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Thus (If the two balls be in front)

if the two balls be in front of one [BILLIARDS another and in the middle of the baulk, a cannon may be made by playing out of baulk with side, the striker's ball comes off the side cushion, enters the baulk, and makes the cannon. which no absolute rule can be laid down.

This, again, is a stroke for Each player ought to practise so as to know exactly where his ball will come back when played with a certain amount of side; he can then judge whether he can make the cannon off one or two cushions, and can play it with the requisite strength. It is, however, always dangerous to play a ball back into baulk if the other two balls are in baulk, unless a score is tolerably certain; more especially is this the case when no score is left for the adversary if the two balls in baulk are undisturbed, because when the third ball is played into baulk, it will most probably leave an easy cannon.

The Lace Cannon. - When the red ball is near one of the top pockets, and is covered by the adversary's ball, the position is dangerous, because, unless the red ball can be knocked away from the pocket, an easy hazard will be available for the adversary.

The adversary's ball may be struck full, and caused to disturb the red; if, however, it fails to knock the red into the pocket, matters may not be mended, and a break may be left. Under these conditions, what is termed the lace stroke may be attempted.

The three balls are assumed to be in the position shown in the following diagram (Fig. 2, 3, I being the striker's ball. By striking 2 on the right-hand side, the striker's ball, it will, if struck hard, hit and with a slight amount of left side on the cushion at C, rebound to D, and The term cannon on to 3. D stroke is used because the striker's lace ball, in running backwards and forwards across compared the table, may be a to 9 1 O- 2 C FIG. 17. lacing a boot.

The danger of this stroke is that the striker's and adversary's balls kiss as they come off their respective cushions, but by practice the kiss may be avoided. When this cannon is well played, the three balls are almost certain to be left together at the top of the table, when consequently subsequent scores will be easy. Cannons of various kinds besides those mentioned may be made, for it has been truly remarked that "there is always a cannon on the balls." Those which have BILLIARDS] been described are merely examples of various cannons, and it should always be remembered that though the cannon may be comparatively easy, a second score depends on where the balls are left after the cannon has been made. It is a common error of inexperienced amateurs to imagine that very long breaks can be made only by a series of brilliant or difficult strokes. When the play of a first-class professional is watched, the conclusion which an average player usually arrives at is that he could, without difficulty, have made every score that he saw made. The secret of long scores, consequently, is the strength with which each stroke is made, and the manner in which the second ball is struck. To play a cannon hard, and trust to chance for another score, is the sure way to bring a break to an end.

Before, therefore, a cannon is played for, it is necessary to think where the balls will be left after the cannon has been made.

Each game of billiards that is played, when thought is employed, is a lesson, and a player consequently improves in his game.

When a score is made without reflection, no improvement in the player's game ever takes place; consequently, we may find numerous examples where men have not advanced even ten points in one hundred during more than a dozen years, though probably they may have played twenty games a week.

The Losing Hazard.-A player who is certain to make a comparatively easy losing hazard, and with judicious strength, is sure to be a formidable opponent. The red losing hazard is a most paying stroke; and I have seen more than one professional, when he had by bad luck pocketed his adversary's ball, make thirty or forty losing hazards in succession off the red, and finish this break with a safe double baulk.

In the year 1894, John Roberts, jun., made 98 consecutive red losing hazards, and on October 12th, 1906, M. Inman scored 300 points off the red ball alone.

Both these breaks, however, have been recently put completely in the shade by the simply phenomenal performance of George Gray, a lad 172 years old at the time, who in Melbourne, on August 25th, 1909, scored 831 off the red in the course of a break of 836, thus beating the previous record spot-barred break recognised by the Billiard Association (the 802 by Stevenson in 1905), as well as pulverising the record made off the red ball alone in a spot-barred game.

Although I have seen it stated that this break was duly authenticated and made on a "standard table," I do not yet know for certain that the records made therein have been passed by the Billiard Association.

Losing hazards in the middle pocket are usually those which lead to the best results.

When a loser in the middle cannot be made without bringing the red into baulk, a player has the option of three strokes: a set hazard into a top pocket, a long jenny into a top pocket, or a jenny into one of the middle pockets. Should neither of these present themselves with a probability of success, there may remain a winning hazard in the side or top pockets, played with such strength as to leave a loser in one of the top pockets for the next stroke.

