Smart Snooker Shots.

These shots are simply clever. Some of them are a little more advanced, but most of them are basic and straightforward to play. But all of them make the game easier for you by letting you play snooker in a smarter way. A couple of the 10 shots I'm about to explain are quite difficult, but don't worry if your snooker skills aren't that advanced yet. Because we're starting with something as simple as plotting the black off its spot. The black off its spot is considered to be one of the simplest shots in the game, but this is only because snooker players practice this shot all the time. The cue ball will often end up in a position that makes this a difficult pot, and there's usually quite a lot to think about, making this very missable. Because there is in fact an easy way to play this. This is a great thing to try if you're struggling or not confident, and it's to leave yourself topside of the black rather than low on it. So now I've got a straightforward shot to play the cue ball on and off the top cushion, and come up for this red. You don't want to be doing this all the time because the cushions can be inconsistent. However, if you're struggling to pot basic balls, or you're struggling to get in position at any time, this is quite a good idea because it's a good way to get back into the swing of it. This, however, doesn't always work. But what happens if you find yourself in a bad position like this, where the natural angle doesn't automatically take the cue ball where you need it to go? Your first option is to try to stun the cue ball. This does make the pot a little bit more difficult, but not too much. Your other option is to use a small amount of sidespin. You will need to know how to allow for it, but that again is not too difficult. And you can use sidespin to get the cue ball further across the other side of the table. This is a little bit harder again to judge, but it's a great skill to have. Some players like to play this as a stun shot, but personally I prefer to play it with a small trace of side. I just feel I've got more control. However, our next little trick is all about stun shots. If I want to get on the green into the yellow pocket here for some reason, it's going to be a little bit difficult because I'm far too straight on the shot. But it is more than possible to get the cue ball to where I want it to go by striking down on it just a little bit. And basically, I've widened the angle. This is usually referred to as bouncing the cue ball. It's not something players tend to learn until later on, but it's so easy to do, and it makes the game a lot easier to play. The effects do wear off over distance, but not completely. However, striking down on the ball like this, especially hard, makes it more likely that you're going to miss the shot. But just by striking down on the cue ball a little bit, it means you can get it to move sideways with a lot less power, meaning you can play slower shots. When you have one that's a little bit too straight than this one, I'm just going to bring the back of my cue up just a little bit, and I'm going to be able to stun up for this red a little bit easier. But on this shot where I've maybe got too much angle, I can just keep my cue flatter to the table and make sure the cue ball doesn't run away from me. When the object balls over a pocket, it can make the pot a lot easier. However, getting the cue ball into position from here definitely isn't. It doesn't matter how straightforward the shot looks, it can make it very difficult to finish in position, and different tables can vary drastically like this. In fact, the most controlled way of getting the cue ball away from the jaws of the pocket is to simply not hit the cushion at all. But sometimes you're not straight enough to be able to do that. On those occasions, the best thing you can do is use a small amount of side spin. Purely using side spin to get the cue ball out of the jaws is the most consistent way to control it, although it doesn't always take the cue ball exactly where you want it to go. But this works even better when you have this type of angle on a shot, because it can be very difficult to play a stun shot and get the cue ball out in a controlled way, and often you leave it too close to the pocket. As long as you avoid the jaws, the cue ball is almost guaranteed to be back out in the middle of the table, and it isn't always going to be the right shot, but it is a guaranteed way of getting the cue ball out of the jaws of the pocket. If you're confident enough playing shots with side spin, this actually works quite well on regular shots when you finish with a bad angle and just a little bit too straight, because you can make the cue ball very easily move around the table without having to strike it too hard. Before our next shot, we're just going to find this guy with Crack 1 in his name from Roma in Australia, which is there. When someone plays a safety shot against you around the top cushion area, your ability to pop balls in the middle pocket can make a huge difference. Sometimes these are very attacking shots that you need to be confident to play. However, most of the time these are mostly speculative, and your main goal is to get the cue ball safe at the same time. You will be able to get