Always thought being tall would be an advantage with snooker, but my 5'8 probably helps me lol. Then I happily realised plenty of excellent pros aren't endowed with height either 🎱

Just widen your stance a bit more so you're lower - your back foot should always be in line with the shot, so it's the lead foot that needs to be moved out to the side a bit more. Extra height should be an advantage really, because you'll have a longer reach.

Helping side can help

And for me too 👍

Yes. You can’t transfer side spin from the cue ball to the object ball so point 2 is virtually impossible. Helping side is a trace and is only used in the direction the cue ball is going. I’m really fascinated by this coaching world. There’s so much nonsense out there. 😂 The funniest thing is people spend time looking into this stuff and it’s not why they’re missing in the first place. Just another distraction. This video might help. I think there's been a misunderstanding... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/f7hmmNOgtMjVlps.html

@MichaelHoltSnookerCoaching Thanks Michael. I watched that video and it's excellent. Your frustration at some of the myths is funny. And yes totally agree, it's amazing the number of people who miss a ball and suddenly they need to find an aiming method 🤣 The transfer spin point is interesting. Unfortunately it's been 15 years since I've had a game of snooker so I'll take your word on it. However, in pool you can definitely transfer a small amount of spin onto the object ball. Obviously the balls are lighter and the cue ball is smaller than the object ball which will affect things to a degree. In your demo on your video you hit the shot quite soft and you could see with your slo mo camera there was no spin by the time it reached the pocket. But I do think if you hit the ball harder you can impart a small amount of spin for a few rotations (in pool anway). You can see it on this video where you can manipulate the angle of a double kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mrFogLd7vMeafXk.htmlsi=TmrhayJr7XlvCzQy

My pleasure my friend. 🤗

My pleasure.

Thank you.

@@tomwalsh6655 yes it’s check side so slows the travel 👍

@@user-fy2om3pt6z ahh okay cheers

A trace of side is such a minimal difference, how will this develop bad habits? All the pros do it. Explain?

@@Charlie.c19 Beginner needs to concentrate on other things than improving cueball control with side spins. If a beginner will neglect more important topics, he will develop bad habits which are really hard to unlearn later on. In my opinion, it's better to be less position perfect with a good technique and be able to pot medium distance balls, than striving for perfect position and not be able to pot medium distance balls consistently with a shaky technique, bad aiming, alignment etc.

@RoboKubik8 the irony in what you're saying there is that they should learn to pot mid distance balls with centre ball striking as a beginner - if they are constantly trying to find the middle they will be putting on unwanted side spin and more often than not, will miss, OR, more importantly, not get the best position on their next ball. You can work at the potting angles and eventually get closer and closer without helping side, but then the ball eventually goes in consistently but they get nowhere with position. What is the point in that? The goal is clearing the table, ideally, not to just be able to pot a few and be happy with that. If you're happy with that then why even bother trying to improve? What bad habits come through learning to move the cue ball in a positive manner?? That is the best thing a beginner could do. It will make them pot more and get better positional play. Put it this way, I've been playing for 5 years and for 4 and a half years I was playing nearly every day constantly working on having a "good technique" but not really getting anywhere. Tiny improvements through muscle memory. In the last few months playing with helping side all the time has taken my game to a new level. I'd do anything to go back in time and explain this to myself, and realise that the goal is cue ball control, and a big way to get this is through helping side.

@@Charlie.c19 My point is, you can only learn a few things at a time. And there are more important things for a beginner to learn and work on than playing with a sidespin. Some bad habits are really hard to "unlearn". Building good fundamentals shouldn't really take more than a year. Also sidespin can really mess with people's heads and develop nasty things like cueing across, bad alignment/aiming when they start too early with it (even a simple angled shot messes with some people's heads and they really struggle to cue straight if the shot is not straight).

@RoboKubik8 people are obsessed with cue action and technique. Playing with a TRACE (half a tip) of side is very similar to striking in the middle. This is much easier to get to grips with than many other aspects of learning the game. If you can pot a straight ball, striking as close to the middle as possible, then great. If you can pot an angled cut with a trace of side then you've just made the game a million times easier. As Michael says, people use helping side because it makes the game easier, NOT harder. If a beginner has a poor concept of what side spin is, how are they ever gonna learn to play with a trace of helping side? Why would you waste a whole year getting nowhere, when you could have an understanding of how to play proficiently from the very beginning? Or at least, know what the top players are doing and work towards that. Think about it, in what other sport do beginners get told to go about the game ignoring KEY aspects of what the best in the world (and just good level amateur players) do? Imagine playing football and being only told to shoot along the floor when in front of goal because its easier to understand the concept of kicking a ball toward a net from the floor and keeping it there - why introduce shooting the ball in the top corners? This will only complicate it... this is ridiculous. Helping side is not the same as "side". It is a tiny trace of either left or right spin, it opens the game up... if people begin playing and are told to NOT use any form of side spin, they will get absolutely nowhere until they are told "use side now"...

Absolutely. That was my logic also, but the strange thing was, that since I started using it - more balls are going in, especially since I learned about CIT. Now I wonder why the coaches teach the way they do with centre ball striking and ghost ball aiming. Michael is absolutely right to advocate it, they don't call it helping side for no reason.

​@MrXeberdee it frustrates me that amateurs who are at half decent club level, and want to improve, are so against Michael. Baffles me

If you want to hit middle, you will accidentally put on the wrong side and trap the cue ball in its movement, restricting the spin/movement. The "target" is with helping side, as this doesn't throw the pot off much if any. The target becomes bigger because aiming 1-9mm to whichever side of middle you need is easier then aiming for a 1mm point in the middle. You have more margin for error in your contact point when striking in order to get the desired outcome.

@Charlie.c19 thank you for explaining further...I still don't understand, but thanks for your view on this, I'm working on it, so maybe I'll get it at some point 👍