To begin with, I want you to understand how much of the surface of a billiard ball you really can hit. This is a good deal less than is often supposed. There is only a small part of the ball that you can hit effectively. That is the key to becoming a billiard champion in a short amount of time. Picture a bulls eye on a dart game. Now draw a circle around it.



If you can hit your ball fairly in its centre, that will do splendidly for a multitude of plain ball strokes. If you hit it as far to the right or left as the black circle indicates, you will be able to impart enough right or left side for any stroke on the table.

The same is true vertically. You can get any amount of screw back by striking your ball properly at the bottom of the circle. Remember this; the centre of your cue tip will only strike the centre of the ball, or a point very near it. In every other case a sector of the cue tip does the work. The small white sector on the right of the black circle makes this clear. It shows how the cue tip would operate when imparting a maximum of right hand side, the portion which stands away from the black circle never touches the ball; all the work is done by as much of the cue tip as is merged in the black circle.

Position of Arms and Elbows

When you shape at your ball, the elbow of your cue arm should be as directly over the butt of the cue as possible. Advance your cue until the tip is quite close to the part of the ball you wish to hit your cue arm should then point straight at the floor. Draw your cue back then let it go forward and through the ball with all the freedom. No matter whether you are hitting your ball high or low, or to the right or left, keep your cue as level as you can. If you raise the butt of your cue, you will poke at your ball instead of striking it cleanly.

The level the cue is very important. Of course, the cushion rails will prevent you from cueing with such a level cue on all occasions, but the ideal is one you should always strive after. You must also keep your cue straight. It is no use keeping the butt well down if your cue wobbles sideways as you deliver it. To prevent your cue from straying out of line in this way, keep the elbow of your cue arm as close to your side as you can while the cue swings home. Believe it or not the position of your arms and elbows can make or break your game.