Snooker Spin Explained

Sidespin, being imparted on the cueball will force its change of direction, initially moving it to the right around the pink. Until that is, it begins to slow and the effect begins to reverse, moving this time to the left around the blue. Snooker as a game is the quest to control spin. As it's spin that can give a player complete control of the cueball, which in turn can reduce the difficulty of the next shot, usually in very simplistic ways. But very occasionally the situation calls for something a little bit more extreme. Not only will I show you how these effects take place, but also how to use them. The height of the strike on the cueball is what makes the difference between it travelling forwards, backwards or stopping in the exact position it struck the object ball. A high strike lets the cueball roll along the table, an effect that only continues after impact. But this is something that can be exaggerated by striking the cueball even higher, which causes the cueball to spin faster than it's rolling across the table, an effect that only increases the amount of follow through after a full strike with another ball. The shot can be played by simply striking significantly above the centre, making sure the cue follows through after contact, allowing for maximum spin to be generated. A near centre strike, combined with the right conditions, will cause the cueball to stop immediately on contact, which all depends on exactly how much the cueball is spinning at the moment it impacts another ball. And if at this speed there is no spin whatsoever, and the ball is sliding flawlessly across the table, it will come to a complete stop. A simple calculation is needed to determine how much spin will be left on contact with another ball, as the spin will wear off over time, therefore greater distances require a lower and more powerful strike. Once again, the full spin will not be generated unless the cue is pushed through the strike at a consistent speed. An even lower strike, with a constant follow through, doesn't just stop the cueball, it makes it spin backwards, something that is almost completely impossible if the cue stops on impact, as it's this forward momentum that generates the backspin. This is an effect that the best players in the world have mastered, allowing them to screw the cueball back over huge distances. Obviously, striking low is essential to generating this effect, but simultaneously, a player must avoid the tip of their cue from contacting the table, which will cause a miscue and the white to jump. But the further the cue is pushed through cleanly, without contacting the table, the faster the white will spin backwards. It's essential that the strike is both crisp and smooth, otherwise very little of any spin will be created. When an object ball is struck at an angle, the cueball always moves in the opposite direction. As the contact gets thinner towards only half of the object ball being struck, the cueball is thrown further away from the object ball, whereas thinner again reduces the distance once more. But as the shot gets thinner, the speed the cueball runs away at always gets faster. Of course, spin is very effective in manipulating this from a narrow angle with the highest possible strike, and getting wider as the tip moves further and further down towards the bed of the table. It's the cueball spinning backwards in exactly this situation that causes it to arc as it moves across the table, and its spin takes effect. The delay is created almost entirely by power. If you play a regular backspin shot slowly at this steep of an angle, it moves backwards nearly perfectly straight. However, the greater the speed, the greater the delay and the struggle the ball faces in gripping the table. Shots like this are therefore possible by calculating the correct speed needed to generate the arc in the desired position. This arc can also not be avoided when playing steep angled powerful shots with a lot of backspin, meaning a player's judgment is absolutely essential to play these shots accurately. Just as a delay can prevent the cueball from fully gripping the cloth and spinning backwards, a similar effect can be produced using topspin. Snooker players often refer to this phenomenon as banana shots, explaining the bend in the movement of the ball. Once again, this is an effect that's created by the tip of the cue making close contact to the edge of the cueball, again with a fast follow through. Snooker players can find this difficult however, as it can be a challenge to strike high enough at speed. The fingers of the bridge need to be brought closer to the palm of the hand, raising the knuckles up and allowing a player to strike consistently higher as the cue travels through the ball. Power, angle and of course proximity to the cushion are also big factors in the success of this unusual effect. A snooker player must calculate all of these to have any chance of completing a shot like this accurately. But it's sidespin that has a far greater effect on contact with a cushion. Before this spin can be imparted, a calculation must be made to determine how much the angled surface of the cueball will cause it to deflect away from the tip. A blow closer to the edge will increase deflection. A lower contact increases the deflection. And more power will also increase the amount of deflection. However, once this has been assessed, then the shot can be played accurately until that is, the rotation begins to change its direction. This is how the cueball can spin around obstacles in its path. The line slowly begins to favour the direction of the spin, with a faster speed straightening the line. Playing an accurate shot requires a precise prediction of this path. But by far the biggest factor is the thickness of the cloth, where it's almost impossible for a player to make a judgment on this until a feel for its characteristics has been achieved. Angling the cueball down towards the table can magnify the spin effect from a tiny fractional direction change to something far more significant. The swerve shot can, in the right situation, heavily simplify snooker escapes. Raising the angle of the cue increases this effect, but reduces the distance the cueball is likely to travel. Meaning one key element is playing this shot with the correct pitch, as the right angle of your cue is the first thing you need to get right, the second is the right amount of backspin. Backspin can slow the ball down and allows it to turn more suddenly and violently, but it's not the only way the cueball moves. Another way the tablecloth affects play is by the direction of its fibres travelling like a cat's fur smooth towards the black spot end of the table, whereas the effect we're interested in takes place in the opposite direction towards the bulk end of the table, as the ball loses speed but retains a fair amount of sidespin. At these reduced speeds heading towards the bulk end of the table, the fibres of the cloth cause the ball to spin in the opposite direction to its rotation. A player needs to be aware of this when intending to play a shot with sidespin in this direction, although occasionally, like with this shot, a player will also be able to make the cueball move in both directions, something that will rarely if ever come up, but also at the same time something that is completely possible because of this effect. Although sidespin is at its most noticeable on contact with the cushions, as it meets the rubber, any rotation will change the direction of the ball towards the direction of its spin. More spin equals greater direction change. Learning to understand how the spin changes angles is incredibly helpful and sometimes necessary to escape from the most difficult of snookers. Sidespin can also be used to change the speed of a shot when hitting a cushion at an angle. A strike on the same side of the cueball as the cushion is known as a checked sideshot and will slow the cueball down, a shot often played to get position from blue to pink using the top cushion in this way, both getting closer position and slowing the bounce of the cushion. Whereas striking the opposite side of the cueball to the cushion creates running side, an effect that increases the speed of the shot being far more common and helpful in getting further around the table with less effort. Shots of this nature can then be played at a slower speed like this one from black to yellow where the left hand side is helping the cueball accelerate off the cushion and widen the angle slightly in order to help it get closer to the yellow with a lot less effort. Let's just quickly find canal plays in Skopje, North Macedonia which is there. But before you can be confident you're going to block any shot with sidespin, you first need to know that you're lining it up accurately first and these two videos especially designed to show you everything you need to know about getting that right. 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.