Think pointless is bit strong 😂

I have to admit ,I do at times try this,couple of shots but always go back to straight shots to get my arm going. Then do shots off line ,,as in potting angled yellows Browns and Green. Then blues ,pinks, and angled blacks. Love to see what i am doing wrong,, it cannot be a lot as when i am in the mood, i tend to hold my own with the club top guys.. PS.. i sm 80,, and gave it up after I got married for about 56 years.. I am not perfect by a mile. But find I have to concentrate a lot to get anywhere near my best.. I think I am rubbish. But I would live to know what I am doing wrong. Thanks for reading anyway. Love your relaxed way.. I am never under pressure. I just like to plsy the game.

One method is playing the over the spots aiming for double kiss on black. Play 10 and note which side is your error. You will see your error. ( wrong line, incorrect delivery etc) Then move to double kiss on pink, then blue. Spend 10-15 minutes on this. You will see a pattern in your error and have a target to improve on.

Really interesting to me this as Davis swore by it. Mike is centre vision important?

Definitely agree that it's not the be-all and end-all to hit the middle of the ball. But I do think it can give you a lot of confidence if you know you can hit the ball firmly and know it will stop dead straight. It's that level of control, that confidence, that thing that makes you feel you're striking the ball cleanly. So maybe not pointless, but not worth obsessing about either.

It is pointless you're dead right Michael. If you hit a bit of left hand side by accident at a certain pace, it would push the cueball to the right of the spots a bit, which when it hits the cushion the side would take effect and bring it back to the left, possibly right back over the spots to hit your tip again... so you think you've hit it perf!

England are that poor I soon watch you go up n down the spots 😅

Thanks nice one 👍

i sometimes do this and try go up and back and then try and get the pace right to land on the blue spot on the bounce off the baulk cushion, it makes it a bit more of a challenge

Something I've never done, occasionally played shot up and down to get some sort judgement on table speed before a match. Practice reds lined down the middle, followed by colours off spots, my break then specific shots/pots with aim of landing cue ball in an area for next shot.

Hi Michael just a question I hit up and down all ok but sometimes I hit point I’m aiming at ie chalk cube sometimes it comes off left or right don’t understand if I’ve hit the point but if I hit side how have I hit the chalk thanks for your teaching you’ve helped me a lot regards Chris

Used to do this quite a lot but prefer to pot balls,only ever played with spiny white at pool might get one to try out 👍

you are really perfect. my opinion I believe the aiming is most important.

Very good vídeo.Where are you look when you stroke?objet ball ,or Cue ball ?

Aiming is far most the most important thing but too many people are stuck in cue action loophole

Very interesting. You say quite correctly that there's more than one reason why the ball doesn't come back to the tip of the cue. I put a square chalk on the cushion with its centre exactly in line with the spots. If I follow the cue ball's progress, I can see whether or not it hits the cushion at the centre of the chalk. If it does, and the ball doesn't come back to the tip, I think there's every chance that I was putting accidental side on the ball.

There’s too many variables involved to get it travelling perfectly up and down the spots. The accidental side you put on, finger marks on the cloth, same table or different table, if there’s indents where the spots are, the reaction of the rubber of the cushion, even the condition of the white (old, dull), pace of the shot etc etc… so it is pointless as you’ll never figure out what it is right or wrong.

Isn't that spotted cue ball a bit heavier? It seems to react better with follow and a bit less reactive with screw back shots

I agree with him and disagree...I mean hitting middle of the white like Davis and Hendry tried to do a lot just is not possible to hit centre all the time - it dont exist and I said this myself years ago and all the good players i know all use bits of hs ...and so up and down the spots is the most boring exercise you can do its like potting long blues it does not form part of the game very much and its something that came from the joe davis handbook. I mean we all tried it but what mike is saying is there are better/more intersting ways to understand your cueing _ spotty white and i agree .... After all not everyone cues like neil robertson arrow straight . ROS is up n down and arm bent and he aint bad ... However that said I think it can help in other ways - and was a exercise reccomended by Davis and Hedry - I think up n down the spots can help you develop your timing and cueing to be consistant and it helps concentration and focus - Prob why Mike hates it ? So that is a different thing it helps other than hitting centre of white all the time which is what Mike thinks the excercise just helps and I agree with him on that point. I cue all over the white and start left or right of centre and I made a few tons as a casual player ,,,I think Mikw is both right and wrong though. because if the exercise is about developing a repeatable cue action and building focues and patience then this exercise could in theory help with these things. I mean I used to practice on me mams ironing board in front of a mirror now that was boring ...

Agree 💪

Absolute G.O.L.D

The reason pros go up and down is purely to make sure the are finding the middle, if they are out with their cueing. They know its not something they will need, its to validate your cueing, so absolutely not pointless

Nic Barrow once said u dont need side if there is no cushion 😮

Stone Roses fan I see Michael 🫶

Why does everybody always assume that players are putting unintentional side on the ball? In my opinion you should always second-guess your aim instead, after all it’s much trickier to aim correctly than it is to hit the ball close enough to the centre.

Let’s not forget that your table would have to be perfect too…

It’s funny how all of the most successful players do the things you say people shouldn’t do Just saying !!

6 time World Champion Steve Davis and 7 times World Champion Stephen Hendry advise this routine day in day out for cueing straight. Holt, what trophy did you win, mate?