Quality and behavior of different tips and chalks and even tip size! Tnx again 🙏
Excellent video! You’ve described me exactly - overthinking everything. My form is beautiful… my cueing is outstanding… my attitude is positive… and invariably I miss the pot! OUCH!! I’ll need to rethink what the priority is - or maybe not think at all. The one good thing I can take away from missing the pot is that my cue ball is ending up where I had planned for it to get to… maybe someday I’ll get it all together 🤞
I agree :) I'm learning from TH-cam (mostly from you) but had some coaching too. With careful cueing, stance / cue action I am still missing almost just as many balls as before I started to learn this game. I can spend all day on cueing a shot perfectly, but if I'm on the wrong line, the ball is not going in. When you spend all your time on the details, your brain forgets the connection between the line you chose up and the shot, and the result - you are not learning anything, but instead you associate the result with the details. Angle information is critical to learning as a beginner, and more important than stance, feet, grip, bridge, elbow or anything. I believe that I learn more about angles playing quicker and with less care, so I practice this way. There is of course a limit to how fast you can play before you start missing because of sloppy cueing / lineup. I also still practice slowly to get everything as perfect as possible, but this is not the same as learning the angles, where I think you need a short time between choice of angle, execution and the result, for your brain to register them together and learn something.
Great tips, i always thought the same of potting the ball as the number one thing first, but the things that matter are having a smooth back swing and a firm bridge hand and head not moving and keeping your eyes on the object ball of where to hit it with the pocket, i practice on my 8ft table and have made many high breaks , though we are all different at how we pot balls its the basics that you said are the key to being a great player.
The basics really have nothing to do with it if your getting down on the line correctly. After that you could be standing like a Flamingo the key is to deliver the cue on the line which is correct. Basics should not have no time in your mind after you become experienced. Thinking of basics will cripple you and ruine your confidence.
Great video Steve. Your analysis on a player over focusing on stance or technique over potting the ball is very true. Players such as Mark Selby who's head moves constantly as he is hitting the cue ball and Judd Trump who aims his cue either to the left side or to the right side of the cue ball and only brings his cue towards the centre as he is striking the cue ball, these are some examples of where a player has some technique issue personal to them yet dosen't hold them back from becoming a top player. Wonderful video Steve.
Must be a coincidence this Steve. Because the manager of the club where I play at has been observing my game in both practice and in tournaments and noticed that in practice I thought less about technique and just potted the balls whilst still having a half decent technique. But in tournament play noticing that I become too robotic and too consciously aware of trying to tick box whether I’m doing everything neat and tidy. This ivideo is spot on with me I think on why I m stuck on a certain level because too much overthinking in tournament play is holding me back. Would be interesting for you to do a follow up video on what the solution/s could be for that! If there is one of course.
This has always been my problem, at some point I start think about all these technical things (e.g. whether my left foot is well placed, whether I am low enough, whether my grip is too tight, how to deliver the follow through, sighting, etc.) and forget to actually pot the ball. I tend to be a lot more fluent when I forget about all that and just play the shots in front of me. That said, from technical perspective, my biggest issue is the so-called 'smooth delivery' of the cue when I have to play power shots or shots that I think could be missed. If I attempt to gradually build the speed of the cue, I tend to decelerate on the shot - or at least it feels that way. I know you have covered this topic partly in previous videos, but can you make a particular video about that - not the follow through, but the cue action from the final backswing until contact between the tip and the cue ball is made?
Technicalities should be practiced one or two at a time, during your practice session so that when you actually come to playing a match, you don't need to think about it at all, it will become 'the way' you play your game. That gives you a free mind to plan your strategy for the shot, which boils down to cue ball control and safety considerations (even this amount of thought can put off even the best). That's in the ideal world, but thoughts will pop up, questions and doubts. So an important part of practice sessions is mind discipline. Learning a respectful and attentive relationship with your mind so it can know when to be quiet and happily, without arguments, allow you to focus. :)
Great advice. I know that I do this but it's very difficult to get down on the shot and not think about all of these things instead of the 2 most important things, am I going to pot the ball and where is the white going to end up?
Great video Steve, flow and tempo are just as important as technique. Check out some videos of Cliff Wilson playing on TH-cam, not the greatest technician but a great player.
