Snooker Aiming Cut Method 2022

Cutting a snooker ball accurately is something I know most players often have difficulties with. That's why I've come up with the slicing method, which is a simplified way to aim and cut any shot you would want to play, whether that's a cut to the right, a cut to the left, a straighter shot, or a shot with a lot of angle. It works from any position, but it's easiest to explain when we're looking at straight shots. If you want to play the object ball straight, you need to hit it right in the centre. The best way to visualise this is to imagine where you're striking the object ball is going to cut it right in two. This method works brilliantly because it gives you a higher level of understanding over where the cue ball's going to strike the object ball, presenting you with the ability to play with confidence some of the hardest shots to aim and line up precisely. Now just because I'm aiming to hit this red in exactly the right place by looking to slice it right down the centre doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to hit it there. Although even if your cue action is really bad on a close range shot like this, you're unlikely to miss by far, maybe not even at all. So if the object ball is missing by further than the jaws of the pocket, it's not your cueing. But don't worry, because it does have quite an easy fix. And that's the slicing method, and here's how it works in detail. On a straight shot like this, once you get down on the shot, just ignore the cue ball and imagine your cue's going to strike the object ball. As we're trying to hit it right in the centre of the object ball, you can imagine it's going to split it in half, just as I explained earlier. The principle of splitting the object ball in half works on any straight shot, although it's going to be easier to see and play the closer you are to the object ball. But of course, playing a shot at an angle isn't so easy to work out. If I just imagine slicing the pink down the middle here, like I would with a straight shot, then inevitably it's going to miss, because unfortunately the game isn't as simple as I'd like it to be. The problem is, although I struck the cue ball directly towards the slice line, because the cue ball actually takes up space, the side of the cue ball struck the pink here, knocking it thick. This doesn't mean it's not working, just that I got the line in the wrong place, and there's a way to deal with it. So if we want to pot the blue, we need to play the white into this space, dead in line with the pocket. And that effectively means we're cutting the blue along this edge. So from where you're looking, we're cutting the blue there. If we do that, we're going to pot it. Which means I can then ignore the cue ball, and just concentrate on pushing my cue through to the cut point on the object ball. As soon as I take into consideration the space the cue ball takes up, it all works perfectly. Imagine cutting straight through the middle of where the cue ball's going to be. It may look like I'm going to miss this to the right, but as soon as I play the shot, it straightens up. Not only can you do this, there's a way of quantifying each and every specific angle. You can then start thinking about these shots differently, depending on the exact angle you have to play them at. For example, to play this straight shot, we have to cover the object ball with the whole of the red. We call this a full ball shot, so we've got to slice the ball right down the middle. If you cover three quarters of the ball, it will cut it very slightly. To do this, imagine slicing the ball halfway between the centre and the edge. With a half ball shot where you cover half of the object ball with the cue ball, just imagine scraping the paint off the edge of the object ball, which was very nearly too much angle for this shot. If you want to see exactly how well it works, set up a few of these half ball shots, and just aim for your tip to hit the edge of the red. And you'll see they'll just automatically track to the pocket, because it's very easy to see where the edge of the ball is. So you should be able to hit exactly the same place every single time, as long as you've got the angle right. A half ball shot like this shows how much easier the game is to play when you're aiming for a specific target, like the very edge of the object ball. However, that's a bad way to line shots up, and it's because of fairly simple shots like this, which is exactly halfway between half ball and three quarter ball. So in order to pod it, you have to play it at five eighths. Now, playing it at individual eighths isn't too much of a problem, but it can get a lot more complicated than that. Especially when you have to play the object ball a long distance down the table. I missed this shot because I slightly overcut it. But to pod it, eighths, sixteenths wouldn't have been accurate enough. I only needed to use 30 seconds, and that's almost impossible to see. And before I go to play a shot, one of the last things I want to be doing is advanced mathematics. Thinking about what angle a shot is before you play it is just something else that could put you off, so I'd advise not doing it. Just try to work out roughly where you need to slice the ball, and aim for exactly this point. But the podding angles can still be helpful when the balls aren't going in the pockets. Because it's important to know roughly what shot you're having trouble with. So you might have noticed there's a shot you keep missing. Again, and again, and again. Now this might be because you don't like the angle. So the black I missed was a 5 eighths angle where I was cutting the ball to the right, just like this red I'm playing here. And I missed it thick. And it could be that I just don't like cutting the ball with a 5 eighths angle to the right. Because these shots might come up anywhere on the table into potentially any pocket, you might not realise they're necessarily the same shot. And it could just be that all the shots you're missing are in some way the same. You may have noticed you're missing all of these shots, but you might not have noticed they're all the same angle. So whenever you miss a pot you think you should be getting, just try to remember the potting angle. And if you don't think you're going to be able to remember it, just write it down somewhere. If you keep a record of shots that go wrong, especially if they're ones you don't expect to miss, then you might find there's a rough pattern emerging. All you need to do is practice this specific angle a few times, and it should help you out whenever this shot comes up anywhere on the table. There might not be one specific shot you're having problems with, or you might be having difficulties playing shots into a certain pocket, but in this way the angles can give you a guide. Although not a good way to line the shots up themselves, it is a good way to work out the shots you're struggling with. But if you just want to line the shots up, the best thing you can do is to work out where the cue ball needs to go, and think about slicing it there. But what happens if you have to hit it thinner than half full? Well I'll show you once you give me back my cue. But we'll come back to that after we find Evan, who's from Lanharry in Wales. Which is there. Playing thinner shots like this is very similar, but we have to do something a little bit different. These are shots that can cause players real problems, sometimes because they're difficult to see, and others because you're worried about missing the ball altogether. But just like before, if we're looking to slice the ball in the right place, it makes it a lot easier. But we just have to adapt our method slightly, because as you can see, if we hit straight through the cue ball, we don't end up hitting the red, so we need to find a way to slice something. To do this, you need to work out where the left side of the cue ball is going to strike the red here. Once we know that, you can then think about the red being sliced where the left side of the cue ball meets the red. Using the left or right side of the cue ball like this allows us to play quarter ball shots. Here I'm aiming for the right edge of the cue ball to slice exactly halfway between the centre and the left edge of the red, allowing us to play thinner than half ball. But before we do any more, let's just find Waden, who's from Casablanca, Morocco, which is there. You're just as likely to come across a shot like this that's thinner than half ball as you are to come across a shot that's thicker, so you need to be able to play these as well. Just like before, if you're struggling to pop these shots, it's likely to be the same angles you're struggling with again and again. And just like before, if you're missing these shots, it's fairly easy to work out the rough angle. Again, if you are struggling with a specific thinner angle, just like before, it's important to keep practising these shots, because you'll probably find it's the same angles, once again, that you're struggling with. Because once you get it right, you should find out you're able to repeat that angle wherever it ends up on the table. So here's how the slicing method works. Allow for the space the cue ball's going to take up and make a cut right down the middle of it. This gives you a target to push your cue straight through into. You might have a problem with this angle because you find it difficult to see it properly when it comes up, or you might have difficulty playing the cue ball to exactly this point on the object ball. Because doing this allows you to find the specific angles that you yourself are finding the hardest to play and are causing mistakes. And if there is a pattern, practise the angle you're struggling with, because this could make quite a big difference in a short space of time. Because this practice will allow you to feel confident whatever angle you're playing the shot at, even if it shouldn't really go. But in order to play that shot, I needed to play it with a lot of side spin, so if you want to know more about that, have a look at this video, or have a look at my plan for 2022 and improving. And remember, don't just watch play, and make the commitment to becoming a better player by subscribing to the channel, and visit the website. See you later!