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Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby Wildey

Everyone knows the origins of Snooker stems from English Billiards the 3 ball game.

in the 80s there was a littlebit of TV Coverage on Grandstand players like Rex Williams,Ray Edmonds,Mark Wildman,Fred Davis and Clive Everton competed in the World Championship.

then in the 90s it gradually got fased out a bit and now i dont think the WPBSA or Barry Hearn interested in it at all.

im interested to know what if anything you lot knows about this Game ?

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby Roland

I love it to play, but not to watch. I mean I can enjoy the odd evening watching the top players and seeing how they work the breakbuilding by cannoning the red near a pocket, potting it then repeat for as long as you can and when you're in other positions trying to get all the balls in the red spot position etc etc. but as for following the events, not for me.

It would be cool if they broadcast the final of whatever world championship they have. I could handle watching one match a year.

As for playing, it's something I used to do occasionally like after a home league snooker match with team mates or at the end of a snooker session for the last half hour or so. It's a good game to play and it helps your snooker game obviously (especially spotting in-offs in snooker safety). I remember once I got a ridiculous break totally against my usual billiards form. I wish I could remember what it was but I got the occasional 30 or 40 break (not many) and then once I fluked this 80 break or something like that playing by myself. No one believed me obviously because I was on my own with no witnesses but I know it's true. I wish I could remember what it was, it might even have been a century :redneck:

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby Bourne

Honestly couldn't tell you the basic rules if you forced me to right now. What was the name of that sport where somebody had a link up a few months ago where you have to hit the cueball off several cushions onto other balls etc ? That was class.

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby Roland

that's 3 cushion billiards where you score with a cannon and the cueball has to hit 3 cushions before the cannon.

Standard billiards is two whites - one yours, one your opponents and a red which spots on the black spot. You get 2 for a cannon, 2 for in-off your opponents ball, 3 for in-off the red, 2 for potting your opponents ball (ball stays down), 3 for potting the red. Red comes back on black spot, if potted 3 times in a row without another score (i.e. no cannons just straight pots) it is spotted on the blue spot for one turn, then back to black. So basically if you keep potting the red you'd have to go in cycles every 12 points.

The tactics are like I said, to get your opponents ball in play around the red spot area, and play little touch cannons by keeping the balls close together, then pot the red and land position so you can get a cannon and push the red towards the pocket setting up another cannon etc. If you can keep the balls close, you can rack up the points in no time.

If you pot your ball via in-off, you get it in hand and in the D. You're not allowed to strike down the table, which is where the localised pool rules comes from. So if you've ball in hand and the other balls are behind the baulk line, you've got to go down and up the table, or play side cushion with bags of side on the cueball.

Standard shots are in off the red on black spot from D area and in-offs from D to middle pocket hopefully sending the ball you go in off down the table and back up to near the middle of table to give you the same shot.

Going in-off the red on black spot into corner pocket is the shot you must be able to play from pretty much anywhere on the table to get to any decent standard. The more you play it, the more you learn it.

Billiards for beginners. :santa:

I would say if you want to get any enjoyment out of billiards you need a good receptive cloth, friendly pockets and heavy balls (i.e. a proper billiards set, not snooker balls)

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby Wildey

Bourne wrote:Honestly couldn't tell you the basic rules if you forced me to right now. What was the name of that sport where somebody had a link up a few months ago where you have to hit the cueball off several cushions onto other balls etc ? That was class.

Carom

thats a trick shot exhibition game not much future as a competitive sport atleast Billiards had pockets lol

they say Steve Davis in his youth was a useful Billiards Player .

my standpoint is the same as sonny id like to see the best play say a World Final Mike Russell is 9 times World Champion but more because best cuist plays snooker more than anything else.

Peter Gilchrist another top billiards player used to play snooker on tour but Mike Russell despite his youth hes only 41 and a few months younger than Hendry has never played snooker as a Pro anyway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Russe ... rds_player)

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby Roland

They always keep tinkering with the rules in billiards too don't they? Like they used to rack up the 1000 breaks by jamming both balls in the corner and playing hundreds of cannons in succession. And in the days nearly 100 years ago where it was played a lot, you would have matches which went on for days and sometimes a player could get dressed up, turn up and spend the entire evening watching his opponent without getting a single shot.

It's a game where you've got to try and score with every visit. There's no safety. I remember playing a billiards league match one night because the team billiards player was ill (it was all the old men of the club who played billiards) and I potted my opponents ball which is something you do as a last resort and try to avoid, and I played safe leaving my ball and the red in baulk.

The bloke I played just got down and hammered his white into the far corner pocket. I took that as a sign :redneck:

I also remember feeling the eyes of disapproval from the old guys whenever I played a succession of pot reds. Silly buggers.

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby Wildey

Billiards has suffered because of rule tampering it was never going to atract new fans and even old school lost interest because it became a different sport.

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby JohnFromLondonTown

Someone just posted this earlier on 606. Serious breaks...

"Mike has completed the double in Pune, India, by winning the IBSF Timed World Championship beating Peter Gilchrist in the 6 hour final in supreme style.

The final score read 4120-784 thanks to some unbelievable play from the 'Emperor of Billiards' as he has been dubbed in India!

Mike started steadily making 281, 324, 420, 265 breaks before the coup de grace a 1137 break in which he was barely troubled. His touch is simply awesome and after just over an hour at the table the 1000 points barrier had been crossed. After finishing this break Peter came back to the table missed and Mike proceeded to make 735!

After a performance of this quality he will be looking forward to regaining his World Professional Title in October at the Northern Snooker Centre and I for one will be there to witness this genius in action. "

Re: Billiards (The Forgotten Sport)

Postby The Cueist

StalinESQ wrote:
Sonny wrote:I think I saw Mike Russell in an exhibition match about 10 years ago.


I think I was watching Jack about the same time. :redneck:


<laugh> I have heard of Mike Hunt,Never Mike Russel. ;) <ok>