Absolutely this. Over the past four years I've tinkered with - at various times - my grip, my bridge length, my pause, my cueing position under chin vs eye, my eyesight, my looking at object ball vs cue ball, my left foot, my cue length (that one actually helped), you name it. And basically every "step forward" is "two steps back initially" while you're tinkering and thinking, so if an aspect of your game is say 70% okay already, maybe leave it alone and concentrate on potting some balls. Self-consciousness can be your biggest enemy - you've only got a split second to coordinate all this stuff!
Could you explain if possible ding junhui cue action? And the way he staggers his cue going through to the ball..it's strange iv never seen it before..great video by the way 👍
Have you done a video, or have any advice on technique , when your hand at the rear of the cue is interfering with the cushion , when stretching ? Hope that makes sense
Very good. Actually guessed this would be the topic. I’ve helped beginners with the basics and they can develop a ‘must please the coach’ complex and almost abandon all the strengths they actually do have in order to reflect they are leaning so ‘not to disappoint’. 😂
Hi Steve i have a request if i can when you show on the object ball where to hit in stead of doing that can you also do a shaded ball say for instance if it’s a quarter ball can you shade that part of the ball plus the impact dot as well it will be much appreciated if you can many thanks Alex.
Steve, Thanks for all the video lessons, I watch religiously and they really have improved my game. The question I have is when I watch the pros, the cue ball control, especially around the black is precise. What I don't get is that they are playing on a table that is significantly faster than any club table I would be playing on but, they are able to make an angled shot and roll the cue ball 6, 12 or 18 inches for shape. No matter how soft I try to hit the cue ball I still am unable to get that roll. What am I not doing?
in my case its always the same, the more i start to think about all those points the worse i get. Most of the time it's just about having fun and trust in your aim.
I really want to have a few sessions with you Steve but, unfortunately im far away. I have been watching your great videos for last three years. I used to play much better 3 years ago and now i cant even make a 50 break. I have an issue of twisting my wrest while delivering the cue and cant get rid of it. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks
I am very left eye dominant and right handed. When I walk in I literally place my right foot in front left foot (then move my left foot) and then everything works. But when I’m over the shot it doesn’t look right even though they’re going in. Eventually I guess my brain will recognise what is correct
This was exactly my problem. I started trying to play 2 months ago and was getting very frustrated with my practices. I spent about 6 weeks practicing 2-3 times a week and still could barely cue straight. I was doing exactly as you describe and had too much in my head. I almost packed it in. Then I was on holiday and had a 3 week gap and when I went back I played a friendly game with someone and actually made some decent shots, and felt like some of that practice had actually been worth it.
I’m at a point in my game where I feel “done” with working on technical stuff. I’ll never be perfect but you don’t get points or win frames just because you have the perfect stance or you have mastered this or that - what matters is what you said here - pot the ball! It’s the last thing I say to myself, unless it’s a safety. Visualising the shot in its entirety helps - the more you do it the easier it gets and it also happens quicker, some type of psychological muscle memory or summink? 🤷♂️ I see quite a few guys at the club who appear to be having an entirely miserable time! It’s a *game* and it rewards those who treat it as such.
My problem is that I can't get the correct angle in the first place. Doesn't matter about cue control, foot position, head still, feathering etc etc. If the angle is wrong in the first place the ball ain't going in! How do I get these angles right?
To make it simple - First look at where you want to strike on the cue ball, Then eyes on the object ball to identify exactly where you want to hit the object ball, Then deliver the cue straight in the line you've sighted, that's it! They go in! All the other myths are good to know but not practical on every shot. A good example is Alex Higgins, his cue action was shit, yet one of the best potters of the game! All he did was what I explained above. Good luck!
Another problem I have. Switching off the brain is hard. My fundamentals are good and I can pot and all those good things, but my brain beats all of that good stuff into submission by thinking too much, in matches especially. It seems from this video that I need to trust it being right from hard work, and just play the shots. I practice 10 straight shots with my eyes closed as a test of cueing about once a week, and I never miss because I'm not worrying or thinking, I'm just doing it. Maybe I should play in the dark haha
This advice is Gold.
