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Thinking ahead ? shots

Make a definite plan of how you will take on the game.  Think several shots ahead.  Most pro’s will tell you the whole game
has already been played out in their mind before the play a shot.

Start off by thinking two shots ahead then three and so on.  This way you can change to this new way of playing without going the whole
distance in one go.

Some of the benefits of this way of thinking are:
* Greater awareness of the table
* Thinking of a correct order in which the balls should be potted
* It help you think of a game plan which you will play against your opponent e.g. more defensive game etc

I never ran a rack until I played the game this way.  I remember the first time I made a complete clearance of all 8 balls in competition, Wow!

Make them play the game your way.

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A cue is the most vital element in the game of Snooker and it is essential to own your snooker cue if you are actually looking forward to develop your ability in playing the game. While you are buying a cue you will get a variety of choices. Choosing the right type of cue is very important when you wish to excel in the game.  Bought cues may come with a cue tip pre-installled.  make sure that this tip is suitable for you before playing.  Some cheaper cues will install an extremely poor variety of tip on the cue while custom cue makers will often ask which type of tip you prefer to be installed.

The standard length of a cue is around fifty-eight inches and the recommended weight should be not more than seventeen ounces. Snooker cue tip vary in sizes but 10 millimeters is taken to be the standard size. Although experts use 9mm and 11mm tip sizes, it is best to learn the game in a 10mm tip size. At the end of the cue a ferrule remains attached so that it can prevent the tip from splitting.

Most of us play snooker in our leisure. We are well aware of the rules of the games but sometimes we tend to miss out on the other aspects of the game. One such thing is the types and fittings of the Snooker Cue tips.

Most of the Snooker cue tips nowadays are made from various types of leather, the process manufacturing of which is still a very well kept secret.

Various pieces of equipment are available for cue tip fitting.  There are various vice grips, sanding pads, tip glue etc.  It’s best to experiment to find a system that works for you.

If you are playing Snooker then it is very important for you know about the cue tips. There are different types and fittings of cue tips available in the market.

Hard tips are really good to use but it ’s a players personal preference which tips are best.

Here are some very popular cue tips,

-Elk Master is a fine tip made by Tweeten and it is regarded as the most popular soft cue tip across the globe.  This is one of the most popular tips for snooker.

-LePro is one of the most popular cue tip used across the world. This is a medium hard tip.

-Moori is a type of a layered cue tip. This cue tip manufactured from pigskin. This is the choice of the professionals. It is available in all types such as hard, medium, and soft.  Layered tips give a different feel and consistency of shot.

The most important thing if you want to become an ace in billiards is the accuracy. As there is really a very small margin of error while playing with a formidable opponent, you need to think before any shot you take.

The billiard drills can teach you how to get into the mind of your opponent. The constant practice will hone up your skills as an accurate billiard player. These billiard drills are actually a plan about playing a series of successful shots in order to have the larger share of the score. The plan is to hit the balls in such as way that the cue ball is well placed for your next shot. In professional billiards this is regarded as the single most element of success. Being a beginner you can learn to play billiards like a professional, if you can spend sometime everyday on the practicing the billiards drills.

The billiard drills can provide with the special tips, help you to be patient and relax while you are in a shot. But the last word is always the practice. The more you practice, more you improvise on your skill. Once you are sure about your techniques, practice them and you can see yourself succeeding in this skill.

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Practice makes perfect. And that is true for billiards as well. As you know full well, it is not just about hitting the ball with the cue but a substantial set of subtler skills that makes a billiard player a true master at his game. Hence you need to practice if you wish to compete and show those casual friends of yours where they stand. A fine set of billiard drills can be utilized by you to improve your skills
Concentrating on the cue ball
For most new players, the object ball takes up more of their attention than the cue ball itself. End result? A bungled shot. Line up a series of object balls in a horizontal line across the table. Try and hit each ball absolutely straight after lining up the cue ball with it. If it deviates from the rectilinear, you did not stroke straight and lost concentration.
Perfect Shot control
Set the cue ball and the object ball a little distance away from the rail, in a straight line. Try to hit the object ball with a perfect kill shot and make the cue ball follow the object ball into the corner pocket. Neither should touch the rail.

