The writer of this series of articles had a conversation some years ago with George Gray, and asked him whether, in directing the red ball he endeavoured to leave it "there or thereabouts" in the scoring area or to guide it to some absolutely fixed spot. His reply was that he always endeavoured to bring it to a precise spot, but that he did not always succeed. He added that he best liked to see it stop at the point 23 inches out of baulk in the centre of the table that has been so often referred to in these articles, and that his method when the red ball was in the lower area of the table and not on the exact central line was to take a line through it to an imaginary compartment of the top cushion extending ten inches from the middle of such cushion on the same side of the table as that on which the red ball was before the stroke.
This system of guiding the object ball is admirable, and it is surprising how quickly the eye becomes trained to its requirements. It is not a question of the top cushion only; it applies equally to strokes from hand in which two, or even three, cushions have to be struck by the object ball, and in all such cases the habit of locating first the point at which the object ball should strike the first cushion and afterwards what should be the placing of the cue ball and its degree of contact with the object ball becomes instinctive.
A few bed-rock essentials of the stroke may be again emphasized here. The lightly-held cue should be kept parallel with the surface of the table bed and swung easily and freely, being brought almost back to the bridge hand each time and sent forward to an even greater distance beyond the ball. In the case of the middle pockets the cue should be carried forward with a kind of half-pushing stroke even after the stroke proper has been completed, as this both ensures the proper finish of the cue action and imparts more run to the object ball without increase of strength. Nearly all the various red ball strokes from hand are best played with "top," and when the stroke is in the nature of a "forcer" this "top" may be usefully accentuated by finishing the cue action well in the air instead of, as with ordinary and gentle strokes, on the cloth. The depression of the butt end of the cue that has been referred to, the use of "top," and the final upward "flick" of the cue in forcing strokes are valuable if only for the reason that, properly carried out, they make the involuntarily screwing of the cue ball, by a depression of the tip of the cue instead of its butt, impossible.
A final essential of the stroke—and, indeed, of any stroke—is that the head or body of the striker should not be raised until the stroke is completed and its result noted. Every day thousands of losing hazards from hand are missed by non-observance of this very essential rule or precaution.
There remain to be written a few words as to the variation of strength according to the contact that is made with the object ball, the distance that the object ball has to run and the number of cushions that it has to encounter in its course. It has been pointed out in previous articles that, in order to make the object ball travel a given distance greater than halfball strength is required when the contact is finer than half-ball and less when the contact is fuller.
This application of strength suited to the occasion soon becomes automatic, but to gauge the strength necessary to bring an object ball to rest after it has struck two or three cushions is not quite so easy and requires both observation and practice. Fortunately there is a method by which the necessary knowledge may be quickly gained and considerable acquaintance with object ball angles simultaneously acquired. It is, so far as we know, quite new, and is as follows:—
Put the red ball on the centre spot of the table and, utilizing it for the moment as a cue ball, direct it towards a point two-thirds up the top side cushion with strength to bring it round to the "magic spot" 23 inches out of baulk in the centre of the table. This is a three-cushion contact. Next put the red on the pyramid spot, and aim this time for a point on the top cushion two-thirds of the distance between the centre and the corner pocket. This is a two cushion contact, and, played with reduced strength, the result will be the same.
Finally, place the red on the top spot and aim gently at a point two-thirds down the top side cushion. Again the result will be the same, and perfect position for continuing from hand in a middle pocket will be secured in each instance. The half-ball stroke from hand has practically the same effect in guiding the object ball to the proper point on the cushions for the three-cushion, two-cushion, and one-cushion rebound, and the student should only feel satisfied when he gets both the top pocket and an easy middle pocket position to follow.