Draw for show, follow for the dough?

[rocketceo]

I would call it finding the most natural path that includes three cushions. A large part of the game is finding where the cue ball "wants" to go.

Bob has it exactly right. Trust me, that 3C is hard enough as is, and most all 3C players are looking for the easiest and highest percentage shot they can find. 3C is so hard that at any given time there are perhaps only a dozen players in the country who can average making just ONE billiard per inning. In fact, my favorite quote about the game is: "3-cushion is the only billiard game where you can hit the ball ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY, and have a darn good chance of scoring!"
Having said this, there are some players---a very small minority---that do look for the more technically challenging and "aesthetically pretty" shot, which generally translates into extreme spin, draw, bending or some other unnatural movement of the cue ball. Just like in pool, you can play to score, or you can play with an emphasis more on learning, and having the satisfaction of making a Master-level shot. I mean anyone can make a natural short angle at 1 mph, but it's wonderfully more fun to hit the first object ball 98% full, very hard, with high and max right, and watch the ball dive forward, actually seem to pick up speed slightly springing off each rail, and almost do a right angle turn off the third rail, making a spin shot by a half-inch that no one thought would ever get there!
I happen to fall into this category---playing for fun, and the beauty and the art of the game---as my 3C trick shot and "Billiards for Fun" videos on my ROCKETCEO YouTube page will show.

 

[gesan]

But do you roll it skinny or fat?

Based on quantity and quality

 

[Straightpool_99]

3 cushion doesn't use a lot of draw shots, because it's hard to draw the big ball. There is also the fact that the paths taken around the table are completely different in that game, as you are not shooting the ball at a pocket which is in a fixed position. Also there is the fact that you have to avoid kissing the ball (because it was not pocketed).

Shooting a draw shot puts a lot of power into the object ball and little movement in the cueball. That is bad, because in 3 cushion you need the opposite (or at least that the cueball can reach the second ball). Generally in pool, the object ball is off the table after the hit and we don't have to worry about it zipping around the table and intercepting our slowly moving cueball. The fact that the cueball moves slowly or not at all is an advantage to us.

And there is the fact that in 3 cushion there are only 3 bleeding balls on the table and your purpose is actually to collide with them! I merely mention that because it seems some of you forgot! In pool, colliding with balls (unless meticulously planned) is almost always a recipe for disaster, not to mention that for large parts of the game the table is full of potential obstacle balls. We don't have the luxury of going an extra lap around the course on a whim unless it's the last or next to last ball. Limiting cueball movement is a recipe for success in pool. Just ask Nick Varner. Doing the same in 3 cushion means you should get a real job. (Many shots have a chance to make contact after missing the intended way). I don't remember the exact McGoorty quote, but that was the gist of what he was saying.

 

[West Point 1987]

Like many folks, when I started to play and learned how to draw a cue ball, I fell in love with it and tended to use it almost exclusively, "muscling" the CB around. I used follow only when I absolutely had to. Sometime in the early '90s I played a road player in a tournament in Austin, TX...we met in the finals. I'd been watching him throughout the night, and got to see it up close and personal in our match. He calmly ran every rack of 8 ball with nothing but follow or soft stun, hitting everything pocket speed. Never got out of position. Not one draw shot all night. Mostly center ball hits, too. Prettiest game I ever saw in person, it changed my whole outlook on the game.