the striker is by law obliged to play on a red ball or on a coloured
ball, but from the position of his own ball is unable to do so directly,
he is said to be snookered; he must then make a _bona-fide_ shot at the
proper ball off the cushion, the penalty if he misses being the minimum
penalty: _e.g._ if he is bound to hit a red ball, the penalty is only
one; if a coloured ball, two—the value of yellow.
In some rooms, the striker is bound, when snookered, to play a
_bona-fide_ shot as described, and if he hits a coloured ball when
playing on red is mulcted in the value of that ball. In others, if he
has to play on a coloured ball and is snookered for them all, he has
to name the ball he intends to play on; if he misses all the coloured
balls, or hits one of a smaller value, he is debited with the value of
the one he plays at; if he hits a more valuable one, he is fined the
value of it; but as it is hard to define what a _bona-fide_ shot is,
these regulations lead to many disputes. A good rule is to allow the
striker to give a miss, the penalty being the lowest that can be
exacted, but he must not thereby snooker the next player. If he _does_
snooker him, the stroke must be played over again, till the next
player has a clear shot at the right ball.
When all the red balls have been holed, the others must be taken in
proper pool order—first yellow, then green, and so on. When holed they
are not put up. The striker, when snookered for his proper object ball,
must play a _bona-fide_ shot for it, being fined its value if he misses
it.
Here again there are variations. In some rooms he may give a miss,
leaving the next player in a position from which he can play on the
proper ball, and being fined the value of the object ball; or he may
(sometimes _must_) play at that ball, and if he hits another he is
fined the value of it, which at this period of the game is always
greater than that of the object ball.
When only white and black are on the table, white always plays on black.
If white misses black, or goes in off it, or forces it off the table, or
goes off the table himself, the game is at an end.
In some rooms the game proceeds till black is actually holed.
Of course the main object of the good player is to get behind a ball of
great price when he has taken a red, green and yellow being of no great
value, though their capture may lead on to higher game. As a rule, it is
wasted time to hole a red when there is no chance of a break to follow,
as by this means one of the preliminaries to a break is destroyed; but
at the same time the opponent’s chance is diminished, so that this
general principle may be laid down—that the player who is leading, or
receiving points, should get rid of the red balls, so as to reduce his
opponent’s chance of making a big score; but he who is giving points, or
is behind in the game, should abstain from taking a red ball unless he
has a fair chance of getting a coloured one afterwards. He should play
rigid safety, leaving the opponent long shots, from under a cushion if
possible. Safety is indeed one of the beauties of the game, misses and
coups being often good play; but when all the red balls have been holed,
the utmost accuracy of strength and direction is called into play, so as
to snooker the adversary, whose efforts to hit the proper ball may
enable the other to retrieve an apparently lost game. It must never be
forgotten that, as a break may run up to thirty or forty, or even more,
each point representing money, a single incautious stroke may cost the
loss of the game, and that care and thought are consequently of enormous
importance.
The drawback to the game is the large part played in it by luck. There
are so many balls on the table that really excellent strokes are
incessantly being spoilt by a combination of kisses against which it is
impossible to provide. To this both sides are equally liable, but in a
game of skill the element of luck ought not to be too prominent, and it
is owing to the preponderance of luck in snooker that the game is, as a
game of skill, inferior to black pool.
THE MARKER
As there are stakes depending on all these games, apart from other
general reasons, good marking is all but an absolute necessity; but good
marking is not compatible with the many services that some players, and
even some spectators, think they have a right to demand from the marker.
He is called upon to ring the bell, to give orders to the waiter, hand
the matches and so forth, at a time when his whole attention should be
concentrated on the game and the wants of the striker. Marking requires
great care of itself, but when there are rests to be handed, balls to be
spotted, foul strokes to be watched, and so forth, it is positive
discourtesy on the part of spectators to distract his attention. The
marker is the servant of the players—and of the players alone—as long as
a game of any kind is proceeding, and he ought to be regarded and
treated as such. Under the best conditions, however, players should keep
their eye on the marking-board, so that any error may be corrected
_immediately_: delay only leads to dispute. At pyramids the score on the
board _plus_ the number of balls on the table must always make 15, so
that a mistake can be detected at once.
The marker himself may be reminded that distinct calling is as essential
as accurate marking. At pool each life lost must be audibly announced,
and the chance of starring offered to the player when it occurs. He
should never neglect to remind the striker that he is on his player, or
that his player is in hand, or, at the proper time, that it is
three-pool or single pool, as on all these occasions a different style
of play is required. But, once more, players should also be alive to
their own interests, and watch these points for themselves. The rests,
long cues, spider, &c., should be handed to the striker when asked for,
and not laid on the table, as, on the principle of _qui facit per alium
facit per se_, the striker is constructively liable for any foul made by
the marker when he puts these implements on the table. They should be
always ready to his hand, but he should never _offer_ them to a player;
it is often a distinct hint as to what the right game is when the marker
is seen to get the rest ready or move towards the half-butt. It is his
duty to be attentive but not officious.
COUNTRY-HOUSE GAMES
I now pass on to a class of games in which ladies can take part, and
which provide plenty of amusement for those who do not care for a more
serious game. Not but that cork pool and skittle pool may not be made
highly scientific, but when ladies take a cue, such games are generally
regarded as a pleasant recreation _pour passer le temps_, or as an
excuse for a mild bet.
SELLING POOL
This is an eminently simple game, in which any number can take part.
There are no lives, no pool, and no end, till the players are tired. Any
one who chooses to leave can do so by giving notice, and taking his ball
off the table when his turn comes round next. A small stake is agreed
upon, and it is lawful to play on any ball, but no ball can be taken up.
There is of course no safety and no star, but the usual rules of pool
govern the game in other respects. To make the game go, however, it is
well to have plenty of threepenny bits, sixpences, or shillings ready,
according to the stake, as giving change is always a trouble, and cash
down is necessarily the rule.
CORK POOL
This is another amusing game, which admits of any amount of skill and of
any reasonable number of players. Two balls are used, white always
playing upon red. The cork is put on the centre spot (sometimes on the
pyramid spot), and on the cork the pool is placed. The object is to
cannon from red on to the cork. Sometimes it is obligatory that the
cannon be made off a cushion. Each player in turn—the order is decided
by giving out the pool balls—plays from where white stops, the first
playing from baulk, as is also the case if the white goes in. Each
player has only one stroke. If he cannons on to the cork and knocks it
over—it is not enough merely to shake it—he takes the pool, which is
then renewed. If he misses the red, holes the red or his own ball (even
after hitting the cork, so that white must never be stopped), or cannons
without first hitting a cushion (if this is the rule of the room), or
plays out of turn, he has to put the amount of his original stake on the
cork, in addition to what is already there. Sometimes he is only fined
for an illegitimate cannon, but in this class of game the more forfeits
that can be invented the better.