I went to see Steve recently for some help. Experienced player but stuck for months on 50 to 60 breaks. Struggling with stupidity and all the fundamental elements doing my head in what Steve speaks about in this video. Elements that I should no longer even be thinking of.
Most of what Steve spoke about in this video was me, but finnaly no longer. I just needed 1 lesson with him and he has given me major confidence in my game, no more lessons needed. What a stand up coach. I've been to 2 prior coaches who tried to make me start from the beggining (madness) In comparison I would highly recommend him for all levels of players, from new to more experienced.
He keeps it simple and develops your game and does not try to plaster his game on to yours. This is very rare in Snooker Coaching today. Great guy and great content as usual.
In sport psychology this is known as "Paralysis by Analysis".
Gary player first coined the phrase I believe
Keeping it simple should be your tagline, you explain in a totally relatable and easily digestible fashion every time - and here's another great video to prove it!
100% just described me 😂. Been working too hard on everything being perfect and it's made me go backwards.
Thank you for this reminder!!!
I'm here in Columbus, Georgia, USA, practicing on my home table.
No coaching available here, so I rely heavily on your videos and a few others!
I felt you were talking directly to me on this video. I'd get so wrapped up in all the details, I'd neglect to pot the ball!!
Again, thank you, for ALL the coaching videos, and , please keep them coming!!!
Regards,
John Henry
As usual a great help for my game, I’m 70 years old and played league snooker for more than 30 years. Barton Snooker is helping me be a better all round player, many thanks.
Thanks for the comment. Great to help 😃
Hi Steve its just under two month's since i came to see you for coaching.i have cleared the colours over 10 times now! getting regular 20 _30 breaks also . I'll be back when i reach my first 50.thank you so much for your help Barry
Awesome to hear Barry! Keep it up 😃
Just had the exact same thing running in my mind and you're posting this video 🔥
Thank you again Steve for such wonderful lesson!
Just want to request if possible to make a video also how to shape a tip. Quality and behavior of different tips and chalks and even tip size!
Tnx again 🙏
Excellent video! You’ve described me exactly - overthinking everything. My form is beautiful… my cueing is outstanding… my attitude is positive… and invariably I miss the pot! OUCH!! I’ll need to rethink what the priority is - or maybe not think at all. The one good thing I can take away from missing the pot is that my cue ball is ending up where I had planned for it to get to… maybe someday I’ll get it all together 🤞
Excellent tips...I always "try too hard" and struggle this approach is fantastic
I agree :) I'm learning from TH-cam (mostly from you) but had some coaching too. With careful cueing, stance / cue action I am still missing almost just as many balls as before I started to learn this game. I can spend all day on cueing a shot perfectly, but if I'm on the wrong line, the ball is not going in. When you spend all your time on the details, your brain forgets the connection between the line you chose up and the shot, and the result - you are not learning anything, but instead you associate the result with the details. Angle information is critical to learning as a beginner, and more important than stance, feet, grip, bridge, elbow or anything. I believe that I learn more about angles playing quicker and with less care, so I practice this way. There is of course a limit to how fast you can play before you start missing because of sloppy cueing / lineup. I also still practice slowly to get everything as perfect as possible, but this is not the same as learning the angles, where I think you need a short time between choice of angle, execution and the result, for your brain to register them together and learn something.
Yeah i tend to think of those too much, great video mate.
Love it! Thanks Steve!! 👍👍😉👋
Once again another top class video Steve! And I'm hoping all is well with you my friend!😊
Great video for people starting to learn the game and older people who can touch up on this element of the game
Great tips, i always thought the same of potting the ball as the number one thing first, but the things that matter are having a smooth back swing and a firm bridge hand and head not moving and keeping your eyes on the object ball of where to hit it with the pocket, i practice on my 8ft table and have made many high breaks , though we are all different at how we pot balls its the basics that you said are the key to being a great player.
The basics really have nothing to do with it if your getting down on the line correctly. After that you could be standing like a Flamingo the key is to deliver the cue on the line which is correct. Basics should not have no time in your mind after you become experienced. Thinking of basics will cripple you and ruine your confidence.
