X Breaker said:
I am not sure how the players in the UK practise their aim, but this is what I am doing now.
Long straight-ins every time.
Put a ball on the blue spot and the cue ball near a corner pocket but far enough away to get your hand on the table comfortably. Then play to pot the ball in the opposite corner and follow it in. This will tell you everything you need to know about your alignment and your cueing. If you're playing on a brushed nap play down the nap to avoid the white drifting toward the side cushions.
Take care to place the cue ball exactly so that it aligns through the centre of the object ball and the target point at the back of the opposite pocket.
Stand facing the shot and feel the line.
Step square into the shot by placing you lead foot (right handed=right foot) on the line of the shot and drop down to the table. You should have 4 points of contact on the cue (grip, chest, chin, bridge. This ensures the cue travels through the shot in an exact straight line. You will feel any deviation against your chest or chin, and see any tiny sideways movement of the tip when addressing the cue ball.
Check the tip is aligned to the
absolute centreline of the ball (you need to play a bit of top to get the white to follow).
Check your cue is aligned to the exact spot at the back of the pocket through the dead centre of the balls. When you're looking at the target you'll be aware of two fuzzy cue images (one from each eye - like a tuning fork) assuming you cue centrally like me. You need to split the difference exactly with the aiming line down the centre of these two images.
Recheck cue ball impact point and cue/aiming line alignment as many times as needed until you feel you've got it nailed.
On the final drawback, concentrate on drawing the cue back smoothly along the line, a golf swing is no good in snooker. Allow your grip to open slightly as you draw back the cue. It will automatically close when you play the shot.
Shift your eyes to the back of the pocket (ignore the object ball) and pause slightly to avoid any extraneous movement.
Play a firm confident stroke, and watch the results closely. If you're cueing fairly well you'll pot the ball, but any slight imperfection (usually not hitting the cue ball to within a fraction of a millimetre of the centreline) the white will not follow through into the same pocket. If you're striking the cue ball to the left of centre that's which way the object ball will go, and the cue ball will drift off to the right, and vice versa.
If you can pot both balls ten times in a row just go home. You have nothing else to learn. You'll certainly have no difficulty potting any ball from any angle.
Boro Nut