a greater number of chances the more of these shots you can play, and the better you can play them. Obviously, the slower you play these shots, the more of a chance they have of going in, but other than that, there's no real trick to them. They just require practice, because ultimately these shots simply give your opponent fewer places to hide. It can be really frustrating sometimes when a pot doesn't quite go. Fortunately, however, you can use sidespin to throw the object ball in whichever direction you want, although only very slightly. Left-hand side will push the object ball very slightly to the right when you strike it, and right-hand side will push the object ball very slightly to the left, and it really helps if you can play these shots slowly. Something else to be aware of when the balls are closer together like this, here we're trying to pop the red, is you'd think it'd be easier to pop the more the cue ball came this way, in fact, the more you come this way, the more likely it is you're going to hit the blue first, and not be able to pop the red. However, the more you bring the cue ball in this direction, so the less of the red you can see, the easier it is to cut in. Here we're not going to be anywhere near hitting the blue, and we're going to pop the red easily. Probably the easiest thing to explain on this list, are these simple stun shots around the pink spot. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to make an entire break where one simple stun shot leads into another. This is rare, however, because the pink goes easily into so many pockets, it's not unusual for reds to be in the perfect place, whereby all you need to do is play a straight stun shot, and you're automatically in position. This is an easy way to build confidence in your basic potting and your touch, so just be aware when you see a chance like this. It's just a very simple way to make break building easier. Have you ever found yourself in a position where you weren't able to play a pot and had to settle with a simple safety shot, only to completely mess it up a bit like this? Well, it may not have been your fault. This can actually be because of the geometry of a snooker table. If you've got a straighter shot like this, and you try to play the cue ball off the side cushion and onto the top cushion, then you'll get the double kiss every single time, no matter if you play it thin or you play it thicker. The only way to avoid this is to use running side, making the cue ball spin further down the cushion, avoiding the object ball for a second time. To do this, you need right hand side on this side of the table, and left hand side on the opposite side of the table. It's very easy to play this too hard, and get the cue ball to end up around the black spot somewhere, and the red you just played onto the middle pocket. To avoid this, you have to play it really slow, but this is in fact a very tough shot to get right. It's the only way out, but it's one you definitely want to avoid if you can. Now for shots along the cushions. In a break, try to avoid playing permissible shots like this one, when we've got other options. But if you absolutely have to play it, try to leave yourself as much angle as you can, so you can easily play a slow shot and get the cue ball away from the cushion. There's still a chance, however, you're going to finish straighter than you wanted to, so we're going to borrow an idea from the third tip, and play around two cushions with side spin. This is a lot harder pot than earlier, because it's along the cushion, but I believe sometimes this is just the easiest way to get on a colour. Our next shot's going to be a little bit harder, but first we've got to find Philip from Belgrade, Serbia, which is there. The most common safety shot used in snooker is the thin safety. These shots can be incredibly challenging to get right at times, and what you want to avoid at all costs is pushing a ball towards a pocket and leaving a straightforward shot on. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do to improve at these shots is practice them, and if you're not very good at playing them, you won't get many chances and it can knock your confidence. Another crucial shot to learn is this one. Here I'm about to spin the cue ball around the back of the black, whilst attempting the pot. These shots do look fantastic when they work, but what do you need to know to be able to play them? You need to be confident in your ability to play side spin shots from distance in order to get these right, and sometimes to make them even harder, they need to be stunned just a little bit as well. The better you are at these shots, the more pots you're going to be able to take on and return the cue ball back to bulk and hopefully safe. It doesn't necessarily even matter if the pots go in, because you know you're going to be playing a safety shot at the same time. But it is a less risky way to have more chances during a frame. But if you want to see me taking on some more risky shots, then why not have a look at these two videos while I attempt some of the best shots from previous championships? And remember, don't just watch play, and make the commitment to becoming a better player by subscribing to the channel and visit the website. See you later!