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The game of artistic billiards is as interesting as its name. If you wish to play artistic billiards, your shots require absolute precision. This game demands a player of great caliber as the shots are taken from pre-determined positions. There are 76 pre-designated shots and they are categorized according to their difficulty of execution. As a player of artistic billiards, you do not have the choice of taking a shot from a position of your choice.

If you are one of those who have a knack for hitting the bulls eye every time, you can take a shot at artistic or fantasy billiards. Accuracy and precision rule the roost in the game. There are a total of 500 points up for grabs. Depending upon the difficulty level of hitting each shot, points are assigned to each of the shots. For a comparatively easier shot, a maximum of four points can be scored. If you manage to take a clean strike at the most difficult shot, you gather 11 points in your kitty.

Your cue is your tool to success. A player can use a maximum of twenty different kinds of cues, each of them designed to hit from a particular position. With a whole range of improvised shotmaking techniques in your armor, you can emerge as a successful player.

Do you wish to become a professional billiards player and join the ranks of all time greats or at least be in the same league as champions.  There are many who have made it to the top by virtue of their talent and sheer hard work.

Apart from playing the game earnestly, you also need to take care of certain finer points. For example, joining a club of professional billiards players or interacting with state level players would give you an insight on how the game is played on professional level. Participating in tournaments that attract maximum viewer attention and are extensively covered by international channels like World 8-Ball Championship, 9-Ball Challenge and U.S Open One Pocket Championship and is the perfect way to enter the realm of professional billiards.

Professional billiards players look up to a win in any of these tournaments. You also tend to earn respect amongst the followers of the game. Following the career of these players would give you an idea about how to chalk out your career plan and go about it. Finally but most importantly there is no other alternative to continuous practice and it is the key to becoming a professional billiards player.

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Does thinking about indoor games evoke memories of endless sessions of pool and snooker with your friends? If you are an avid fan of billiards or snooker, you must know about the different types of balls used for the different games. A game of carom is never played with the ball used for American style pool game.

Lets take, for example, the ball sets used for snooker games. The standard snooker balls measure 52.5 mm in diameter, however some balls also measure 52.4 mm. They have no standard weights, however, they usually weigh around 3 g. On the other hand, for a game of three-cushion, straight or balkline, you need balls that are 61.5 mm in diameter.

If you specialize in the game of Russian pyramid, you need to use a different set of billiards balls (with 68 or 72 mm diameter) from those used in Bumper pool (balls with 52.5 mm diameter). The blackball (British-style pool) uses 4.76 cm cue balls and 5.08 cm object balls, while the American-style pool uses balls with 5.715 cm in diameter.

Do you know how the balls where initially manufactured? They were fashioned out of ivory from elephant tusks. However, today phenolic resin is the most common material used for manufacturing these balls.

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Billiard practice drills are practice modules to impose better perfection and control over the game of the players. Before start playing with billiards drills-practice module, you should better set you own goal for the year, otherwise the repetitiveness of the practice drill module may hamper on play style.

The popular billiard drill practices are:
When the ball is thrown on the table, in any order, you should run 100 balls consecutively.
You need to run 100 balls without making a miss without allowing the cue ball in touching a rail.
Running three successive sets of 13-ball exercise without a single miss
Running three successive sets of 12 ball exercise without any miss
Running one set of the 14-ball exercise without making a miss
Scoring a 16 or higher in the 8-ball mid term exam
Scoring a 16 or higher count in 9-ball-mid –term exam
Shooting 100 stop shots, keeping apart 3-4 diamonds into pocket of the corner without making any miss
Delivering 20 successful stun shots without making any miss
Delivering15 uninterrupted 2-7-2’s, connecting the diamonds, and stopping the cue ball within a CD diameter of the center of the table
Shooting all lessons from the Lesson in order with maximum five misses
Shooting 25 sets of the 4-ball exercise without making any mistake in the session

These practice drills will ensure a consistence in performance and ideal technique for the beginners as well as for the average players. We cannot count the masters for their practice skill because they are genius and genius designs his own way to practice.

For more info please take a look at www.themonk.com/

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