This was a shot I played yesterday that was another remarkable shot – one of a few but a highlight of yesterday’s practice frames at Oxshott. These are particularly difficult pots – but extremely rewarding when you get them. In some cases, potting VERY difficult balls in a frame can be as rewarding as breaks […]

Listen to the sizzle below – a deliciously warming curry stir-fry cooked in a KEN HOM WOK… Sausage Curry Stir-Fry I love sausages. And I love curry. Most amateur snooker players like me love a curry. Curries are also good for fending off colds and flus and for sweating them out. Here’s my version of […]

Cueing consistently is more important than trying to perfect a dead straight cue action… Human beings aren’t machines.We don’t move like robots.We don’t deliver cues on a laser track. Even the world’s best players don’t cue perfectly straight.Watch them in ultra slow-motion and you’ll see tiny deviations in: Every stroke has micro-variations — because humans […]

Why the Remarkable Shots column matters… The Remarkable Shots column exists for one simple reason: to show newer and intermediate players the kinds of shots that actually come up in real frames — not just the textbook ones. This shot was a long red along the cushion and required accurate cueing and this was one […]

🏆 Good Sportsmanship vs. Bad Sportsmanship in Snooker: The True Test of a Player In snooker, your cue action says a lot about your skill — but your attitude says even more about your character. Every player, whether they’re a beginner or a league champion, faces moments that test not just their technique but their […]

Great Coaches Who Weren’t Players — And Why It Matters… In sport, there’s a persistent myth: to coach well, you must have played at the highest level.But history tells a very different story. Across football, rugby, boxing, basketball and more, some of the most iconic coaches in the world were never elite players — and […]

Entries into the 2026 World Shoeshine Championships have begun and run until the 8th March where judges will choose three of the best shined candidates to enter the London Super Trunk show in May. SnookerZone’s Chris Gaynor has entered the event this year for the first time after discovering there was a shoeshine championships last […]

This is a perfect example of two players lacking a proper “pre-shot” routine and it lacks consistency in their set -up. Whilst some players might get away with this – when the push comes to shove, at certain tension points a player with no defined routine when approaching the shots will be inconsistent in the […]

Snooker isn’t about perfection – it’s about progression in real frames… There’s nothing wrong with practice routines in principle. But the line-up — reds neatly placed, blacks waiting obediently on their spot — has become something else entirely. For me, it’s not just overrated. It actively misleads players about what snooker really demands. And I […]

Why I Don’t Believe in Handicaps in Sport… I’ve never been a big believer in handicaps in sport, and it’s not because I think they’re pointless — it’s because I don’t think they reflect a fair part of reality. Sport performance is played on the day. Not on averages. Not on spreadsheets. Not on what […]