So last week I played an experienced billiards player and was soundly beaten by 2 frames to none. The first went to the black but I felt that I had been out played the entire frame regardless; the second was a clear loss. This week I won pretty well, my opponent had just begun playing again after a break and was a little rusty. Overall my season is still going very well in my opinion and I feel that I'm improving a little every week.
My Road Map to Improvement
Well as far as I can see it there are three parts to snooker improvement. Technique, knowledge and practise.
I am constantly working on technique, I think that this sets me apart from the vast majority of others down in this bottom division and why I still believe that I may eventually climb into the mid divisions. Of course most of my technique work comes from reading information and watching internet videos which is useful but not the best way of learning it imo. I think getting a coach to help is vital, which is why - at some point next year - I'm going to enrol with the snooker club pro Grant Conquest for a monthly check up where I'll mainly be looking to overhaul all of the technical aspects of my cuing action. I'd like to make it super solid if possible. I know Grant pretty well, and I'm sure that he'll be brutally honest with me - which is exactly what I need.
What I mean by knowledge is that most of the positional shots around the table can actually be learned (in the sense of "I have a half ball angle on the black, I can stun up for the yellow in this position"). Of course if I was really talented at visualizing the path of the cue ball this wouldn't be necessary. But unfortunately for me - I'm not. So instead, I can talk to good players and watch videos to learn the fundamental shots. Like all of the typical positional shots for clearing the colours off of the spots for example. Or how to play in and out of baulk from the blue to get back up around the pack. This is another area that I'm really focussing on at the moment - and already I know shots now that I didn't know before. The more I learn, the easier the game will surely get.
Finally I need to put individual practise time in at the table. There's no other way. Once Christmas is out of the way (work is a nightmare at this time of year) then I'll look to get three regular practise sessions per week set up so that I can work on my game. Hopefully the breaks will then begin to come.
Thoughts on Bottom Division Opposition
With the exception of my nemesis billiard playing opponent, most players down here suffer from the thrill of the pot syndrome. That is, they take on some really crazy pots sometimes because of the thrill they get when it works out. It's where most of my scoring opportunities come from: I just wait for them to miss a difficult shot and try and cash in. I'm not trying to criticise them, if that's how they get their enjoyment from snooker then I'm happy - but I intend to try and get away from that mentality because I too suffer sometimes.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Update
I've had a good start to the season, 11/12 frames won. I don't believe this is indicative of a huge skill advantage on my part though, I've been out scoring my opponents by a ratio of about 3:2 which suggests that I have won more frames than I 'deserve'. Division four wise my team are sitting in fourth place, just one point behind the joint second place teams and three points behind the leaders. Hopefully we can stay in contention until the spring.
I feel that my game is going in the right direction at the moment. We had a team practise this afternoon and I made a few twenty breaks and really felt like the cue was going through straight. In fact, I believe that I've got back to the standard that I was playing a few years ago before my break from the game. Not enough skill to be considered good, but enough to enable me to usually beat casual players.
I don't intend to rest on my laurels though. I'm never going to break from the game again (barring ill health or other circumstances out of my control), and I want to put a lot of hours in to try and achieve a standard that I can be proud of. I have no grand illusions of regular century breaks or anything like that, but an occasional 50-80 break would be awesome. So to this end I'm going to continue to play as much as I can. I'm also trying very hard to observe as much as I can while I play. The more knowledge I can pick up - even from watching someone else - the further I'll be able to go in snooker. I have two big weaknesses: Technique and Position, and these are the two things I'm working on the hardest at the moment.
So my return to the snooker league has gone well so far, and I hope my improvement continues. I'll blog again nearer to Christmas
I feel that my game is going in the right direction at the moment. We had a team practise this afternoon and I made a few twenty breaks and really felt like the cue was going through straight. In fact, I believe that I've got back to the standard that I was playing a few years ago before my break from the game. Not enough skill to be considered good, but enough to enable me to usually beat casual players.
I don't intend to rest on my laurels though. I'm never going to break from the game again (barring ill health or other circumstances out of my control), and I want to put a lot of hours in to try and achieve a standard that I can be proud of. I have no grand illusions of regular century breaks or anything like that, but an occasional 50-80 break would be awesome. So to this end I'm going to continue to play as much as I can. I'm also trying very hard to observe as much as I can while I play. The more knowledge I can pick up - even from watching someone else - the further I'll be able to go in snooker. I have two big weaknesses: Technique and Position, and these are the two things I'm working on the hardest at the moment.
So my return to the snooker league has gone well so far, and I hope my improvement continues. I'll blog again nearer to Christmas
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Welcome!
Hi there. My name is Simon Debanks and one of my hobbies is snooker. I'm pretty bad at it, my high break is 52 which I achieved a few years ago. I hardly played through my late twenties but have now entered the Oxford and District Snooker league with a couple of friends, Steve and Monty. We are three games in and have started pretty well. If you'd like to see how we're getting on we play for Witney F in the fourth (lowest) division and the web site is www.odbsa.co.uk.
