Snooker Success Articles

I discovered something useful tonight about happiness..flow state..and the fragile and sensitive nature of our beautiful game I often go to play at the local pool hall. I get immense joy playing and competing, when I'm playing well. For me, snooker is as as close to meditation and flow state as I know. Well next to graphic/web design, my other happy place. I'm fully aware how to get into flow state, and I know under what conditions I probably won't as well (lots of distraction.. noise.. people). I played someone tonight who "turned me off" by his style.. mannerisms.. etiquette...table manners. At ...

I had the pleasure to interview Tony Fun, a close friend, and someone I have learned a great deal of snooker from. Tony has been a competitive snooker player since the 1970's, is a century runner that visited England, played with Peter Ebdon, and was the recipient of Marco Fu's first 147 maximum break. Enjoy the interview and please do leave some comments below. Part 1 of 7 Part 2 of 7 Part 3 of 7 Part 4 of 7 Part 5 of 7 Part 6 of 7 Part 7 of 7 Tony's accomplishments and Personal History in snooker I ...

Breakbuilding is crucial to your success in snooker and other cue sports. The best way to win in cue sports is to clear up all the balls. I have been working on my break building for many years and have finally started knocking in several 50+ breaks. I was at my friends last night - he has a 5'x10' table - and I knocked in a 62 break. I have recorded my commentary and tips in the break and placed them on Youtube so can learn and get better at your snooker breakbuilding and cue ball control skill. Shot selection ...

A commenter, Duane, asked me a number of questions recently as you can see at the following comments on a few of my articles. Duane sent me some videos of himself playing on a pool table and I provided a bunch of feedback through analysis and assessment of his cue action. If you are looking for FREE assessment or analysis of your cue action, stance, stroke, or game play, send some videos of you playing snooker, billiards, pool, or any cue sport. I love watching these videos and learning from my students and providing feedback to help them. SCROLL to ...

We all miss shots. Missing a shot is something you need to learn to accept, evaluate, and eliminate. Missing shouldn't be seen as a bad thing, but instead as a learning experience that provides you the necessary feedback to improve. Getting Upset I see players that miss shots and then are upset with themselves. It's natural, in a match or in practice to get upset initially, but you should move on quickly from that mistake. It's history. It can't be changed. The consequences of that action are already playing themselves out. Once the cue ball is struck, what happens after ...

A reader asked me the question: What would I notice as different if I were to play on a good Simonis cloth? They are putting a Simonis cloth on the snooker table where I play this week. I live in Michigan. It is very difficult to even find a Billiard Parlor with a snooker table. Thank you, Bob Q Bob, thanks for getting in touch!  Here is my response: Generally, pool rooms will try to find a balance between durability and playability. Simonis isn't the recommended cloth to use on a snooker table - pros play on the 6811 Strachan ...

Hello Loyal Subscribers! I'm getting read to spend some time writing a bunch more articles over the next few months. I really have enjoyed your comments and feedback and I'm getting excited about doing some great articles this year to provide more information and education on the game we all love!  I don't spend enough time writing because I try to spend every spare moment on the snooker table :) Can you blame me? I have combed through the comments and here are some indications for topics that I need to pursue further: Commentor Thiagan asked me about the shape ...

Everyone has their own theories on how snooker should be played. I'm of the opinion that scoring heavily truly is the recipe for success. Break building is something every snooker player should aspire to work on. By scoring heavily you ensure success for several reasons: Your opponent has no chance of scoring Your opponent can't snooker you or play safe You increase your confidence There is one aspect of consistent break building that is often missed by aspiring players: the ability to clear the balls under pressure. If you are a consistent and heavy scorer, that skill helps you to win ...

When asked I review the cue action of people that get in touch with me on Skype or email. Email and Skype are OK, but I prefer to see videos because I can see what is going on. See this video below of Saeed who got in touch with me and asked me for help. Notice the position of his feet, the movement of his body and shoulders to the right as he measures and cues. Please watch the video and leave comments! Thank you! ...

There will always be some shots in snooker that you will consistently miss. I have put a lot of thought into why I miss shots over many years of playing. Often, when I leave the table after a missed shot, I try to recreate the shot in my head to see if there was something I missed. I often ask myself questions like: Was I rushed? Was I standing in the right place? Did I rush the shot? Did I cue poorly? Did I not concentrate? Was I on a big break and got nervous? Was I distracted by something ...

