The best method of practice for a young beginner is to place a ball before his cue and strike it firmly and gently into different pockets, or at different marked points of the cushion, until he can pocket the ball and hit a given point with freedom and precision. The ball must be fairly struck with the tip of the cue, not pushed or jerked forward; and hence it will be necessary to draw back the point of the cue five or six inches ere striking the ball. The stroke, though firm, must not be violent, lest the natural angles of the table should be destroyed. If the ball is watched carefully after it has struck the cushion, it will be found to return at an exactly equal angle to the one at which it was struck. In other words, “the angle of reflexion is equal to the angle of incidence.” This is the first and most important rule of billiards, and one that should never be forgotten. The variation of the strength and direction of the stroke will be found to materially affect this law, and enables the skilled player to make those formidable and seemingly impossible strokes which secure him his victory. This peculiarity of the angles is best illustrated, and the practice of the student advanced, by placing another ball at a little distance before the player, which we will call the object ball. If we place them in a line with one of the marked places on the cushion, and strike the first ball fair in the centre, and cause it to strike the object ball full,—if this is done, it will strike the marked spot, and come off at the same angle as your first ball would have done.
For the purposes of play the object ball is divided thus:—
 |  |  |
| 1. Full Ball. | 2. Three-quarter Ball. | 3. Half Ball. |
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| 4. Quarter Ball. | 5. Eighth Ball. | 6. Very fine Ball. |
| Fig. 2.—Dividing the Object Ball. | ||
1. Full Ball.
2. Three-quarter Ball.
3. Half Ball.