The reason I'm going to begin blogging is just as a journal of my progress as I bid to improve my game. I've had various hobbies over the years and snooker is a game I greatly enjoy. I'd really like to improve my standard. I don't harbour any fanciful dreams other than perhaps, some day, being good enough to play in one of the top county divisions. A player who can occasionally make a good break (50+).
Things that I'm doing to improve
Well obviously, I'm trying to play more often. Two or three times per week. I think that improvement comes in several forms.
Technique
I'm always trying to improve this part of my game. Overall I don't think I do things too out of line with the text books, but one thing that I sometimes struggle with is getting down straight onto the shot. Just briefly, it is considered correct to stand behind the cue ball with one's head along the line of the shot towards the object ball and then move into position with one's head staying along the shot path. I hope I've explained this adequately, but I'm not a coach (obviously). If you watch good players they always perform this routine accurately and methodically. There's an ex professional that plays at my club who (obviously, again) has a great routine when he addresses the balls. It's lovely to watch, and I will always aspire to push my technique towards that standard (although I'll surely never attain it).
If you ever watch casual club players they are always coming into the shot from the side and wonder why the cue ball goes nowhere near where they wanted it to. Personally, I try very hard to do it right but my head tends to 'sway' during the moving process. So by the time I'm down on the shot I may no longer be addressing the ball along the same line that I initially visualised.
Potting Angles
I've always been a pretty poor 'potter'. I'm not naturally gifted at spotting the right potting angle, but if I play often it gets easier to visualise. Not much I can do about this other than play regularly to be honest. There are certain shots that I can practise when I play on my own (as I do sometimes) and this will help.
Positional Play
This one is interesting. My position SUCKS. But I think that it is something that can be learned. Of course pulling the shots off is a different matter, but with enough knowledge I don't think it should be too hard to get to grips with this. I'm also working with the snooker simulator WSC Real 2009. I don't think this tool can be used for improving potting, but I'm certain that the behaviour of the cue ball is accurately modelled. So playing a wide variety of shots and angles with different types of spin on the ball on the computer could, theoretically, speed up this learning curve. I could be wrong about this though, as I've never heard it recommended before by any solid exponent of the game.
Right, well that's the start. I'm not sure how often I'll blog (unlike my poker blog which is updated quite often) but since I'm committed to playing this season in the league it should be quite a regular update. If I do anything good (like beat my top break or beat a decent player) I'll put it up, plus share the league match experiences too. Until next time.
The reason I'm going to begin blogging is just as a journal of my progress as I bid to improve my game. I've had various hobbies over the years and snooker is a game I greatly enjoy. I'd really like to improve my standard. I don't harbour any fanciful dreams other than perhaps, some day, being good enough to play in one of the top county divisions. A player who can occasionally make a good break (50+).
Things that I'm doing to improve
Well obviously, I'm trying to play more often. Two or three times per week. I think that improvement comes in several forms.
Technique
I'm always trying to improve this part of my game. Overall I don't think I do things too out of line with the text books, but one thing that I sometimes struggle with is getting down straight onto the shot. Just briefly, it is considered correct to stand behind the cue ball with one's head along the line of the shot towards the object ball and then move into position with one's head staying along the shot path. I hope I've explained this adequately, but I'm not a coach (obviously). If you watch good players they always perform this routine accurately and methodically. There's an ex professional that plays at my club who (obviously, again) has a great routine when he addresses the balls. It's lovely to watch, and I will always aspire to push my technique towards that standard (although I'll surely never attain it).
If you ever watch casual club players they are always coming into the shot from the side and wonder why the cue ball goes nowhere near where they wanted it to. Personally, I try very hard to do it right but my head tends to 'sway' during the moving process. So by the time I'm down on the shot I may no longer be addressing the ball along the same line that I initially visualised.
Potting Angles
I've always been a pretty poor 'potter'. I'm not naturally gifted at spotting the right potting angle, but if I play often it gets easier to visualise. Not much I can do about this other than play regularly to be honest. There are certain shots that I can practise when I play on my own (as I do sometimes) and this will help.
Positional Play
This one is interesting. My position SUCKS. But I think that it is something that can be learned. Of course pulling the shots off is a different matter, but with enough knowledge I don't think it should be too hard to get to grips with this. I'm also working with the snooker simulator WSC Real 2009. I don't think this tool can be used for improving potting, but I'm certain that the behaviour of the cue ball is accurately modelled. So playing a wide variety of shots and angles with different types of spin on the ball on the computer could, theoretically, speed up this learning curve. I could be wrong about this though, as I've never heard it recommended before by any solid exponent of the game.
Right, well that's the start. I'm not sure how often I'll blog (unlike my poker blog which is updated quite often) but since I'm committed to playing this season in the league it should be quite a regular update. If I do anything good (like beat my top break or beat a decent player) I'll put it up, plus share the league match experiences too. Until next time.
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