5-1

Title says it all really..........trounced my opponent at snooker today and played some of my best stuff, typical old school me, fairly dodgy (although improving) at short range pots and deadly from long range.

That was a great positive from today, my long pots, they were good, and I owe it to the hours I put in yesterday trying new things. I'm still striving to improve my technique, and will be for years to come, but yesterday it started to dawn on me i needed to change my technique and today proved that. When I address the ball i'm good, but when i go to take the final stroke i would be looking at the cue ball and only holding the mental image of the object ball in my head, rather than the other way.

This has come from watching the pro's on TV basically, where i realised that at contact, their eyes were focussed on the object ball. So i've tried that today and it's worked, 5-1 would suggest so anyways!

The first frame of the day started well for my opponent, he'd taken a lead something like 24-3 and i was looking at defeat. The 3 red's i'd potted were really good ones, a long red, a tight pot into the middle from the edge of the pack and one at a tight angle near the black spot.

I picked up my form towards the colours, and remarkably potted every colour in around 3-4 visits to the table. Again a great positive to my attitude, i was staring defeat in the face and came back, believed, and eventually took the frame!

The second frame was the best of the night, spurred on by the comeback at the end of the last, i raced to a score in the 40's with him needing snookers he conceded to make it 2-0, he was clearly down, even his mood was starting to affect my mood. This frame the long potting fell into place and the middle pockets seemed to open up, as evey cut i made to the middle went in, similar to how my luck around the black spot has been coming in previous weeks.

3rd frame i was playing badly, and he started to come at me and got another great lead. I was playing badly and he was playing bad enough to think i could take him. AGAIN i performed well on the colours, took the blue, a tricky pink and tried to double the black, it failled, and we scrapped it out at the black, he stuck it up, not that easily, dead straight, but i converted for a 3-0 lead.

I was chuffed, i'd played both well and bad, had to scrap and shown flair. My good lay had earnt me the points and my scrappy play and a bit of safety (wasn't too hot today) had helped me defend those leads.

The forth frame my bad play had started to surface and again my opponent came at me. He was playing as well as he had today, but I knew i could beat him in this one. His scoring was again so few and far between i should have taken him, had i remained consistant as i had previously. He took this frame in a fashion i had become used today, getting the points on the colours.

After he slotted the black away (i stuck it up) i went to the toilets, i find it helps me keep my head. For the first time for months and months i was gutted to have lost a frame of snooker. Not in my performance, just the fact i'd lost. It was here i realised i'm back baby!

Reading ronnie o'sullivans book a line which caught me said "if you get the enjoyment back in the game, then the hunger for winning will come back" and it is so true. I realised 'hey i really care that i've lost, i'm gutted, i'm playing well and he's playing bad, i want to whitewash him'.

So 3-1 up and still gutted, i'm just chuffed my attitude is back, and as i write this, am already plotting my route to success next week. I want to start beating him regularly, frustrate my opponents, almost make them feel as bad at their performance as i had felt over mine in late 2006.

The 5th frame i showed what i was all about, determined to take this frame to stop any chance of a comeback. He started strongly, decent scoring around the black and blue. But i matched him, and my long potting started to fall into place, combined with decent short range pots i notched up a decent score, just with a fair few visits to the table (too many for me). 4-1 up and playing well. 'Winning snooker' as i'd called it when compared to yesterdays performance.

The final frame i'd again started well, my opponents luck was all out and after he stuck me up again he folded, his luck was bad and demoralised him so much he had to call it. To be fair i think i'd have gone on to record a few frames after that one as i'd found my groove.

Another positive to take is that i don't get tired or fed up as soon. it'd taken me very few frames to get going, and was keeping it up. Hopefully over coming weeks i'll be able to get into top gear as soon as and last for a lot longer.

I'm looking at getting a new cue soon, only as my cue now looks a right state! it's a cross between two cues and the patterns don't match. It's a shame as i'm playing well with it, but i think it's time. I put a lot of my recent performances down to the tip i'm using, it's fairly big and seems softer than my last, it's working a treat.

