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.