Potting balls
There is a video I remember seeing on YouTube. For those who don’t know, this is the undisputed greatest snooker player of all time, maybe a couple drinks in. But what has always impressed/inspired me about this video is the undisguised glee he shows when he pots a ball. Ball go in hole. Monke happy. The simple pleasure of hitting balls with a stick into a hole is what it’s all about. Look at the face of every single newcomer at a pool or snooker table, those who need help holding the cue. Look at their face when they strike their first ball into the pocket. There are some who like it a little bit, there are some who immediately fall in love, there are some who fall in love with it gradually, but everyone likes that feeling. It is something primal, affirmation of the hand eye coordination that has been bred into us by millions of years of evolution.
What is most interesting to me is the progression of the joy you feel as you get progressively deeper into the game. As a rank beginner, the positive feedback loop is centered around consistently enjoying the micro-happiness that comes from making straight shots (where the object ball and the cue ball are in a straight line to the pocket). As you get slightly better, the focus shifts towards making more of these in a row (maybe aim for 4/5 or 8/10). You start beginning to practice slightly more difficult shots like angled cuts.
As you get even better at the game, the focus almost entirely shifts towards hitting the cue ball in such a way as to both make your current shot, ensure you leave the cue ball in position for your next shot. This is a skill that’s easy to start learning, but almost impossible to master, needing years of practice, unless you’re supremely talented. Screw back, side spin, top spin, stun shots, the learning opportunities are endless. And as you hit the top echelons of shot making, there are those shots that make people stand up and applaud. Look at this shot, and more importantly look at the reaction of the opponent. Yeah. Every player’s approach to the game is different. Some are aggressive, some are measured, some grind you down with defense, some are reckless. And some are like chameleons. They decide the personality they want to bring to the table, based on the stakes and the opponent. What you do on the table, how you approach a given shot or a given table situation, says a lot about your character. The green baize is often a mirror into the player’s soul. It doesn’t lie.
I got started with snooker in March of 2022 when I started going semi regularly with my brother to a newly opened snooker parlor in Visakhapatnam. The business owners were young, enthusiastic and cared more about their love for the game than really making money, so they bought the best, brand new tables, cues and balls they could afford. I learned enough of the rules in a couple of months, spending around 5-6 hours a week there, and I was still unable to pot more than 3 balls in a row. I moved back to Bangalore and was lucky to find a society that had a 9 foot snooker table with an 8 ball setup. And my ADHD brain took to it like a fish to water. The table was my refuge, when my ceaselessly noisy brain quieted down, and only the table and balls remained. Sight the object ball, figure out where you want to hit it, get into the line of the shot, do your pre-stroke routine, bend down, don’t twitch, hit, stay down on the shot. Repeat ad nauseam.
It was meditation. It was flow. It gave me quick feedback, allowed me to track my progress. I could feel my game going through those phases of quick improvement, plateauing + the attendant self doubt, followed by slow improvement. All the game asked of me was that I keep playing. My inner perfectionist tortured me until I got better. Noticeably, measurably better. And I fucking loved it. My flatmate and I quickly set up a competitive routine of playing every single day for at least an hour, and we quickly got better. It really is a beautifully addicting hobby. The YouTube niche of cue sports is well populated and excellently noisy. This went on for around 8 months. And then I moved to a different society. One that didn’t have a pool table or a snooker table. The ones that did have these tables and fit the other criteria I was looking for were stupidly expensive. Curse Bangalore rents.
So now I had to find a parlor. Gone were the days of free practice, of wandering in for a 1 hour session whenever you had some free time. Now I have to spend more money and get to enjoy less table time. But on the positive side, I now have players who will constantly challenge me and force me to get better. There is a diverse community of people at the parlor, from so many different walks of life, at such different places in life, all united by their love for the game. And it’s beautiful. For a few hours every weekend, I have a place I can go to and just play.
But fundamentally, it’s still a one man game. It is you on the table against your opponent. And as they say,
“The balls don’t lie.” Everyone can see your mistakes, everyone can see the quality of your game,
and how you play determines how you’re seen. That’s what makes it so engrossing. Games that you play
against yourself. Where you’re constantly pushing to become slightly better.
So my ultimate target has always been to make a maximum break of 147, the perfect frame of snooker. But I’m nowhere close to it right now. So for now my target is a break of 75. My PB is 30. Long way to go. And I can’t wait to keep getting better. You’ll find me at the parlor. Pick up a cue. You won’t regret it.