Snooker is quickly becoming an international game.  For the longest time, it was a game dominated by players from the British Isles - England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales - but it's not that way anymore. Now there is a strong following in Germany, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and many other countries.  It's even gaining a bit of momentum in Canada as well. Why has snooker become more popular internationally? Well, in part, technology and televised sport has played an important role.  Players from all over the world can now go online to watch their country men (and women) play ...

I started this topic in a previous blog post because I had a visitor comment about some difficulties he faces over shot selection and execution. Namely, Taking shots they aren’t 100% committed to. Consciously missing shots by thinking about missing vs thinking about making. Being stuck in a rut of not stepping back and analyzing the current situation thoroughly. You can read those comments and concerns here (scroll to the bottom to see the comments). In Part 1, I introduced some of the mental "mechanics" that you should think about like shot execution for yourself, vs for a pro and mentioned that practice was the ...

Are you concerned your cue isn't up to snuff?  Do you think it's too light, too heavy, too narrow, or thick, or the wrong tip size? Read on and measure your cue up against my recommendations below. Snooker requires a delicate, consistent, and precise acceleration of your cue. There are some basic characteristics of a good cue that I believe are a minimum requirement in playing snooker: Cue Weight A cue weighing between 17-19oz.  Players with more upper body mass, bigger hands and Popeye arms can probably get away with a heavier cue but I think you can't go much ...

I started this topic in a previous blog post because I had a visitor comment about some difficulties he faces over shot selection and execution. Namely, Taking shots they aren’t 100% committed to. Consciously missing shots by thinking about missing vs thinking about making. Being stuck in a rut of not stepping back and analyzing the current situation thoroughly. You can read those comments and concerns here (scroll to the bottom to see the comments). In the last post, I started discussing what the right shot was at a given moment and how that would affect your anxiety and stress over making the ...

I'm starting this blog post in response to a visitor's comments concerning shot selection and committing to shots they aren't completely prepared for.  You can see those comments on the previous blog post, A Snooker Player Life Cycle, here (scroll to the bottom to see the comments). The main concerns, the commentor had were: Taking shots they aren't 100% committed to. Consciously missing shots by thinking about missing vs thinking about making. Being stuck in a rut of not stepping back and analyzing the current situation thoroughly. I'm going to make an attempt in this blog post to provide a clear answer on how ...

Are you wondering if your cue action, stance, or general mechanics are causing you to miss shots? Congratulations!  You aren't alone! I think it's quite common for players to question their mechanics when they miss a shot. For the lucky few that have a certified coach or knowledgeable adviser with them, they get the correct answer right away. For the rest of us, however, we don't always get a clear and accurate answer unless we fully understand how to self-diagnose our misses. Some people can fix their own mechanics through trial and error, but it's usually a long and painful process. When I ...

Some years ago, I helped a friend organize a Snooker Tribute to Bill Werbeniuk at our local Snooker Club.  As part of the tribute, Canadian Snooker Legend Cliff Thorburne came over from Toronto and performed an exhibition.  My friend asked me to also scan in these photos and display them on a projector.  There are some great photos here from the 70's, 80's and 90's of all the Canadian Snooker Legends like Cliff Thorburne, Bill Werbeniuk, George Chenier and more. Leave a comment if you have more photos to share or enjoy these old memories! ...

If you want to become a master violin maker, you follow some fairly predictable stages throughout your career: Beginner Level where you are learning about violin making. Nothing is straightforward and you make a lot of mistakes. Awkward Level where you can build a violin but it's not anywhere near perfect and it doesn't have a world class sound.  You know the fundamentals but there is a lot you need to learn. Competant Level where you can now build a fairly decent looking and complete violin. It has enough life and personality to be a musical instrument that some musicians ...

Hi readers. I'm starting this post both to share my thoughts and also to see what others think about the defense game in general. The discussion revolves around which is better (the snooker vs the trap) and when to play each during a frame. I walk you through a frame that I won tonight all because of a good defensive shot. I had a session with a m8 tonight who more often than not will play the trapping game when playing defense positions into baulk or neutral areas. His theory is that few opponents can score frame winning breaks and ...