Fig. 7.—Losing Hazards.
The first eight strokes require a screw, and more or less side, according to their position; 9, 10, 11, and 12 require strong side, as shown; and in 13 the striker’s ball must first strike the cushion gently, rebound, hit the other ball, and fall into the corner pocket. Stroke 14 is an ugly position for a beginner, yet it frequently occurs. You must put on plenty of side to your own ball, which will remove the object ball, and your ball will then roll along the cushion into the pocket. Stroke 22 alone requires a word in explanation. It shows now the losing hazard is made from baulk off the red on the spot. Put on a strong-side twist, and practise it well. Remember that practice can alone make perfect. Be always decided, play steadily, and do not lose your temper.
Now for a few hints with respect to the games to be played. With every billiard table a set of rules is supplied, and these must be studied and obeyed, as regulating the game; but an endless variety of games may be extemporised to suit the various parties and skill of the professors.
THE AMERICAN GAME
Is played with four balls, a light red, or pink, and dark red. The balls are placed on the spots in the centre between the pockets. The baulk is not confined to the semicircle, but you can place your ball anywhere within the line which is extended level with the winning-hazard spot. The game is usually played 63 up, and consists of winning hazards and cannons. In this game “doubles” are of great advantage. Doubles are so called when a player strikes his own or an object ball at a certain angle of the cushion, so as to cause it to come off at an equal angle and go into a pocket at the opposite side of the table. It is called a “double double” if the ball returns and goes into a pocket on the side of the table it first struck; and there is a game in which no score is made unless the cushion is first struck with the ball.
PYRAMIDS, OR PYRAMID POOL,
Is played with fifteen red and one white ball. The red balls are arranged in a triangle, thus:—