To play the middle pocket hazard well requires a knowledge of "side." In order to bring the red ball into such a position as to leave another easy losing hazard in a centre pocket, the player must strike his own ball with one particular strength, and in one particular part. In order, therefore, to make the losing hazard, "side" must be used either to decrease or increase the effect of the strength with which the player strikes his own ball. It is worse than useless to play with such strength as to bring the red ball back and over the middle pocket, if the losing hazard be missed; an easy score for the adversary would be the only result. It is better to make the losing hazard with bad strength, than to obtain good strength and miss making the hazard.

Now, if in order to bring the red ball back from the top cushion and over the middle, it is necessary to strike your own ball hard, so that if struck true it would hit the cushion short of the pocket, then, by hitting your own ball low, and on the side opposite to that on which the pocket you are playingfor is situated, you reduce the effect of the strength, and your own ball will glance off the ball it hits, much in the same manner as though you had struck your own ball gently. If it be necessary to strike the second ball more gently, in order to bring it back to the required position, but such a gentle stroke would cause your own ball to strike the cushion above the pocket, then, by putting on your own ball pocket side, you increase the angle of rebound, and make a losing hazard in the middle pocket.

Speaking from long experience, I can state that whilst very many amateurs seem to be well acquainted with the effects of putting on side opposite to that of the pocket played for, few, comparatively, seem to be able to produce the reverse effect, by putting on pocket side. The consequence is that they play for a middle pocket hazard by playing hard, with the result that they make the hazard but leave the red ball in baulk; had they played the stroke more gently, and with pocket side, another middle red losing hazard would have been offered them.

When a middle pocket red hazard can be accomplished only by striking your own ball very gently, so that there is no chance of bringing the red by this stroke over the middle pocket for another middle pocket hazard, the stroke should be played with such strength as to leave the red at the upper part of the table, so that a hazard in the top pocket may be made.

When playing for a hazard in the top pocket, two disasters must, if possible, be avoided. These are very common, and prevent some amateurs from making any following score. The first is that they place their ball in baulk, and play the stroke with exactly such strength that, although they make the losing hazard, they leave the red ball in baulk. The second is that they place their ball in such a position, and play with such strength, that the red ball "catches" in one of the bottom pockets, and remains in baulk.

Such a result is almost invariably attributed by the inexperienced amateur to "bad luck." It is nothing of the kind; it is bad judgment; he has placed his ball in the wrong part of baulk, and has played with faulty strength. Not once in fifty hazards will such an event occur with a good professional player.

A third disaster not unfrequently may occur as follows:- The white ball may be in the centre of the table, the red ball at the upper end of the table. The striker places his ball in baulk, and plays hard for a losing hazard in one of the top pockets. He makes the hazard, but the red ball in coming down the table strikes the white ball, and both balls are left in baulk, with an easy hazard for the adversary unless the balls can be disturbed. To avoid such a result, a losing hazard should, if possible, be made off the white, so as to remove it from a dangerous position in the middle of the table, before the red hazard is played for; or the hazard off the red should be played for, if possible, with slow strength, so as to cause it to come only about half-way down the table. The harder the striker hits his own ball, when playing for a hazard, the more uncertain will be the position of the red ball after the stroke.

Consequently, when playing from baulk for a top red hazard, when the red is near either of the top pockets, the player should strike his ball so gently that he will not bring the red much below the middle of the table. [BILLIARDS When playing for such hazards as those last described, what is called the "drag" stroke may be used with advantage. The player hits his ball below the centre, much at the same point as if playing for a rightangled screw. Instead, however, of striking his ball a sharp blow, he should strike it more gently. The ball starts rapidly, but when about half-way up the table, the speed of the ball seems to die away, and it will strike the ball played at very gently. This stroke is more difficult to describe than it is to play; but any good player can show those desirous of learning-how a ball should be struck for the drag.

The remarks that have been made when referring to cannons, as to the effect produced on the rebound of your ball from the ball it strikes; or, in other words, the angle at which your own ball comes off the other ball when struck with side, hold good as regards losing hazards. The important fact to remember is that if you want to make your own ball come off the ball played at in the same manner as it would come off if a hard stroke were played, put on pocket side. If you want to reduce the angle, put on the reverse side to that on which is the pocket. Thus, by striking your own ball with the same force, two very different results will occur as regards the angle at which your own ball comes off the ball it strikes.

