How Much FOLLOW-THROUGH Do You Need?

[@rocketceo]

Outstanding! Every year, every decade, that you play this game, you come to understand that follow through (and the ability to selectively adjust it) is absolutely CRITICAL to master. I have never heard it explained better. I could only add some emphasis on a loose grip, as too tight a grip, especially with a long follow through, can easily pull the cue off line.

[@harpreetgrover7859]

Very Nice concept as you explain it very well. I think ronnie has worked hard on this concept of pushing through the white for the last 6-7 years and that's why he is playing so good. You are a good coach as will meet you for sure whenever i come to the uk again :) Thank You Harpreet Singh

[@stewbrown7477]

thanks for this. i often hear commentators speaking of someone “decelerating through a shot,” and i never really understood what was happening. hopefully this will help my game this week :)

[@dannyma2519]

？

[@EVil-ob8in]

Fun fact. Deceleration can be used deliberately. If you finish a little too low on the black to be able to hold for the next red, you can deliberately hit it thick with running side and deceleration to create the potting angle and maintain position. Give it a try, it works.

[@npdoughty1988]

Interesting really, because Judd and Neil are two of the players most notorious for being able to get a LOT of action on the white ball over distance, which you would have thought would be more associated with the longer follow through?

[@cueball5858]

Mystery solved at last! My short backswing combined with my dropping elbow drives the back of the cue downwards more than forwards, causing the tip to move upwards. No wonder my screw shots are slightly worse than pathetic! I know this is going to be a big help when I get back onto the pool table. My feeble excuse is that because the 9' table is much smaller than a snooker table I didn't see much need for a longish backswing. Now I do! Thanks a bunch Steve.

[@chrisstirling4035]

Definetely very important stuff for all developing - and professional players to bear in mind. Even knowing this stuff, it never hurts to revisit it and check in with your own technique regularly, because as humans we tend to change things over time without even realising it. Everything explained very well as always. 🌟👏

[@lilchris26]

Thanks again Steve for this video, I now understand more about the shoulder drop where I was going wrong, dropping before hitting the ball. Chris

[@kiranrathod7469]

Most indepth...most precise.... profound!!! Superlative stuff Steve!!! Keep them flowing with the follow through. When will We execute like you do? Thanks a Ton!!!

[@harpreetgrover7859]

❤ Thank you Sir for solving the question which was in my mind ❤ You are a diplomatic tutor 😊

[@fradaja]

It knocks the cue off balance , acceleration even on slow shots is essential if you want to hit the cue ball where you want , and impart correct spin

[@stevengreensmith8998]

Read my mind posting this vid. I was just thinking about applying this to my technique a couple of days ago. Hopefully it helps my cue ball reaction. Thanks pal.

[@chrisjohnson4165]

Brilliant! Thanks a lot for these videos, and one day I hope to come for some tuition.

[@MultiAmsh]

allways you are the best ,number1 in coaching,, regards

[@salmanfurqan503]

Hi Steve, you gave us many technical videos that improved our snooker techniques. Kindly make video on safe snooker escape with cushion hitting margin and white ball sides.

[@umultme]

Just to expand on what was covered in Steves video.. It is very doable, to time the white, at the very end of the delivery without deceleration. So the acceleration comfortably builds and the shot is timed just before completion. Though it goes against the theory here in this video, the clues were in some of what’s been covered above.

[@cameronquick1157]

Hi Steve. Your recent videos have been right on the mark, addressing the questions we ask ourselves (or should be asking), and bringing some fresh and crucial content to the snooker youtube space haha. You haven't really discussed the cue tip much in your videos. Barry Stark's contributions seem pretty comprehensive there, but I'd be interested in your take on this part of the equipment. Many thanks for helping us improve our game, we're lucky to have you. I came across another snooker youtuber a couple days ago, also a coach, with ~5k subs. In my opinion his instruction is not comparable what you provide (snooker coach brando in case you're interested). So congrats on setting the bar high! Best wishes.

[@grez6330]

Excellent tutorial, perfectly comunicated. Thanks

[@RoboKubik8]

You don't have to drop your elbow to have sufficient follow through. How much follow through you have also depends on length of your backswing, if you play with straight or bent arm and distance of bridge hand from the cueball. Judd Trump, for example, plays with a bent arm and shorter bridge hand distance. I learned to play initially with dropping my elbow and following through past my chest and couldn't deliver consistently straight with it (my cue was flying all over the place on some shots 🙂). Shortening my bridge hand distance and playing with bent arm helped me a lot without having impact on my follow through and power I can play with. Also opening your grip hand more can help how much backswing you can play with and not move on the shot.

[@kfmctell]

Hi there Steve. I've religiously watched your video's over the last couple years, but unfortunately, the club CEYMS in Norwich where you came for our coaching session has now closed, also the club where David played is no longer open (a sign of the times!). Having moved house and found a new place to play, I can now put your excellent theories into practice again. 😀 Thank you and best wishes.

