Turning a 'Defensive' position into...

mr3cushion

Regestered User
Silver Member
This is an excerpt from my Book/DVD, 'The Concise Book of Position Play.' The chapter is entitled, 'Diagonal -Corner Position Shots.' It's about turning a 'Defensive' position into an 'Offensive' position to score several points!

'The Six O'clock System.'

FREQUENTLY THE BALLS will be left in a straight line, resembling the six O’clock position of a clock's hands. I place a very high priority on knowing exactly how to aim at the object ball in this situation, because if you don't strike that object ball properly, the rest of the shot is doomed to failure. Accordingly, this is another ball-aiming and cue-technique system of sorts. The basic information you'll need is how the cue ball caroms off the object ball when certain strokes are applied and on center ball as well as high center cue ball hits)

When you hit the cue ball in dead center and strike the object ball half-full, (that means you aim the cue-tip at the edge of the first object ball), you achieve a carom of wider angle than you would by applying 12 O’clock English. Also, by keeping the cue tip on the cue ball a fraction of a second longer, you can create a wider carom than with a shorter stroke

All three diagrams show the most common positions for these types of shots. The cue ball and the second object ball are in opposite diagonal corners; the first object ball lies at varying distances from the second and all three are in a straight line for the 6 O’clock look.

The setup in Diagram 1 requires you to strike the cue ball dead center and aim the tip of the cue at the left edge of the first ball (in other words, you're aiming for half a ball) Use a normal follow-through, that is, the same length as your bridge. An added bonus for the correct execution will be a favorable position for your next shot.

DCPS01.jpg

In Diagram 2, the first object ball is one diamond closer to the cue ball, giving us a different angle into the first cushion.

Thus we'll apply 12 O’clock English here, but the hit always remains the same. Your normal stroke will serve you well here.

DCPS02.jpg

In Diagram 3, use the same hit and English as in Diagram 2. But, use a shorter stroke.

That will help keep your cue ball from making too wide a carom and will flatten its path a bit as it rebounds off the first rail.

DCPS03.jpg

If the second ball lies up the long rail a diamond or so, use a little running English or a different stroke, or a combination of stroke, speed and English.

Bill Smith "Mr3Cushion"
"Good Shooting & Good Billiards."
http://mr3cushion.com
 
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bctf1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Great post Bill, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us. I hope to try these 3 positions in a couple of days.
 

mr3cushion

Regestered User
Silver Member
Great post Bill, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us. I hope to try these 3 positions in a couple of days.

No problem Brad. I've been trying to advance the education of proper 3 cushion play in this country for many years! Ihave instructed over 250 players since 1987.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
194 views
one response
this is in the guys book you have to pay for
noone has a comment
just pathetic
:deadhorse:
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
194 views
one response
this is in the guys book you have to pay for
noone has a comment
just pathetic
:deadhorse:

To be honest, I think this may be a bit over most viewer/posters paygrade

I know it is for me
Because playing position is the most difficult in 3c

Just making the point is itself a task
But then add one, thinking about where to push the first ball, while at the same time hitting it just easy or hard enough to put it in a big spot AND still make the point

Speed kills

I mean look at those damn things, lol,
That's upper level stuff and most of us that look here are under. 75-1. average, I'd be willing to wager
 
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bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
To be honest, I think this may be a bit over most viewer/posters paygrade

I know it is for me
Because playing position is the most difficult in 3c
Just
making the point is itself a task

But then add one, thinking about where to push the first ball, while at the same time hitting it just easy or hard enough to put it in a big spot AND still make the point

Speed kills

I mean look at those damn things, lol,
That's upper level stuff and most of us that look here are under. 75-1. average, I'd be willing to wager
i agree making the point is tough enough for me too
but there are very experienced posters here that are past that and into the next
level (s)
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
i agree making the point is tough enough for me too
but there are very experienced posters here that are past that and into the next
level (s)

Like who other than Bill obviously
Tom isn't an active poster here
 
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Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
If we had say bert,tom, Mr greeneyesocean ive seen him claim to be a 1. Average player, bob

Posting even semi regularly, even say twice a month in addition to Bill, speaking about stroke diagram etc etc then that would be an immense help

But they don't or can't or I don't know, and it is what it is
 

12squared

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
194 views
one response
this is in the guys book you have to pay for
noone has a comment
just pathetic
:deadhorse:

I'm not in Bill's league as a player but I used to play pretty well and I appreciate Bill sharing his vast knowledge of 3-cushion. I have his book and have known Bill for many years - we are all lucky he chose to share what he knows, but I just have nothing to add or comment about.
 
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bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I'm not in Bill's league as a player but I used to play pretty well and I appreciate Bill sharing his vast knowledge of 3-cushion. I have his book and have known Bill for many years - we are all lucky he chose to share what he knows, but I just have nothing to add or comment about.
thanks dave for posting
you are one of the 3c players that often do respond to threads
i appreciate it
i sometimes let my frustration with this forum get the best of me and i press send on a post thats "abrasive"
sometimes it has helped to shake the tree alittle and get some fruit
sometimes i am called out and appropriately so
i try to take it like a man
i dont want to be offensive but i am so spoiled by the willing transfer of knowledge at onepocket.org
that for a sport (3c billiards) that the 3c community is trying to build especially in the USA
you need to water and nurture the plant for it to grow
jmho
sorry for the long post
happy billiards to everyone...:)
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
The small games I feel should be the focus or beggining of all carom support

Because you try and push the hardest most complex game on to America, it's no big stretch of the imagination to think that the level of difficulty for someone who's never heard of a pocket less table (90 % or greater of Americans)to be just completely lost when presenting the most difficult of its game

True, there really isn't any easy carom games to pool players , it's just a completely new animal
But that's also the seperation of 3c to all other carom games, it's tough for small game players to do real well with it, there's those that can, the standouts and higher level players

But that's just been my inside take on the matter since switching to carom from pool

If your building a house , or a skyscraper, you don't start with the roof

All this with respect of the support thats available

Others that have only played 3c, they had a community of people to learn from, this isn't the case in the current usa as it was in the past, it's far more scattered now
 
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