Not a bad variety of the game is to make the red hit the cork, a sort of
winning hazard, any other way of knocking it over carrying a penalty; or
this may be further restricted by insisting that the red must hit at
least one cushion before it overthrows the cork.
I used to play another excellent and really amusing variation of this,
which we dignified by the name of ‘bumble-puppy.’ A ring about three
inches in diameter was drawn round the cork with chalk. The pool was put
as usual on the cork, and each player who failed to hit the cork over—we
used to play the winning hazard game—was fined a penny, which was added
to the pool, and when the cork was hit the striker secured only as many
coins as fell outside the ring, those that were more than half outside
counting as over. The fun of this was that sometimes there would be five
or six shillings in copper and silver on the cork, and only a few meagre
coppers would fall to the successful striker, all that was left in the
ring being put back on the cork and a fresh stake added by each player.
I can strongly recommend this form of the game, as it is full of
incident and amusement.
NEAREST BALL POOL
This may best come under the category of country-house games, though it
may be played with lives and a star and be treated as seriously as
ordinary pool, the rules of which apply throughout. The striker is bound
to play on the nearest ball, whatever the colour, under the penalty of
losing a life; but there is no particular science in the game beyond
that required in ordinary pool, except as far as spoiling an easy stroke
for the next player is concerned.
SKITTLE POOL
This is another game admirably suited for after-dinner amusement in a
country house, and one in which ladies can take part. The arrangement of
the skittles on the table is rather elaborate, and can best be
understood from Diagram X. Ten white and two black skittles, each four
inches long, are used. A and E are on an imaginary line drawn through
the pyramid spot parallel to the ends of the table. D and H are nine
inches above the baulk-line. The distance between A and D and between E
and H is divided into three equal parts; B, C, F, and G are at the
points of division. All these eight points are four inches, one
skittle’s length, from the cushion. Another white skittle is on the
billiard spot, and the tenth at I, four inches from the right-hand
baulk-spot. When black skittles are used (they are sometimes left out),
one is placed at X, four inches from the left-hand baulk-spot, and the
other at Y, half-way between G and the cushion. The red ball is spotted
half-way between the billiard spot, K, and the cushion, white and
spot-white on the right and left baulk-spots respectively. Each white
skittle has a particular value, denoted by the figures in the margin; a
penalty is attached, as will be shown, to knocking down either of the
black skittles. The position of the skittles, when once found, should be
marked with discs of white paper, on which the value of the skittle may
be shown. The object of the game is to make cannons with one of the
white balls off the red or the other whites on to the skittles; when
such a cannon is made, the value of the skittle or skittles knocked over
is scored to the player. The rules are as follow:—
I. The game is played 31 up, each player having one stroke alternately,
the order of rotation being decided by giving out coloured balls or
numbers.
II. Any number can play in a pool, and in all cases the following order
is to be observed, viz.: No. 1 plays out of baulk with either the spot
or white ball from its respective spot, and he and the following players
must always hit a ball (even if it touches another) with his own before
striking a pin, or he cannot score. No. 2 plays with the remaining ball
from its spot in baulk, and at either of the other balls, except when
the one in baulk has been touched or moved, in which case he and the
following players can play at any ball they please during the game.
III. Any pin or pins knocked down by a player must be replaced before
the next one takes his turn.
IV. Any ball occupying the spot of a fallen pin must be placed on its
proper spot, and the pin also replaced.
V. Should any ball stop on either of the spots of the other balls, each
must be placed on its proper spot.
VI. Any player who knocks down a black pin (after making his stroke)
with a ball, cue, sleeve, or in any other way, is dead (_i.e._ is out),
but can star any number of times by signifying the same before the next
player has struck, but he comes in without any points he has previously
made. The purchase of a star to be the same amount as the pool.
VII. Should a player stop a ball or alter its direction, he shall be
considered dead, but may star any number of times.
VIII. Any pin is to be considered down if it has entirely left the spot
it occupied, or when leaning against a ball, cushion, or another pin.
[Illustration:
Diagram X.
]
IX. Any one playing out of turn cannot score, and the one who should
have played continues, without replacing the balls; but the former has a
right to play in his proper turn, if he is not dead by knocking down a
black pin.
X. Foul strokes are made as follows, viz.: by pushing a ball instead of
striking it; by knocking down a white pin without striking a ball first,
or before the balls have ceased running; by playing out of turn, or when
all the pins are not in their places, or when the three balls are not on
the table. Running in or jumping off the table is not foul.
XI. If (by mistake) the black and white pins are wrongly placed, the
white scores and the black counts as dead if knocked down; but the pins
must then be replaced in their proper places.
XII. Should the three balls be covered by the pins, so as to prevent
their being played at, the red ball can be spotted; and then, if they
are again covered, the spot ball can be spotted.
XIII. Any one, not being present at the commencement of the pool, has
the right to join in it, provided that no player has had more than one
stroke, and that no one has starred.
XIV. Baulk affords no protection.
The usual way of playing this game is to agree that the pool goes to the
player who first makes exactly thirty-one, neither more nor less: if he
exceeds that number he is dead, unless he likes to star, the number of
stars being unlimited. Another method is to let the player who gets
beyond thirty-one score backwards: _e.g._ if his score stands at
thirty-four, he can win the pool by scoring three. Under either system
the other players endeavour so to leave the balls as to make it
difficult or impossible for him to knock down the skittle which will
give him the desired number. The game may, however, be played with a
sealed handicap, each player receiving a numbered counter at the
beginning of a game, which he keeps secret but adds to his score. Thus a
player whose counter was numbered six would produce it when his score
reached twenty-five, and would claim the pool; part of the game then is
to guess the handicaps of the other players, by observing which skittles
each is trying to knock over when within range of thirty-one. Thus, if a
player whose score on the board was twenty-four were seen to be
incessantly playing for one of the skittles at either B or E, counting
four, his handicap number would probably be three, and so on. This
innovation seems to have come from the Italian way of playing skittle
pool, which is very popular in Italy and Greece, and indeed in all the
Levant. Directions for this game may be found in Dufton’s ‘Practical
Billiards.’
The game may also be played without the black skittles, but there is
less fun and excitement, as their presence adds considerably to its
vicissitudes.
CHAPTER XIV
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Before finishing this book it is desirable to mention a few matters
connected with billiards which have not been dealt with in former
chapters, though some of them may have been more than once introduced.
