43. Long Potting - Practice for success

In this Barry Stark Snooker Coach tutorial, Barry shares his advice on how to improve your long potting percentage and practice for success, not failure. Good cueing technique is essential so please look at the other videos on this channel which talk about cueing.

[@jesse_cole]

I get the feeling Stark missed the last one on purpose to give the rest of us some confidence.

[@ZALLLAM]

agreed

[@parambhagia3670]

Dear Mr Stark, I'd just like to say thank you for your guidance. You teach us how to play the right way and more importantly how to think the right way both on and off the table which is what defines a good player. In one of your alternate videos you stressed how important it was to respect a tougher shot and that really got things into perspective for me while playing them. You're a great beam of light to players striving to be the best they can. Thank you sir

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Param. Thanks, its nice to be appreciated.

[@MixInfodata]

stark sir, i have already 12 DVDs of learning snooker.. i m fond of Snooker.. so if you have any such collection.. i m watching these clips on KZbin .. But i think these are not Enough.. because still i have so many questions in mind. but i dont get answers for them.. your style of teaching is very nice.... i like it..

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Mix. I try to present the videos so that they are easily understood. Obviously I don't succeed every time but when that happens I will try to answer any questions as time and commitments allow.

[@anujsahare1021]

I love the way you teach. you are very gentle and explains every single little things of snooker. It's really an honour to learn from you sir. Thanks for making this videos and upgrading millions of us.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Anuj. Glad you are learning from the videos, I hope yours and everyone else's game continue to progress.

[@walidsarwary]

u r a great coach and great person

[@tarcal87]

u r a nice boy

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

The King. Thanks, its nice to be appreciated.

[@adriansteward4779]

Thank you Barry I have been playing many years so by no means a novice. I feel your tips and hints are making play better I may even get to that magical ton one day !!

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Adrian.I sincerely hope you do make that ton, and if the videos have helped with that I will be doubly pleased.

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

Barry, I really learned so much from you. I used to think if I kept playing the game I would get better. I did not. With a few months of systematic practice I've achieved more than in decades of unfocused play.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Terry. I am glad to be of help, as I have always said, practise does not make perfect, it makes permanent and that includes your faults. Keep working at the right things and progress comes.

[@raulvelez7671]

I am from Puerto Rico. I like to play pool table and I am always looking for your videos, they are excellent Thanks.

[@lobsangdhondup5448]

Barry. The way you teaching us very beautiful.❤❤❤

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

So nice of you

[@thiagotessarolosouza1196]

Mr. Stark, thank you very much for all these coaching lessons. After years I am again interested in snooker playing. Thank you very much.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Thiago. My pleasure, great that the videos have renewed an interest.

[@Daffyduck-u9j]

thank you Barry

[@davidbaxter7400]

as always...your videos A+..your advice gold....

[@sherryeg]

barry stark you are amazing

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Sharyar. Thanks for the compliment, I try my best.

[@smoothbeak]

I'd love to see Barry play someone like Ronnie (or a good player), I think he'd do alright

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Daniel. If I played Ronnie I would be just like most players who play him, I would become very adept at picking little balls out of pockets.

[@davegemignani1567]

Great videos! I'm a pool player in the States. I learn a lot from watching these videos and Ronnie's. Question about the bridge when cuing. Over here I see a lot of closed bridges. On the videos, I see none. Why don't snooker players use a closed bridge?

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Dave. Generally speaking snooker players prefer the open bridge because they can see the cue, they don' need the power that a pool player needs on some shots and don't really have the flamboyant action that some pool players have. The great Joe Davis used a closed bridge on some of his deep screw shots saying that it added to his control. Alex Higgins also used the closed bridge on occasions.

[@oussamazbair1479]

Love your videos

[@samfr8370]

Dear mr Stark, I have a question. Some days I play good, higher than my expectations and some days I play very weak. As far as I know other players experience the same thing. Is there a specific reason for that? Is there a way to force ourselves to play better in our bad days?

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Meysam. Everybody in every sport has good and bad days. My advice is to return to the basics every now and then and check everything is in order. From there establish a pre-shot routine that works for you and stick with hit on good and bad days.I find that on my bad days its usually something that has gone wrong in the basics. I can feel a little tense or I am not getting through the ball as I should. As a result I can usually bet movement has been caused somewhere, more than likely the head.

[@samfr8370]

Thank you Mr.Stark. As always, very helpful.

[@battlefieldclips7013]

I remember once u invited Karyn willson in ur show. R u planning to invite other great players as well to show their own technique? Could u pls explain how to use dominant eye techniue for improving straight cueing?

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Kyren did me the very big favour of disrupting his tournament preparations and appearing on the channel because I have coached him from being a youngster. Top players are so busy these days either preparing for tournaments or travelling the world playing in them, I do feel a little reluctant to ask. With regard to your other question please watch my video on the dominant eye, this should help.

[@sahibtaneja6865]

Sir u r a good coach

[@jeevannagarkoti7801]

as i know my all positions,bridging,aim etc.all ok but only problem was my gripping.sometimes its goes smoothly(very well)potting when my gripping was bad that time i've missed straight ball like near of the pocket how to fix this??please help...

