I am an 8ball player, and used this technique after watching this video. This is by far the best instructional video on the internet. You develop a feel for most angles within an hour. Great video!!!
Now that is interesting. I have been agonising over how to best approach angles, struggled with pin pointing a spot on the target ball and have toyed with 'feeling' the angle. This video has enforced it for me, gaining the feel for the right angle seems the best approach by far, especially with the tips you just kindly gave. Thanks
This all makes sense from my experience you can't underestimate how much just good old practise comes into it in terms of whether your 'feel' of the angle is actually equal to what the angle is.I've been working on my snooker from complete beginner standpoint over the last month and a half, putting in ~10 hours a week. Right now, my 'feel' for the angle is still really poor as soon as I get away from the basic shots that I have practised over and over in drills. In other words, im now quite good at slightly off-center shots on the colours (which i have practised a lot), but give me a line-up of reds (which i havent practised as much) and suddenly im missing shots that look quite easy because they are angles i havent practised. So basically, I think the best advice is not to go down the rabbit hole of trying to find the perfect 'theoretical' aiming method and just practise a ton using whatever works for you, and it'll start to come together.
Super helpful thank you. I’ve mainly been struggling with delivering the cue straight and point angles. Will give this a go rather than always standing behind the straight angle and holding the point on the ball!
Well, finally someone admitted the potting angle is a guess work! No other way has ever worked for me better indeed. I always get back to my feeling and go on from there. 😊
Great video Steve on aiming. on some shots I regularly hit them to thin so I am going to try the tips in this video to see if I can remedy those shots.
@@Charlie.c19 Yes, I have been using the method of standing behind the object ball to picture where my cue ball should be at point of contact, then get behind the cueball to line up that shot and get the cue ball to that contact point. Watching the mixed doubles the other day this was one of the key differences I observed: the ladies were quite methodical and doing something like what I described above. The men were doing a bit more like what this video describes - they don't often need to go through this process and seem to 'know' or be very experienced at guessing their angles.
Can see how your own belief in what is best has developed. I have been trying to sight completely before going down on the shot with that lean with eye. Thought that was your theory before. Just realised the importance of checking I'm hitting the white straight recently and you reiterated that there. Also you've completed my picture on what to look at when placing cue when going down on shot. Starting to get there when walking in. Will try a few more minor adjustments down on the shot as you say in other videos to take in feedback after it miss or if it goes in too. Thanks again for all your help.
I've always said 95% of aiming is done standing up, which means the last bit of 'fine tuning' is done down on the shot. It's just I've found better ways of explaining things the more I've helped players. You must do the last bit of checking when down, otherwise you're not learning the new angles most effectively. You need that feedback and reference point when down.
Hello Steve.. your channel has been a great help in improving my game.. can't thank you enough.. Please make a video on playing side spin and the grip during spin shots.. my wrist sort of rotates when i play with side.. I'm struggling 😢
Hello mate your right . I spent a month doing my work stood up and trusting my feet once I knew I was walking in consistently. Bit harder at full stretch or leaning round the side cushion but definitely better results .
8:28 well, use what works. People with very good visualisation ability in their head can use those methods to great effect. I try to visualize a "ghostball" and aim for that and it definitely works. In the end of course one needs to develop a feeling if where I am aiming right now is actually correct and then hit it, but as a more rough starting point there is nothing wrong with using whatever method works.
I've been using your technique with your 2 reds and black and pink on their spots just got my 1st half century so goodness me it works, but I'm using a 3/4 table so I don't know if it counts really. But thanks Steve, you videos are very welcome for me.
Have you thought about doing a video of what new players should be looking for when looking for a new/first cue. I know personal preference and budget makes a difference but is there a recommend weight, length or wood type
The most important thing is basic fundamentals like stance, dominant eye, contact points between body and cue and most of them all is the grip... If all above mentioned things are right, game will improve very fast.