To begin with, the question is often debated whether in the interest of
the game a stake is desirable. Undoubtedly, some advantages are gained
when money, however little, is played for; the rules are more strictly
obeyed, and the game is treated as serious. On the other hand, there are
drawbacks: certain players, often those most anxious to bet, cannot
afford to lose, and the miserable result is that the pleasure of the
game is sacrificed to money. When played on proper lines, no stimulant
beyond the honour of winning and the pleasure of making meritorious
breaks is needed for players who are devoted to billiards and have
attained certain excellence. In most clubs far fewer games are played of
late years for even the small stake of a shilling or half a crown than
was the case in the early seventies, but a little excitement is supplied
by an occasional handicap. From want of experience, however, the framers
often make serious mistakes, which deter persons from entering, and
these are perhaps less in estimating the start which should be allowed
than in general principles. Hence, with the view of helping framers, a
few remarks are offered.
[Illustration:
A winning game.
]
A handicap, to be satisfactory, should be on the American principle:
each player should in turn play with every person who has entered, and
he who has most games to his credit is the winner. It follows that too
many entries should not be allowed, nor, if possible, should there be
too great a difference in the class of players. It is better to have
more than one handicap than to try to bring together men between whom
there is great difference of play. As a general rule, it is probably
safe to say that no two men should play in the same handicap when one
can give the other much more than a third of the game. In a short
game—and those of most amateur handicaps are from 100 to 250 points—more
than one-third of the game is so long a start that chance plays too
important a part. When there are many competitors, it might be desirable
to have one or more handicaps subordinate to the final one, played, if
preferred, on the English system, in which the loss of one game
disqualifies for further competition; but the final, amongst, say, the
best six players, should if possible be arranged on the American plan.
As a guide to handicapping, the following rule may be useful. The
question is, if A. can give B. twenty in a hundred, and B. can give C. a
like number of points, how many can A. give C.? Add the points, and from
the result deduct their product divided by the length of the game. Thus,
in the supposed case:
20 + 20 − (20 × 20)/100 = 40 − 4 = 36;
or A. can give C. 36 points.
Another sort of handicap is sometimes substituted for the ordinary and
uninteresting four game when it is wished that more than two players
should take part. The method followed is to agree about the points and
then string or toss for position—_i.e._ to determine who shall commence
and the sequence of play. Whoever first scores the agreed number of
points wins the game and takes the stakes. It has this advantage over
the four game that excessive safety play is useless or worse, and that
each competitor does his best to score. The luck is to follow a player
who leaves easy openings, but, as no one plays specially for safety, a
good player is as likely to leave an easy stroke as a bad one.
A few words may be permitted on billiards as a game for ladies. With
their superior delicacy of touch and at least equality in all other
respects, save perhaps in brute force, there would seem to be no reason
why they should not greatly excel at the game. As a fact some, a very
few, do play almost as well as good club players; they can make from
twenty to forty points in a break, and, this being so, work is all that
is required to raise their standard. The game is a healthy one, calling
into play not merely the muscles but the mind; and, as to its
capabilities for showing a handsome figure to advantage, Mr. Davis’s
illustrations are sufficiently eloquent.
Some readers may perhaps regret the absence of a chapter on the
French and American game. To them we would urge that a game so
beautiful, so scientific, and capable of such development, cannot be
satisfactorily treated in short space; and, therefore, it has been
thought better simply to refer inquirers to M. Vignaux’s book and to
‘Modern Billiards,’ the American text-book, published by the
Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., New York. Comparison between the
English and French games is scarcely profitable; they differ widely,
and each has its advantages. Conspicuous amongst these in favour of
the foreign game is the small size of the table which may be set up
in ordinary rooms. It is cheaper and more easily lighted than that
used in the English game, and, although hazards are eliminated and
much interest is thereby lost, the cannon game can be brought on the
smaller table to a perfection of which we scarcely even dream.
A matter which closely concerns the well-being of the game must now be
considered, and that is the behaviour of players and spectators; in
other words, the _etiquette_ of the room. Throughout this book, in one
part or another, the importance of maintaining order and the
impossibility of preserving a high class of play when interruption is
permitted have been clearly set forth. The orderly proceedings in
professional play, during which neither player smokes nor interrupts the
other, and spectators are generally courteous, silent, and impartial,
contrast, we regret to say, with the ordinary behaviour of amateurs in a
club billiard-room. Here, in general, players have to submit to all
manner of interruption, the result mainly of ignorance and inadvertence.
Consequently, the great majority play day after day, year after year,
and scarcely improve, whilst the few who get the length of thinking out
a break and working it out on the table are driven to play where they
are less liable to disturbance.
[Illustration:
A LADIES’ BATTLE.
]
In a billiard-room the players for the time being should be considered
supreme; table, light, fire, marker, are theirs for the time; and a
little ordinary consideration will show any gentleman that he should
avoid interference with them during a game. Yet, how common it is for
persons to bounce up to the door, open it without waiting for the
stroke, march gaily along towards a seat irrespective of whether a
stroke is in progress or not, and then, as likely as not, commence an
animated conversation in a loud tone of voice with another spectator, or
in default even with the non-player. If conversation fails, they have no
scruple in lighting a lamp or in poking the fire and making a glare and
heat which is unbearable to the players. The opponent, too, is often an
offender in the matter of talking. No sooner has he missed a stroke than
he commences conversation, failing to see that, if his adversary is more
polite, he enjoys absolute quiet during his break, whilst the other has
to play under disturbing influences, a proceeding which is not merely
discourteous, but unfair. Then, again, a running commentary is often
kept up during play, the remarks for the most part being absolutely
foolish. A spectator who listens to them cannot fail to notice their
grotesqueness, and, if they could be fully reproduced, the offenders
themselves would scarcely credit that they could have acted such a part.
Sometimes a player volunteers on every occasion explanation of his
failure to score, at other times he passionately addresses the balls,
adjuring them to stop or come on; he seems to think he gains a
reputation for generosity when he praises his adversary’s efforts by
shouting ‘good stroke’ when satisfied that the hazard or cannon has just
been missed, and it is entertaining to watch his change of tone and
countenance should some unforeseen score be made. His nervous
contortions when a ball is approaching a pocket or likely to make a
cannon are often remarkable; head, hands, legs and feet, all coming into
play, and all impressed to indicate his sensations, which, to judge from
the display, must often be unpleasant.
