A break is a chain: each pot must leave the white where the next pot is easy. That is position play. This lesson covers aiming the white at a zone, choosing the route that forgives pace errors, keeping an angle, the right side of the ball, the natural path, planning three balls ahead, and a checklist for every shot.

Series map. ★ Basics: 01 Cue action and elevation → 02 Aiming and potting → 03 Tip and power → 04 Where the white goes · ★★ Club: 05 Side spin → 06 Cut and side into pockets → 07 Cushions → 08 Doubles · ★★★ Advanced: 09 Escaping snookers → 10 Multi-ball shots → 11 Safety → 12 Position play (this post) · ★★★★ Hard: 13 Break-building → 14 Special shots · Reference: 15 Rules, tactics and practice · ★★★★★ Pro: 16 Cue-ball control.

Learning Outcome

Aim the white at a zone, not a spot.
Pick the route whose path runs along the zone.
Keep a small angle on the next ball, on the right side.
Use the natural path and control only the pace.
Plan three balls ahead.

Chapter 1 — Where to send the white

1 · A zone, not a point

After this red you want the black. The green wedges are every place where the black is comfortable: a cut of 35° or less, from 25 cm to 1 m away, into either top corner.

Route (power 3)	White ends	Next black
stun (a little below centre)	by the end cushion	no comfortable pot ✗
follow (above centre)	off the end cushion, in the green	a 17° cut ✓
screw (well below centre)	just past the red, in the green	a 2° cut, almost straight

Two routes reach the zone. Which is better? The next two sections answer it.

2 · The route that forgives pace

Two top views of the same pot, each played at 92, 100 and 108 percent of the pace, with the green zone wedges. 1: follow: the three landing spots lie along the white's path, all in the zone. 2: screw: the three spots are close to the red; at 92 percent the red stops short of the pocket

Nobody hits the exact pace. The same two routes at 8% softer and 8% firmer (model):

Pace	Follow: next black	Screw: next black
92%	a 26° cut ✓	the red stops short ✗
100%	a 17° cut ✓	a 2° cut ✓
108%	an 8° cut ✓	a 27° cut ✓

The follow path runs along the zone, so a pace error only slides the white along it. The screw shot also drags pace off the white before it reaches the red (post 03), so the soft one does not even pot.

Trick: draw the white's path through the zone. The longer the stretch of path inside the zone, the more pace error you can afford.

3 · Keep an angle

Two top views of the white potting the black into the top corner with screw, stun and follow. 1: from a nearly straight position (2 degree cut), all three tracks run along one line, up and down the table. 2: from a 17 degree angle, the three tracks fan out across the table in different directions

From each landing spot, pot the black three ways (screw, stun, follow):

Black from…	The three routes reach…
almost straight (2° cut)	only 13 cm off one line
a 17° angle	up to 99 cm to the side

Dead straight is easy to pot, but the white can only go forward or back along one line. A small angle lets it go across the table.

Trick: many coaches aim for about 15–30° on the next ball: enough to move the white, not so much that the pot gets hard.

4 · Watch it: follow into the zone

Above centre, power 3: the red drops, the white comes off the end cushion and lands in the green ✓.

5 · The right side of the ball

Two top views of the black end. The same 25 degree cut on the black into the top right corner, from either side of the line, power 3. 1: the right side: the white goes off the end cushion and runs up the table, ending 30 cm from the next red. 2: the wrong side: the white comes back off the side cushion and stops near the black's spot, 106 cm from the red

The same 25° cut on the black, from the two sides of the black's line to the pocket (model, power 3, a touch below centre):

White on…	After the black it…	Next red
the right side (1)	runs off the end cushion up the table	30 cm away ✓
the wrong side (2)	comes back to the black's spot	106 cm away ✗

The angle is the same; only the side of the line changes, and the white goes the opposite way. So the zone for position is half of the green: the half that sends the white towards the next ball.

6 · The natural path: change only the pace

Top view of the whole table. The black is potted into the top right corner from a 25 degree angle with a centre-ball hit. The white goes off the end cushion and up along the top side cushion. Three rings show where it stops: a bit softer, power 3 and a bit firmer, spread along the same path

The white's natural path is where it goes with a plain centre-ball hit. Here, three paces of the same shot (model):

Pace	Where the white stops
a bit softer (85%)	by the top side cushion, between the pink and the blue
power 3	about 30 cm further on
a bit firmer (120%)	about 60 cm further again

If the next ball is on the natural path, don't add spin: just choose the pace. It is the most accurate way to get position.

Chapter 2 — Planning

7 · Plan three balls ahead

A table with three pots in a row. 1: the white pots a red into the top right corner and rolls to a landing spot below the blue. 2: from there it pots the blue into the top middle pocket and rolls left to a spot near the next red. 3: it pots that red into the bottom left corner

Work backwards:

Where must the white be for pot 3 (the next red)?
So which angle on pot 2 (the colour) sends it there?
So where must pot 1 (this red) leave the white?

In snooker you choose the colour after each red. Choose the one whose angle sends the white towards the next red.

8 · Stay below the ball you need

Coaching advice: when you want to come back towards the next ball, land a little below it (on the side away from where you will go). Then the white comes back towards it with a natural angle. If you land level with it or past it, you have to screw back or go round the table.

This is the same idea as section 5: choose the side of the ball before you choose the spot.

9 · Choose the simplest shot

When two routes reach the zone, prefer:

the natural path with pace only (section 6);
then plain follow, stun or screw;
side only when it opens a clearly better route (post 06).

Each extra thing (side, a very low tip, a long route round the table) adds a chance of missing the pot itself. The pot comes first: position is no use if this ball stays out.

10 · The checklist

Before every shot in a break:

Ask	Why
Which ball next, and the one after?	three balls ahead (section 7)
Where is the zone, and which half?	the side that sends the white on (section 5)
Which route runs along the zone?	forgives pace (section 2)
Is there an angle left?	straight kills the next move (section 3)
Is the path clear?	kisses, pockets, the pack (post 10)
Can I pot this ball with that route?	the pot comes first (section 9)

Try it at the table

Drill	Set-up	Look for
Three routes	a red near a corner, the black on its spot	land in the zone with follow, then with screw
Pace ladder	the same follow route, softer and firmer	does it stay in the zone?
Angle ladder	the black from straight, 10°, 20°, 30°	how far you can send the white after it
Right side	the black at 25° from each side, a red up the table	which side brings the white to the red
Natural path	a 25° black, centre ball	three paces, three stopping spots
Line-up	three reds across the table, then the black	pot all four without losing the angle

Cheat-sheet


Zone	every place with a comfortable next pot; aim for its middle
Route	the one whose path runs along the zone
Angle	about 15–30° beats straight
Side of the ball	the half of the zone that sends the white on
Natural path	centre ball; choose the pace only
Plan	three balls ahead, backwards
Simplest	the pot comes first; side only when needed

What's next

13 · Break-building. The whole frame: opening the reds, the black-ball game, clearing the colours, and scoring with a plan.

References

Dr. Dave Alciatore, "position zones", natural angles and cue ball control. https://billiards.colostate.edu/
Landing spots, pace errors and angles come from the physics model; your pace will vary, which is exactly why a zone beats a point. The 15–30° angle is coaching advice.