A good solid cue action can be the difference between a winning and losing Snooker, Billiards or Pool player. Snooker is the game, most people think of when they think of their snooker cue action, and every Snooker coach will first concentrate on teaching the correct methods before the players have even played one single shot with their snooker cue. There are many factors that contribute to a perfect stroke on the cue ball. We will discuss them one by one.
Snooker Cue Grip:
Firstly the cue action is determined by your grip that is: how you hold the cue. Many players are unable to strike the cue ball properly because they don’t have a solid grip on the snooker cue. A solid grip doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to hold it very firmly. A perfect cue grip is neither too firm nor too lose, Holding the cue with just enough power that ensures full control (not too much control)is the perfect combination.
An important thing about gripping the cue is where on the snooker cue you actually hold the cue. If you hold the snooker cue too far back near to the bottom, you won’t have total control on your cue, similarly holding the snooker cue too far away from the bottom also devastates your cue action. You should grip the cue just 2-3 inches up from the butt of the snooker cue.
Adjusting Your Stance:
The next thing which makes the cue action perfect is your stance. If you are putting too much weight on the table or your stance is not comfortable then you can never have a perfect cue action. If you observe the professional players you will notice that, they have slightly different stances but still they manage to play perfectly well. The reason is that the stance must not be straight from the text book. The main thing is that you must feel 100% comfortable with your stance when you are playing the shot.
Bridging Your Snooker Cue:
Again covering another major component of the cue-action, and that it is the bridge. The positioning of bridge is again very important; many players don’t have a good cue action because they don’t place the bridge comfortably on the snooker table. A perfect bridge is the one which is about nine inches away from the cue ball. To achieve this you can make a indicator mark on towards the tip of the cue. The height of the bridge also plays an important role; if your bridge is too high then you won’t be able to keep the snooker cue vertical throughout the shot. The more spread your fingers and harder the hand is pushed on to the cloth the better it is for the shot. If you are able to achieve this, then your cue action will be pretty much near perfect no matter what methods you are implementing to achieve it.
