This topic came up in a thread on the main forum (http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=249108&page=4). Rather than hijack that thread, I started a new one here. The topic starts at post #52.
How Big is the Second Object Ball
- Thread starter mbvl
- Start date
Double post, hate when that happens. See below.
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In my mind it's a hair under three balls wide - the width of the second object ball plus the width of the cue ball to either side of the object ball.
The target area is OOO, with the 2nd object ball being the middle "O". If the cue ball goes anywhere inside this 3 ball wide area it is a hit.
Now I'm not a billiard player, as I think I proved to you when we played at the CBC a couple of years ago.
But I just can't visualize why the OB is only 2 balls wide.
The target area is OOO, with the 2nd object ball being the middle "O". If the cue ball goes anywhere inside this 3 ball wide area it is a hit.
Now I'm not a billiard player, as I think I proved to you when we played at the CBC a couple of years ago.
But I just can't visualize why the OB is only 2 balls wide.
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In my mind it's a hair under three balls wide - the width of the second object ball plus the width of the cue ball to either side of the object ball.
The target area is OOO, with the 2nd object ball being the middle "O". If the cue ball goes anywhere inside this 3 ball wide area it is a hit.
Now I'm not a billiard player, as I think I proved to you when we played at the CBC a couple of years ago.
You need to look at the lines of aim (of the center of the cue ball).
O<--------
O
O<--------
Not a very good picture, but the lines are two ball widths apart (if the circles were actually touching).
That's correct - and precisely the way the 3-Cushion players in the local pool hall I frequent explain it to newbies. If Ball 3 is close to a cushion, the target "zone" can increase dramatically, such as to almost the width of 5 balls - any good 3-Cushion player knows how to make use of positions like that, of course.
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________
„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
I feel if a ball is 1 ball's width from a corner, the target area is about 14 inches.
It would be nice if someone like Dick Jaspers would contribute.
Well, I don't think you need to take the Ferrari to the grocery store...
I believe there are plenty of folks here that can comment...and I am not one.
I have faith!
You know what, I think I get it now. Your diagram made it clearer for me. I think we are really saying the same thing just in two different ways. I don't think we are actually disagreeing. And I'm only interested in the concept, not in who is saying it more correctly. :grin:
See, the reason I see the second OB as three balls wide is because I'm looking at it from a pool players perspective and perhaps this line of centers way of looking at it is how billiard players express it.
Let me give you an example. In pool, balls are 2.25" in diameter. A table that has 4.5" pockets is said to be two balls wide. As long as the OB stays anywhere inside that two ball area it will go in (forget about the possibility that the ball a little outside this area may react off the knuckle in such as way that it still goes in). But from your perspective, the line of centers approach, this area is only 2.25", or one ball wide. I think we are still saying the same thing but just expressing it differently, and therefore aren't really disagreeing.
Perhaps I should have been more detailed and specified that the CB must fall completely within this three ball area.
Still, if a standard billiard ball is 2 7/16" in diameter then as long as the CB travels within a 7 5/16" area with the OB in its center, it will produce a successful billiard. A pool player would consider this a 3 ball wide target, same as if a pool table had pockets 6.75" across.:yikes: Your way of expressing this same thing would be to say that the CB's path (or line of centers) must fall within a 2 ball wide area.
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Margin of error
Yup. For scoring in carom games, we have to properly perceive the margin of error - the scoring path, for balls in the middle of the table, is 2 balls wide (without using rails).
For balls near the corners, under certain table conditions and shot configurations, that target can be over 9 balls wide.
-Ira
Yup. For scoring in carom games, we have to properly perceive the margin of error - the scoring path, for balls in the middle of the table, is 2 balls wide (without using rails).
For balls near the corners, under certain table conditions and shot configurations, that target can be over 9 balls wide.
-Ira
Yeah Ira, I'm aware how much bigger a ball can get when it's near a corner or a rail. I still miss.