Carom Billiards Genius - One Ball To Glory!

"Some love one, some love two. I love one, and that is you." - Anonymous quote about love

The expert carom billiardist loves the same cue ball that jilts the novice. Your true pool love is based on devotion to cue ball practice and I'll demonstrate how to work the cue ball like an expert.

Consider the top Asian pros, who are currently dominant in men's and women's tournaments worldwide.

These are cue ball masters with a love for carom billiards games, Rotation Pool, and Straight Pool, all of which demand passionate cue ball positioning!

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More About Rotation Pool

With its potentially lengthy contest, Rotation was the darling of most pool shooters up through the Depression era and WWII. This classic game deserves a second look...
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And if I had a young child starting in pool today, I'd have them use the cue ball only for their first few months of play-it's what some of today's best did in their youth.

You too can fall in love with "whitey" the next time you practice or warm up on league night. Take a few minutes to stroke a cue ball only around the table, the equivalent of swings in the baseball batter's box or practice strokes in golf. Key "love" dynamics include:

1. Deep feelings. Feel no jarring impact. The cue ball hit shouldn't transmit vibration or abruptness to your stroking arm (on most shots). Glide all the way through the cue ball. Bangers anticipate impact and ruin their stroke.

You love that cue ball, but stroke like it isn't really there.

2. Listen for your love. On a quality center ball shot, straight down the aim line, a different sound is made than when stance and/or stroke is misaligned off center.

3. Love softly and gently. Listen for a barely audible soft hit. The pro hits a cue ball far softer than the thuds you hear in a televised match that uses high microphone amplification. Another reason to shut the TV off and learn by watching live ringside.

Fall in love again and play carom billiards on your own or with a pal. Simply set a cue ball with two other balls on the cloth where you wish. Each player's inning continues/points are scored as the cue ball touches both object balls on each shot. Just like a loving couple, things get easier when huddled nearby and challenging when separated by distance!

Other fast and fun carom filled games include 3-Ball, where competitors work to clear a rack of three balls in four strokes or less, and Bobble Ball, where the curiously rolling egg-shaped Bobble Ball must be kicked at between every two Nine Ball regular shots. Visit BobbleBall.com for more.

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Carom billiards (rarely known as carambole billiards or carambole) represents a variety of billiards games played on big tables up tomonster 5 by 10'sthat are pocketless.

Basically, score points caroming your cue ball off the object ball and your opponent's cue ball with single strokes, two hits make one point.

You can as easily break a rack of between two and 15 balls and take turns scoring hits by caroming into balls without scratching. Wise players assemble balls near the rails to make shot calculations simple. You can even shim the corners on a regular table to create a pocketless playing surface.
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The accompanying illustration is nice when you're required to shoot beyond the head string but want a short route to return to the head of the table. Stroke with right english. Sidespin can be overcome by forward ball speed. English can't widen angles much for a ball with too much forward momentum.

Therefore, a rather soft stroke can bring the cue ball all the way from the legal kick ahead of the string to pocket the 1-ball behind the string. Experiment with speed, english and placement along the head string.

Finally, friends and lovers, don't underestimate the confidence builder of stroking a cue ball cross corner into a pocket at a range of speeds from super fast to ultra slow. Observe whether you split the pocket precisely on each try. When you feel ready, try for a straight shot using sidespin with a near level cue stick. Warm your stroke. Lock in your stance.

If you are dead certain you can shoot straight to split a pocket even with english, that means you'll never miss a cut shot-if your aim is solid on the target ball!

Get in shape for pool with Matt "Quick Draw" Sherman, who has appeared frequently in print and on television promoting billiards, carom billiards and entertainment. He provides detailed instructional articles here at About.com.

Perfect Practice? This Is It! … Simply move the cue and object ball to the positions outlined in this article and you now have a lovely intermediate/advanced practice ...

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