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Snooker Strategies Used By The Pros

When people first learn to play snooker, they tend to focus on aim and accuracy. While both have a significant impact on how well you play, those 2 components merely scrape the surface of snooker strategy. Veteran snooker players know the value of planning each and every shot well in advance. Similar to playing chess, professional players plan their shots in anticipation of future ball positions. Below, you'll learn about potting and positioning, a couple of tactical approaches, break building and some advanced strategies used by seasoned pros.

Potting And Position

Like other cue sports (pool, billiards, etc.), positioning is critical. Wildly shooting into a group of balls is likely to yield poor results because it's harder to control the simultaneous trajectories of multiple balls. Unless your Break Off shot is flawless, you should consider working from the sides. Similarly, with any group of balls, focus on a ball that's positioned on the perimeter of the group. Your potting is more easily controlled and predictable. Plus, it's much easier to set the position for your next strike.

Tactical Approaches

Experienced players always try to leverage the balls' positions to leave themselves the most flexibility with their shots and the greatest likelihood of continuing their break. Many times, you'll be positioned with multiple possible pots. Even if both pots look easy, you need to think tactically. That is, which pot would help position your cue ball to take advantage of the next ball on? Alternatively, if you don't have an easy pot, try to position the cue behind the colored balls so your opponent will be unable to pot a red ball during his break. There are hundreds of tactical approaches to snooker strategy. You'll learn them as you gain experience playing.

Building Your Break

Your ability to sustain your break can literally mean the difference between winning or losing a frame. Many seasoned players, if given the chance, can clean the table with one break. So, building your break by selecting the proper pots is critical. Often, easy pots should be avoided to take advantage of ball positions. Potting an easy shot may make future pots more difficult, eventually ending your break. One of the greatest skills a snooker player can learn is to keep multiple viable options open. Potting balls while nudging others into position for future pots is how the top-ranked players build their breaks and dominate their opponents.

Advanced Tactics

Snooker involves several advanced strategies that build breaks, position balls and ultimately, win frames. First, try to clear a path between the colored balls and the pockets. If you notice veteran snooker players, they often pot reds around the black and pink balls, clearing the way for colored pots. Second, look for supporting balls that are positioned near pockets. Depending upon how close to the pockets these supporting balls are positioned, your margin of error is greater because the object ball can bounce off the supporting ball into the pocket. Finally, focus your breaks near the table's top cushions. The pink and black balls are well-positioned to support a progressive break.

Starting With The First Step

Learning to play snooker is like learning to walk. Begin with the easy steps. Master your aim and accuracy. Then, focus on positioning. Next, consider tactical approaches to the game that help position your future pots around balls that will help you prolong your break. When you've gained experienced doing these things, it's time to learn a few advanced tactics. The best snooker players in the world didn't learn the strategies they use to achieve top rankings all at once. They learned to play the game one step at a time, mastering them as they progressed. You should do the same.