Good enough result tonight, wanted a whitewash, but maybe i'll have to wait till next week!

Overcoming bad play

I've kept up playing well, i played last night and i played today having taken time off over the weekend from snooker to cue up for chelsea tickets! (1o hours!)

Yesterdays play was more fun, with three of us playing each other in one game. Got a 19 break and was dissapointed not to make it into the 20's for a 3rd time in a week. On the 19 break i took on a pink which went close, and kept perfect position around the black with 3 open reds, could have been on to a big score.

Today i played my mate from Uni, and took a 1-0 lead through some good enough play, made a 18 break in my second visit to the table, but the rest i played quite badly. The second frame he upped his game and somehow beat me! his highest break is 14!!!

mentally this was quite scarring, especially as i had been trying, although the table was very tight and he took his chances.

I took the next 2 frames to make it 3-1 and was playing very badly, but i managed to scrap it out. Remembering to keep my asperations within the club, i am now playing at a standard i was at before i took a summer break. Being able to play match winning snooker is something which had escaped me for 3 months but is now back and seems to be up to scratch.

I took the last frame too, making it 4-1, and played some good snooker, especially on the colours. I had to get back to Uni but maybe if i'd played longer i would have really upped my game? i know i need to be able to play for a high number of hours, in order to let my game settle and of course improve as i rack up the hours.

Playing regularly is great though, i've regained my passion. I'm playing tomorrow one on one with my old work mate, and it should be a good match. I beat him last week for the first time for a while (well, deserving to win aswell) and i really would like to make it 2 out of 2 for the past few weeks. He looked in good shape yesterday and took some beating even in the mess around (curtesy of yours truly!)

Still going...

Today i was set to practice but got a call from a friend asking if i wanted to play him. Today is third day in a row i have been playing snooker, and it's great to be playing so much.

I took the first frame, allbeit in poor fashion, nothing compared to 24 hours earlier when i got off to a flyer. He was well out of practice as he hadn't played in around 2 months. I also took the second in unconvincing fashion.

He made it 2-1 as we scrapped out the third frame, i had picked up my game but he managed to scrap it out well. I then came back and made a solid break, scoring highly i made a 23 to make a score of around 40 within 5 visits to the table. something i have been doing well this week, notably around the black spot cutting in a fair few balls.

He made it 3-2 although i was playing well he seemed to rack up a fair few points. He then made it 3-3 with some good play, i played really well but he seemed to make up the points. hey it's a funny old game. He actually won today 4-3 after a great comeback, although neither of us knew how. I'd potted well, and to make it 3-1 I potted well on the final few colours and felt confident, which i still do.

Think i'll be playing monday next week, so could be able to get in 2-3 sessions next week, which would be great. i'm on a role at the moment and playing winning snooker. I'd say at a risk that i'm playing as well now as i was before my break, which is great to see and hopefully i'll be earning soon so i can buy a decent cue. Currently i'm playing with a hybrid of my current cue, an old butt end and a tip which i prepared in 15 minutes and glued on at a rush in just under 2 hours before using it. Stranegly it's making me play the best i've probably ever played!

lets see what next week brings eh?

Icing on the cake

I've just completed my first week back in snooker since taking a break after my first tournament, and as i write this I am undefeated in terms of snooker sessions. So for the week I have played 15 frames and won 10 of them

I played a few casual games yesterday against a mate who is just starting out, and to be fair played fairly badly, allbeit over a few beers. I won 3-1 and to be fair on myself only lost the final frame due to the tip falling off my cue so I had to use one from the rack. I took a 3-0 lead and got fairly cocky, played badly and only made a handful of good shots. I treated it as a practice session, just to get a few more hours under my belt.

Tonights events were the 'main event'. Playing my mate from work, a very good player, and to be honest his safety game tonight was top draw, it had to be, as my snooker, mostly aggressive was the best it has been for a year, dare i say ever.

