BILLIARDS

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18208, 15 July 1927, Page 7

BILLIARDS

Published by special i arrangement, WHAT CONSTITUTES GOOD CUEING. BY RISO LEVI. (Copyright.) Author of "Billiards: The Stroke* of the Game,” and “ Billiards for the Million.” The one great essential to good billiards is good cueing, and unless a man can cue really well, he can never become a really good player. Boys, as a rule, soon become good players for the: simple reason that good cueing, as a rule, comes natural to them. On the other hand, men who take up billiards when the}' are in the twenties or perhaps in the thirties seldom become very good at the game—unless, of course, they practise assiduously and do all they can to develop good cueing —because, with exceedingly rare exceptions, good cueing does not come natural to them. It is just the same in other sports and pastimes. Boys at college very quickly learn to play cricket with a straight bat, but men seldom, if ever, do any good at the game if they have not played it as youths. Take golf, too. Boys adopt a good stance and learn how to swing a club correctly and much more easily and readily than men who do not begin till they are in the thirties. What constitutes good cueing? The chief essential, though not the only one is that, after aim has been taken, the cue slides backwards and forwards without any deviation to the right or the left of the line of aim. If the cue could be made to travel exactly on the line of aim with the precision, accuracy and truth of a'piston sliding backwards and forwards in a tight-fitting, welloiled sleeve, absolute perfection in cueing would be achieved. But, of course, no player can ever hope to rival the mechanical accuracy of a well-made machine, nevertheless, those whose cuemovement approaches nearest to the mechanical truth of movement of a piston become the best players.

The following little experiment will quickly prove how far from easy it is to slide the cue backwards and forwards exactly over the line of aim : Place the spot ball exactly on the centre of the D line with the spot halfway up and exactly facing you. Then take aim for a stroke which will send the ball exactly over the centre, pyramids and billiards spots, taking care that in the act of aiming the point of the cue exactly covers the black spot on the ball. There is little or no difficulty in taking this aim, for all that is necessary is to get the cue in alignment with the centre of the ball and the spots of the table. If the cue, in its single or several movements backwards and forwards is made to slide exactly on the line of aim the ball will necessarily be struck at its dead centre, and after striking the top cushion will rebound down the table on the line of its outward journey. If, however, the cue is not on the original line of aim at the precise moment of its contact with the ball, either of these two things may happen: The ball may be taken at its dead centre by a cue which was not exactly on the line of aim at the moment of its meeting the ball, bqt slightly across it; that is to say that although the cue point w'as exactly on the centre of the ball, the cue itself was not exactly in alignment with the spot, and whenever this is the case although no side -will be imparted to the ball the line will not be exactly over the spots, but just slightly to the right or left of them—to the right of them when the butt of the cue is to the left of them at the instant of striking, and to the left of them when it is on the other side. How fatal to any stroke this travelling of the cue ball even just slightly to the right or the left of the line of aim needs no stressing, for it obviously means that the object ball will be taken fuller or thinner than intended. Unintentional Side. The second thing that may Happen when the cue is not exactly on the original line of aim at the precise moment of its meeting the ball is, that instead of its striking the ball at its

dead centre, or - on its up-and-down central line, it will take it just slightly —or perhaps more than slightly—to the ri"ht or left of it. Hitting the cue ball away from its centre means imparting side to it, and in many strokes unintentional side f fatal. How difficult it is to hit a ball exactly at its centre—our best professionals cannot always do this—may easily be made apparent by hitting a ball up the table so that it travels over the spots. If no side has been imparted to the ball its return journey will also be over the spots, but a player is hitting a very true ball if he can bring the ball, time after time, to within just a few inches of its starting place. The greater the pace at -which the stroke is played, the more difficult it becomes to hit the ball at its dead centre, and when the ball is hit away from its centre a strong stroke imparts more side or rotation than a medium-pace hit, even though the ball may have been taken on exactly the same spot in both strokes. The Value of Practice. There is no better practice for true cueing than this hitting of a ball up and down the table. A player who is desirous of improving his cueing should begin by hitting the ball with only medium strength, and when he finds that he can cause it to return from the top cushion on something like the line of its outward journey he should gradually increase the pace of the stroke. Many players are often astonished at the manner in which the ball returns from the top cushion after it has been, as they think, hit at its centre, but there are no miracles at billiards, and no matter what happens in any stroke at the table it is always'a case of cause and effect. If a ball returns a foot to the right or left of its outward journey—and it will often cross the baulk "line at a point very considerably more than a foot from its starting point—it has certainly been hit well away from its centre. Fortunately for ordinary players this unintentional imparting of side to the cue ball is of little or no consequence m many strokes. Provided that the cue ball travels on the line of aim, all sorts of strokes—more especially i.ast strokes—can be made quite easilv, =sven though the cue ball may not lave been hit anywhere near its dead centre. Were this not the case the rank and file of players would seldom or never get any of the long-distance strokes th at they play for. When the cue is not oiji, the original i line of ami at the moment®!t comes |

into contact with the cue ball a double fault often occurs. Not only may the ball be given unintentional side, but it may also be made to travel to the right or left of the line of aim, and this double fault is, of course, fatal. I have as yet discussed only one of the two great essentials that are necessary to good cueing. In my next article I shall discuss the other.