Billiards in the Army has little peculiarities which apply exclusively to Service billiards. As a rule, the table is so much in demand that any appreciable amount of individual practice is out of the question, except, possibly, in the case of a fortunate "employed" non-commissioned officer or man who may be able to put in a little difference as regards the length of games, and so are soldiering.
But when parades are over, and guards and pickets cease to trouble, there is such a rush for the billiard table that, very often, even billiards is out of the question, and some round game which enables a number of players to take part is demanded. Cork pool is a great favourite on these occasions, and "shell-out" is also in demand. Snooker is not quite so popular in the Army as it is in civilian circles, and the old-fashioned Life Pool is but seldom met with.
Upon the whole, however, the demand for pool games is not in favour of the billiard aspirant, especially when there is only one table available. But he cannot grumble—the billiard table is there to provide the greatest amount of recreation for the greatest number—and the only thing the billiard player can do is to take a cue and strive to improve his winning hazard striking in a game of pool.
Even when pool is not the rage, the Army billiard player who has designs on the Championship is seriously handicapped by the length of the games. In many rank and file recreation rooms "fifty-up" is the rule, and there is a "slate full" of names of men waiting their turn for the table. In sergeant's messes and soldier's institutes outside barracks the familiar "hundred-up" is allowed, but the tables are always so much in demand that a longer game, or two consecutive games between the same players, must be reckoned exceptional indeed. During the winter months handicaps and matches against rival messes and clubs make a little difference as regards the length of games, and so do the preliminary heats of Thurston's Army and Navy Championship. But when al is said and done, the fact remains that the enlisted man cannot hope to get the same opportunities for long games in barracks which are offered to civilians outside, where, more often than not, it is only a question of payment to engage a table for any reasonable length of time.
Another factor which tells against the Army man is what may be called the fetish of fast, open play which is so powerful in the Service. If a man took time to consider his strokes he would be told to "hurry up" by those waiting their turn to play, and if he played deliberately for safety he would be regarded as a crank to be suppressed at short notice. As for potting the white and running a double baulk—the cueist who did that sort of thing in ordinary games in the Army would have things said to him which professional players sometimes wish they could say to each other—and that is saying a very great deal.
Last, but by no means least, the playing conditions in the Army are not exactly ideal. They are not half so bad as they used to be before the advent of the beneficent bonzoline, and the continued and increasing success of the Army and Navy Championship has led to a decided movement in favour of better tables. But when every allowance is made it is no use attempting to conceal the fact that in many barracks the tables and implements do not permit of first-class play.
With all the obstacles mentioned above to contend with, it seems a hopeless task to suggest anything likely to lead to an improvement in Army billiards. But although everything cannot be done at once, there is no reason why a step or two towards reform should not be taken. Here, beyond doubt, the first point to demand attention is to tell the soldiers to "make haste slowly." They do the wrong thing by taking their billiards "at the double."
There is a happy medium between slow play tedious to everybody and dashing along at a pace which scarcely permits a man to sight the balls. Snap-shooting at billiards is all very well to those who are gifted in that way, John Roberts, for instance, but the ordinary player, in the Army or out of it, must always take enough time to at least steady himself for the stroke.
This extreme haste carries with it the fault of carelessness. Men plank their left hand on the table with more speed than care, swing the cue once, possibly twice, and then let drive in much less time than it takes to write about it. The result is a vigorous dig at the cue-ball which, occasionally, has the desired result. But even when a score is made, position goes completely by default, and the balls are left to group themselves where they will. And they have scarcely settled down before they are "biffed" again, and sent spinning all over the table. So the game progresses in a series of lively pot shots until the requisite number of points is scored, and the loser hands over the table money. This is not always the case, there are soldier cuemen who play really good billiards, and if only their comrades would endeavour to copy them instead of knocking the balls around in the manner described, billiards in the Army would be considerably improved.
There is no reason why the general standard of billiards in the Army should not be a great deal higher than it really is. Every man has good sight and steady nerves, and if the men would only trouble to think about the game and copy the methods of their best players we should soon see a marked difference. More than this can hardly be hoped for, but we venture to suggest that as individual practice is mostly out of the question, it would be an excellent idea to play over certain strokes or problems and allow any number of players in turn to have a shot. This sort of thing is really both interesting and profitable, it tends to promote discussion and competition, and speedily increases the scoring powers of those who participate in this "collective practice." Finally, if any man desires a hint or two about certain strokes, he has only to write to the offices of this paper to obtain the information he wants.