Smoking, too, requires regulation. Matches should not be lighted on the
stroke, nor should they be extinguished by being waved about; cues,
umbrellas, or sticks, should be kept perfectly still; in fact, every
care should be taken to avoid distracting the player’s attention. There
are many drawbacks to the game from players smoking; with every care,
ashes and tobacco fall on the cloth, the woodwork of the cushions is
blistered and disfigured because the ends of lighted cigars are
carelessly laid on it, and the striker is often hampered by clouds of
smoke poured over the table by his adversary in the line of sight. These
may be reduced to a minimum by the exercise of a little consideration,
and suitable metal trays should be provided on mantelpiece or side
tables on which lighted cigars may be placed whilst the player is at the
table. Another not uncommon but most offensive breach of etiquette is
for a spectator to offer either player advice; it often happens that
they see what a player has overlooked, but they should resist the
temptation to advertise their smartness, and recollect that the struggle
ought to be left entirely to the opponents, who are entitled to a fair
field and no favour. These are the main faults which are of common
occurrence: a little care and self-restraint will deter men from
offending, and gain for them an enviable character for consideration of
others and good feeling; whereas indulgence in them will sooner or later
cause transgressors to be considered as the pests of the room and to be
more or less avoided. It is true that endeavour has been made in
existing rules to control the behaviour both of players and of
spectators, and it is possible that some further steps in this way may
be taken; but much must be left to the good feeling of gentlemen, which
will not fail when they realise the value of a room in which good order
is kept; and the remarks here made are offered in the hope that they may
contribute to the desired result.
With reference to the disputed question which was discussed in Chapter
VI. and has incidentally appeared elsewhere, whether side can be
communicated by one ball to another, there is a stroke which will repay
study. Place the red and another ball on the baulk-line about a foot
apart within the =Ｄ=. From the right-hand side of the table play a free
stab on the red with strong right side, hitting it almost full but
sufficiently on the left to just send it out of baulk. If properly
played, both balls will be left in baulk. The white going into baulk
shows that the red was struck on its left, and therefore must have gone
out of baulk, whereas its return to baulk would appear to be due to
communicated side. It is instructive to play this stroke first with one
side and then with the other, and to observe the difference of result.
The practice of strokes as recommended throughout this manual may
occasionally be varied by trying breaks from some well-defined position
of the balls. Place a ball over each middle pocket for easy losing
hazards and play the break from hand. After each break record the score,
and after five or ten trials take the average. Anyone who can usually
score 100 points in six innings is more than able to hold his own
against good club form. The task is not so easy as it appears, as a few
trials will show. The gradual rise of this average is a good measure of
improvement. But too much time should not be spent in this way, for the
practice of strokes is far more profitable, specially if the maxim ‘Over
the easiest strokes bestow the greatest pains’ be always remembered.
Work at easy strokes till they can be so played as to leave another easy
one to follow; no practice is more remunerative.
Intimately connected with the interests of billiards are the duties of
referees and markers. In important matches three persons are employed
besides the players—the referee, the marker, and a boy to hand the balls
and rests; in ordinary games all the duties fail on the marker. It is by
no means an easy matter to be a good referee; men are often selected
more because they happen to be connected with a sporting newspaper than
from any personal aptitude for the position. The qualities required form
a combination difficult to be obtained. The referee should possess a
strictly judicial turn of mind, perfect sight, developed accuracy of
observation, great calmness, rapidity of judgment, perfect and fearless
honesty; in addition to knowledge of the game, intimate acquaintance
with the rules, and correct appreciation of the duties he may have to
perform. Failure in any one of these qualifications may result in
erroneous decisions; but perhaps the last-mentioned is the one which is
most liable to be misunderstood. As a rule, the referee should not
interfere unless appealed to; it should be fully realised by him that he
can make no law or rule, and has for the time being no concern with the
justice or injustice of the code; his duty is simply to say whether a
rule has or has not been broken, and to declare the penalty. His
personal opinion as to whether a stroke should be fair or foul is of no
moment; all he has to deal with are matters of fact and the application
of acknowledged rules. Thus, until the push, for example, is contrary to
the rules, a referee is not justified in declaring every such stroke
appealed against to be foul; on the contrary, a competent man, whatever
his opinion may be as to the merit of the stroke, should declare all
strokes to be fair unless he actually saw a rule infringed. If he saw
the cue twice applied (which is common enough), he is justified in
ruling the stroke to be foul; if he did not (as he cannot in a
well-executed push) see two applications, he is bound to uphold the
stroke as fair. It is no argument to say that he knows the stroke to be
always foul; no one desires him to air his opinion on such a matter, and
a person who made such an excuse for his ruling would thereby
conclusively prove his unfitness for the post.
The marker is a man for whom we have much sympathy; his duties are many
and trying, sometimes almost beyond human endurance. As a class, markers
are civil, well-behaved, and otherwise probably neither better nor worse
than their fellow-men. When asked for advice or instruction, they give
it cheerfully to the best of their ability, and in respect to play they
may be said to lie between amateurs and professionals. They have
occasionally a good deal to put up with, and their services are often
unjustifiably requisitioned; attention is invited to Mr. Ford’s remarks
(p. 428), which, though made with reference to pool, are in most
respects applicable to billiards. And when late at night or in close
rooms markers are occasionally drowsy, or make a mistake, let players
endeavour to realise the monotony of their lives. From their arrival in
the room before noon till their departure at, perhaps, three in the
morning, think of their average experience! The table has to be got
ready, the room dusted and preparation made for visitors. These appear
at first fitfully—the young, who are not good enough for the serious
business of the day, and the old, who are losing their game, meeting
together, followed later by the regular _habitués_, who play billiards
or pool as may be. Conversation is carried on as if the marker were both
deaf and dumb, a mere machine for returning the ball and handing the
rest. There is an admirable essay on this aspect of the marker in ‘The
Billiard Book,’ by Captain Crawley, written by the author of ‘Lost Sir
Massingberd,’ in which it is justly pointed out that the marker
moralises and is ‘daily the dumb witness of innumerable frauds.’ He is
made to say, ‘I know the real skill of every player to a hair, and how
much he conceals of it.’ I know the characters of nine-tenths of the men
who enter the room, and very indifferent they are—‘the man who plays for
a stroke only when it is a certainty preferring his own safety to his
enemy’s danger; the hard hitter, from whom no player is secure; the man
who is always calling his own strokes flukes; the man who is always
calling other people’s by that derogatory name; and the poor fellow who
is for ever under the cushion. My world, which is not a small one, is
mapped out for me, with all its different species of men, upon this
table; for I stand apart, and mark many things beside the score.’
Then think of the marker being obliged to constantly watch the
performances of those who take from half to three-quarters of an hour to
play a game of a hundred, the same bad form exhibited game after game,
by men who for one reason or another never improve; and judge leniently
of slight lapses of attention.
It is expedient once more to emphasise the point that whilst a game is
in progress the marker’s services should be considered as wholly devoted
to the score and the players; no spectator should speak to him or
attract his attention, and markers ought to be instructed, in case of
breaches of this rule, to point out respectfully that they are
prohibited from entering into conversation during a game. The writer has
often seen spectators, and occasionally opponents, most unwarrantably
engage a marker in conversation when they failed to get anyone else to
talk to, thereby distracting his attention from the game to which it
should be entirely devoted.