[@BartonSnooker]

Sad to hear the club has closed, but also great that you have now found somewhere else to play! Thanks for the continued support. Much appreciated 🙂

[@petersmith4974]

Excellent! I wish I could explain this so clearly!

[@dermotshaw6775]

I found I have elbow drop on shots that i need more spin on, I find that it helps I may be psychological. I'll have to test it. Cheers for this

[@tahalayachi4660]

Im enjoying watching your educational videos, you really helped me improve my games. THANK YOU ! 🙏❤️🙏

[@ashtrekker4742]

Superb, thanks as always

[@Delphiwizard]

Thanks as always 👍

[@benharris8644]

Invaluable stuff 👌🏼

[@chrisstirling4035]

One comment here got me thinking though: can a player like Robertson, without dropping the elbow, play shots like the Green to the Red? Presumably he can, so how? If he doesn’t drop the elbow, how can he push the cue beyond his chest to get the necessary follow through ?or does he manage it without pushing the cue past his chest? If so how ? That would be a very interesting follow up video. Maybe it would be really interesting and useful to compare apples with apples and instead of showing Neil playing Yellow to Green - a shot requiring just a few inches of screw , if we see how Neil -or any player , achieves deep screw from baulk to below the black for position WITHOUT dropping the elbow. Obviously as we know the side taking effect causes the angle to widen when we play the Green to the Red and that seems to make the cue ball speed up- does it actually speed up though? Would Physics not say the White can’t hit a cushion, (losing some energy into the cushion, but rebound with more speed than it had before impact ? Or could it, because of the throw from the cushion ? Anyway this is a side issue sorry! I can play this shot but I’ve never thought about it in this much detail before 😂

[@shaymayo6]

thanks mate

[@antza555]

Nice channel! Can you explain the grip one more time: do you grip the cue with middle finger only or middle+ring finger or middle+ring+little finger and index finger is just hanging loose? Also where the pressure should be in full backswing? Should the pressure be on thumb and index finger or maybe thumb and middle finger (in full backswing)? Thanks :)

[@abdallahhadithy]

Hey barton. Excellent informative video. I have a question. On a previous video of yours regarding the grip you were talking about pauses, and how adding a third pause on the final backswing intentionally (as in not naturally) could actually ruin a player’s timing. Now that is exactly what happened with me. My timing is off and i cant seem to get rid of it. Any advice you have to get rid of that unnatural added pause and have my old smooth timing back? It was a bad advice from a terrible coach and now its stuck with me

[@renatodias4919]

Very Thanks you. Brasil!

[@dilshikista143]

Thanks 😊 for such a videos. But can u make a video how can I control the cue ball. I can good pot . I don't know where the cue ball goes. 🤔 Thanks

[@עדיפורת-פ6ה]

Great. Thanks a lot

[@Supe-for-the-soul]

Surprised that you did not mention Ding Junghui as the best example of a stable elbow. What are the merits and demerits of such a technique? Perhaps a breakdown of that might make a useful video.

[@lapsap1910]

Good example on a smooth follow-through screwshot (green to red). What if the cue ball is closer to the object ball, does the same principle applies? Thanks!

[@BartonSnooker]

Yes. You have to try and generate the follow-though in the same way.

[@indilotey1267]

@@BartonSnooker But you would follow through less i presume than if the object ball and cue ball were further apart? E.g. you might follow through 2 inches instead of 5 or 6? Also the softer you hit the ball the less you follow through as well?

[@BartonSnooker]

@@indilotey1267 you are right!

[@jamescurrie7678]

Great video as always really incite full and helpful, been playing for a little while now and a problem I am facing is am I too low and flat on the table and what is the best angle to deliver the cue?

[@malikmalik-ny7tv]

Personally i think dropping the elbow is a better technique but it is more difficult look at ronnie osullivan he never hits the ball to hard and he always gets enough of the cueball the same with shaun murphy or lisowski,players like robertson or trump hit the ball a little bit harder

[@shanmahi8569]

Hi Steve I want to ask about the bend in the arm of the bridge hand.. How much this bend should be ?

[@jakeg3296]

Great observations, however obviously Trump and Robertson have sufficient follow through as their power shots are at least equal to the elbow drop players . Perhaps they are more square on to their shots , Robertson in particular contorts his stance more noticeably than most . Also maybe their grip is slightly further back than the text book 90 degrees to the cue ? I’m not sure , I’m just speculating.

[@CalvinLim147]

if judd trump does not drop his elbow, how did he push through the cue ball with that distance to generate so much cue ball backspin?

