George Frederick Pardon epub Billiards, its theory and practice; with the scientific principle of the side-stroke, the spot-stroke, &c., the rules of the various games, hints on betting, and a chapter on bagatelle

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1885 Excerpt: ...the angle taken by your own ball would not be nearly so wide, but would correspond to the line of double dots (a), supposing, of course, that you avoid the kiss. In the division of both balls, therefore, you accomplish three objects; you avoid the chance of a kiss, you render the angle as wide as you wish, and your ball travels down to the canon as fast as is needful. Of course the same remarks hold good with regard to almost any position of the balls in which it is necessary to make the canon from the cushion. The canon marked 1 in the diagram might be made by a direct full stroke from one ball to the other; but then it would be much narrower Pig. 35.--Side Strokb Canons. than it is when the left-hand cushion is first attained. A canon from two cushions gives you, in most cases, several inches more space; as, for instance, when a ball lies in a comer near a pocket, there is a greater chance of striking it when you attempt the canon from both cushions than if you try only for a direct canon on to the ball. This will be rendered evident immediately if you place one ball over the left-hand pocket at the top, and the other over the right-hand pocket at the bottom of the table, and try a canon from baulk. A canon, you must recollect, is always wider than a pocket; in fact, it is an axiom in billiards that every canon is six inches wide--two inches for the object-ball and four for the striker's ball, according to the side on which the point of contact takes place.' But it may be asked, "How am I to judge of the quantity of side I should put on in an instance like this?" This question I have endeavoured to answer b the following diagram (Fig. 36):--Suppose a your own ball, enlarged to show the striking spot. You wish to make a canon from I to c. Imagine...