And now, as a last word, it is proper to explain that, though endeavour
has been made in the preceding pages to put amateurs in the way of
improving their game and of understanding its general principles, yet it
is not for a moment advocated that young men should devote to billiards
the time which might be more profitably employed in serious work. Except
for professional players and a very few specially circumstanced
enthusiasts, it is, after all, but a game and relaxation. Indulgence in
it should, therefore, be kept within strict limits; but, so regulated,
it will be found generally beneficial to mind and body. These
restrictions, it is evident, must almost to a certainty prevent amateur
form from ever seriously approaching that of professional players, and
one is warranted on meeting a youngster whose knowledge of the game and
handling of the balls have reached professional form in concluding that
his skill is evidence of a misspent youth. Still, there is a vast
difference, which may reasonably be lessened, between such perfection
and the average amateur performance; and it is hoped that this volume
may contribute to so desirable a result.
INDEX
Aberdovey slates, 73
Albert Club, 48
Albo-carbon light, 66, 67
American handicaps, 40, 43;
tournament, 41, 436
Angle, half-ball or natural, 101–103, 123–124;
of deviation, 138;
of incidence and reflexion, 139–140
Aquarium. _See_ Royal Aquarium
Association, Billiard. _See_ Billiard Association
Attitude, 107
Balls, billiard, 86–92;
treatment of, 87–88;
weight, 87_n_;
gauge, 89;
tests of, 90;
bonzoline, 91–92;
cast steel, 92;
dummy, 101;
definition of, 105;
motion, &c., and division of, 130–141;
impact of, 164–168;
rotation of, 189–214;
surface of, 193;
friction of, on cloth, 193;
transmitted side, 194; 443;
different qualities of ivory and bonzoline, 266–267;
light, 322
Bartley, Mr., 6, 9
Basket, pool, 101, 253–254
Baulk, meaning of the term, 105;
doubles in, 150;
playing for safety in, 284;
double, 290
‘Baynard Castle,’ 43
Bedford, Mr., 9
_Bell’s Life_, 19;
quoted, 20; 21
Bennett, Alfred, in handicaps, 36, 38, 40, 41, 47;
death, 38_n_
Bennett, Fred, 36, 38
Bennett, John, 36, 38
Bennett, Joseph 4;
his manual, 4;
in a four-handed match with John Roberts, sen., 26; 29;
beats Roberts, jun., and beaten by him, 34; 35, 36, 40, 41, 43, 44;
beaten by Roberts, jun., 50;
beats Cook for championship, 46;
defeats Taylor for championship, 47;
Shorter forfeits for championship, 47;
introduction of angle for private practice, 124; 266, 370
Bentinck Club, 24, 27
Billiard Association of Great Britain and Ireland standard tables, 70,
71, 362;
rules of, 374;
revision required, 375;
examination of — rules, 376–386;
examination of — rules of pyramids, 390
‘Billiard Book,’ Captain Crawley’s, on pyramids, 391;
essay on the marker, 445
‘Billiard Review,’ quoted, on the Association Rules, 375
Billiard-rooms, 55–57;
in Oriental Club, 57; 58, 59;
Mr. W. H. Fowler’s room, 59;
Mr. A. Gibbs’, 55–56;
ventilation of, 61–66;
lighting of, 66–68;
Major Broadfoot’s note on, 67, 68
Billiard-tables, 5, 10, 11, 15, 69;
pockets, 69;
Billiard Association legislation, 70;
Standard Association tables, 71;
cost, 72;
ordinary, 73;
championship, 73, 83, 362–373;
frames, 73;
slates, 73–77;
plan of table in diagram, 74, 75;
cushions, 77–79;
cloths, 79–80;
setting up the table, 79–83;
brushing and ironing, 83–84;
undersized, 84;
spot stroke, 85;
French tables, 85;
hiring, 85;
automatic returner, 86;
few in London clubs fit for play, 207;
easy and difficult—in training, 306
Billiard terms in use, 105–107
Black and pink pool, description of game, 423;
variation in rules, 423;
collecting stakes, 424;
a useful bye-law, 424
Black pool, 408, 418;
no regular laws, 418;
the game as generally played, 420;
special features, 420;
variation in rules, 421;
points to be held in view, 422
Blind pockets, playing hazards into, 146, 150
Bonzoline balls, 91;
wear, 92;
playing hazards with, 170;
difference between ivory and, 266;
playing double baulk strokes with, 293
_Bouclée_, formation of the bridge, 109, 129
Bowles, Alfred, 23;
his matches with Roberts, jun., 23, 33, 367
Boyd, Mr. A. H., 3;
aid from, 3;
on implements, 55–103;
on ‘Every-Day Billiards,’ 315–325
Break, definition of, 105;
higher signification of, 300;
average—in classifying players, 302;
personal questions: luck and nerve, 303–306;
advice to players who cannot undertake close study, 307–313;
advice to a higher class of players, 313;
Mr. Boyd’s advice to moderate players, 315–325;
— at the top of the table, by Mr. Rimington-Wilson, 325–348;
nursery cannons, 348–361
Breaking the balls, explanation of the phrase, 105
_Bricole_, utility of, 172;
the push, 226, 240
Bridge, the term, 105;
a good, 108, 109;
a short, 127;
_bouclée_, 129
Brighton, Kentfield’s Subscription Rooms at, 10
Broughton, Tom, beaten by Roberts, sen., 16
Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. the, cited, 212, 440
Brushing tables, 83
Buchanan, J. P., 266
Buckland, Frank, test for balls, 90
‘Bumble-puppy,’ 430
Burners, gas, for billiard-rooms, 67
Burroughes and Watts, aid from, 4, 55;
first series of handicaps, 36; 40, 77, 98
Butts, 97
Cannons, plain, 172–186;
tendency to supersede losing hazards, 172;
general rules for strength in playing, 174;
easier than the hazard, 175;
in baulk, 210–212;
use of compensation in making, 261–262;
nursery, easy of execution, 326; 348–361
Carr, John, 5;
sells twisting chalk, 7; 8;
backed against all comers, 9;
challenged by Kentfield, 10
Carter, Eugene, American player, 53
Cathire More, King of Ireland, his brass billiard balls, 4
Chalk, 83, 87, 98, 384;
St. Martin, 99
Championship, the, &c., 362–373;
Mr. Russell D. Walker’s memorandum on, 367–370
Championship matches, remarks concerning, 362–366;
list of, 373
Championship table, the, 73, 83;
pockets, 362;
play on, 370–373;
objections to different tables for ordinary play and for championship
matches, 364;
genuineness of game, 365;
equalisation of amateurs on a, 372;
record of championship matches, 373
Chimneys of lamps for lighting billiard-rooms, 66
Close screws, method of playing, 250
Cloths for billiard-tables, 79;
