The Longs and Shorts of A Billiard Table?

cuetable said:

Perhaps Bob, Ira, Jim, Robert or any other experts will be able to explain it better. Please feel free to share your insights.

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For me, a Long/Short designation in 3-cushion describes the relation between the actual (observed) vs intended outgoing angle of the cue ball from its final (last) cushion to the target. A "Long" designation means that the angle from the last cushion to the target was observed to be wider (bigger if measured from the perpendicular) than intended. A "Short" designation means that the angle from the last cushion to the target was observed to be smaller.

In your Plate 1 and 2, for example, the "final" cushion is the bottom long cushion. It doesn't matter what the rest of the shot looks like.
For the double-the-rail shot in Plate 3, following my definition, I would designate "A" to be "Short" and "B" to be "Long".

Note: For "Around-the-table" shots (3 rail) to a "Big ball" in a corner, where a player might expect to capture a 4th or 5th cushion before scoring. I would consider the 3rd rail as the "final" cushion for my designation since the "target" is the "big ball" in the corner.

Knowing the intention is necessary for providing a designation - and sometimes it is not perfectly clear what the intended shot is. Usually, an experienced observer can tell by the speed used what the intention of another experienced player is.

On the other hand, many beginners lie when asked what their intention was (after they shot ends) so you'd be hard pressed to make a true designation. Pro's at Carom Cafe sometimes tease the newbies to test if they are being honest about it...(since they can usually tell by the attempted speed).


-Ira

Those make sense to me. I'm curious what your take is on the one that started the whole thing.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=95018

If you're trying to hit the exact bottom left corner and you go wide of the mark and hit the left long cushion, are you 'long' or 'short' of the corner? Since it's the dead corner you're aiming for, you're technically 'wide' of the intended angle, but you bounce off the long cushion and go 'short', of where you wanted to go, I guess...? Since the target is the corner, I would think the 'last cushion to the target' would be the top short rail, and so the shot is 'long', but alot of people think otherwise.

iralee said:

For me, a Long/Short designation in 3-cushion describes the relation between the actual (observed) vs intended outgoing angle of the cue ball from its final (last) cushion to the target. A "Long" designation means that the angle from the last cushion to the target was observed to be wider (bigger if measured from the perpendicular) than intended. A "Short" designation means that the angle from the last cushion to the target was observed to be smaller.

-Ira

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