Great video Steve. Your analysis on a player over focusing on stance or technique over potting the ball is very true. Players such as Mark Selby who's head moves constantly as he is hitting the cue ball and Judd Trump who aims his cue either to the left side or to the right side of the cue ball and only brings his cue towards the centre as he is striking the cue ball, these are some examples of where a player has some technique issue personal to them yet dosen't hold them back from becoming a top player. Wonderful video Steve.
Exactly this is what I was doing thinking about everything but not the actual pot and my delivery is not nice and smooth ❤
thx for share this tips 👌💪
Hi Steve hope youre well,I think I suffer,and I mean suffer from this,,have to book some more sessions soon,regards Tony Rentokil.
Must be a coincidence this Steve. Because the manager of the club where I play at has been observing my game in both practice and in tournaments and noticed that in practice I thought less about technique and just potted the balls whilst still having a half decent technique. But in tournament play noticing that I become too robotic and too consciously aware of trying to tick box whether I’m doing everything neat and tidy. This ivideo is spot on with me I think on why I m stuck on a certain level because too much overthinking in tournament play is holding me back. Would be interesting for you to do a follow up video on what the solution/s could be for that! If there is one of course.
This has always been my problem, at some point I start think about all these technical things (e.g. whether my left foot is well placed, whether I am low enough, whether my grip is too tight, how to deliver the follow through, sighting, etc.) and forget to actually pot the ball. I tend to be a lot more fluent when I forget about all that and just play the shots in front of me.
That said, from technical perspective, my biggest issue is the so-called 'smooth delivery' of the cue when I have to play power shots or shots that I think could be missed. If I attempt to gradually build the speed of the cue, I tend to decelerate on the shot - or at least it feels that way. I know you have covered this topic partly in previous videos, but can you make a particular video about that - not the follow through, but the cue action from the final backswing until contact between the tip and the cue ball is made?
Someone once said the last thing you want to do when playing snooker is to think about how to play snooker
Very good coaching sir
Concentrate on one technical aspect at a time, took me around a month to get used to new grip.
Technicalities should be practiced one or two at a time, during your practice session so that when you actually come to playing a match, you don't need to think about it at all, it will become 'the way' you play your game. That gives you a free mind to plan your strategy for the shot, which boils down to cue ball control and safety considerations (even this amount of thought can put off even the best).
That's in the ideal world, but thoughts will pop up, questions and doubts. So an important part of practice sessions is mind discipline. Learning a respectful and attentive relationship with your mind so it can know when to be quiet and happily, without arguments, allow you to focus. :)
Great advice. I know that I do this but it's very difficult to get down on the shot and not think about all of these things instead of the 2 most important things, am I going to pot the ball and where is the white going to end up?
Thx Captain ❤❤❤❤
Great video Steve, flow and tempo are just as important as technique. Check out some videos of Cliff Wilson playing on TH-cam, not the greatest technician but a great player.
Very useful advice and another great video.
Absolutely this. Over the past four years I've tinkered with - at various times - my grip, my bridge length, my pause, my cueing position under chin vs eye, my eyesight, my looking at object ball vs cue ball, my left foot, my cue length (that one actually helped), you name it. And basically every "step forward" is "two steps back initially" while you're tinkering and thinking, so if an aspect of your game is say 70% okay already, maybe leave it alone and concentrate on potting some balls. Self-consciousness can be your biggest enemy - you've only got a split second to coordinate all this stuff!
My potting is excellent but positioning is poor and when i put more concentration for positioning i miss the pot
Exactly the same here lol
Could you explain if possible ding junhui cue action? And the way he staggers his cue going through to the ball..it's strange iv never seen it before..great video by the way 👍
Have you done a video, or have any advice on technique , when your hand at the rear of the cue is interfering with the cushion , when stretching ?
Hope that makes sense
Very good. Actually guessed this would be the topic. I’ve helped beginners with the basics and they can develop a ‘must please the coach’ complex and almost abandon all the strengths they actually do have in order to reflect they are leaning so ‘not to disappoint’. 😂
I can relate to this a lot, great vid
Hi Steve i have a request if i can when you show on the object ball where to hit in stead of doing that can you also do a shaded ball say for instance if it’s a quarter ball can you shade that part of the ball plus the impact dot as well it will be much appreciated if you can many thanks Alex.
