Potting
For Beginners
So, after my first two
lessons you can stand right and
hit the ball straight. All you
have to do now is pot balls!
Knowing how to pot a ball is
something you either have or you
do not have. Of course practice
can help but you really need an
eye for it. When walking to the
table after your opponent has
missed it seems he has left you
an easy pot on a straight red
followed by an easier black. You
get down and miss the red! How
frustrating. I have done this so
many times and so do many
people.
There are some things you can
do to correct this problem. When
walking to the table always walk
in to the shot, never approach
the table and then slide round
to the shot. This is so you see
the real angle of the shot. Also
when you are playing position
for the next ball remember that
although it is important to get
position, the worst position you
can end up in is in your chair,
watching your opponent! Work out
the angle for the pot decide
your position, but the last
thing you think of is pot pot
pot. That is to say that if you
at least pot the ball and run
out of position you can still
play safe. When playing snooker
for the first time do not try to
go all out to beat an opponent.
Try out different things, even
if you try things in practice
they still end up different in a
match.
Playing snooker is all in the
head. If you are confident then
you play better. Be positive,
make your mind up what shot and
play it 110%. A question I am
asked many times is what ball do
you look at when you strike the
white. The answer is always the
object ball. This is always for
every player. You do not look at
the white or the end of your
tip, just the cue ball. In fact
if you look at Hendry if he is
trying to pot a vital ball, he
will often watch the ball until
it reaches the pocket. This also
helps him stay down on the shot.
Mind you though, Hendry is one
of a few players who, although
he looks at the object ball
last, watch his eyes when he is
cueing up. He keeps looking at
the object pocket as well.
As a routine for this lesson
place a Red about two feet from
one of the black holes, leaving
the black on its spot. Then try
to pot the red and vary the shot
between making it back to baulk
and staying for the black. This
shot is one of the most common
you will come across. Especially
after a player has broken off.
To be good at snooker you must
play shots like this in practice
time after time. Another routine
is to see how many times you can
pot the black without missing
and without moving the white
between shots.
Advanced
Being good at snooker is a
real pleasure. After all you
practice hard, you reach a good
standard and the game is so
enjoyable. However, so many good
players I have seen over the
years always practice on the
same table week in week out, day
after day. They used to call
this onetableitis years
ago. These players, who never
play on a different table, often
try to play in tournaments
around the country and find it
very hard to win. It is vital to
play on different tables. Of
course it is good to play a lot
on one table because it can give
you confidence but you must get
used to playing on all types of
tables and conditions.
Players often write to me
saying they have reached the
70-80 standard and do not seem
to be getting any better no
matter how hard they practice.
This is very common because at
this stage any improvement is a
little at a time and to be
honest there are many who give
up at this stage. To be a
champion is not just about
talent, it is about dedication
and determination. If they get
through these times and succeed
in making their first century,
many players feel they have made
it. Wrong! I have seen many
players who can make centuries
who do not win anything, it is
consistency which wins. If you
make Eighty break after Eighty
break you can be a winner. Last
season Mark King reached a world
final losing to Hendry. Up to
then he had only scored one
century break in the later
stages of a tournament which was
102. This season he is ranked No
20. You see some people are
obsessed with making centuries.
It is winning which counts. Of
course some players get to the
point of making Eighty breaks
and go no further no matter how
hard they work, and of course
this is because of ability. You
either have it or you do not.
If you compete in tournaments
you should be taking them very
seriously. For instance if you
are playing on the weekend at a
club in another area, make sure
you prepare yourself. Phone the
club and see if you can practice
before you play, if not, if it
is possible travel down the day
before and practice then, as
most clubs will allow this. The
night before your first match go
to bed early unless you are
playing late, then go to be
later and get up later. Do not
get up with hardly any time
before you play. Give yourself
plenty of time to wake up or you
will be waking up to a
nightmare. Do not eat a big meal
before a match as this will sap
your energy. Treat any match big
or small in all tournaments with
the same importance, you are
either a winner or you are not.
As a routine this week try to
place yourself in a position
with say eight reds left on the
table and all the colours on
their spots. Then try to see how
high a break you can make
without touching a cushion. Then
vary the exercise to only
hitting plain ball but hitting
cushions. Then try using no
cushions and only plain ball!
These exercises may seem
pointless but they serve the
purpose of using angles. Without
the knowledge of angles you will
never win. Did you know that
John Spencer was a snooker
genius when he was a teenager
but had not made a century. Then
someone (I forget who) taught
him to play billiards. The rest
is history as they say.
By Richard fountain
Return to Lesson 1
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