132. Angled Pots - Why use side?

In any cue sport potting a ball at an angle many good players will choose to pot the ball using side, ‘helping side’, as it is called. Barry demonstrates why this is? (PLEASE NOTE Looking down the line of a laser is dangerous to the eyes. Anyone planning to copy this exercise should not look at the laser). #cueball #snookercoach #barrystarksnookercoach

[DavidEButler]

Barry, you said that the person using helping side will have to aim a little bit thinner, but won't they actually have to aim a little bit thicker?

[davidbaker]

Barry i have to say i have been playing snooker for over 35 years with only an handful of lessons, no one has every been able to correct my cueing on thin angled shots. I have been watching all your videos since they have first come out and find them very interesting and informative, however now having seen this video on helping side, i can only say thank you very much, this alteration has made a vast difference to my game in the short time i have been using this method. I cannot wait to get back to competitive snooker now and will continue to adapt this more in my game play. Thank you once again.

[bushwacker]

Dear Barry, thank you for your ongoing commitment and service to the snooker and billiards international community. How generously you give of your precious time to reply to people’s comments and questions at length. Wishing you good health for the New Year from Australia. Thank you for your passion, inspiration and expertise. You are a complete gentleman whose legacy is now documented thanks to technology and your generous commitment to embrace it. Gratefully appreciated!

[sarmad]

Barry sir you're great at explaining and teaching the game.. Im 28, playing snooker for last 14 years, wasnt able to pot more than 4, 5 balls consecutively, its been one year watching your videos and then practicing accordingly and now i more than often can pot 8, 10 balls consecutively.. Added advantage that I've gained from your videos is that my interest in the game has gone to a higher level... Thanks a lot, keep the work up. Best of luck from Pakistan.

[georgedagosdagopoulos]

The kind of knowledge you share with us is
Thank you Sir for another great video!!!

[scambodia]

Long time no hear Barry, hope you are keeping well and thanks as always for your informative lessons.

[raymeidha]

I had already paid attention to this by watching the pros play, including the Sullivan which I am a fan of. today, I also play like this, I improved my game a lot. Thank you master.

[directionbangkok]

The answer to this question is consistency I believe. The object ball will come off at a much more consistent (ie predictable) angle, and that is obviously more conducive to making the ball. People may think this is a crazy analogy, but it is the same thing as a fade or draw in golf, or even a hook in bowling. Our logical mind tells us straight is better, but the instincts within us figure out there are better ways that have larger buffers. I think that players who force themselves to use center on these shots out of some sort of principle do themselves a disservice in the long run without knowing it. Play enough pool or snooker and you simply just know that a little outside english makes it easier to pocket balls.

[BBBBD]

The allowance part is probably what most amateur players struggle with but, you've summed it up nicely as ever Barry - practice, practice and you guessed it, more practice.

[MegaMilez]

Dang Barry, I leave for a month or two and you've got lasers and fancy cue cams now!!

[ewanthug]

well barry i commonly use helping side just to cut the thinner black! i mean just to pot the ball but still not out of position! i tought i was wrong the whole time using helping side when i get the thinner cut black or blue, because.. the center ball i find much complicated also not easy to get a thin cut.
i mean.. i tell myself in my mind its much confident and less harder to pot the thinner cut black using left hand side to the right pocket which mean easy to pot the thinnest cut but when i watch this video i cant believe there is someone out there will to talk and explain about this and your are right practice and practice,
Barry you the boss!
been follow you ever since
greeting from Malaysia

[coolmind]

Very well explained and great demonstration. Please keep up the good work on this channel, it's so helpful to learn from your great experience.

[magnusclaesson]

One of the more informative videos I have seen!

[andrewmason]

Super interesting and useful! Thank you for taking the time to cover this topic.
Also pleased that you commented that ball condition could be a factor. The tables I play on are 100+ years old (obviously cushions & cloth aren't) and the balls look it! I've often wondered if that makes them play less 'true'.

[batlin]

So much knowledge imparted in a short video. Thanks Barry!

[ral]

Thank you Barry, I have also watched a Barton Snooker video addressing the same. Definitely informative, you've made it easy to understand. The descriptive terms used like cling and throw, are beginning to make better sense ...

[thefootballer]

Interesting video, very advanced stuff! I believe Dr Dave on youtube (pool/billiards coach that goes into pretty complex techniques and the physics behind it) refers to this as cut-induced throw, and also recommends 'gearing outside english' to help cancel the effects! Will try to put this into practice next time, but I think I know why I keep missing high blacks now, thanks Barry.

[witzar]

And the reason for using helping side on cut shots is simply: helping side => fuller hit => bigger margin of error => bigger chance to make the pot

[penfold]

It works like cogs. If the cue ball spins clockwise (Left spin), then it will put anticlockwise spin on the object ball (right spin). At the point of contact, the cue ball will go to the right and the object ball will go to the left. This is especially useful when potting into the middle pockets from an angle more than 45°. For example, if the cue ball is behind the balk line and the object ball is a foot away from the left middle pocket, but on the streight line between the two middle pockets, putting left spin on the cue ball will aid the object ball toward the middle pocket nearer the streight line between the two middle pockets. It's mainly about controlling where the momentum and energy that you put into the cue ball goes once the two balls meet. On this kind of shot you have less choice of where the cue ball can end up due to there being less difference in the amount of energy you put in to it whilst still getting the object ball to go where you want it to go. It's a much finer Ballance (less than a quarter of the object ball).

[warzone]

You’re a legend of the game, Barry. Hope you are well.