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Snooker

Snooker technique, and how it differs from pool.

Snooker's big table and small pockets reward a stance and cue action built for straightness above everything else.

A more open stance

As described on Dr. Dave Alciatore's site, a snooker stance is more open than a typical pool stance: more bend in the front knee, both feet pointing toward the shot, and the front foot little or not at all ahead of the back foot. Snooker tables are 3 to 4 inches taller than pool tables, so players bend less to get down.

The open stance lets the head square up to the shot and drop until the chin sits right over the cue. That matters most on a big table with small pockets.

Chin, chest and a straight cue action

Snooker players use the chin and chest as guides that keep the cue on line, which also makes a swooping stroke obvious. Many use a piston-style stroke guided along the chest and chin rather than a pure pendulum.

A snooker coaching source describes "cueing straight" as pushing the cue through in a straight line on every shot. Its test: set the cue ball and the blue in line with the middle pockets, pot the blue, and check that your cue passes over the center of the pocket. The same source says a good cue action is still accelerating as it pushes through the cue ball, and that soft shots need only a small backswing.

Snooker bridges

Snooker players prefer an open bridge. The same coaching source describes the standard version as fingers spread wide with the thumb raised to form a V. On cushion shots it prefers a loop bridge with the cue running between the first two fingers.

What we could not confirm

Snooker cue tip diameters are often quoted at around 9 to 10 mm, but sources differ: Seybert's gives 9 to 10 mm, while Wikipedia gives 8.5 to 10.5 mm in one place and 8 to 11 mm in another, with 9 to 10 mm the most popular. We did not find a rulebook standard, so we do not state one. See the snooker rules page for the table and balls, which are set by the governing body.

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