Two Interference Systems by BOB JEWETT HAVE YOU EVER found yourself in a situation like Figure 1? The cue ball is frozen to the 1, with a ball near a pocket. If you shoot the cue ball partly into the 1, and in the general direction of the 2 ball, the cue ball will go above the kiss line (KL), but where? The "two-times fuller" system gives the answer. The situation in the first diagram is set up to make the needed arithmetic very easy. First look at the center line of the cue ball and the 1 ball, marked CL. This is the headstring in the diagram. Next, consider the line from the target (the 2 ball), perpendicular to that first line. In the diagram, that's the nose of the cushion the 3 ball is on. Divide that line in half and shoot at the midpoint; the 3 ball is conveniently placed as the target. In other words, shoot into the 1 ball twice as full as the line you want the cue ball to take, or twice as full as if the 1 ball wasn't there, hence the name "two-times fuller" system. Some details: Shoot through the center of the cue ball with no draw, follow, English, or elevation, at least at first. The cue ball must be touching the 1 ball both for the shot to work properly and for it to be legal at pool. (This shot is not permitted at snooker or carom billiards.) You may find that a target slightly to the right of the 3 is needed, depending on how much the 1 ball throws. Another way to aim this shot starting from the kiss line is used to hit the 9 ball. The kiss line (KL) is where the cue ball goes if shot tangent to the one ball. It is the familiar "right angle" line that is the start of all position play. In the diagram, it is the "long string" through the foot and head spots. To make the cue ball hit the 9, shoot towards pocket P. That is with the 3 ball half a diamond — exactly one tenth the distance just twice the distance from the kiss line as the 9 ball. — towards the pocket. If you shoot the 1 ball towards the three More details: The two lines used must be at right angles to each and it goes toward pocket P. other, and the balls rarely end up in a configuration so geometri- Sometimes it goes into the pocket. Like the "two times" system, cally perfect as Figure 1, where the rails can be used as the dis- any slight error in aiming or shooting is multiplied in the final tance-measuring line. Practice making a right angle with your path of the 1 ball, in this case by 10 rather than two. In addition, stick, and check it with a notebook paper or other square object. all of the other minor factors have a much greater influence here. This system is not perfectly accurate. Errors in measurement, If you are using an old set of balls that has become mismatched throw, English, mismatched balls, and even hardness of the tip with age, proceed with caution. will each have a significant effect. With practice it is possible to Contrary to popular belief, draw on the cue ball is not required make shots as tough as the 8 ball into pocket P. For this shot, the for the shot to work. Draw will significantly change the angle and target will be somewhere in the side pocket near the edge of the get more speed on the object ball, however. There are many situa- pocket liner. With careful setup and execution, the shot is about tions at full-rack games where the ball striking the object ball is 50% successful. another object ball in a cluster, and then draw can't help. Proposition aficionados take note: any error either in placement As with any system, practice is required to make these two a of the cue ball-1 ball line-up or aiming is doubled in the cue ball solid part of your game. For the "two times" system, try it with line towards the 8. more irregular angles and more difficult targets to see what accu- A second interference system is useful when two object balls are racy you can achieve. Often theses system can be used for safety frozen together like the one and two in Figure 2. I call this the "10 rather than pocketing a ball, especially when there is a cluster of times fuller" system, and the geometry is nearly the same as the balls to hide behind. When practicing the "10 times" system, pay system above. If the goal is to make the 1 ball in pocket P, it must attention to which balls are used — especially if the set is old — be shot 10 times as full into the obstructing ball than for a direct and whether the balls are clean. shot. In the diagram, a miracle has aligned the 1 and 2 balls kiss- Bob Jewett (E-mail at [email protected]) is a former ACU-l billiards ing directly at a point five diamonds from the target pocket (P) champion and currently trains BCA Certified Instructors in San Francisco. 20 Billiards Digest Bad Equipment by BOB JEWETT HAVE YOU EVER suspected that the equipment was con- spiring against you? It sounds like a cop- out, but maybe you were right. Here is a rogues' gallery of monds from each end rail). inanimate enemies Usually a line will appear on the you may find on and cloth where the balls bump near the table. Fore- against the raised joint. warned is forearmed. If the plaster between the joints Defects in the rails can make some ap- is broken, it can work its way parently easy shots impossible. A common under the cloth and produce problem is rail misalignment, which can amazing hops and rolls. Beeswax be checked roughly by sighting along the as a joint filler avoids this prob- noses of the cushions. For more precision, lem. Some very expensive tables stretch a thread just in front of the nose of are machined so accurately that the rail as shown in Figure 1. (The error their joints are left bare. has been exaggerated to demonstrate. This Pockets are ready targets for figure is based on a table I play on fre- player hatred. My own pet peeve quently, and only recently checked care- is the angle between the facings in fully.) The pair of cushions is badly tilted. the corner pockets which tends to If a ball is frozen to the left cushion, it is reject near-perfect but fast shots. almost impossible to make it in the right This problem gets worse when corner pocket since it is bound to hit the worn facings get "cupped" as in protruding corner of the side pocket. ^S Figure 2. Playing a frozen ball from right to left When the ball hits the bottom of along the rail has no such obstacle. off the nose. This can be beneficial, pro- the pocket, the fun is just starting. The ball Since it's impossible to set up a table viding object balls a trail that leads them returns in the 1977 World 14.1 Champion- without any error at all, we need to know straight into the corner pocket, unless the ships were "spring loaded" with the ball- how much misalignment is too much. A extra friction from the nose stops the ball return guide wires extending right under simple test is to place three balls frozen to- before the pocket. For the cue ball, this un- the pocket opening. More than one perfect gether on one side of the side pocket and expected deflection can ruin the aim. break shot jumped back onto the table. see if the combination gets past the side Everyone has played on a table that was- "Drop pockets" also can have this feature, unscathed. Be sure to try the shot in both n't quite level. This can usually be fixed but lack any obvious mechanism. It helps directions and at various speeds; the slow- with shims under the legs, but this must be to have a ball or two in the pockets to act est is most likely to have problems. done uniformly to avoid twisting the table. as shock absorbers. The cushion rubber may have come A good level gets you close, but the final Defects in balls are many and varied. unglued or the rail bolts may be loose. test is whether balls roll straight. Faster Many balls in play are the wrong size, These will result in a "thud" or "clunk" cloth magnifies any slope; conversely, cov- having gradually worn out of tolerance. when a ball hits the rail at speed. There ering with burlap will hide tilt. The cue ball gets smaller from wear the may also be a delayed "thud" if the nose of Several things can go wrong with the fastest. To compare balls, freeze three in a the cushion is so low that it makes the ball slate. It can be "hump-backed" or "sway- line on the rail — say, the cue ball be- hop. backed" such that balls roll towards or tween two stripes — and place something One of the first rail deficiencies I learned away, respectively, from both side rails. flat — triangle or cue — on top. If the all about the hard way is the rail groove — Slate is formed from layers of mud and three balls are the same height, each the gutter in the cloth formed where the sometimes in a defective piece the layers should touch the object.