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Jeevan. When your potting goes astray its always a good idea to return to basics and give them the once over. The grip is a very important aspect of the game and you are right to give it a considerable amount of attention. Please have a look at my answer to empower93 below and my advice is to try what I suggest to him.

[@NoobZilentGamerTVOfficial]

Hey Mr.stark, can i use this in pool? I have a difficulties in potting long shots. Thank you.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Noob. Certainly. The two games go hand in hand in many regards, if you are missing these shots its generally your cue action to blame rather than where you are aiming.

[@waqasmehmood1173]

sir please,,,,when you hitting white ball make a close up of white ball soory for bad engliah

[@jick484]

thank you sir for your every video ever, but can you please tell me that in what situation do I have to split pack from black and blue. Do I have to see the tights or loose pack, few or many balls?

[@matend8125]

i know you asked mr stark but i think when the pack is tight is not a good idea to split it from the black,the cue ball could stuck and if you you paly it with screw the cue ball is more likely to finish colose to corner packets.tight pack is better to be slplited from blue and loos form black.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

mate Nd has answered the question very well, I would only add that covering every scenario is impossible and every player will build a break slightly differently, that includes when and how to split the pack. We will try to cover this aspect of play on video in due course.

[@jick484]

thank you sir, will be waiting for it.

[@panchalparasco]

Sir my potting are not improving is that any behind this

[@shoaibbinjamal3926]

thank you sir

[@theznooker]

great videos when i play hard shots, deep screw or even sometimes medium shots, the cue comes off my bridge hand been trying to fix this, been playing for more than 6 years, but still having this issue any tip? can you make a video regarding this tnx

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

ARTgamer. THis is quite common amongst players of all standards, and if not excessive it is not a massive problem as long as you cue straight. To reduce it though make the effort to keep your cue parallel with the table as long as possible. Play gentle stuns and screws but really try to analyse what is going on. sometimes tension is the cause or closing the grip hand a little too vigorously.

[@divinxoii]

why did u extend the distance between cue ball and your hand bridge ? I have noticed very well in all your other videos the distance was closer .

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

divinxoii. I am always experimenting with my own game in an effort to find the best way for individual pupils to play.

[@nishantjaiswal9974]

I'll practice it sir definitely

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Nishant. The player that can't miss long shots has never been born and in my opinion never will be so practise by all means but give yourself a little pat on the back when your success percentage starts to climb.

[@nishantjaiswal9974]

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach 🙏🙏🙏🙏🤗🤗🤗💙

[@delwynrowlands6969]

is it better to have a hard tip or a soft

[@Codprimus]

DELWYN ROWLANDS it has to be inbetween if its too soft the ball wont react enough to the tip and if its too hard the ball will come off the tip wrong on your shot.

[@claudineyfraga5515]

Hello sir, I'm Brazilian and here we play pool too, but the white ball is bigger than the ball of the time, so its masses are different, and I can not apply any effects, even following the tips, do I need to use more force?

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Claudiney, When the white ball is bigger than the object ball it will be difficult to screw the ball back but easier to send it forward. I would guard against trying to manoeuvre the cue ball using force. You need to find a way of allowing the cue to do the work and invariably this means lengthening your cue action. Applying force creates tension and errors.

[@claudineyfraga5515]

Barry Stark Snooker Coach Okay, but forwards and to the sides I already can, and just behind that it is not possible to apply the effect, and this already cost me some defeats, at most that already got was in place of the other.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Claudiney. I assume you mean from your comments that you cannot screw the ball backwards. This will be difficult because of the variables in ball size. It is perhaps because you are not hitting the ball as low as you think you are (a common fault) or that you are not getting through the ball enough. You do need to get through the ball, feel it, and as Joe Davis used to say, hang on to it.

[@claudineyfraga5515]

Barry Stark Snooker Coach Thank you for advice, sir, despite being very young in the sport, always sabotage me with pressure on the opponent and the audience, so I needed some tips on concentration and keep balance in the game, if you have facebook send me the link to I would like to please;) Thank you in advance, hugs

[@Foralluhaterz]

No audio pal

[@prasadtaware1789]

Coach, would you kindly advise on the following shots 1. screwing back with side from the cushion from the straight black. 2. Split the pack from blue. I can screw the cue ball fairly good but often when I found myself straight on the black, I have no choice but to screw with side and it tends to disappoint me.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

I will try to cover the screw shot with side in video form at some stage. In the mean time concentrate on smooth cueing and getting well through the ball. Don't be frightened to miss in you practise, just make sure you learn from your mistakes. Splitting the pack from the blue is just a question of hitting the pink full in the face after potting the blue.This can be done with screw or stun depending on the angle you have on the blue. Stephen Hendry preferred to leave a slightly more acute angle on the blue enabling him to screw into the pink rather than stunning into it, this meant there was still a little back spin left on the cue ball when it hit the pink giving a greater chance of the cue ball remaining in the open.

[@prasadtaware1789]

Thank you so much for the advise and I am glad that this channel has provided the opportunities to learn from the very bests. I am sure every snooker enthusiasts all over the world are really happy and appreciate the time and efforts that you are putting into. It is certainly helping the likes of me to improve and learn the game with a whole new perspective. I couldn't be happy more.

