Snooker Tips
Snooker training tips to help you improve your game
Snooker Training Tip 7
The Stun Shot
The stun shot is one of the many shots you can play in snooker and an important one to master and understand. Your ability to comprehend the angles that the cue ball takes after contact with the object ball will be greatly enhanced once you master this shot.
Here is a great instructional video that I found on YouTube.
Screw Back On The Blue
Snooker Training Tip 6.
In this excercise you will learn a lot about your cueing and your timing.
Setup – Place the Blue Ball on the centre spot. Place the Cue Ball about 200mm from the Blue and in line with the centre pockets.
1st Objective – Sink the Blue ball in the opposite centre pocket whilst screwing back into the centre pocket closest to you.
Do this as many times as you can and then swap sides.
2nd Objective – Sink the blue ball in the corner pocket whilst screwing back into the pocket closest to you.
I personally like to do this before a competition game twice in a row to each of the four corners.
You will know if you are cueing straight and if your timing is good.
Try altering the distances to get an idea of how you are progressing.
Unless you are already a very accomplished Snooker player don’t expect to be able to emulate the big boys by striking and screwing back over the length of the table. Be satisfied with slow and steady progress through repetition.
Happy cueing!
Building A Big Break
Snooker Training Tip 5.
This Practice routine is a real challenge.
Ultimately you would like to score a 147.
It takes a lot of skill to achieve the maximum so we are going to try the next best thing.
For this Training Tip , just as you did in ‘Snooker Training Tip 1′, you need all the balls on the table.
Setup – Place the colour balls on their spots. Spread the 15 red balls evenly about the table but allow space and keep them off the cushions.
Objective – Starting around the ‘D’, pot as many red/colour combinations as you can without missing. If you miss, start again.
Practice this one over and over again and don’t forget to keep your break score.
Once you have cleared all the reds then clear the colours.
First Snooker milestone is clearing the 15 red/colour combinations
Second Snooker milestone is actually clearing the table.
Achieve this and you are NOW a force to be reckoned with at the game of Snooker
Color Black Combo On The Full Size Snooker Table
Snooker Training Tip 4.
Try different angles for the cue ball
Here is a practise discipline that will really test your timing on the Full Size Snooker Table.
Setup – Set the colors on their spots as in Snooker Training Tip 2.
Objective – Sink the color snooker balls in sequence BUT sink a black immediately after each color.
Yellow – Black
Green – Black
Brown – Black
Blue – Black
Pink – Black
Black – Yellow
This will give you a great insight as to how good your timing is and will remind you to keep practising your cueing technique.
It may prove a little frustrating initially but if you mave mastered the 10 x double clearances in Tip 2. I am sure you will enjoy this discipline. Once you complete this one just do again from time to time to test your timing.
Note: In this discipline you keep replacing the balls as you pot them.
Enjoy your Snooker Training
Potting Snooker Balls – Around The Clock
Snooker Training Tip 3.
Potting Reds To All Pockets From Center.
Here is a great practice routine. It involves control and often use of the rest.
Setup – Place 12 reds in pairs opposite the blue spot and in line with each of the six pockets. Place the Cue Ball anywhere within the circle to commence.
Objective – Sink all twelve red snooker balls without missing and without straying outside the circle of balls.
I love this one as it really does give you a lot of snooker shots to master and involves screwback and the use of the rest as well.
Master this one and your game will have advanced considerably. Players often look to their snooker cue for blame but it really does all boil down to your cueing technique.
Enjoy your training.
Color Snooker Ball Clearance
Snooker Training Tip 2.
Potting The Colors
This training method does wonders for your positioning and angles.
No matter how often you practice this discipline you will continually come up with differing angles for potting the same ball. You will experience the inevitable frustrations as you miss a shot and then the pleasure of success each time you complete the clearance.
As this is a final act in the Snooker 147 maximum clearance it is a truly important one.
You may also notice that psychologically you see the color balls differently to the reds. The pressure mounts as you go up in the points value of the Snooker Balls.
I think, personally, that this has a lot to do with the frequency at which you practice your shots. What I mean by this is that because you pot more reds by far, in a game or practice, you become more comfortable seeing the correct angle for the pots on the red balls.
Frequency and familiarization of potting angles on color balls makes this discipline a very important factor in your progression as a Snooker Player.
Good Snooker Cues, good Snooker Balls and good Snooker Equipment in general all help with your positive psyche.
Objective – Sink color snooker balls in order from yellow to black without missing or doubling 100 times.
Setup – All color balls on their spots. Place the cue ball anywhere to suit first pot. I like to start will a screw back off of the yellow to position for the green.
Objective 2 – This can be done in conjunction with first objective or after completion, but it is a doozey.
Sink all colors in succession twice in a row. Keep practicing this discipline until you complete the double clearance 10 times. The beauty of this one is that you get to practice coming off the black ball and positioning for a yellow ball pot to start closing out the frame.
Snooker Training Note: Don’t replace the color balls until you have sunk the black at this stage. Collisions with color balls are not as important as your success at this level. We will move to that area a little later.
Enjoy your Snooker Training
Snooker Training Tips
Snooker Potting Techniques For Consistency
When it comes to training exercises, achieving a consistent potting technique is crucial for your game development. You will find it downright frustrating at times but the more you practice the more you will achieve.
There are thousands of balls to be potted before you even begin to experience the real game of Snooker. You will also need the correct Snooker Equipment in order to advance to a competitive level.
Armed with a good cue and on a full size snooker table let’s get training.
Snooker Training Tip 1.
Consistent Potting
The late Eddie Charlton once said “Until you can pot all 21 snooker balls in any order without missing, you haven’t begun to play Snooker”
Objective – Sink all 21 balls in any order without missing and without leaving the cue ball on the cushion.
Setup – Spread 21 snooker balls in any order, spaced around the table keeping them clear from the cushions.
Enjoy your training.