[@alfedtron9043]

what about your forarm lenth

[@mehranaslam375]

As always sir ❤️

[@user-zt1hs5ho3f]

How i can fix my cue action in the long shot i cant back sip the cue ball how i can fix it

[@zimske]

Great video, Steve! One thing, though, to prove a point re. the length; if you’d made the same shot as that final green, but without the elbow drop, all other things equal, you would get the same reaction of the cue ball, right?

[@BartonSnooker]

Yes! As long as the cue is travelling at the correct speed as it hits the white AND it hits the correct point on the white, the reaction would be the same.

[@zimske]

@@BartonSnooker YAS! But, I think this calls for a quick&dirty proof of concept vid, nonetheless! ;) In any case, these last two videos demistify most of what everyday snooker players get to hear from other everyday snooker players, truly great stuff this.

[@davidmcgowan8388]

Hi steve, hope all is well and you have not contracted the covid, no excellent instructional videos for a while? Could you look at mark allens grip, it seems very very loose but delivers the cue straight, not changing my grip, but looks odd for a top 16 player, thanks dave

[@BartonSnooker]

Hi David, I have indeed got the Rona 😄. So I haven't had access to my table for a few days. Will be all back to normal next week. Mark does have a very unusual grip that you wouldn't want to copy. I may cover his action in a future video, and I may try and do a video from home this week 👍

[@davidmcgowan8388]

@@BartonSnooker Hi Steve, sorry to hear that 😟, really hope you make a full recovery very soon, don't worry about a video until you can give it 100%, I am a total stickler for not changing my grip, I have it pretty much nailed on following your videos, it is just such on odd grip, like ray Reardons chicken wing..... Hope you are well soon,take care

[@shq007]

If i need 1 to 1 coaching then where i need to come..? Thanks⁶

[@sj460162]

Omg this makes so much sense and I never realised this. Quick one though, why is it bad to deccelerate? Thanks again Steve.

[@BartonSnooker]

If you are decelerating, you will not get the desired spin on the cue ball. It will mean that the cue was not travelling at its fastest as the tip hits the white.

[@sj460162]

@@BartonSnooker I see. Does it affect pot accuracy?

[@BartonSnooker]

@@sj460162 yes

[@sj460162]

@@BartonSnooker Ive just taken a screenshot of ronnie from an above view in his stance (quite rare) and made an astonishing find. His right foot is well outside the line of shot as he was playing right handed!? I was of the understanding the right foot had to be on the line of shot. This was of partiicular interest to me as when I play more on my left foot I seem to play better..but tried to steer myself away from this thinking it was bad practise??

[@BartonSnooker]

@@sj460162 Ronnie's foot will definitely be on the line of aim when he's playing shots. Might not look like it from above, but it definitely will be.

[@melonmeter4324]

Hi, just a quick question, how is it that I see most pro players cues bend on the back swing ?? How and why would this happen

[@tonyfitzpatrick9043]

Hi. If you ever come to Cape Town,South Africa..would luv you to come give a clinic to our club

[@foxsake_]

My last follow thru was an unscheduled trip to the doctors 🤣👍

[@markgilmore2077]

Great topic for a vid Steve, and really clear. Is there an ideal length of follow through to aim for? Obviously it depends on the power of the shot, but for a mid length pot for a shoulder dropper, maybe about 6 inches?

[@BartonSnooker]

Not really an ideal amount. Anywhere from 2 inches to around 6 as you mentioned. It all depends on individual setup, body size, the elbow drop. So as long as you're accelerating as you hit the white, that's all that matters. The follow through is there to enable us as humans to make sure the cue is accelerating as we strike the white 😃

[@markgilmore2077]

@@BartonSnooker Got ya! Thanks Steve.

[@gunissseecharan8800]

At my age I’m trying to learn the game and all these tips are great..hope I can execute them lol..thanks anyways

[@KishorKumar-re2rs]

I have a Doubt: While striking the cue ball,should the cue travell along with the cue ball(like pushing etc with the cue) or the cue ball should go first and followed by cue?

[@BartonSnooker]

You want to FEEL like you are pushing. But obviously the cue ball will accelerate way faster than the cue, so you won't actually push it.

[@KishorKumar-re2rs]

@@BartonSnooker Thank you sir

[@asifsaeed5044]

hey uncle barton .. i want to know your Favourite player.. who is the best Plz be Honest.. as a young snooker player i have been playing for 8 years.. and im 20 years of age.. I saw all players and There full matches.. I can't find anyone better Cue ball control and cue power . .. than Judd trump.. And he is Very brave too.. in choosing difficult shots .. while others are too scared to go for the very tough shots..

[@asifsaeed5044]

@@oneplus5562 you are just Jealous of him im not talking about Only exhibition shots here .. and By the way No any other Player plays Exhibition shots better than Judd

[@nautankiduo]

hi. requested you for the proper CUE height video.. please consider that