A Few Cue Tips

• Do not regard the question of nap as beyond you. It is of extreme and everyday importance. A slow side stroke down the table simply cannot be successfully treated in the same way as one up the table.
• Judicious cue-chalking is an integral part of the professional and good amateur game. It permits time for deliberation without appearing to do so, and also minimizes the risk of mis-cueing.
• Be very careful about the first few strokes of a game. To begin with anything at all spectacular is suicidal. A short game is often lost or won—largely from the temperamental standpoint—in the first few strokes.
• As a rule a little extra strength and fuller contact in bringing a ball in and out of baulk when playing down the table is preferable to the attempt to keep the ball above the baulk line, but this does not apply to line and near strokes in which the object ball need only be moved a few inches to leave position.
• Be particular about the state of the cloth as regards gritty substance due to neglect of brushing. A tiny speck will sometimes cause a travelling ball to jump and deviate even when travelling at a fair speed. Care in this respect is not affectation.
• Try not to repeat errors. Weed them out one by one as they appear, and as their results are noted.
• Probably the one outstanding requisite in good billiard playing is the easy and even swing of the perfectly straight cue. This must never be overlooked or forgotten.
• Never forget the extreme importance of allotting an approximate alter position to the cue ball when potting and to the first object ball when scoring off it. This is more important than the stroke itself, and billiards cannot be played without it.
• In playing to pot the red in the middle pocket from the same side of baulk align the balls dead straight from the top shoulder and adjust the aim the least trifle away from the centre. This has the double effect of making the score and leaving an easy loser from off the spot.
• In delivering a side stroke forget that it is a side stroke after the intended cue contact and aim have been fixed and the eye is turned to the object ball. Otherwise the cue point may describe a segment of a circle away from the ball instead of retaining its alignment until it reaches the cloth.
• If you are used to ivory balls and haw to play with composition, remember to play a little fuller or finer, or use more top, or spot from hand a little wider. When changing from composition to ivory the problem is best settled by a slightly narrower spotting from hand, or a little side or extra force from play.