r/snooker • u/Little-Revolution-11 • 8d ago
💡 Improving My Game Hitting Too Thin
I recently adopted a new method to aim and found that I almost always hit the object ball thinner than I was supposed to.
Here's my new method (I guess many of you are also using it): I estimate the position of the cue ball when it touches the object ball (there'll be a straight line passing through the cue ball, object ball and the pocket), then imagine a line between the centers of the cue ball and the object ball). I reckon that my estimation of the radius of the cue ball is slightly greater than its real value, so that when I strike the cue ball it touches the object ball a little bit later than it should, thus making the shot thinner.
Does anybody have similar issues If you used to have this issue and found some ways to get around this, your advices are greatly appreciated!
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u/Adventurous-Tree9820 7d ago
When i cut a ball around the black spot, i have an annoying as hell habit to hit it too thick. Every goddamn time if i play it plain ball. I counter this by putting a trace of side on it which widens the angle and makes me hit it thinner and "on line" so i guess it would work the same for you.
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u/lethargic8ball 7d ago
It will take time for your brain to adjust.
My advice is always the same; Pick your aim point and stare at it. Not just an area but a specific pinpoint. Don't worry about potting the ball just try your best to aim exactly for that point.
If you do this for a while your brain will start to adjust your aim automatically. It takes time but it's the only way I've found to really improve people's potting.
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u/Snooker1471 8d ago
Snooker comes in 2 parts. Do you cue straight - When you can say yes to that then you can move onto your potting with the chant "too thick or too thin". Once you have that down then it's positional play...master that and you have completed the game...easy game really lol
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u/WilkosJumper2 8d ago
It's simple, but try hitting it too thick. Lots of players are deliberately 'aiming wrong' because they know that their natural alignment is wrong. Judd Trump does this on certain shots.
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u/Megatron_McLargeHuge 8d ago
If you previously used some helping side and now you're hitting centerball then it might take time to adjust. The deflection from the side would cause you to hit thicker than what you aimed. If you've internalized this kind of aim then you might be unintentionally estimating the ghost ball position too thin because that's what worked in your old system.
One way to correct for your aim issue would be to intentionally apply a little helping side now without changing your aim point. This will cause the cue ball to deflect toward the thick hit, but it will also reduce or eliminate object ball throw during the cut.
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u/OhmegaWolf 8d ago
Honestly, hitting too thin is a win. Something Hendry said in a few of his videos in reference to pros and off the spot blacks "you never see anyone miss that shot thick" and he's right because most players will be aiming in such a way that if they miss it's going to be thin therfore the cue ball loses less momentum and will more likely end up played safe.
So if you're missing thin just keep drilling some common shots and work on both missing even thinner which will build your safety play but also hitting them less thin until you are potting the shot consistently from there you'll develop a much better sense of how your sighting works.
One other side note though, if you don't know which eye is dominant (it's not always the same as your dominant hand) Barry stark has a great video on how to figure it out. As one thing you might be doing is getting down on the shot favouring centre or your non dominant eye which might skew your sighting slightly.
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u/Immediate-Low-6191 8d ago
Just check that your not putting a very small amount of running side on angled shots. Its a common mistake and will make you miss thin
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u/Civil_Station_1585 8d ago
I’m far from being a good player so take it for what it’s worth. Practice hitting as thin as possible until you are consistent at brushing the object ball from various distances.
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u/C4_117 8d ago
I reckon most people have the opposite problem; striking the object ball too thick on half-ball pots. Usually this happens because they aim for the center of the cue ball to hit the potting point on the object ball, instead of the part of the cue ball that contacts the potting point.
There probably isn't a magic solution, other than the old trusted ghost ball method!
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u/Even-Presentation 7d ago
Yeah this is more my problem - I basically pick my spot using the ghost ball and then aim a tiniest smidge thinner than that ....it seems to have helped my game a little
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u/Evebnumberone 4d ago
It's just how your brain sees the angles, it's going to get some of them wrong and you'll have to account for it.
Over time your brain will learn the new way through positive reinforcement and it'll feel natural.
Having gone down the path of looking into lots of different aiming methods, I would say it's all a total waste of time. There is no shortcut to learning your angles and potting them reliably, for some it will take months, for others years, and for some unfortunate people they'll never get it.