Great video, I’ve realised that last tip to look at the cue ball as you approach the shot is something i am not doing. I keep looking at the object ball because I think my eyes will lose the potting angle if I take my off it. So my initial sighting is object ball and then cue ball. Also Steve, I notice you didn’t walk to your left and stand behind the black to look at it so it’s in line with the pocket. I do that for nearly all angled shots, is that a bad habit too?
I don't bother to look for the line the ball is taking to the pocket. I just go straight to the line of aim (unless the potting angle is really thin). IMO it doesn't help to look at the line to the pocket. Just make the judgement standing behind the line of aim. Incidentally, Mark Selby just said recently he stopped walked behind the ball to the pocket on long shots, as he would never do it in practice and it's making him lose rhythm.
Yesterday i hit 55 break... 6 blacks and a pink... My first heighest till now.... Before it was 46....i use my cue as an aiming guide for angle recognition.
Hi Steve, great video as always👍 Even though I do the same aiming method you presented here, I still learned something. What do you think of moving the cue slightly up or down during delivery? I noticed that I'm pushing the cue down a little on most of my shots. Is that more of a bad habit or can a cue action work despite this movement? Greetings from Germany
@@snakeplisskenish I also find this extremely difficult to do, my eyes feel drawn to look at how I should be hitting the cue ball. A lot to be said about this though as my game currently is feeling very poor, I can honestly say I look at cue ball at the point of impact not the object ball
@@desfarley Yes, it's one to try in practice sessions. What we need to achieve is straight cueing to the centre of the cue ball, like during feathering, but being able to follow that same straight cue line once your eye has moved. I saw on TV, Mark Allen practicing straight cueing on a special lightweight practice cue ball - if he gets it right he pots the cue ball, if he doesn't he misses - so I suppose he was testing his ability to cue straight to target, even when he has transferred his eye to the object/target.
Can't wait to try this. What I'm doin is visualise the line after contact while being behind the white, no left-right to get in-between. Many times I pot, but idk how.
There are many good ways of ‘sighting’ the ball. At the top of the game, potting a ball is dead easy. There is very little thinking to do with the pot. But loads of energy is expended in positioning the white. The beautiful part of Sullivan game is how little energy is even expended in placing. Some energy is used to consider next few shots down in the frame. There are many things very enjoyable to understand in snooker. Mental stamina or energy or fortitude is something less explained. Personally, using angles is not enough to produce excellent results. It is far too slow , imprecise and consume loads of mental energy.
Hi barton! When you look at the object ball you said you don’t look at a specific point on it. My question is the following, Is your vision at the object ball or is it a little bit shorter of the object ball ( so can sight better the cueball peripherally for aligning the shot/not completely at the objectball but an inch or two below it)? Thanks for your informative videos as always!
Great instructive video - but it does assume the player using these techniques has the basics down too - i.e cueing straight, gripping correctly, bridging correctly. So many times you'll "feel" your angle is perfectly aligned only to deliver the cue at an angle and create either side or completely miss cue.
I pot a high percentage of blues into the middle from close range, far away, different angles, plain ball or with side, even cueing under the cushion, I somehow see a line where I get it spot on and hit blues straight in the middle of the pocket probably 8/10, but on corner pockets I’ll miss-aim the most ridiculous shots, they feel totally different where in reality the angles are no different to blues in the middle. I can’t get my head around it.
Hmm new video from my favorite coach...but Ronnie is playing on tv...first Steve...hmm no first Ronnie hmm too difficult to choose! Ok ok it's decided, first Ronnie, i'll watch this after Ronnie but i'm sure it's amazingly good!
Great video Steve. Gee Im really struggling with this eye dominance thing and where to put your cue on your chin Steve...or is this all myth and overthink stuff?
So your ability to adjust the right way determines how good a potter you are? If so, is there any way to improve this 'sense' for potting or are you limited to your natural ability?
You can always improve it of course. The more you see the angles, and then see the result of the shot, the more you will learn to judge the angle. Your "guess", becomes better and better and better with more practice.
@@BartonSnooker the angles look different when you're down on the shot. Especially if you're using side. So when I think I have to micro adjust, more often than not I'll end up missing. Also, I find if I start moving and adjusting the cue around I change the line if the shot and put unwanted side on
Just a re-upload for anyone that didn't see it the first time around. It's one of the biggest issues I'm helping with in my 1-2-1 sessions, so it's nice to bump it for players new to my channel.
