Why take the advice of a snooker blog when it comes to the basics when you can listen to guidance of a decorated, twenty-time Triple Crown winner? Back when Ronnie O’Sullivan was producing his show, he often included masterclasses to aid newcomers and amateurs in understanding the fundamentals. You can watch this here, but for the readers, here’s what you need to know!

• Walk into the shot

Getting your feet and body in position leading up to the shot can be just as important as what happens with your arms/hands on the table. Being able to setup a strong foundation in your foot placement will help in keeping your body still while you focus on cuing. The best way to do this is to take a couple steps back and walk towards the shot stepping with your right leg first, keeping it straight, and then your left leg at a slight bend (reversed if you’re a left-hander).

• Grip

O’Sullivan (and most players) tend to grip the cue where there’s around a couple of inches or so hanging out of the driving hand i.e. not holding the cue all the way at the bottom (which leads into the next tip). He also plays with the flat part of the cue facing the ceiling – something he replicated from watching Steve Davis.

He also adopts a fairly loose grip which increases in pressure as he accelerates through the ball. Having a looser grip initially will allow you to generate power following through whereby, it’s more difficult with a tighter grip due to the stiffer movement.

• Cuing Arm Position

When down on the shot, you want to ensure your playing arm hovers at roughly a 90° angle. Keeping your arm as comfortable as possible without over or under extending will allow you to feather and address the cue ball effectively. Feathering the cue ball gives you a feel for the shot, so don’t do this aimlessly! Furthermore, for greater consistency, you should make sure there is no shoulder movement and you’re striking with your elbow.

• Bridge

There are various schools of thought for the position of your bridge hand, but O’Sullivan adopts the more conventional V-shaped bridge. However, he stresses the importance of having a solid bridge so that the cue doesn’t deviate along its intended path. A way that O’Sullivan achieves this is by placing the bottom of his palm flat on the table to provide that strong surface.

• Sighting

A commonly asked question is which ball you should be looking at when taking a shot. O’Sullivan recommends ‘flickering’ between the cue and object ball using only your eyes (and not your head/body), then when you strike the cue ball, the last you thing you should be looking at is the object ball.

And those are Ronnie O’Sullivan’s tips for mastering the fundamentals! Which of these do you think are the most important to an amateurs (and even professionals) game? Which tips would you add to this list? I don’t think there can be too many that argue with the six-time World Champion, but if you can get a good grip of these basics, you’ll get far in your breaks!

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