Technique

Stop-Shot Ladder Drill

The stop shot is the foundation of cue-ball control: if you cannot stop the cue ball dead on a straight pot, you cannot control it anywhere else. The ladder makes it progressively harder by moving the cue ball further back, which forces you to use more backspin.

Snooker table top viewTop-down view of a full-size snooker table at 1mm = 1px scale.100 mmFull-size snooker table · 3569 × 1778 mm · 1 px = 1 mm
Table layout for the Stop-shot ladder drill

Setup

  1. Place a red so it has a straight pot into the top-right corner pocket (see the diagram).
  2. Place the cue ball in a straight line behind the red, about 30 cm away.

Rules

  1. Pot the red with a stop shot: the cue ball must stop dead where the red was, with no forward or backward roll.
  2. After each success, reset the red and move the cue ball about 15 cm further back along the same line.
  3. After a failure, reset at the same distance.
  4. Play 10 shots. Your score is the number of successful stop shots.

Targets by level

Beginner
3–5 out of 10
Club player
6–8 out of 10
Advanced
9–10 out of 10

Tips

  • Strike slightly below centre. The further back the cue ball, the lower you need to hit.
  • Keep the cue level and follow through smoothly. Stabbing at the ball makes it jump.
  • Use the same pace for every shot and adjust only the striking height.

Common mistakes

  • Hitting too low with too little pace, so the cue ball screws back.
  • Jabbing at the cue ball instead of following through.
  • Lifting the butt of the cue, which makes the cue ball jump.

More drills

All drills