BartonSnooker, I notice none of this explanation involves where the cue tip is pointing relative to the object ball. I.e. what happens if the cue ball and object ball are in 100% perfect alignment in your vision on a straight shot but your cue is not pointing completely straight, i.e. you're shooting across the ball by 1mm or so. I don't think you can even correct that by looking at the spot on the cue ball, because your vision won't see the very minor slope that your cue is coming in at.
You're describing what Judd Trump does. You basically should just be looking down the centre of the cue as far as your brain can see. If players have trouble with this, I can only correct it when I've got the person in front of me, as it is very individual for each player.
@@BartonSnooker It's not easy to keep the cue and head perfectly aligined with each other and keep them that way after making micro adjustments. They go out of sync for me (not in a consistent Judd Trump way).
I am an 8ball player, and used this technique after watching this video. This is by far the best instructional video on the internet. You develop a feel for most angles within an hour. Great video!!!
Now that is interesting. I have been agonising over how to best approach angles, struggled with pin pointing a spot on the target ball and have toyed with 'feeling' the angle. This video has enforced it for me, gaining the feel for the right angle seems the best approach by far, especially with the tips you just kindly gave. Thanks
This all makes sense from my experience you can't underestimate how much just good old practise comes into it in terms of whether your 'feel' of the angle is actually equal to what the angle is.I've been working on my snooker from complete beginner standpoint over the last month and a half, putting in ~10 hours a week. Right now, my 'feel' for the angle is still really poor as soon as I get away from the basic shots that I have practised over and over in drills. In other words, im now quite good at slightly off-center shots on the colours (which i have practised a lot), but give me a line-up of reds (which i havent practised as much) and suddenly im missing shots that look quite easy because they are angles i havent practised. So basically, I think the best advice is not to go down the rabbit hole of trying to find the perfect 'theoretical' aiming method and just practise a ton using whatever works for you, and it'll start to come together.
This really works well. Fantastic. My whole game and confidence to pot anything have improved immeasurably using this method
After all I've been watching, this really simplifies it for me. Thank you
Super helpful thank you. I’ve mainly been struggling with delivering the cue straight and point angles. Will give this a go rather than always standing behind the straight angle and holding the point on the ball!
Well, finally someone admitted the potting angle is a guess work! No other way has ever worked for me better indeed. I always get back to my feeling and go on from there. 😊
Love the tips Steve very helpful, love to spend a day with you, thanks for helping an average player get better, great videos.
Great video Steve on aiming. on some shots I regularly hit them to thin so I am going to try the tips in this video to see if I can remedy those shots.
That's a great detailed video Barton snooker. Definitely worth watching this video.
Great lesson - taking these tips to my next practice session 😊
@@Charlie.c19 Yes, I have been using the method of standing behind the object ball to picture where my cue ball should be at point of contact, then get behind the cueball to line up that shot and get the cue ball to that contact point.
Watching the mixed doubles the other day this was one of the key differences I observed: the ladies were quite methodical and doing something like what I described above. The men were doing a bit more like what this video describes - they don't often need to go through this process and seem to 'know' or be very experienced at guessing their angles.
Can see how your own belief in what is best has developed. I have been trying to sight completely before going down on the shot with that lean with eye. Thought that was your theory before. Just realised the importance of checking I'm hitting the white straight recently and you reiterated that there. Also you've completed my picture on what to look at when placing cue when going down on shot. Starting to get there when walking in. Will try a few more minor adjustments down on the shot as you say in other videos to take in feedback after it miss or if it goes in too. Thanks again for all your help.
I've always said 95% of aiming is done standing up, which means the last bit of 'fine tuning' is done down on the shot. It's just I've found better ways of explaining things the more I've helped players.
You must do the last bit of checking when down, otherwise you're not learning the new angles most effectively. You need that feedback and reference point when down.