The practical application of this variation of side is almost endless. It comes in when playing long hazards in the top pockets when your own ball is in hand. It is of the greatest use when playing for middle pocket hazards, as it will enable the striker to make the hazard without bringing the red into baulk; because if the player struck his own ball true, he would not make the hazard unless he played with such strength that he brought the red ball into baulk. run- When a player has practised making various kinds of cannons, he has merely to consider a pocket to be the third ball, and to endeavour to cannon into this pocket.

Consequently, following hazards, through hazards, and right-angle twist hazards can be accomplished in the same manner as similar cannons can be made. It must always be remembered, however, that a hazard is more difficult than a cannon, because a pocket is smaller than a ball.

Before the "spot-stroke" was studied, and when the middle pockets were larger than they are at present, long breaks were sometimes made by a succession of jennys in the middle pockets. The player, having the option of placing his own ball in any BILLIARDS] part of the D, could select a position from which he could make the losing hazard with any required strength. This jenny, with correct strength, is one of the most difficult strokes on the balls, as the pocket taken obliquely is very small, and for the player to cause his own ball to enter the pocket requires great accuracy of eye and strength.

It is more difficult to accomplish a jenny with pocket side than it is with reverse side.

With the latter, the striker's ball may touch the farther side of the pocket, and the twist on his ball will cause it to run into the pocket. If this ball had pocket side on it, this side would effectually keep it out of the pocket if it struck the farther side of the pocket played for.

Long jennys in the top pockets are not so difficult as are jennys in the middle pockets; with plenty of side on the ball of the player, this side being given on the opposite side to that of the pocket, the losing hazard is often accomplished, although the player's ball strike the cushion some six or eight inches short of the top or bottom pocket. These long jennys are very paying strokes, as the ball played at will probably remain in the centre of the table, when a score after the stroke is usually offered to the striker.

One of the most difficult losing hazards on the table is what is termed a "forcing stroke"; that is, when a hazard has to be played for by the player striking his own ball hard, and without side, in order to make a hazard. To make such a stroke with any degree of certainty a player must be well acquainted with the weight of his cue and the elasticity of the balls. Unless the striker's ball enters exactly into the middle of the pocket, it will appear as though it went into the pocket and jumped out again, the fact being that, as the striker's ball travels at a great pace, it strikes one side of the cushion, then the other side, and comes off nearly at right angles to the two cushions between which is the pocket.

The striker's ball may be, as it were, "coaxed" into a pocket by "side," into which pocket it would not enter if no side were put on the striker's ball. One example of this effect has already been described in the long jenny; another effect is in a following hazard of a class that may frequently present itself in a game, and which will be understood by aid of the following diagram (Fig. 18). Suppose I the striker's ball, 2 the ball played at. It is required to make a losing hazard in the pocket 3. To accomplish this hazard the player strikes his own ball high, so as to give "follow," and on the pocket side; he aims at the ball 2 so as to strike it nearly full, but slightly on the left of the centre. The on, and player's ball follows strikes the cushion just on the right of the pocket at 3, and the ball 오일 FIG. 18. 2 3 "side" on the ball coaxes the ball into the pocket. If the striker's touched the left side of the pocket, it would not enter, and the losing hazard would be missed; but the side on the ball carries it in when it strikes the right-hand side. This is not only a very pretty, but at the same time a very profitable stroke, and should be practised day after day, until a certain amount of proficiency is attained. It is a stroke that may present itself frequently during a game or match, and the accurate performance of it not only adds to one's score and probably leaves a good break, but also tends to demoralise an adversary who could not accomplish it.

In order that a player should thoroughly understand the effect of "side" on a ball, as regards its entrance into a pocket, he may place his ball in the position shown by I in the last diagram and play this ball at the pocket 3, first by hitting his ball with right-hand side, and afterwards with lefthand side. He will find that if his ball strike the cushion anywhere, when he has right-hand side on, his ball will rarely if ever enter the pocket. If he strike his ball so as to give it left-hand side, it will enter the pocket after it has struck the cushion at 3-that is, on the right hand of the pocket.

One of the most paying losing hazards to make with certainty is when the striker's ball is close to one of the top pockets, the red on the spot, and the player pockets his own ball in the other top pocket. This stroke, if played with proper strength, will leave the red over the middle pocket, which pocket is on the same side of the table as is that in which the striker holed his own ball.