After my tip had fallen off yesterday i picked it up and kicked it to the floor, knowing it was done for. I had a sneaky suspicion it was fucked, even a month ago before the tournament and i was right. I was set to play my mate at 3:00 and at 1:10 in the afternoon i started sanding my new tip and clamped it up, hoping for the life of me it would dry in 2 hours. Pretty windy day today aswell so i opened my window hoping it would do the trick.

i was right, as come 3:00 i took the clamp away and it seemed to hold, i packed my cue up and headed for the club. Running late i took straight to the table, and as seems to be the case (especially this week) i knocked up a 30 score within minutes, making rought breaks of around 8-12-10. I was hitting them sweetly, notably around the black spot. I continued to pot solidly, similar breaks of 8-10 set me on my way to a convincing first frame.

As we re-racked i prayed my form would continue, as my mate said "your on fire" i could only hope it was true. The second frame began, and i got a decent break off, leaving him tight to the cushion. We exchanged safety, as is common in the opening stages between us. I hit some great form, and notched up a cool 27 break, my second highest ever, i forget the others, but it had two blacks and a blue in their. I'd started with 24 in 2-3 visits to the table, and by this visit had about 50 odd with only 5 visits to the table. I was hitting them so sweetly, as i realised how much spring i had to my (fairly massive) tip and it struck me just how bad my previous tip was.

So i'd taken a 2-0 lead and as the previous frame hoped my form would continue. This one tailled off a bit, as in i wasn't scoring as heavily per visit to the table. He took this frame, i could live with it though as his safety had been immense. I'd developed a fairly comfortable lead of around 20 and thought i was set for a 3-0 lead, but his safety got him a foothold, and then his potting fell into place. He made it 2-1 with some workman like play, all credit to him.

This guy tends to get on a roll in snooker and this frame he was fairly deadly at the table, potting more so his strong point this frame as he made it 2-2 comfortably, still his safety was nice and his ability to snooker me forced me to concede the frame.

My attitude surprised me at this stage, over the past few months i would have thought 'shit i've lost' but now i thought 'whatever, i've played really well and he's picked up his form, lets see how this next one goes'. I was surprised how well he was playing now, this frame his snookers were decent, if not always accurate. first time i miscued was this frame too as he started to gain his form and momentum. Momentum is funny in snooker, and with some players seems a big factor, certainly with my opponent as he made it 3-2 to him. Again i thought 'fair do's he's played very well and has momentum, but i've played well too'.

I realised I had to stop his momentum, and when i broke off for around 5 minutes i played every shot safe, to try and break up his flow. It seemed to work as things didn't drop so much. This one got scrappy, as my game was dropping off and so was his. Safety shots started to go amiss on both sides.

We were fairly even going into the final colours. I started to pick my game up, and pounced on his misses to make it 3-3. I was really, really chuffed as i'd stopped his momentum, played some real competitive snooker and grinded out a result. I wanted to carry on this confidence into the next frame.

I was very comfortable in this frame, i knew if i lost i could, the way i was playing, get a result in the next one. I took shots on which were a bit risky, and tried shots like developing other colours, i was chuffed aswell as a lot of them came off, even if i didn't pot i'd be pleased with the position i got. I turned things up in this one, even making a break near 20, i'd found my form again, and was showing some stamina as i went 4-3 up. My now i was feeling myself at the table again, it was a high scoring frame, both well into our 30's with very few fouls.

I could see the shots i wanted and the position would follow. I approached the shots KNOWING i would pot them, and could focus a lot of my mind on position, which was great today. And i could count the number of misses i had with easier shots on one hand, which kept my confidence up and allowed good positional play, and for the first time in snooker could really confidently play to nudge balls and develop play. I remember a great black which was tight on the cusion and an easy red which i potted and developed the black, hit it a little too well but stuck it up for the middle pocket and went on to pot it and stay on a red to a blue, showing how well my scoring was in small doses today.

