The Cue and You…

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When potting balls…

Only two things matter.

They are:

Good aiming, and…
Straight cueing

Forget everything else, and just focus on…

Getting down onto the line of the shot right
And delivering the cue nice and smooth and straight!

In aiming…

Your eyes see two balls. They should visualize where the cue ball needs to hit the object ball in order for it to go where you want it to go! Once your eyes have visualized that, then, as soon as you have, you should get down on the line you’ve seen and deliver the cue in a straight line on that line of aim.

Forget worrying about where your feet should go, your eyes will take you to the position where your feet will be comfortable.

…if you trust them.

More on aiming now…

We’ll come to cueing in a second. But first. More on aiming.

When your eyes have seen the line, then here’s where getting into position is important! If you watch the top professionals, the walk-in and approach is a simple movement forward without any head/body movement at all as the head/body go down onto the line of the shot and get into position. Try not to move the head/body as any head/body movement – i.e, mainly the head, will make you stray offline!

Watch four-times World Champion John Higgins very closely for a perfect visual of his walk-in and approach. You will see what I mean!

Watch: A simple message from Steve Barton in this video! Keep potting simple…

Learning angles should not be about knowing if a ball is a half ball or 3/4 ball pot.

It should be the memory of recognizing that some shots come up again and again. There is no substitute for playing the same shot over and over again until your brain (eyes) see the shot naturally and have no hesitation to lead your body onto the right line!

There are four main angles on a snooker table, which you can learn using training aids such as Nic Barrow’s Aim Frame.

If you’re interested in the Ghost Ball theory to potting, then pick up Rob Reed’s Ghost Ball Potting Aid, click here…

Now to cueing…

Now that we’ve established the basics of aiming and angles, JARGON FREE, it’s time to mention the basics of cueing.

We’re not going to go into great detail about grip and other basic parts here (there’s plenty of videos explaining those – SEARCH YOUTUBE) – but the rule of thumb is to have a relaxed grip that doesn’t prevent you from jagging the cue offline, but, at the same time it doesn’t need to be too tight – as you won’t get the freedom to cue how you want.

For more detailed information on grip, SnookerZone also suggests you go and see a good coach who will show you the basics of these and can then explain one to one and iron out any questions you may have…There are plenty of great coaches around. Check out some top coaches we’ve interviewed so far, (all who will be happy to answer in person any questions you may have,) in the Coaching Zone of SnookerZone, here…

More on Cueing…

Do you ever find that your cue arm feels “loose” and a wee bit “wobbly” when you cue the snooker cue on the backswing? Chances are, that’s because your cue arm elbow is not straight enough in the upright position as possible. What SnookerZone means is the elbow should be as vertical as possible in order for the cue hand grip to deliver it horizontally straight on the line (or as straight as humanly possible).

Imagine this picture in your head. It may seem funny for a minute, but you will have this image in your head when learning to cue…

Imagine a shark swimming in the water with its fin sticking up upright! Yes, Jaws is coming to get you!

Embed from Getty Images

That’s the picture you want of your ideal cue arm!

If your cue elbow is too loose and not rigid enough vertically, then chances are the cue will stray offline! Try it – try tensing up as an exercise and see if your cue delivery improves (with a cue – of course)! This does not mean tensing up the muscles so you’re stiff but simply making sure the elbow is up straight. Yes, they will feel tense at first, but once you start repeating this, it will feel less tense and more natural.

Imagine comparing it to slouching in a chair – your back feels kinda wobbly, right? It’s much better to be sitting upright with the back posture straight than slumped and forming a hunchback! It’s the same when cueing, try to keep the elbow as vertically straight as possible!

One way to test if you’re cueing straight, is to deliver your cue on the baulk line and see if the cue runs along the line of the baulk line: If it doesn’t then you have a cueing issue.

You could, of course, get a more detailed look at cueing with Nic Barrow’s Cue Action Trainer which will help you discover straighter, smoother and better cueing.