The Snooker Line Up

Training Exercises

The Snooker Line Up

The snooker line up exercise is probably the most common training exercise used by professionals to loosen up and practice the basics.

The snooker line up exercise is useful to all standards of snooker players as it helps the person understand quickly which basic elements of the game they are struggling with when given a reasonable opportunity to build breaks.

With all the balls in ideal positions all you have to do is pot them and that’s where the fun starts.

This exercise is a must if you want to improve your game and is a good indicator as to how you are improving as you can record progress in each session.

If you are not used to getting breaks in normal play then this will help you to experience break building and take away those nerves that players get as breaks get higher.

We are all at different levels of the game so as always, set yourself realistic targets to improve and understand patterns when the exercise breaks down.

Setting the exercise up

The Snooker Line Up:

Place all the colours on their spots
Set the reds up in a line through the centre of the table.
- I have placed:
  - 2 below the black
  - 4 between black and pink
  - 7 between pink and blue
  - 2 between blue and brown
Choose a starting red (I normally choose the 2nd one behind the black

There are various positions used for the reds in the line i.e. 1 or 3 reds below the black etc. Just decide on one set-up and stay with it so you can measure your own progress in each session.

Initial exercise suggestions

The Snooker Line Up:

Choose which red you want to start with (advanced players start with the first red)
Pot a red and a colour as usual
When all the reds have been potted, pot the colours in usual sequence
If you miss at any point, it is normal to set the balls up and start again as a punishment to help you focus
Record your score to gauge your improvement in practice sessions

Other points to consider

The Snooker Line Up:

Some coaches suggest imagining two lines splitting the table into thirds. each line would run the length of the table between the line of the balls and the rail; these lines are where the object ball should finish on each shot so you ensure you can always get your bridge on the playing surface. Obviously you don’t want the cue ball to finish on the rail or two close to the object balls so considering this will certainly help.

When you get really good at this exercise, try and start with the bottom red and work your way up in order which helps you to focus your position a little more prior to taking a colour.

It is also worth mentioning that although most players count their breaks, some just want to develop flow so only see how many reds are left when they miss as it help clear their mind, the choice is yours, just try and ensure you build this routine into your practice sessions!