Hello Steve.. your channel has been a great help in improving my game.. can't thank you enough.. Please make a video on playing side spin and the grip during spin shots.. my wrist sort of rotates when i play with side.. I'm struggling 😢
Hello Barton I love your videos it is really helpful can you make a video or tell me where to hit in a cue ball for long ball pot
Hello mate your right . I spent a month doing my work stood up and trusting my feet once I knew I was walking in consistently. Bit harder at full stretch or leaning round the side cushion but definitely better results .
@@glynndraper437 Would you mind sharing some basic tips for a reliable walk-in?
8:28 well, use what works. People with very good visualisation ability in their head can use those methods to great effect. I try to visualize a "ghostball" and aim for that and it definitely works. In the end of course one needs to develop a feeling if where I am aiming right now is actually correct and then hit it, but as a more rough starting point there is nothing wrong with using whatever method works.
Great video Steve.
I've been using your technique with your 2 reds and black and pink on their spots just got my 1st half century so goodness me it works, but I'm using a 3/4 table so I don't know if it counts really. But thanks Steve, you videos are very welcome for me.
Very well done! All breaks count. Keep it up 👍
Hi Steve. Love your content. What do you think of the throw effect? What is it and what should we do about it?
Have you thought about doing a video of what new players should be looking for when looking for a new/first cue. I know personal preference and budget makes a difference but is there a recommend weight, length or wood type
Thanks steve u r the best
I'm exactly the same with working out my angles on an off straight shot. Just years of playing , learning and knowing where the angle is.
The most important thing is basic fundamentals like stance, dominant eye, contact points between body and cue and most of them all is the grip... If all above mentioned things are right, game will improve very fast.
Great video, I’ve realised that last tip to look at the cue ball as you approach the shot is something i am not doing. I keep looking at the object ball because I think my eyes will lose the potting angle if I take my off it. So my initial sighting is object ball and then cue ball.
Also Steve, I notice you didn’t walk to your left and stand behind the black to look at it so it’s in line with the pocket. I do that for nearly all angled shots, is that a bad habit too?
I don't bother to look for the line the ball is taking to the pocket. I just go straight to the line of aim (unless the potting angle is really thin).
IMO it doesn't help to look at the line to the pocket. Just make the judgement standing behind the line of aim.
Incidentally, Mark Selby just said recently he stopped walked behind the ball to the pocket on long shots, as he would never do it in practice and it's making him lose rhythm.
Yesterday i hit 55 break... 6 blacks and a pink... My first heighest till now.... Before it was 46....i use my cue as an aiming guide for angle recognition.
Hi Steve, great video as always👍 Even though I do the same aiming method you presented here, I still learned something.
What do you think of moving the cue slightly up or down during delivery? I noticed that I'm pushing the cue down a little on most of my shots. Is that more of a bad habit or can a cue action work despite this movement? Greetings from Germany
Video Excellent
At the moment of striking the cue ball, which ball should I be looking at - cue ball or object ball?
Tnx
Very informative as always. At the point you’ve pulled the cue back and just about to cue through, are you focused on the cue ball or object ball?
I'm pretty sure I've heard that your eye should be on the object ball at that point. I find that quite difficult though.
@@snakeplisskenish I also find this extremely difficult to do, my eyes feel drawn to look at how I should be hitting the cue ball. A lot to be said about this though as my game currently is feeling very poor, I can honestly say I look at cue ball at the point of impact not the object ball
@@desfarley Yes, it's one to try in practice sessions. What we need to achieve is straight cueing to the centre of the cue ball, like during feathering, but being able to follow that same straight cue line once your eye has moved. I saw on TV, Mark Allen practicing straight cueing on a special lightweight practice cue ball - if he gets it right he pots the cue ball, if he doesn't he misses - so I suppose he was testing his ability to cue straight to target, even when he has transferred his eye to the object/target.
Can't wait to try this. What I'm doin is visualise the line after contact while being behind the white, no left-right to get in-between. Many times I pot, but idk how.
can we see a video of your latest game?