nap of, 193;
effects on rotation and path of ball, 207
Club billiard-rooms, 56;
over-ironing of cloth in, 207
Coles, Harry, 48, 49
Collins, George, 36, 38, 39, 48
Combination tables, 85
Compensation in play, 260
Composition balls, 91
Cook, William, 20, 23, 24;
Roberts, sen.’s opinion of, 25;
first match with and defeat by Roberts, jun., 27;
beats him later, 28;
rapid rise, 28;
beats Roberts, sen., for championship, 29–31;
remarkable breaks, 33, 34;
loses championship to Roberts, jun., 33, 41;
zenith of his career, 34; 35, 36;
wins handicap, 36; 39, 40;
beaten by Roberts, jun., 41, 42, 43, 46;
beaten by Joseph Bennett in championship match, 46;
beats and beaten by Roberts, jun., 47, 50;
unrivalled style, 120;
on the spot stroke, 265, 266, 268;
strength and execution, 370;
pool record, 412
‘Cork Marker,’ the, his match with Carr, 9
Cork pool, description of, 429;
variation in play, 430;
bumble-puppy, 430
Corrugated iron billiard-rooms, 59
Cotton’s ‘Compleat Gamester,’ 5
Country-house games, 429–432
Coup, to run a, explanation of phrase, 105
_Coups durs_, 105, 230
Cover, meaning of the term, 105
Crawley, Captain, on pyramids, 391;
quotation about marker from his billiard book, 445
Cues, &c., 93–103;
French butt, 93;
English butt, 93;
tips, 95, 96;
jointed, 96, 388;
splicing, 97;
mechanical accuracy in delivering, 115–129;
hold of, 125;
use of — in the follow, 196;
in the screw back, 202;
in applying side, 203;
in the push stroke, 224;
‘power’ of, 315;
necessity for accurate delivery of, 324
Cunningham, Colonel Allan, R.E., aid from, 3
Cushion-crawling, 283
Cushion nursery cannons, 348–361;
breaks of — often spurious, 363
Cushions, 77;
covering with cloth, 81;
difficulty of square-cut, 145;
side acquired by friction with, 206;
nurseries, 348–361
Davis, George, 25
Dawson, Charles, 49, 51, 120;
simplicity of his game, 128; 367
Defensive play, where advisable, 283
Diagrams, explanation of, 138–139
Diggle, Edward, 51, 120, 367
Double baulk, 105
Doubles, value of, 150;
in baulk, 150;
simple, 152; 398, 400, 413, 416
Drag strokes, 116, 196;
used to overcome irregularities in ball or bed, 197
Dufton, John, 20
Dufton, William, ‘tutor to the Prince of Wales,’ 20;
match with Roberts, sen., 22;
his long jennies, 25;
an overrated player, 25
Dufton’s ‘Practical Billiards,’ on skittle pool, 435
Dummy balls, 101
Egan, Pierce, 9
Egyptian Hall, 51
Electric light in billiard-rooms, 61, 66, 67
Elementary instruction, 104;
mode of entering room, 104;
technical terms, 104–106;
attitudes, 107;
formation of bridge, 108, 109;
the bridge _bouclée_, 109, 129;
cue delivery, 109;
practice with one ball, 110–115;
strength, 112;
use of the rest, 113–115;
use of the half-butt and long-butt, 115;
Mr. Pontifex’s memorandum, 115–129;
a remarkable amateur feat, 116, 126
English butt, 93
Erection of billiard-table, 80
Etiquette of the billiard-room, 3, 104, 388, 440–442
Evans, Harry, 25, 26;
champion of Australia, 39
Feather stroke, 370
Fleming, John, defeats Roberts, sen., 16
Follow, the, importance of, 194;
increasing artificially, 195;
chief use, 196
Forcing hazards, 170
Ford, Mr., on markers, 428; 445
Foul, definition of a, 105
Four-handed game, a bad school, 318;
a substitute for, 439
Fowler, Mr. W. H., his outside billiard-room, 59, 103
French butt, 93
French players on the game, 1
Gaiety Restaurant, matches at, 41, 43
‘Game of Billiards,’ Kentfield’s, 10
Gas in billiard-rooms, 61
Gate-money, 365, 366
Gibbs, Mr. A., his billiard-room at Tyntesfield, 61
Gillows’ tables, 15
Green, W. E., 25, 53
Guildhall Tavern, matches at, 37
Half-butts, 97
Half-push, the, 228
Handicaps, 36, 39;
American system of, 40, 41, 43; 436;
the same guiding rules for framing, 439
Hazards, winning, 142–153; 320, 404;
plain strokes, 142;
middle pocket, 159, 422.
_See_ Losing
Herst, John, 21, 22, 25
Hiring billiard-tables, 85
Hitchin, W. C., 25
Hughes, Alfred, 25, 26, 36, 39
Hughes, Charles, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 367
Impact, divergence between point of aim and point of, 133–135;
points of, 143;
rebound following, 164, 167
Implements of the game, 55 _et seq._
In hand, definition of the term, 105
Incandescent gas light, 66
India-rubber cushions, 77
Ironing billiard-table cloths, 79, 83
Ives, Frank, his matches with Roberts, jun., 53, 365, 372;
cannon play, 359;
makes 1,267 consecutive cannons, 369
Ivory balls, 86;
expense of, 91;
differ from bonzoline, 266; 293
Jennies, 160;
method of playing, 239
Jump stroke, 250
Kentfield, Edwin (otherwise Jonathan), champion, 10;
his improvements, 10;
his book, 11;
his game 11; 12, 13, 14, 15;
interviewed by Roberts, sen., 17, 18;
refuses to play Roberts, 19; 367
Kilkenny, Lewis, 25, 36, 38, 40
Kiss, the term explained, 105;
mode of playing the — stroke, 230; 406
Knightsbridge, matches at, 53
Ladies, billiards as a game for, 440
Lamps, oil, for lighting billiard-rooms, 66
Leap stroke, method of making, 250
Lighting billiard-rooms, 66, 83
Lloyd, winner of 1895 Association Tournament, 54
Long-butts, 97
Losing hazards, short and long, 153–172;
half-ball strokes, 154; 156;
middle-pocket, 158;
jennies, 160;
long, 162;
care required in playing, 168;
forcing, 170;
inferiority to winning hazards, 172;
by use of follow, 218–221; 371
Luck in playing, 303
MʻNeil, Hugh, 51
Mannock, J. P., 52
Mardon, Mr., writer on billiards, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20
Marker, duties of the, 412, 414, 415, 428, 445;
services should be devoted to game and players alone, 446
Marking-boards, 99;
nickel-plated, 100
_Massé_ stroke, method of playing, 255, 353
Matches, championship, 373
Measurements in billiards, approximate, 146;
how made, 147
Memmott, Charles, champion of Australia, 26, 39;
record of screw back spots, 48; 52, 274
Miss, must be played with the point of cue, 284
Miss-cue, meaning of the term, 106
Mitchell, William, 43–46;
as spot player, 44–48;
beaten by Roberts, jun., even, 50; 52, 228, 367
Mode of entering a billiard-room, 104, 441
Morris, Tom, 25, 26, 39
Moss, W., 35
Mulberry, George, 25
Nap of cloth, effect of playing with or against, 193, 207, 208, 270
Nearest ball pool, 431
‘Nell Gwynne,’ Strand, match at, 24
