Practice: Safety
Unless you have an easy chance of a snooker you quite often have to leave your opponent the chance of a pot. So study the table and make that pot as difficult as you can. The more pressure you put on your opponent increases the chance that he will make a mistake.
When you do leave your opponent a very difficult pot, and he makes the shot of his life and pots it - don't let it get you down. You did your best and a good shot deserves respect. Remember that no one can keep potting difficult balls. So if you consistently leave your opponents playing from awkward positions you will become a very difficult player to beat.
You constantly see professionals trying to get the cue-ball close to one of the two baulk pockets.
Leaving the cue-ball close to a corner pocket makes cueing very difficult for many players. If the remaining reds are in a cluster behind the pink they will need to be struck thick and hard, so scattering the reds; or thin with side to get the cue-ball back to baulk.
Although a triangular area is marked in the diagram consider leaving the cue-ball nearer the side cushion. Cueing diagonally across the side cushion is far more difficult than striking the cue-ball when it's close to the baulk cushion.
Experiment with these, try under hitting them if you're concerned about going in-off into the corner pocket. And spend some time practicing from these areas - you need to be confident if your opponent leaves you there.
This is a variation of the same strategy that is little known and rarely played, but which quite often creates an opening.
The temptation of course is to send the cue-ball into baulk, hopefully behind one of the baulk colours. But even if you succeed in getting the snooker a reasonable player should manage to escape without doing too much damage. If you don't get a snooker you leave an easy safety shot for your opponent, one he will have played thousands of times before.
But leave the cue-ball just beyond the middle pocket and tight on the cushion, and you'll give your opponent no easy reply and a great problem.
You'll be surprised how gently this delicate shot needs to be played, so it really is worth a little practice. Leaving the cue-ball tight on the cushion is critical so strength is the key to the success of this shot.
So what do you do if you're left in this position?
Any thickish contact to take the cue-ball back to baulk will scatter the reds towards the corner pocket. A thin contact played slowly is too dangerous - you may miss and hit the black. Rolling slowly into the pack is negative and unnecessary.
The secret is to play with top right-hand side, but cueing is difficult and very few can play with confidence from such a position. This really is one to practice, and it's also one of the very few shots where it might help to keep your eyes on the cue-ball when you strike it - especially at first!
You'll need to aim for a very thin contact with enough strength to take the cue-ball back to baulk. This isn't easy when playing with the cue-ball tight on the cushion, so this is another reason to practice this shot.
And if you wouldn't fancy playing this - imagine how your opponent would feel if you were playing a match!
Here's a shot I saw played over twenty years ago. Quite a simple stroke, but one that nobody expected.
I spoke to the player after the match who told me that he saw the possibility of it straight away. It was a simple half-ball contact and if he got the strength right he knew there was a very good chance of a snooker.
He said that although he could have easily played a more conventional safety by rolling up behind the yellow or brown, he chose this shot not only to try and force a mistake from his opponent, who was a county standard player, but also to try and annoy him, so he might lose his concentration.
The cue-ball finished up tight against both the green and the cushion. His opponent was so frustrated he played a double off the opposite cushion with side, and crashed into the reds which left several on. And that shot cost him the frame.
Practice Index
You are here
New or updated entry