True Cueing

Joe Davis used to talk about having one final look at the cue ball to check that he was still addressing it dead centre before commencing the last backswing. His eyes are on the cue ball. Before he actually hits the cue ball he has to switch his eyes back to the object ball.

But he did not say exactly when this switch took place. I think this is very important. There are three points at which they can make this switch.

1. Having had a last look at the cue ball and your eyes switch back to the correct point on the object ball before starting the last backswing. This would entail having a pause at the front as well as at the back of the last backswing.
2. As the cue comes back on the last backswing your eyes go forward to the object ball.
3. Complete the last backswing before getting your eyes back to the object ball. The three methods above assume you are following Joe's principle of having one last look at the cue ball.

Some players do not use any of them. They simply switch their eyes from the cue ball to the object ball while they are lining up the shot. Some do this more than others; it is something which comes naturally to them.

One snag about this method is that as a player gets older, his eyes focus less quickly. It is, in fact, a snag with any method, but with an adequate pause at the back of the last back¬swing, a player's eyes have time to focus back on the object ball. All we're concerned with is that the cue ball is struck correctly - in the middle - and that the eyes are back on the spot of the object ball the cue ball is supposed to hit. If your cue has strayed off slightly you can, of course, stand up and begin the preparation for the shot again.

Having taken up his position at the table, a player will glance at the pocket into which he wants to pot a particular ball. He should then look for the spot on the object ball that he needs to hit for him to do so. Steve Davis imagines the cue ball covering the object ball.

If it happens to be a dead straight pot then it is fully covered; if a three-quarter ball, the cue ball covers three¬ quarters of the object ball if a three-quarter pot is being attempted; if a half-ball, then half of the object ball is covered. The same logic applies to a quarter ball or fine cut.

The point to remember is that this is a matter of your own judgement because if you miss the shot, having struck the cue ball correctly and not put any side on it, your estimation has been at fault. You have assessed the potting angle wrongly. Only by trial and error can the right estimate be made so regularly that, with practice, you will automatically look at the right spot on the object ball and pot it. This is why practice is so important. Players will tend to recognize the potting angle more easily for some shots than others. The best natural potters do this instinctively, without conscious calculation. Players - and not just novices - should regularly practise striking the cue ball correctly using only the cue ball and not an object ball as well.

The old proven method of going up and down over the brown, blue, pink and black spots is not one I use because a player could put a little side on the cue ball which sends it off line slightly going up the table, only for it to correct itself on the way back. It helps to make a small chalk mark on the top cushion at the point it needs to be hit.

I think it is better to use the baulk line. You don't even need a cue ball. A player will soon find out whether he is cueing straight just by checking the direction of the cue along the baulk line, The cue should be hiding the baulk line from view as you look from above. It is surprising how many play¬ers have difficulty doing this accurately.
Even players who know only a little about snooker appreciate that if you do not hit the cue ball in the centre then left¬ or right-hand side will be applied to it. But even if the cue ball has been struck in the centre, side will still be applied if the cue does not proceed through the cue ball on a straight line, this is one of the most common faults in the game.

If the cue starts to go off line as it strikes the cue ball, it means a player is coming through across the line of the cue ball instead of straight through it. A true, straight follow-through is essential to prevent this happening. With the backswing and follow-through, a player can observe whether he is cueing straight or off line simply by bridging on the baulk line itself and watching the path the cue takes above it.

Keep practising this. It sounds boring but the rewards will make it worth while. After practising both with and without a cue ball, attempt some straight pots. Six reds are sufficient. They should be placed across the table - not too far apart - some 18 inches (45cm) from the baulk line and parallel to it on the centre spot side.

Place the cue ball on the baulk line and try to pot each red into a top pocket. Make each pot dead straight so that you have to strike the cue ball dead centre and, of course, the object ball too. If you make the pot, you know you have played the shot correctly. But if you have missed, you must stay down at the table. Don't get up and don't move the cue until you have found out whether it is pointing at the middle of the pocket you are aiming at. If it isn't you are not cueing straight.

Once again, the hard work starts as you practise the shot time and time again, setting yourself the target of knocking in all six reds in successive shots. If you can do that, you are not doing too badly. To improve even more, the six reds can be taken further back and placed between the two centre pockets. The cue ball now has to travel further before arriving at the object ball, and this is where a player discovers that the greater the distance between cue ball and object ball, the more difficult the shot. Only by constant practice can a player achieve any significant degree of consistency, for the more you progress with this exercise, the harder it becomes.

Steve Davis used to place all 21 balls from one middle pocket to the other. He used to try to knock in all 21 and I can tall you that his record is 19. He told me his 'bottle' went as he attempted the twentieth pot. Here's the lesson: set yourself a target and learn to cope with the pressures as you come near it. Steve would rather knock in those 21 balls in consecutive shots than make a maximum. Why? By potting all 21 balls, he would know he was cueing absolutely correctly, and that is the basis of the game.