Nerve in playing, 3, 305–306
North, John, his style, 47, 48, 119
Nursery cannons, 348–361;
value of — on three-inch pocket table, 363
Oil lamps for lighting billiard-rooms, 66
One-ball practice. _See_ Elementary instruction
Oriental Club, plan of room, 57, 62
Orme & Sons, their automatic arrangement for returning balls, 86; 323
Over-caution in playing, evils of, 318
_Partie Américaine dite du cadre_, 364
Peall, W. J., aid from, 4; 44;
remarkable breaks, 45; 46, 48;
defeats Roberts, jun., 49, 50;
present position, 51; 52;
weight of his cue, 94;
consecutive screw back spot strokes, 274; 282;
turning a corner at cushion nurseries, 359; 367
Peall cushion rest, 98 _n._
Pendleton, Tom, 16
Penrhyn slates, 73
Pipeclay for marking baulk-lines, 83
_Piqué_ strokes, mode of playing, 256
Plain strokes, 142–188
Plan of billiard-table, 74, 75
Plants, definition of, 106;
method of playing, 244;
laws which govern them unknown, 246;
in pyramids, 400
Players, system of classifying, 302;
difference in, 303;
luck, 303
Pneumatic cushions, 79
Pockets of billiard-tables, 11, 69;
blind, 146, 150;
Billiard Association standard, 362, 368
Pontifex, Mr. Dudley D., aid from, 3;
memorandum by, 115, 325
Pook, John, Kentfield’s manager, 18
Pool basket, 101, 253–254
Pool, importance of playing for position in, 145;
useful as winning hazard practice, 320;
description of the game, 408;
rules and penalties, 410;
safety and hazards, 411;
starring, 411;
playing for cannons, 411;
measuring distances, 412;
marker’s duty, 412;
the opening stroke, 412;
Cook’s record, 412;
doubles, 150, 400, 413;
story concerning consecutive doubles, 413;
anecdote about sharpers, 413, 414;
for other varieties of the game, _see_ Black pool, Black and pink,
Cork, Nearest ball, Selling, Single, Skittle, Snooker, Three-pool
Porker, Mr., his match with Mr. Mardon, 12
_Position mère_, 329; 351
‘Practical Billiards,’ Dufton’s, on skittle pool, 435
Pratt, his style, 9;
match with a stranger, 10
Precautions in play, 259
Prince of Wales, the, _See_ Wales, Prince of
Prince of Wales’s Hotel, Moss Street, Manchester, matches at, 28
Professionals, rate of scoring, 307
Push stroke, the, 52;
method of playing, 224; 370;
its permissibility, 382;
character defined, 383;
so-called proofs of foulness, 383, 384;
objections to striking twice, 385, 386;
the case for and against, 386
Pyramids, 33;
importance of playing for position in, 145;
general hints concerning, 388;
salient points of the game, 389;
rules regarding, 390;
handicapping players, 390;
setting up the balls, 391;
ways of playing the first stroke, 391;
safety, 392;
making a series of hazards, 392;
plants and doubles, 394;
when the object ball is close to a cushion, 396;
useful strokes, 396–406;
good break by an Undergraduate, 407
Queen’s Club, 116
Quill stroke, 370
Rebound following impact, 164, 167
Referees, duties of, 444
_Rencontres_, 105, 230
Rests, 98, 115
Richards, matches with Roberts, sen., 367
Richards, D., 25, 27, 41, 120
Right-angled screw, the, 198
Rimington-Wilson, Mr. R. H. R., aid from, 4;
on the top-of-the-table game, 325;
on cannon nurseries, 359;
on the professional championship, 366
Roberts, John, jun., 11, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28;
beats Cook for the championship, 33;
beats A. Bowles, 33;
beaten by Joseph Bennett, 34;
defeats Bennett, 33, 34; 40;
again beats Cook for championship, 41; 43, 46;
in India, 47;
defeats and is beaten by Cook, 47; 48;
beaten by Peall, 49;
beats Cook and Joseph Bennett for championship, 50;
beats Mitchell, 50;
beaten by Peall, spots only, 50;
challenged by Peall, 51;
his wonderful play, 51;
matches with Ives, 53, 359, 365;
his long spot-barred breaks, 54;
weight of his cue, 94;
admirable cue delivery, 116;
ease and grace of style, 119;
skill, 121, 125, 127, 128, 212, 268;
good at the spot stroke, 274; 370;
offer to assist in recasting rules of the game, 375;
on the push stroke, 386
Roberts, John, sen., 12, 13;
contrasted with Kentfield, 14, 15;
rapid rise, 16;
taught the spot stroke by Mr. Lee Birch, 16;
interviews Kentfield, 17, 18;
champion, 19; 21;
lessee of Saville House, Leicester Square, 22;
his famous break of 346 in a match with William Dufton, 22;
matches with Alfred Bowles and Charles Hughes, 23, 24; 26, 28;
defeated by Cook, 31;
endurance match with an amateur, 32; 367
Rotation of ball, 189–214;
cause of, 192;
round horizontal axis, forward, 194;
backward, 196;
round vertical axis, 202
Royal Aquarium, Westminster, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 368
‘R.-W. Billiard Diagram Notebook,’ 398
Rudolph, match with Cook, 40
Rules of billiards, 374;
defective character, 374;
proposed revision, 375;
penalties for infringing, 375;
suggestions respecting, 376–386;
discriminating between the act of aiming and the act of striking,
377;
playing a miss otherwise than with the point of the cue, 378;
playing with the wrong ball, 378;
foul strokes, 379;
when player’s ball touches another ball, 379;
offences committed by persons other than the players, 380;
spectators offering advice, 376, 380;
obstructing players, 380;
obstruction of the striker by the non-striker, 381;
how far the marker may assist either player, 381;
the push stroke, 382;
the half-push, 384;
striking a ball twice, 384;
chief objections to the push stroke, 385, 386
Safety, when to be sought for, 283;
pocketing an adversary’s ball, 285;
double baulk, 290
St. James’s Hall, 30, 47, 368
St. Martin chalk, 99
Sala, J. G., record of consecutive screw back spots, 48; 274
Samson, Mr., architect, 60, 62;
designs by, 64–65
Scoring, different rate of, between amateurs and professionals, 307
Screw, the, 196, 197, 247;
right-angled, 198;
regulation of strength necessary in playing, 198;
importance of regulating, 200;
close, 250
Selling pool, principle of the game, 429
Seymour, William, 116
‘Sharping’ in billiard-rooms, 413, 414
Shell-out, the game of, 407, 408
Shorter, Fred, wins love game from Bennett, 41–42;
beats Cook, 42;
beats Taylor, 42;
forfeits to Bennett, 47
Side, transmission of, 194, 202;
acquired by friction with cushion, 206;
imparting, 315;
can it be communicated by one ball to another?, 443.
