| No. 39, January, 1914 | Price 1/6 per annum to any part of the world. Single Copies 1d |
Demonstration of Elementary Billiard Strokes and Principles
At Burroughes Hall, Soho Square, on December 17, the editor of The Billiard Monthly gave an address, on the above subject, an abstract of which, at the request of several who were present, is here reproduced. The lecturer's descriptions were kindly illustrated upon the table by Miss K. Lidbetter, whose accurate and graceful cueing greatly interested the numerous ladies who were present.
In his introductory remarks the lecturer said the idea was to encourage the preliminary study of the game of billiards on somewhat more scientific and less casual lines than were usually adopted. In other pastimes with a scientific side, such as fencing, boxing, cricket, or golf, intending players who hoped to excel usually took some pains to ensure a commencement of their acquaintance with the pastime on sound lines, but this was not always the case with intending billiard players, who, without am preliminary advice or training, frequently took the cue in hand and proceeded to hustle the balls about on the table. This fact was the more extraordinary in relation to billiards, as there was, perhaps, no game with a scientific side to it, of which the implements and accessories were manufactured with such extreme care and were so fully responsive to the skilled demands that might be made upon them.
He premised that the five great billiard principles and essentials are: (1) Accurate aim, which includes the alignment of the body in the intended direction of the cue ball; (2) proper delivery, which includes a light hold and easy swing of the cue; (3) proper strength, proportioned to the amount of resistance from ball or cushion contacts that has to be encountered; (4) accurate cue contact, which means that the cue should strike the ball exactly where it is intended and required to be struck for the purpose in view; and (5) proper ball contact or contacts, which means the guiding of the object ball or balls in previously designed directions.
Proceeding then with some illustrations of these successive points, the lecturer said that although there were more than three different strengths employed in billiards a vast number of strokes could be effected by means of what might be called No. 1 or gentle strength, No. 2 or normal strength, and No. 3 or free strength, and the No. 1 strength might be described as the force necessary to drive the ball from the bottom of the table to the top cushion and back; No. 1 strength as the force necessary to effect three table lengths, after striking both top and bottom cushion; and No. 3 strength as the force necessary to produce nearly four table lengths, after striking the top cushion twice and the bottom cushion once. These three strokes were then very perfectly accomplished by Miss Lidbetter, and not only was the proper strength adjusted to each stroke but the cue ball was, by means of central striking and accurate aim and delivery, retained in the exact central line of the table during all its journeys.
The next illustration, in which great interest was taken, was designed to show that an object ball, when played upon half-ball from given points must inevitably take a line which is the production of a line through the centres of the two balls at the point at which they came into contact, and which point of contact must always be exactly half way, as viewed by the eye from the point at which the stroke is made, between the edge of the object ball and its centre.
By way of demonstration the red ball was then successively placed on the billiard spot, the pyramid spot, and the centre spot, and in each case the cue ball was placed against and touching it, with exactly the half-ball contact as viewed successively from a top corner pocket, a middle pocket, an end spot of the "D," and a point four inches within such end point. The white ball being taken away the red ball was then struck with the cue at the point where the ball would have struck it and made to travel in succession across the billiard spot from a point on the top cushion and across the pyramid and centre spots from a point at each end of the baulk line. The result was to bring the red ball round in each case to the most favourable spot for half-ball play into a middle pocket from the "D."
Before repeating this object lesson, with the cue ball striking the red ball instead of the red ball being struck direct with the cue, two demonstrations were given showing what is the amount of resistance offered by an object ball to a cue ball at full and half-ball contact respectively, and it was shown clearly that when the object ball is struck fully it goes exactly twice as far after contact as the cue ball does, and that when it is struck half-ball it goes the same distance.
The point of these experiments was to show that as in the next three strokes the cue ball would have half its pace taken out of it by contact with the object ball the strength must be proportionately increased as compared with the plain cushion contacts and that, as a matter of fact, the same amount of strength would be required to drive the object ball against one side cushion from the billiard spot; against a top and side cushion from the pyramid spot; and against a side, top and side cushion from the centre spot as is required to drive a cue ball alone two, three, and four lengths of the table as originally demonstrated. These three strokes were then made by Miss Lidbetter, and in each case it was seen that the red ball pursued the exact courses after contact with the white ball that had been assigned to it by the previous strokes made direct upon the red ball with the cue.
Following this there was a study in object ball control on the central line of the table, and to emphasize this point a
somewhat novel device was resorted to. Two cues were laid from the centres of a top and centre pocket on the same side of the table, and crossing the billiard spot in the one instance and a point twenty-five inches above the centre spot in baulk in the other. Another cue was then aligned from the farther centre pocket to the billiard spot and from the farther baulk spot to the twenty-five inch point up the table. It was then seen that these two angles from the baulk corner spot and from the centre pocket were identical; that an exact half-ball losing hazard was on in each case; and that in each instance, also, the result of the halfball contact would be to drive the red ball to the exact middle of the top cushion, and back down the exact centre of the table to any required point if proper strength were used.
It was furthermore shown that for a couple of feet towards the centre pockets from the point twenty-five inches up the table a half-ball losing hazard was equally on, and which, in like manner, would have the effect of driving the red ball up and down the table on a line parallel with its sides although in these cases nearer to one side than to the centre. The way to treat balls coming a little below or a little above this line by fuller or finer than half-ball contact respectively was also illustrated.
As a final demonstration the way in which an object ball can be made to travel in different directions after contact while the course of the cue ball remains unchanged was shown. First the red ball was placed on the centre baulk spot and played upon half-ball with No. 1 strength from the end spot, with the result that the cue ball found the corner baulk pocket whilst the object ball just reached the half-ball line position for the middle pocket on the same side. Then the stroke was repeated with the same strength but a rather fuller contact, and the score was made whilst the red ball came to position near the opposite centre pocket. Next, by a faster quarter-ball stroke the white ball—being thrown off more by extra pace—was landed in the pocket and the red ball was cut to the centre of the table above the centre spot. Finally, by a still finer contact and a still faster stroke, with consequently still more greatly enhanced throw-off, the score was made and the red ball was cut at such an angle that it rebounded from the side cushion and reached the top corner pocket on the same side of the table as the striker.
This concluded the proceedings, which had occupied about fifty minutes, and several questions were then put to the lecturer, as the company gathered around the table, and duly replied to by him.