Keeping Still on the shot - A Pre-shot Routine

Can anybody spare a pearl of wisdom or 2. The problem I have is my head keeps moving up during the shot. Whilst I concentrate on the problem I can keep it under control but as soon as I relax or concentrate on a more difficult shot the problem returns. Any sugestions would be gratefull. Okay...here's a couple of tips that should help you to resolve your problem, which is of course a common one...my answer is drawn from both a psychological and physical perspective.

The Grip

Many professionals who have written books on the teaching of snooker have said that the grip is not that important too the players game? Why do they say this? Is it because they have all been successful in the game when they were playing in the top tournaments, and have never given a great deal of thought to the subject, presuming it was not at all an important part of the the players game to become a good player.

The Nap of the Table

The nap of the cloth on the table can have an effect on the white ball when playing a pot into the middle pocket from the top cushion end of the table (black spot end) which will make the line of the pot drift off the line the ball would normally take towards the pocket...

Looking after your Snooker Kit

If you play snooker often, then you need to keep your cue and kit in tip top condition, in this article there are some guidelines to help you to achieve this.

Keeping your Head Still

The problem most face whilst trying to keep the head still on the shot can be answered in a few ways? Hope they help you!

Using the rest

Not so many people like to play a shot using the rest, and you always here some one saying I'm no good at playing with the rest, and why do you think this is? Its because they don't practice with it. The best way to start playing better with the rest is to start potting some easy shots to start off with...

Sighting the cue-ball

Sighting the cue ball is a subject that coaching books never seam to have approached, and have never given any clear info to the importance of finding out whether a player is left or right eyed when sighting up the cue ball to line up his shot.

The Stance

If you take a look at a golf player for instance, each player has a slightly different stance than the other. But one thing you will notice is that they also have some similarity with each other, they all have started to stand in the right text book stance but have made little changes to them throughout their career and adjusted the text book stance to suite their own taste.

Bridge and Cue Arm

There are many different approaches to this part of the game, but there is one golden rule that should always be adopted.

Master the Break Off

The first shot, the break off is a very important shot to be able to play well, as not just to start the game off, but a shot to try and put your opponent into a difficult position and apply some pressure straight away.

The Correct Approach

This is a very important part of the game you need to employ, when it is your turn to approach the table use this method and you will benefit from...

Addressing the Cue ball and Table

One of the many mistakes most players make is to line up the shot after they have got themselves down into their cueing stance, this is one of the biggest errors most new players make, you will see them shuffle about trying to find the line of sight to the object ball, this is the wrong way to do it! "don't ever do this" it will only get you into bad habits.

Cue Action 1

The first thing to do when achieving a good sound cue action is to keep the action consistent, this way you will feel comfortable and will feel like second nature to you. But first of all it has to be correct at the beginning.

To start off you need to put a mark on your...

Cue Action 2

Without a really good cue-action a player cannot consistently strike the cue-ball accurately in the centre.

Cue Action 3

If you've managed to master the last exercise of potting the red and following the cue ball into the middle pockets on a regular basis, then you're ready to try this next exercise