_See_ Rotation
Skittle pool, description of, 431;
rules, 432;
usual way of playing, 434
Skylight sashes for ventilating billiard-rooms, 62
Slates for billiard-tables, 73–77
Smoking in billiard-room, 442
Snooker, 408;
variations in rules, 424;
general method of play, 424;
penalties, 425, 426;
main object of player, 427;
the element of luck, 427
Spiller, William, 52
Spot stroke, the, 11, 16;
agitation against, 39;
result of barring, 172;
constant practice required for success, 264;
danger of using, 265;
its genuineness, 266;
ivory and bonzoline balls in playing, 266;
use of chalk, 267;
method of playing, 268;
its limits, 269;
the screw back, 273;
the stab, 276;
must be taught by a master, 279;
methods adopted to continue break or obtain safety, 279;
invaluable as practice for winning hazard play, 282; 320
Spot-barred breaks, 45
Spot stroke tables, 85
Spots, inadvisability of altering, 153
Stab, the, use of in playing cannons, 182;
and spot stroke, 276
Stakes, advantages and disadvantages of playing for, 436
Stammers, 36, 39
Standard Association tables, 71
Stanley, S. W., 25, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41
Starke, defeated by Roberts, sen., 19;
further matches with him, 21
Stevenson, H. W., 27, 52
Strength, definition of, 106
String, to, meaning of, 106
Strokes, following, 194;
screw, 196, 247;
practising, 208;
_massé_, 214, 255;
miscellaneous, 215;
fine, 222;
push and half-push, 224;
_bricole_, 226, 242;
kiss, 230;
jennies, 239;
plants, 244;
close screws, 250;
leap or jump, 250;
_piqué_, 255;
compensations, 260;
spot, 264
Style, 112
Tables. _See_ Billiard-tables
Taylor, Tom, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 47, 48, 368
Templates, 71
Terms, billiard, technical, explained, 104–106
Three-ball practice, 142 _et seq._
Three-inch pocket table. _See_ Championship table
Three-pool, 413;
strange occurrence at, 413;
principles of the game, 415, 416
Thurston, John, 10;
his improvement of tables, 11
Thurston & Co., 55
Timbrell, William, 40, 43
‘Times,’ the, quoted on the push stroke, 386
Tips of cues, 95;
process of tipping, 95;
cleaning, 95;
renovating, 96
Tobin tubes for ventilating billiard-rooms, 61
Top-of-the-table game, the, 325–348
‘Twisting chalk,’ Carr’s, 7
Two-ball practice, 130–141
Union Club, Manchester, 14, 16
Ventilation in billiard-rooms, 59, 62
Vignaux, M., aid from his book, 3;
cited, 189, 206, 259, 327, 351, 440
Vulcanite cushions, 77
Wales, Prince of, 20;
at championship match, 29;
at match Roberts _v._ Cook, Newmarket, 47
Walker, Mr. Russell D., aid from, 3;
on the championship, 366, 367
Warming billiard-rooms, 60, 63
White, Fred, 49
Wilson, R., 44
Winning hazards, 142–153;
confidence required, 320
Wright & Co., 55, 71
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
-----
Footnote 1:
If a man wants to play fast he would surely select the worst—not the
best—player as antagonist.—ED.
Footnote 2:
It is difficult to believe in the possibility of scoring over 700
points in an hour with the imperfect implements then in use; half that
number is probably nearer the truth.—ED.
Footnote 3:
Alfred Bennett died after these lines were in type.
Footnote 4:
Roberts twice in 1894, during exhibition games, exceeded 1,000 in
spot-barred breaks, making 1,033 and 1,392.
Footnote 5:
The raised woodwork above the leads.
Footnote 6:
I do not, of course, mean that the spot stroke is a one-position
stroke—far from it; but from an ordinary spectator’s point of view it
is summed up in the words ‘potting the red _ad infinitum_.’
Footnote 7:
Formerly only four slates were used, with the result that a joint ran
straight across the table from the centre of one middle pocket to the
other. If, then, warping or subsidence of the floor ensued, an ugly
ridge arose opposite the pocket, making it unmissable from one side,
and almost impossible from the other.
Footnote 8:
Battens are screwed to the slates in order to take the tacks which
fasten down the cloth.
Footnote 9:
Each ball weighs about 4⅔ ounces.
Footnote 10:
The jointed cue with a spare top joint renders the above devices
unnecessary, and they are all open to some objection.
Footnote 11:
An excellent cushion rest, capable of being used as an ordinary rest,
is that known as the Peall Cushion Rest, which possesses the
advantages of simplicity and ease of handling.
Footnote 12:
See illustration, p. 129.
Footnote 13:
Often called the half-ball angle, both definitions being very
inaccurate; but they are in common use, and generally understood.
Footnote 14:
Or _restitution_, the effect of _compression_.
Footnote 15:
The Americans term what we call _side_ ‘English’ or ‘twist.’
Footnote 16:
Delarue, Paris.
Footnote 17:
Memmott has made, we believe, the extraordinary number of 423
consecutive screw back spot strokes.
Footnote 18:
For a description of this game, see pp. 29–31.
Footnote 19:
Taylor’s cannons were made on balls jammed in the jaws of the pocket;
Ives’ cannons were made on balls well outside of the jaws.
Footnote 20:
The numbers quoted are those of the Billiard Association’s Rules.
Footnote 21:
The rules do not say for how many balls the offender has to pay:
presumably all that are left on the table are scored to his adversary.
Footnote 22:
See pp. 148 and 244.
Footnote 23:
Published by Webster, 60 Piccadilly.
Footnote 24:
The numbers quoted are those of the Association Rules.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. P. 302, changed “à force de forger on devient forgeron” to “à force
de forger en devient forgeron”.
2. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
spelling.
3. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
4. Re-indexed footnotes using numbers and collected together at the end
of the last chapter.
5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
6. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.
7. Denoted superscripts by a caret before a single superscript
character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in
curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.