Q.E.D. (Dartford).—Last Ball at Snooker.—When only the black and white balls remain on the table towards the conclusion of a game of snooker, the game is over if the black ball is missed.
A.B.V. (Gloucester).—Amateur Red Ball Record.—Major H. L. Fleming made a break of 153 off the red ball in one of the preliminary rounds of the Amateur Championship in 1909. Mr. A. W. T. Good, three times winner of the Amateur Championship, always played the red losing hazards extremely well, but Major Fleming holds the record. I have heard of bigger breaks off the red made by amateurs, but the only well authenticated record announced in print was the 162 off the red made by that fine Canadian player, Mr. C. Douglas Macklem. This feat was accomplished about two years ago on a strict standard table at the Toronto Club.
Bram. (Maidstone).—Balls Touching.—If the player's ball is left touching the red and the object white is in a pocket, the red ball only is spotted and the striker breaks the balls. It was wrong to put up all three balls under the circumstances, this is only done when the balls touch and all three are on the table.
Marker (Ilford).—Owing Points.—As you remark, it is not fair to the table to allow good players to owe points by way of a handicap. But, on the other hand, is it fair to either player if a "useful" exponent gives a beginner fifty in a hundred and beats him? Then the loser feels very sore as a rule, because he has to pay for a hundred game. The happy medium is the best thing, and is arrived at by making a rule that no player may owe more than he gives. Which means, of course, that a man may give twenty and owe twenty, and so on. This plan is in force in many billiard rooms where the tables are not hired by the hour, and invariably gives satisfaction.
M.D. (Brighton).—Concerning the Spot Stroke.—When the red has been pocketed twice in succession off the billiard spot it is placed on the centre spot. If pocketed by a successive stroke off that spot it is replaced on the billiard spot. There is nothing in the rules to prevent a player from continuing to pocket the red any number of times in this manner, but the difficulty of playing a series of red winning hazards under such conditions is too much for any player the game has ever seen. A very fine player might occasionally make ten or a dozen consecutive hazards if he practised to make the most of the position, but as both the losing hazard and the "top" present far greater and easier scoring possibilities the requisite inducement is lacking.
J.D. (Wrexham).—Foul Stroke.—A foul stroke must be claimed before the next stroke is made, otherwise it is condoned. But if a player inadvertently makes a series of strokes with the wrong ball, the foul must be allowed whenever claimed, because each successive stroke is a separate and distinct foul.
Tyro (Gravesend).—Difference Between "Screw" and "Drag."—The difference between a "screw" stroke and imparting "drag" to a ball is mainly one of degree. In each case the cue-ball is struck below its centre, and the cue is grasped the instant it strikes the ball. But the cue is checked more quickly and abruptly when making a "screw" especially for a direct "screw-back," and the ball may be struck rather lower than is necessary to impart "drag." But the main difference is in cue-action, the "drag" stroke is played more freely and without the pronounced "snap" which is characteristic of the "screw." There is an important difference, however, in the usual range of the two strokes. Generally speaking, except for strokes of the forcing screw variety, "screw" is employed at comparatively short range. "Drag," on the contrary, is most useful when the cue-ball has a considerable distance to travel. It keeps the cue-ball true on its course, enables it to retain slow side, and is of inestimable value in positional billiards. But it requires a great deal of mastering, and for some time yet you would be well advised to stick to plain, "central" striking of the cue-ball.
Snooks (Brixton).—Touching the Black.—At snooker, if the cue-ball is left touching the black when the player is on a red he may play direct or off a cushion at any red ball and score if he can. But he must not move the black ball, or the stroke is "foul" and no score is allowed. The same rule applies if the cue-ball is left touching any ball not playable.
Tyke (Yorkshire).—" Turned" Cloth.—There is no mention of the cloth in the rules of billiards, so it is impossible to say that a "turned" cloth is against the rules. But the effect of a turned cloth on the game is so great that it might well be made the subject of a protest to the committee governing the League in which your club is participating, and such a body would be well within its rights if it ordered the games to be replayed on a table covered in the usual and proper manner.
Country Marker (Kent).—How to Detect the "Push" Stroke.— As a rule, a "push" is so very palpable that its detection is easy, but there are times when a decision is difficult. There is, however, one golden rule which can always be relied upon, no matter how close the balls may be together. If the cue-ball makes a slight, but nevertheless distinct, pause and then rushes forward to its objective, the stroke is fair: but if it goes straight through without a pause it is a "push." A proper masse stroke does not go "through" the ball, the whole essence of the stroke is the swerve on the cue-ball which avoids the full contact, when the balls are so close together that a "follow" is impossible, and if the ball does not make the characteristic curl the attempt at a masse is certainly a "push." The "push" is officially defined as follows:— "By touching the ball more than once, or after it has come in contact with another ball."