It is admitted on every side that the correct manner of holding the cue is of primary importance in billiards, and as this is the case we feel sure that the subject will be of considerable interest to our readers. Without wasting time on historical research, we will commence with the views of one who is admitted to be the "father of English billiards."
We allude, of course, to Edwin Kentfield, who when the game was in its infancy wrote some useful hints: "On the position in which the cue should be held." "The cue should be held in the right hand, nearly horizontal, about four or five inches from the butt end, although this must in some measure be regulated by the length of the cue. It must not be grasped tight, but held moderately loose in the palm of the hand, with the wrist turned a little outward."
The next authority to come within our review is the renowned Captain Crawley, a piquant writer on billiards whose works are still well worth reading, although the progress of the game has discounted the value of some of his instructional matter. In his own picturesque style, the Captain discourses as follows on how to handle a cue: "Having chosen your cue, the next thing is how to use it. Well, you must take it, in your hand—not too daintily— and hold it about such a distance from the butt that there will be nearly the same weight in front of your hand as behind. That is what, is called the balance of the cue. Much depends on this, as if held too near, the butt or too close to the middle of its length, your stroke will, of necessity, be cramped and awkward. You should neither grasp it too lightly, nor hold it too loosely. If you simply take it between your fingers and thumb you will find that your stroke will often be deficient in form—or "strength," as the term is. If, on the contrary, you hold it in your hand as you would a club, your stroke will want elasticity and freedom. In this, as in other operations, moral and physical, the medium course is best. But in the handling of the cue some slight variations will be found necessary in practice. For a light, graceful losing hazard, a light clasp is sufficient for a strong, heavy winning hazard, a hardish grip with the entire palm and fingers is best.
But for beginners a uniform method of holding the cue will be found most successful; and the safest rule, on the whole, is to grasp, but not tightly, the cue with the entire hand, and not with the tips of the thumb and fingers duly.
Captain Crawley also mentions a peculiar method of holding the cue for a stroke called "the smash," which venturesome players used to exploit with occasional advantage at the opening of a game of pyramids. He says: "The way to make this stroke with the greatest chance of success is to hold the cue with the thumb above—the contrary method to that ordinarily observed— and drive full and hard at the apex-ball of the pyramid. This is called 'the smash,' and is sometimes very successful. I have seen as many as three or four balls pocketed by this plan; but if your opponent is a good hazard striker, and you do happen to fail in pocketing a ball by the stroke, your chance of the game is rather small, as there are sure to be several hazards left on the table."
In his book on "Billiards," Joseph Bennett, as might be expected from such an excellent teacher of the game, gives concise and complete hints on holding the cue: "The cue should be lightly grasped, with the right hand close to the butt end, the thumb and first finger just meeting, and the other fingers being well under the cue. The fingers should be still free, and not held stiffly." Charles Dawson, in his well-known manual on billiards, also insists on the necessity for holding the cue lightly without gripping it, and says it should be "held by the first two fingers and the thumb."
The Badminton "Billiards," the recognised classic of the game, contains an interesting note of how to hold the cue by that very fine player, Mr. Dudley D. Pontifex, who writes: "Whether the cue should be held only by the fingers, or in the hollow of the hand, may be matter of opinion, but there is no doubt it should be held lightly, not gripped. Any rigidity of the muscles, tends to impair the easy pendulum swing so essential to accurate play. Some people, seem to think it necessary to grip the cue when making a screw. The point is easily susceptible of practical demonstration if they will only condescend to hit the ball in the proper place."
John Roberts does not depart from the orthodox to any appreciable extent. His advice to players is to hold the cue lightly, not too far from the butt, and he lays down the dictum that when it is necessary to hold the cue firmly for certain strokes the player will do what is required of his own accord quite naturally.
That justly celebrated billiard tutor, J. P. Mannock, gives the excellent advice that: "The cue should be embraced by the hand, but never gripped before striking." Those who have seen George Gray play will not need to be told that the marvellous young Australian is a believer in holding the cue between the thumb and forefinger, and it seems that the wonderful flexibility of his cue delivery is inseparable from the beautifully delicate yet firm and accurate manner in which he poises his cue.