At 4-3 i suggested that if he wins we go to a decider, but if i win we call it, and i can go to the pub and get some tea!

By this time i think he was demorilised, and, sensing victory, i potted fairly well but not too convincingly. i took it 5-3 and was only really deadly on the brown-blue-pink to take the frame, but they were good pots, and i was surprised at how well my concentration lasted after 8 frames, all of which were competant play, with the first two outstanding, notably the second which was highlighted by a 27 break with high scoring breaks either side. I'd love to watch that one back again as i think it was my best frame ever.

I may practice tomorrow, the first time i've practised for a very long time, too long if i'm honest. What i loved today was walking out of the pegasus, where i said if i'd lost i wouldn't care as i'd rather play great and lose than play badly and win. I saw the guy that beat me last month in the tournament, and boy would i have loved a frame with him today just to see, to show him how i can play, and i'd been fired up and ready to go today.

But the feeling i have about playing well is awesome, i do miss it and want this feeling tomorrow and the day after, and the day after. i want to try and play as much as i can, within budget, a student budget that is, and just enjoy playing. Fingers crossed it will stay as good as this for a long time!

It all clicks....i've got the bug!

First day back to the table after taking a months break, which was needed, I now crave playing snooker, maybe moreso than before. Whats more encouraging is my attitude to snooker is improving, days before snooker is back on TV (when i'm usually inspired) and i've got the bug again, hopefully as bad as ever.

Right now i want to travel everywhere and play in as many clubs as possible, enter as many tournaments as possible and see where it gets me. Right now i'm not concerned with winning or losing (strange, as it's my nature to care about winning) just as long as i play well i'm happy as larry.

for example today, woke up at 6:15 to get to uni for 9:30 for an exam. finished by 10ish and we played pool in the bar, i was putting together good table time and thought that if i could carry this on to the snooker table in the afternoon i would be in a good position.

Lost every game of pool, but who gives a shit? i'm a snooker player!

got at the club, now under refurbishment and looking good if i say so myself, a nice new bar being put in place :. I had to referee the first game for my two mates and pick the balls out the pockets for them, but it only served to wet my appetite for the game. I was ready and rearing to go, as much as i've ever been in snooker.

My time came around, and for what i believe to be the first time ever i potted my first three balls at the table. ok, the guys knew i was a decent player and were looking forward to me putting on a show. And a great start got my confidence up, i missed a couple easy ones, but i let em slide, i've not hit a ball for a month! I won my first game back, gained a healthy lead of about 32-5, to my amasement within around 5 visits to the table gained a great advantage. I took my foot off the pedal and it got rather close (not doing myself down, it's down to inexperience, this year will be only my second year at a full size table) but i was able to see it through, overcome the pressure and pott well enough to secure a win.

Enter my next mate, by no means a snooker player, but like every other guy, competitive and will play dirty and defensive to win. Strange as i write this i remember by first week at Uni playing him, as i listen right now to the song that was on my mp3 player that very week.

Anyways, ditto to the previous frame, took a healty early lead, 20-0 in a short period of time, this frame was more of a mess around, and I let it get silly, took a few unneccessary risks and got down to the pink and black, him needing both to re-spot the black. I was really relaxed now and really enjoyed the frame (i can't remember the last i enjoyed) and he bottled an easy pink although he is shite with the rest. I potted (a long) pink and claimed the frame and two successive wins on my return to the table.

I've learnt in my break to keep my aspirations within the snooker club. Don't try and match the pro's in your appraoch until you have years of snooker under your belt. The way i see today, i was the favourite to win both games, overcame the pressure of challengers, and won both games despite a lot of pressure and male pride, I won, nobody beat me at snooker today, and it's a great boost to the ego, something i've needed.

I'm playing my mate next week, he's my biggest competition, and we're good mates, snooker buddies, if you will. I want to get some practice in before i play him, and claiming a convincing victory over him will be the icing on the cake.