Steve, Thanks for all the video lessons, I watch religiously and they really have improved my game. The question I have is when I watch the pros, the cue ball control, especially around the black is precise. What I don't get is that they are playing on a table that is significantly faster than any club table I would be playing on but, they are able to make an angled shot and roll the cue ball 6, 12 or 18 inches for shape. No matter how soft I try to hit the cue ball I still am unable to get that roll. What am I not doing?
in my case its always the same, the more i start to think about all those points the worse i get. Most of the time it's just about having fun and trust in your aim.
Dankeschön
I really want to have a few sessions with you Steve but, unfortunately im far away.
I have been watching your great videos for last three years.
I used to play much better 3 years ago and now i cant even make a 50 break.
I have an issue of twisting my wrest while delivering the cue and cant get rid of it.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks
I've always believed that thought leads to error 😂
when are u starting make bad video 🤣
Another wonderfull video ! good job
Can we play snooker behind any colour while we have touching red ball ?
I am very left eye dominant and right handed. When I walk in I literally place my right foot in front left foot (then move my left foot) and then everything works. But when I’m over the shot it doesn’t look right even though they’re going in. Eventually I guess my brain will recognise what is correct
This happened to me in my first tournament final, felt like I didn't know how to even hold the cue or aim. Got crumbled in pressure 😅
This was exactly my problem. I started trying to play 2 months ago and was getting very frustrated with my practices. I spent about 6 weeks practicing 2-3 times a week and still could barely cue straight. I was doing exactly as you describe and had too much in my head. I almost packed it in. Then I was on holiday and had a 3 week gap and when I went back I played a friendly game with someone and actually made some decent shots, and felt like some of that practice had actually been worth it.
What's the best pause, is it at the cue ball, or at the back swing?
For me it's the one at the cue ball. Almost all pros do that one. Not all of them do the back one.
I’m at a point in my game where I feel “done” with working on technical stuff. I’ll never be perfect but you don’t get points or win frames just because you have the perfect stance or you have mastered this or that - what matters is what you said here - pot the ball! It’s the last thing I say to myself, unless it’s a safety. Visualising the shot in its entirety helps - the more you do it the easier it gets and it also happens quicker, some type of psychological muscle memory or summink? 🤷♂️ I see quite a few guys at the club who appear to be having an entirely miserable time! It’s a *game* and it rewards those who treat it as such.
Help me to stop me turning my wrist not always but on shouts needing more power
I have tried to get my feet to perform a tripod but failed for the want of another foot.
My problem is that I can't get the correct angle in the first place. Doesn't matter about cue control, foot position, head still, feathering etc etc. If the angle is wrong in the first place the ball ain't going in! How do I get these angles right?
Feel & practice. Have a look at my video on aiming. I explain exactly what I do.
Why my cue ball is jumping while I’m screwing back ? 😮😢
Analysis Paralysis🙏🏽
Lots of practice for basics is a solution ..pot simple balls and follow all that knowledge until it comes automatically
To make it simple -
First look at where you want to strike on the cue ball,
Then eyes on the object ball to identify exactly where you want to hit the object ball,
Then deliver the cue straight in the line you've sighted, that's it! They go in!
All the other myths are good to know but not practical on every shot. A good example is Alex Higgins, his cue action was shit, yet one of the best potters of the game! All he did was what I explained above.
Good luck!
Muscle memory, don't think about it after you have trained your body to do it.
Sounds a bit like a replica of Michael holt videos….pot that to get on that 😂
Great advice, keep em coming.
As always sir❤
Another problem I have. Switching off the brain is hard. My fundamentals are good and I can pot and all those good things, but my brain beats all of that good stuff into submission by thinking too much, in matches especially. It seems from this video that I need to trust it being right from hard work, and just play the shots. I practice 10 straight shots with my eyes closed as a test of cueing about once a week, and I never miss because I'm not worrying or thinking, I'm just doing it. Maybe I should play in the dark haha
How our tip shaped?
Practise Practise Practise then go and Play. Dont practise when you are playing.☘
🙏🙏🙏👏👏👏
Great
❤❤