.Last, but,by no means least, we have the views of William Cook, one of the most capable teachers the game of billiards has ever produced. In his admirable handbook on "The Game of Billiards," a work which every student of the game should possess, he enters very fully into the subject. He says: "One cannot lay down any law as to the correct way of holding the cue (and this will be found equally true in many points of the game); but, in my opinion, the cue should be held with the first finger and the thumb, that is to say, as lightly as possible. After some practice (which, by the way, is the great secret of success at, billiards), this method of holding the cue can be made to cope with any shot, from the most delicate to the out-and-out forcer. The usual fault of catching hold or gripping the cue in freely played strokes is thus, to a considerable extent, minimised. The cue is laid on the first finger and thumb, which are joined to form a loop (the finger and thumb being as near as possible together without meeting), or simply rested on them and not held at all. In this way, one is enabled to feel the exact weight of the cue the whole time, and, should it be 15&fractional2; ozs. in weight (the fashionable weight of the cue among professional players). Every stroke is thus being played with 15&fractional2; oz. On the other hand, should the cue be held or clenched in the hand, you cannot possibly tell how much force or weight you are using for a stroke. Another thing by clenching the cue you do not get more power, as might be imagined, as this bad habit only deadens the stroke. The reason is simple—in clenching the cue the wrist is held stiff, and as one of the most vital requirements of good billiard playing is a loose wrist; clenching the cue must be carefully avoided. A nice means of tracing the difference between these ways of holding the cue is in screwing a ball. Try to screw your ball a long distance by getting plenty of run into it. First, try with the cue hand held very loosely, and then very tightly grasped. I think nine out of ten who experiment in this fashion will find they can screw back a much greater distance with a very loose cue. Holding the cue tightly is simply to deaden the power and spoil all freedom in the stroke.
"If one adopts this method of holding the cue, namely, with the first finger only and the thumb, care must be taken to keep the remaining three fingers away from the forefinger. When learning to do so, especially if one has held the cue differently, the three fingers will always be found closing up, and the second finger touching the forefinger, a circumstance which will quite spoil the effect of your stroke. The cue will not be so lightly poised. The great thing is to persevere until it is loosely supported on the thumb and forefinger, quite naturally, for all strokes. I mean just as loosely as possible, without the cue dropping out of the hand."
"As regards how far up the handle the cue should be held, much depends on the height of the player. I think it will be found that a tall man generally holds it nearer the end of the butt, and a short man further away from the end. The proper place to hold the cue can, however, be gauged by the position of the forearm preparatory to swinging the cue. The forearm should hang in a plumb-line from the elbow to the cue."
After, such a masterly and lucid analysis of the subject as that quoted above, which shows what a thorough and painstaking teacher of billiards William Cook really is, it appears almost superfluous to write more on the subject. But in an article which surveys methods of holding the cue advocated and practiced from Kentfield to George Gray, it is permissible to sum up the whole question with a view of ascertaining the verdict of such a mass of expert advice and example. Here, undoubtedly, the first great general conclusion is that the cue must be held lightly. It appears to be largely a matter of individual fancy whether it be held between the forefinger and the thumb, or between the first two fingers and the thumb, or allowed to rest on all the fingers. We could name first-class players who hold the cue in any of the styles mentioned above, but, of course, each player has his own style and seldom varies it. But whatever may be the actual point of contact between the cue and the thumb and finger or fingers, the one fixed rule is that nothing approaching rigidity must exist.
There is, however, an appreciable weight of evidence in favour of gripping the cue more or less at the instant of contact with the ball when certain strokes, especially screws and forcers, are attempted. This is doubtless done semi-automatically at billiards, and we have no intention of questioning the superfluity of the habit in face of the rulings of Mr. Dudley D. Pontifex and William Cook. But at the same time, we are not disposed to altogether ignore the point made by Captain Crawley, when he says: "For a strong, heavy winning hazard, a hardish grip with the entire palm and fingers is the best." A great deal of pool was played when the Captain wrote about cuemanship, and we may take it as certain that the sentence quoted above was penned as the result of experience gained in games where large sums of money changed hands.
Even to-day, in the Service, one can see plenty of fine winning hazard strikers, who, incidentally, may be indifferent billiard players, holding their own in very warm pool games, and grasping their cues almost as firmly as they hold their rifles. There may not be a great deal in the point, and we have no intention of dogmatising about it, but we think we may go so far as to suggest that when everything depends on making a winning hazard bang into a pocket the advice of old Captain Crawley is at least worth a passing thought.