Positional play and break-building

Positional play and break-building

Think one ball ahead and string together reds and colours.

Think one ball ahead

Potting balls is half the game. The other half is where the white stops. Before every shot, decide which ball you will play next and where the white must finish to pot it comfortably. Then choose the pace and spin that get it there.

Aim for a zone, not a point. A zone is an area from which the next pot is easy and the white can get on to the ball after that.

  • Leave yourself a small angle on the next ball rather than a dead straight pot. An angle lets you move the white on with stun or roll; a straight pot only allows screw or follow along the same line.
  • Stay on the correct side of the next ball, the side from which the white naturally runs toward the ball after.
  • Keep the white near the middle of the table and away from cushions, where cueing is awkward.
  • Choose the simplest route. A short movement with plain ball is better than a long one with spin.

Building a break round the black

Most big breaks are built on reds near the black and pink. After each red, take the black if you can. A cut on the black lets the white come off the cushion and back among the reds for the next one. When the black is blocked, the pink and blue are your alternatives.

Open the pack early, while you still have plenty of colours to fall back on. Do not leave it until the last few loose reds are gone.

A plain-ball cut on the black: the black goes in, and the white comes off the top cushion back into the middle (the circle), where the reds are.

Clearing the colours

Once the reds are gone, the colours come in a fixed order, so you can plan the whole clearance in advance. The classic route is to go from yellow to green to brown in baulk, run down to the blue, then the pink and the black. Each shot sets up the angle for the next, and stun with a little run-through does most of the work.

Watch next

  1. 1BS #09 Positional Play Part 1Snooker(opens on YouTube)
  2. 2BS #19 Positional Play Part 2Snooker(opens on YouTube)
  3. 3BS #63 Young Players Pt 2 – Check cueing routineSnooker(opens on YouTube)
  4. 4BS #58 Clearing the Colours – from their spotsSnooker(opens on YouTube)
  5. 5BS #48 Splitting the Pack Part 1Snooker(opens on YouTube)

At the table

Set 3–5 reds near the black and play red, black, red, black. Then clear the colours from their spots. Record your best break.

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