Without a really good cue-action no player can consistently strike the cue-ball accurately enough to make steady progress in their chosen game.

The first part of this section then will begin with a few strokes to test your cueing. If your game begins to suffer, some practice at these should tell you what is wrong.

One of the most reliable tests, and the easiest to set up, is the well known shot of playing the cue-ball over the spots.
Place the cue-ball on the centre spot of the 'D', and play it over the blue, pink and black spots to strike the top cushion. If you have struck the cue-ball without side it will return over those spots to your cue.

This stroke is comparatively easy at a slow pace, but try playing it with power to see just how difficult it can be.

In this variation five colours have been placed so they are an inch away from the cue-ball when it passes.

The shot is exactly the same as before - but it looks more difficult. This can be enough to affect your confidence, your concentration, and your ability to play the stroke correctly.

Quite frequently there will be little room for the cue-ball to pass another before it reaches the ball you're aiming for.

In these situations, have a good look to satisfy yourself that there is enough space for the cue-ball to pass. Then, when you play the stroke, completely ignore the one that's almost in the way. Don't look at it as the cue-ball travels towards it and keep your eyes fixed firmly on the line of aim. This will help to keep your cue-action straight.

In each case the player has to pot the red into the middle pocket, and by striking above centre, follow-through into the same pocket.

Stroke A is for the beginner, stroke B for players who make 20 to 30 breaks, while stroke C is for players who regularly make breaks of 50 or more.

Again, these strokes are comparatively simple at a slow to medium pace. As you increase the power you will see how easily you lose accuracy and fail to pot the cue-ball.

If you've mastered the exercise across the middle pockets so you can play shot 'c' 8 or 9 times out of ten, then you're ready to try this far harder one.

It's an example of one practiced by Terry Griffiths before he became world champion in 1979.

He would place the cue-ball about two feet behind the blue and have them lined up to one of the corner pockets about eight feet away. As before the idea is to pot both the blue and the white in the same pocket.

This is a severe test that not only demands a perfect cue action, but also a very good table. While you may succeed with shot 'c' across the middle of the table more often than not, you should be very pleased if you can get this just twice out of ten.