[@hemant11111kumar]

Hello Barry. I have one question for you. I see alot of pro hitting low on the Cue Ball while playing black and they generate top spin. Do they manipulate their cueing to generate that top spin while going through the Cue Ball? I have seen Ronnie doing that alot in matches. I think thats a great video idea too.

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Hemant. On some shots Ronnie certainly has the butt raised but drops it as the shot is played causing the tip to rise, he does this as a result of the drive technique, it is more prevalent when he is using power A typical shot would be when he is the wrong side of the blue and needs to send the cue around the angles, into and out of baulk and back down towards the reds. The cue will also invariably lift from the bridge hand a significant amount.

[@hemant11111kumar]

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach thank u for reply much appreciated :)

[@DennisZehner]

This is almost it would be like if John Houseman was a billiards instructor. 😆

[@abbasdon5548]

can u please telll me playing on angle is good or on siding

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

I assume you mean using right hand side when cutting to the left and using left hand side when cutting to the right. It is true that a lot of players do this and generally call it helping side. I have said many times that Euclidean Geometry loses some of its relevance when its applied to snooker and helping side can be precisely that for some players.

[@abbasdon5548]

+Barry Stark Snooker Coach but if u wana place the ball then ? is using this formula is good for placing also or just it affects on pot ?

[@battlefieldclips7013]

+Abbas Don playing with side is for positional play rather than potting, because in general, side makes potting difficult.

[@hoangcagct]

In the game, somtime it shaw long pot sucess ratio, so how to define a shot is long shot, how long distance?

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Ca. There is no definitive answer to this, it is something that the pundits have come up with but I suppose any shot over 10 feet qualifies to be a long shot.

[@hoangcagct]

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks !

[@crazyua6019]

for long deep screw shot power is needed or their is some trick..?

[@Home_946]

Practice is needed.

[@simmerke1111]

A rookie speaking, so take it with care. I seem to feel that a smooth stroke is more important with screw shots. Hitting them too hard and higher on the cue ball usually ends up in not screwing enough or screwing too far. Or not at all.

[@Anonymous-yj3jd]

it took me 3 years to be better in snooker

[@matthewhill6483]

I personally think it's more with the cueing if anything.. you hit a ball sweet.. it'll go more than you just smashing it!

[@justtowatch111]

Crazy UA, how is the deep screw going?. I get better back spin, screw, by playing low on the cue ball and through the cue ball so that the cue tip ends up 1/2 a foot past where the cue ball was.

[@rajabaloch5611]

Nice potting

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Raja. Nobody pots all of these long shots, its all about increasing percentages and that starts with good cueing.

[@jamesleewhite141]

I noticed that your head moved on the last shot, Didn't keep still

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

jamesleewhite. Thanks for pointing it out, will work on that.

[@satosinuca4118]

👍🏻🎱

[@Crik_Updates]

How to got perfect aim

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Ajinkya. On a straight shot, normal well coordinated players tend to aim correctly but miss when they play the shot. This is because they do not deliver the cue where they are aiming and that is a flaw in their technique not their aiming. Check your cue action.

[@teeyaiiceland9503]

ถ้ามีแปลเป็นไทย ก็จะดีมาก

[@mikehunt6756]

hi barry i got cueitist about 12 yrs ago had to give up snooker because i couldnt shoot at colours for 10 yrs took up pool to force me to pot blacks ....gone back to snooker now but still struggle on last couple of balls to win frames ......is thier any help for this

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Mike. Cueitist is horrible and I really do sympathise with you. I have helped a couple of players with this problem but it took a fairly long time and we really went back to basics. Try this, went you have lined the shot up and done your preparatory waggles or feathers stop on your backswing, close your eyes then deliver your cue. Taking the sense of eye sight away reduces any interference that the brain may have. Please be patient with this before reintroducing the eye sight and don't be frightened of missing initially, remember your are trying to cure a problem.

[@mikehunt6756]

thanks for tha barry.....what i cant understand is that in practice i can flow like ronnie but in matches im more like ebdon but slower and without the talent

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Mike. Every player tends to develop a rhythm that suits them, but I believe it is a mistake to practise one way and then play matches totally differently. Try to find the tempo that suits you in matches and then practise that way as well.

[@tomdude75]

Mike Hunt what is cueitist, ive heard of dartitus in darts where players struggle to throw the darts never heard of it in snooker, its just some people handle pressure better than other

[@olivernugent4614]

X1.25 speed! Save you a lifetime

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Oliver. Less haste, more speed.

[@dkkatwa]

You have a Rolls Royce cuing action....

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Deepak. Many thanks, I try but it gets harder the older I get.

[@atifaziz2051]

I con't long short

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

atif. I assume you mean long shots. These are difficult for any player and require lots of practise, they also require a player to have a good cue action but long potting will examine and expose any flaws in that area.

[@vedantgupta3833]

Here just after losing a 500 dollar match

[@BarryStarkSnookerCoach]

Vedant. You must be a rich guy.

[@vedantgupta3833]

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach no