I had a recent visitor to the website emailing us asking us what the best snooker practice routines are, and how to apply them.
It’s Monday afternoon and the boss says “take a half day Colm.” So i decided I’m in the mood for a few games of snooker on my own to rewind. I’m a decent player, by no means a professional, but i can get the odd big break in here and there, but i seem to struggle with consistency. I arrived to my local club, which if I’m honest, is a bit dreary. The lights are the old canopy type which cast shadows over the baulk end of the tables, the pockets are rough looking and the cloth……lets not go there. Normally, i set the balls up in the same rough pattern which is roughly ten reds scattered around the black, pink and blue spots and i try to clear the table. I think this method is best for trying to improve my break building. Why is it, that in reality, I’m not improving at all? What kind of snooker practice routines should i be doing?
Colm
Great question Colm, let me try and answer it for you as best i can. Firstly, I’d like to point out that although table conditions are important, they shouldn’t be hindering your ability to progress, particularly when you’re working around the black, pink and blue areas as you mentioned in your question, however, try and play on the best table your club has available.
We all know that in order to score heavy, we must be around the high point colours, so therefore snooker practice routines should help us improve!!
It can be sometimes useful to scatter reds around these colours in open play, but in reality Colm, how many times have you been playing an opponent and come to the table with the reds spread perfectly? Very few times i would imagine!! The reality is Colm, during most frames of snooker, balls go towards cushions, cluster into unpottable positions and so most of our practice should be based around these positions.
When i look at decent amateurs who struggle to go beyond a certain point, the main issue seems to be struggling to develop reds. The best advice i have for you is to challenge yourself during each and every practice session. Don’t become static by doing the same routines each and every time.
Next time try this: Start off with a simple 6 red line up and you cannot move on to the next stage until you complete it. Then place a few reds in a cluster below the pink and practice developing them from the black ball. Do the same from the blue ball then. Place a red on the side rail and try to get on the red perfectly from each and every colour on the table.
There are literally thousands more routines you can do, but the idea behind each of them, is to challenge yourself!! Don’t make practice easy……Its not meant to be easy!! The more you practice your weaknesses., the better you become.
Enjoy
