Do you want to know how to make an instant 147 break? Well here's
how:  Go into the trick-shot mode and enter the trick-shot editor. Hit
[F7]  [F4]  and  then [F1]. You should now hear the balls being racked
up.  Go  into  the  demo mode and click on the option for a 147 break.
Just sit back in your chair and watch - it couldn't be simpler!

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A selection of advanced playing tips  -  By Simon Burrows


     1.  When playing against Tom, and perhaps some of the better CPUs
as  well,  getting the cue ball trapped in the jaws of a pocket is not
such  a bad thing. This is because, if in attempting to pot his target
ball,  the CPU has to actually hit the ball 'through' the surrounds of
the  pocket,  then  he  will do this, even though the result is a ball
going  off in completely the wrong direction and nearly always missing
the  target.  Of  course, it is extremely dangerous to try and get the
cue ball into the pocket's jaws, but it's just something which you can
be  thankful  of  when  it happens, and be aware of when the option is
easily available.

     2.  When using the option that shows you the line of the cue ball
after it has hit the cushion (right button on the 'line' icon), always
check  with  the  plan  view  before making the shot. This is because,
looking  at  it  from a low angle, it is often very deceiving, and you
may well find that when you take a look from above, the cue ball won't
go where you thought it would at all!

     3.  If the situation ever arises (and it will!) where you can see
no  obvious way to pot your desired ball, your first step should be to
see whether a double or a treble is possible. If you're not sure about
these  terms,  a  double  is where you pot a ball after it has hit one
cushion,  and  a  treble  is  after  it's  hit  two.  To see if one is
possible, go to the plan view, then use the right button on the target
ball  to  set  up  a completely straight shot. Now, it the dashed line
leads  right  into a pocket, then go on and take the shot with quite a
bit  of  power  to  make  sure  of  things.  However,  if not, use the
precision  angle  controllers  to  move  it around a bit until you are
hitting  either side of the target in order to affect where it bounces
off  the  cushion,  and  thus, where it hits in regards to the desired
pocket.

     4. Another thing to look out for if you are completely stumped as
to  how to get in your desired ball, is the possibility of 'setting up
a  fluke'. Now I know that this is a contradiction in terms, but it is
in  fact  possible  to make shots, that, although you don't know which
pocket  the  target ball's gonna go in, you give it the best chance to
go  in  at  least one pocket all the same. The best example of this is
where  you hit the target ball, at a very narrow angle, against one of
the  cushions  between middle and corner pockets, very hard indeed. As
you  do  this,  the  ball  bounces  off the cushion, then, at a slight
angle,  bounces off the opposite one, and then back to that one again,
moving  slowly  up the table each time it goes. Although by no means a
certainty,  this will often lead to the ball finally going into one of
the pockets as it travels backwards and forwards across the table.

     5.  Unlike  in  'real'  snooker, it's nearly impossible to make a
snooker  that your CPU opponent will not be able to get out of in this
game. Because of this, it's often best not to even attempt setting one
up,  and  either  attempt a more difficult pot, go for a loss valuable
ball,  or  just  use  a  safety  shot to make potting the next ball as
difficult as possible for your opponent. (Often by moving the cue ball
as far away from his/her target[s]).

     6.  This  may  sound really stupid and a complete waste of time -
but  it's true. If you want to get better at devising and carrying out
safety shots, the best thing to do is watch snooker on the telly for a
bit.  The  professionals are always using clever techniques for making
it  difficult  for their opponent to pot the next ball, and it's worth
remembering  some  of these to incorporate into your game. Examples of
shots  you may learn is the glance shot where you push the only 'open'
red  into  the  pack so your opponent can't pot ANY reds, and the bulk
shot  where  you  use  spin  to direct the cue ball up behind the bulk
colours  (yellow,  green  and  brown), so your opponent can do nothing
except open the pack for you.

     7.  This isn't such an 'advanced hint', but is still important to
remember. When setting up a shot where you are viewing from a long way
from  the  target  ball (plan view, or full-length shots for example),
remember  that  the  detail of where exactly the cue ball will hit the
target  ball  is  decreased.  This  means that, when you zoom into the
target  ball,  you  often  find  that  now you have better detail, you
realise  that  you  were not going to hit the target ball in the right
place,  after  all. To make sure this doesn't affect your play, always
zoom in and check the angle before you make the shot.

And, finally...

     8.  Always  use  the  controls  sparingly (sounds like washing-up
liquid  now!!).  What I mean is that most things will give more severe
results  than  you think, so you need to remember this when setting up
shots.  The  two  examples  that  come to mind are with spin, and with
angles.  In terms of spin, it is very unlikely that you will ever need
full  back-spin,  for  example, because this is so severe that the cue
ball  will fly back on contact, and usually hit several cushions as it
goes.  In terms of angles, when you first look at a shot and the angle
looks  right  from low down on the table, you soon find that it is far
too severe to pot the target ball when you view from above. This means
that  you should always set the angles up to be a little less than you
think necessary when looking from low down, otherwise you are unlikely
to ever succeed.