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Chapter 20. MORE ABOUT THREE-BALL CONTROL

A Curious thing about billiards is the ever-recurring tendency various strokes have to appear, possibly a little varied, in different parts of the table. The uninitiated spectator realized this when he remarked: "From what I can see of it, billiards is the same stroke played over and over again." Well, it is not that, not by a very long way, but there is enough in the idea to be worth bearing in mind in practical billiards, because it cultivates the useful habit of keeping a sharp look-out for strokes which are more alike than they appear to be on the surface, and are therefore amenable to a playing method they all have in common.

Keeping the Balls Together

You remember the cannon dealt with in my last chapter (see Fig. 63). To all appearances, this cannon is very different from the one shown in Fig. 65, which shows how the balls lie. Really, however, there is a striking resemblance. The leave is not particularly inviting, and the average amateur attempts to cope with it by spotting his ball somewhere near the right-hand spot of the baulk - line, and playing a cannon off the top cushion with left side on his ball to bring it back on the white, perhaps after brushing the side cushion. By so doing, he is actually sending the cue-ball almost exactly where he should direct the red, the first object-ball in the cannon.

The correct shot, as shown in my diagram, is made by playing rather full on the red with a good deal of right-hand side on your ball.

This makes the cannon off the side cushion, and brings the red into position via the top cushion. The underlying principle is exactly the same as that involved in the cannon shown in Fig. 63. In each case the main thing is to play fully enough on the first object-ball to enable you to cannon and keep the balls together-the fact that you want side when making the second cannon may be treated as an incident of execution-it is a great mistake to regard this as making a fundamental difference between the two strokes.

Using a Knowledge of the Angles of the Table

Figure 66 shows a very pretty shot which depends for its effect on nothing except knowing the angles of the table. The balls are very awkwardly placed. Such expert players as Newman, Falkiner, or Reece might bring off a glorious masse cannon, but would be more likely to miss it on account of the distance between the two object-balls. The cue-ball is placed too close to the first object-ball, and all three balls are too nearly in line for a follow-through cannon to be even thought about-there is "no room" for a fine cannon with side via the top cushion.

Altogether, a very unfriendly leave. By far the best shot to play is the daring three-cushion cannon shown in my diagram. No side is required on the cue-ball, but it should be struck rather above its centre to help it round the table. You play very fine on the red, just cutting it away to bump once off the top cushion, as my diagram shows. Meanwhile, your ball travels completely round the table, as shown by the dotted line in the diagram, and makes the cannon much more frequently than you may think possible, always leaving the balls together, when the cannon is scored. I do not suggest that you can hope to reduce this cannon to an absolute certainty, but it will come off times enough to be well worth knowing, especially as it gives you a distinct chance of recovery when everything seems lost.

An Exception to the Rule

Reverting again to cannons of the genus shown in Figs. 63 and 65, it is necessary to note an exception to the rule that the first object-ball should always be struck fully for positional reasons. You will get into trouble if you do this with the balls in the position shown in Fig. 67. Here you can score easily enough by a thickish contact with the red, if you have enough running side on your ball. But after-position is decidedly questionable.

For this reason, it is far better to play fine off the red, with strong right-hand side on your ball, to make the cannon as shown in my diagram; at the same time cutting the red over to the vicinity of the right-hand top pocket with a view to gaming every positional advantage.

Do Not Lose the White Ball

The above stroke, however, must never be confused with the cannon shown in Fig., 68. The great difference between the two shots is that, in the present case, a half-ball cannon is playable direct from red to white, which is impossible in the situation shown in Fig. 67. You play this half-ball cannon at just the right strength to take the red across the table into position over the top pocket as shown.

This is a most useful shot of common occurrence, and whenever the red is the first object-ball, it is always advisable to see if you cannot plan a cannon of this kind instead of attempting to "drop" the balls together somewhere near the billiard spot. If the white were the first object-ball, the risk of losing the white in the top pocket would render an ordinary drop cannon, played thicker than half-ball on the first object-ball, decidedly preferable to the cannon now before us.

It is very important to keep this risk of endangering or losing the white constantly before you when playing cannons. Sometimes you are compelled to take a chance in this respect, as you may be when playing losing hazards off; the white, but it often happens that by thinking of what you are doing, you can score quite satisfactorily in a manner eliminating all risk as regards the white ball. This piece of advice is of general utility, but it is particularly useful to players who often make breaks of between thirty and fifty. When this degree of proficiency is reached, losing the white, or leaving it hovering on the brink of a pocket, brings many a well-played break to a premature end. This is very annoying, and it can be prevented to no small extent by always striving to play your cannons on general lines which keep the white out of danger. This may seem obvious-it is as far as playing the white directly into trouble is concerned-but it is very apt to be overlooked, even by decidedly useful amateurs, if the white is liable to be "doubled" into a pocket, or very nearly so, when a cannon is played. Then, at all costs, the ball-to-ball contact with the white must be varied to avoid risking that ball.

A Multi-Cushion Cannon with Good After-Position

Figure 69 shows another multi-cushion cannon which brings a nice knowledge of angles into play. The red ball is 7 1/2 inches from the side cushion, and 3 feet 6 inches from the top cushion. The white is in baulk, as shown in my diagram. The cue-ball is in hand, and an all-round cannon is obviously the game. This is often played for by spotting the cue-ball on the left spot of the baulk- line, and playing round, about half- ball off the right of the red, with plenty of running side on the cue-ball.

The cannon is scorable in this manner, but the risk of a kiss is very great, and a leave a matter of sheer luck. Another method, too commonly seen, is the attempt to cannon by placing your ball on the right-hand spot of the baulk-line, and playing from the right of the red direct to the top cushion, with left side on your ball to bring it back for the cannon-a wretched stroke very hard to get, and almost certain to leave nothing. The right stroke, and a very good one it is, is the scientific cannon outlined in my diagram. To make this, you place your ball on the right-hand spot of the baulk-line and play half-ball off the red, to send the cue-ball to the nearest side cushion from the object-ball, from which it will spin briskly away to make the cannon as shown in my diagram. You must impart strong right-hand side to your ball, put plenty on, and don't be afraid to hit the red a decided half-ball. Then you will see your ball come round and make the cannon time after time, for the stroke is most reliable if handled in the manner I describe. It is a lovely cannon, and the full beauty of it is apparent when the course of the red ball is noted. Owing to the ball-to-ball contact rendered possible by playing at the red as I advise, the coloured ball is directed against the top cushion, from which it rebounds towards the white ; and when the cannon is really well played, it leaves all three balls so close together that they can be covered by the proverbial "dinner plate".

A Gathering Cannon

Something simpler, but equally effective in its way, is the gathering cannon shown in Fig. 70. It is very easy to make a mistake with this stroke by making a decided screw of it, in which case the cannon will be over-screwed and missed if the red is struck fully enough for position, while the red will be driven out of its proper line if it is struck where it should be to make this cannon by means of genuine screw.

Really it is a stun cannon. It is the one stroke where you may cue stiffly to advantage, holding the butt of your cue quite firmly, and striking your ball low with a lifeless cue action which would murder any other kind of stroke. This cue delivery cannot possibly bring your ball back with the decided retrograde spin characteristic of a true screw stroke. The name of the stroke denotes what happens to your ball-it is "stunned", and, half rolling, half sliding, it completes the cannon in a weary sort of way which is exactly the thing you want. This tired ball movement completes the cannon on the white with just force enough to send that ball against the side cushion and bring it away a few inches, thus leaving it in ideal position for the red to join it, and set up a "baby cannon" to continue the break with.

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