This losing hazard may be made by striking the red half full, fine, or with a following side stroke. In either case, if the hazard be made, a subsequent score is almost a certainty.

When a player is able to accomplish the various losing hazards which have been described, he may try to acquire a knowledge of what are usually termed "fancy X 2 hazards." These fancy hazards " are legion, and sometimes, but not often, may be made use of in a match or game. Many amateurs commit the mistake of imagining that games are won mostly in consequence of the winner being able to make some wonderful strokes. In the majority of cases it is in consequence of being able to play easy strokes with judicious strength, and to so place the balls after each score that another easy stroke is available. On looking on at the game of a good professional, there rarely if ever appears to be a difficult stroke; whereas when a fairly good amateur game is watched, every third or fourth stroke seems very difficult, but the amateur may succeed in making this, with the common result that he has nothing to play for even after he has succeeded in making it. Some few fancy or difficult losing hazards will, however, be described. They may be practised after the player is sufficiently skilled to make with certainty the most frequently occurring losing hazards.

EXAMPLE.-Place the red ball touching the cushion about one foot from the top or bottom pockets; place your own ball about two feet from the red ball and directly opposite to it. Thus, suppose 2 the red ball, I the striker's ball. Strike your own ball high and on the right-hand side; play the stroke gently, and hit the red not quite full, but slightly on the left. Your own ball will be kissed by the red, and will by this kiss enter the pocket 3. If the red ball be touching the cushion this stroke is by no means difficult. A similar losing hazard, though more difficult, may be accomplished in the middle pocket, when the red ball is either touching or nearly touching the side cushion, and the striker's ball is in front of the red ball. 3 It will be evident to any person that if a ball be placed at 3 (Fig. 19), a cannon can be made by this kiss stroke, even more 2 easily than could a losing hazard. It is therefore a stroke that is worth practising; but this and other fancy strokes, such as "the massé " and "the steeple- FIG. 19. 1 chase," should not be depended on to win a game. They may come in useful on rare occasions, but when missed are sure to leave an easy score for the adversary.

Hazards off a cushion may be defined as another form of "fancy " strokes. Cannons دو [BILLIARDS off one cushion are frequently played for by even moderate players, but to play for a losing hazard off one cushion is not usual; yet to make such a hazard is not so very difficult. As an example, it will be supposed that the player A at the commencement of the game gives the usual miss in baulk. The player B gives a miss, leaving his ball close to the left side cushion and about six inches below the middle pocket. The player A may now play at his adversary's ball, so that his own ball crosses the table and makes a losing hazard in the right-hand middle pocket. If the hazard be made, a good break is almost sure to follow; but if it be missed, the adversary is almost certain to have a good break offered to him. It is therefore a risky stroke, as almost all fancy strokes are, and should not be played for 3 unless the player has practised it sufficiently often to be more certain of making than of missing it. A somewhat similar cross hazard off one cushion may be made in either the top or bottom pockets when the balls are situated as described below (Fig. 20). 7 FIG. 20. 2 Suppose I the player's ball, 2 the red ball.

Strike the red ball on the right. The player's ball will rebound from the right top cushion and cross over to the pocket 3.

It depends on the relative positions of the balls I and 2 whether the player strikes his own ball with side or full and high. It is easy to make the ball I travel near to the pocket 3, but it requires considerable practice to make the hazard with any degree of certainty. It may, however, be practised, and if the adversary's ball happen to be very close to a cushion, so that he must be hampered for his next stroke, a liberty may be taken by playing for a fancy stroke which it would not be prudent to attempt were the adversary's ball in the middle of the table.

Losing hazards which are by no means difficult may be made by the player causing his own ball to strike a cushion before it strikes the ball off which the hazard is BILLIARDS] to be made. Many varieties of such hazards present themselves during a game, and sometimes inexperienced amateurs overlook these chances, and elect in preference to play for some difficult stroke, which they might make once in twenty times, and which if made would leave them no subsequent score.

One or two examples of such hazards are given below.

Suppose the adversary's ball to be close to the middle pocket, the player's ball in the middle of the table; of course the adversary's ball could be easily pocketed. Instead, however, of merely pocketing the adversary's ball, a losing hazard may be made in the middle pocket, and a chance of a good break may follow.