Although the barring of certain strokes in billiards may have tended to the development of other possibilities of the game—as in the case of the winner-cannon movement at the top of the table when the spot stroke was practically barred—such restrictions are practically futile so far as their main purpose is concerned, and this has been neatly proved during the month by Smith, of Darlington, who would apparently be able to make almost as many losing hazards as he liked, even if the continuous stroke off the red into the middle pockets—although this is not at all likely, by the way, to happen—had to go the way of the spot stroke and the close cushion cannon.
Smith's method is to keep both the white and red balls in something like playable position for the middle pockets, instead of following the much less scientific and interesting system of getting the white out of the way and specializing on the red alone. We do not know whence Smith got this idea, but we venture to hazard thereon a guess. It will be remembered that when Inman returned from his recent tour it was stated that he had a new stroke off which one could score so long as one felt inclined. It may have been a coincidence merely, but in his first match in the tournament on his return, Inman made prolific losing hazard use of both the red and the white ball by directing them again and again to points a little below the centre of the table. It may again have been a coincidence, but his opponent during that second week of the tournament was Smith, whom Inman beat by over 1,500 in 9,000 up, after having furthermore conceded him 2,250 start. Smith, consequently, had a good deal of looking-on in this game, and probably observed and thought a good deal as well. At any rate, when he came to meet Reece he managed to pull off a victory by a few points (after being conceded 1,250 on actual points scored), and in subsequent matches against Diggle and Peall he simply ran away with the score.
The device by which Smith is thus preparing himself for any possible (although not probable) eventualities of the future, is simple in the extreme, and is, indeed, an application to the lower part of the table of a similar movement to that which has now become crystallized as "form" at the top of the table. The white ball is made the medium not only of evading rules, or possible rules, restricting the consecutive use of the red ball, but also of aiding materially in the maintenance of a break. By its aid the cue ball, whether by means of gentle cannon, or losing hazard, can see its way back to hand, with the object balls restored to their destined positions below the middle spot and between the central line and the middle pockets, or in positions for top-pocket losers which will soon restore them to the lower reaches of the table. Occasionally a red "pot" may be required, but in Smith's game this rarely happens. His method is pure billiard artistry, and he is ever searching for the simplest and easiest sequence of strokes. Yet the movement is endowed with ample variety and is of such a nature that it could never be barred, either by rules of the game or by that still severer censorship which is known as "public opinion."