Cannons.
Here the player has to consider the position of all three balls at the end of the stroke. There are two ways of getting position in playing a cannon. We can leave the red over a pocket, or play to bring the balls together. It is obvious that when all the balls are close together, it is almost a certainty that there is an easy score left.
Suppose, in Fig. 6, the red ball is on the spot S, the white ball at B, and the player in hand. There is, of course, an easy cannon left, but how ought he to play it so as to leave an easy score next time?
The game here is to leave the balls together at the end of the stroke. The striker spots his ball at A in baulk, so as to strike B the ordinary half-ball stroke. The stroke should be played slowly, so that the white ball rebounds off the left-hand upper side cushion at C, and travels towards D. The player's own ball hits the red gently, and all three balls are left close together, near the top of the table, one of the best positions possible.
| Fig. 7. | Fig. 8. |
In playing to leave the red ball over a pocket, a good deal depends upon whether you play a cannon off the red on to the white, or off the white on to the red. For instance, in Fig. 7, suppose the striker in hand, and the two other balls stationed at A and R. If A is the red ball, the stroke is played one way, and if A is the white ball it is played another way. If A is the red you should play to make the cannon with just sufficient strength to double the red across the table, and leave it in position A1, over the middle pocket. If R was the red ball, you ought to play with just sufficient strength, and also sufficiently accurately, to hit the red ball full and leave it in position R1, over the left-hand top pocket.
Another important point in playing cannons is to play what is called "outside" the balls when they are close together. Suppose, in Fig. 7, the balls are in the position shown in C, D, and E. C is the player's ball. If he hits D and makes the cannon hitting E full, he separates the balls, but if he plays so as to just touch D and E, hitting them on the extreme edge, he keeps them together.
| Fig. 9. | Fig. 10. |