There are many good ways of ‘sighting’ the ball. At the top of the game, potting a ball is dead easy. There is very little thinking to do with the pot. But loads of energy is expended in positioning the white.
The beautiful part of Sullivan game is how little energy is even expended in placing.
Some energy is used to consider next few shots down in the frame.
There are many things very enjoyable to understand in snooker. Mental stamina or energy or fortitude is something less explained.
Personally, using angles is not enough to produce excellent results. It is far too slow , imprecise and consume loads of mental energy.
Hi barton! When you look at the object ball you said you don’t look at a specific point on it. My question is the following, Is your vision at the object ball or is it a little bit shorter of the object ball ( so can sight better the cueball peripherally for aligning the shot/not completely at the objectball but an inch or two below it)? Thanks for your informative videos as always!
I'm just looking generally at the object ball. Not massively fixated on it. I'm looking at it relative to the pocket which is in my peripheral vision.
@@BartonSnooker Thanks for the reply!
Great instructive video - but it does assume the player using these techniques has the basics down too - i.e cueing straight, gripping correctly, bridging correctly. So many times you'll "feel" your angle is perfectly aligned only to deliver the cue at an angle and create either side or completely miss cue.
I pot a high percentage of blues into the middle from close range, far away, different angles, plain ball or with side, even cueing under the cushion, I somehow see a line where I get it spot on and hit blues straight in the middle of the pocket probably 8/10, but on corner pockets I’ll miss-aim the most ridiculous shots, they feel totally different where in reality the angles are no different to blues in the middle. I can’t get my head around it.
Hmm new video from my favorite coach...but Ronnie is playing on tv...first Steve...hmm no first Ronnie hmm too difficult to choose!
Ok ok it's decided, first Ronnie, i'll watch this after Ronnie but i'm sure it's amazingly good!
Great video Steve. Gee Im really struggling with this eye dominance thing and where to put your cue on your chin Steve...or is this all myth and overthink stuff?
Just put your head where it looks like you're looking straight down the cue.... That's it! Nothing more to it than that.
@@BartonSnooker makes sense buddyvthankyou
So your ability to adjust the right way determines how good a potter you are? If so, is there any way to improve this 'sense' for potting or are you limited to your natural ability?
You can always improve it of course. The more you see the angles, and then see the result of the shot, the more you will learn to judge the angle. Your "guess", becomes better and better and better with more practice.
@@BartonSnooker the angles look different when you're down on the shot. Especially if you're using side. So when I think I have to micro adjust, more often than not I'll end up missing.
Also, I find if I start moving and adjusting the cue around I change the line if the shot and put unwanted side on
Isn’t this 1 year old video? Why again? Any difference? Best video on aiming though
Just a re-upload for anyone that didn't see it the first time around. It's one of the biggest issues I'm helping with in my 1-2-1 sessions, so it's nice to bump it for players new to my channel.
@@BartonSnooker Hi Steve, how did you do that? I'd quite like to do that with one of my videos
BartonSnooker, I notice none of this explanation involves where the cue tip is pointing relative to the object ball. I.e. what happens if the cue ball and object ball are in 100% perfect alignment in your vision on a straight shot but your cue is not pointing completely straight, i.e. you're shooting across the ball by 1mm or so. I don't think you can even correct that by looking at the spot on the cue ball, because your vision won't see the very minor slope that your cue is coming in at.
You're describing what Judd Trump does.
You basically should just be looking down the centre of the cue as far as your brain can see.
If players have trouble with this, I can only correct it when I've got the person in front of me, as it is very individual for each player.
@@BartonSnooker It's not easy to keep the cue and head perfectly aligined with each other and keep them that way after making micro adjustments. They go out of sync for me (not in a consistent Judd Trump way).
Re-upload?
Yep!
Sir this is ok just you playing blue at center pocket... But in real play lot of different Angeles comes how to play 🤔🤔🤔
I think I have watched this video before
🙏🙏🙏👍
Old video ?
Yes! Re-upload 👍
It’s good , but in angle subject u have a bad way actually for beginners
Good lord, long winded get on with it damn
Go somewhere else then. It's free and he is helping people
First