Can pool players benefit by crossing-over to 3-cushion billiards?

I dont see how it could possibly hurt.

With 3 cushion you may not be trying to put a ball in a pocket, but you most certainly are controlling that cue ball to extreme precision and that would certainly transfer over to any game that required you to put the cue ball where you need for the next shot. Which if I am not mistaken is all of them.

Yes you sure can!! I think it's a great game to practice and learn.There's so much of it that you can apply to any game played on a pool table,including banks John B.

Yes, definitely! Your kicking game will become STRONG, and if you stick with the game you'll learn to completely control both the balls (object and cue) on your safeties. Many pool players lack this ability or are quite weak in that aspect of the game.

Remember to keep your stroke smooth in both games. There is a slight tendency for people when they cross over to carom to start "hitting" the balls rather than stroking it, much like one would do when starting out in pool, because of the physical differences between the games equipment. If you can avoid falling into that trap, you'll find that at the higher levels the stroke quality is actually MORE important in carom than pool.

I like the social aspect of speaking to different people as well. I play all cue games, and they all have people with different qualities and backgrounds. It helps from falling into a rut and growing tired of the game.

Once you get a little bit fed up with one game, spend your next week working on another game and you'll come back refreshed!

Pool players that play 3C are better kickers and safety players. Practice 3C on pool table and you will hardly ever go in the drink.Johnnyt

But would we have to wear vests and bowties?

If you don't have access to a 3C table, you can still get away with a little straight-rail. I also like to play carom pocket billiards (there might be another name for it), where you hit the object ball into another ball (could be cue ball or any other ball), to make it into a pocket.

In 2013 and 2015 I was able o play 3C with AZ's own sjm. Stu is an accomplished player and turned out to be a great instructor and coach. Three cushion can teach a pool player so much about stroke and how balls react with contact on rails or other balls. I can't wait to get back to a billiards table and if its with Stu than that's even better.

Cuebuddy said:

In 2013 and 2015 I was able o play 3C with AZ's own sjm. Stu is an accomplished player and turned out to be a great instructor and coach. Three cushion can teach a pool player so much about stroke and how balls react with contact on rails or other balls. I can't wait to get back to a billiards table and if its with Stu than that's even better.

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I agree with my good friend here regarding three-cushion play being beneficial, but I can't figure out why he has a severed penis in his avatar picture. :smile:

bdorman said:

But would we have to wear vests and bowties?

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Better than seeing fools throwing cues and jumping on tables

dogloose said:

In the past many great pocket billiard players also excelled at 3-cushion billiards. Is there any advantage to learning and practicing the skills in both games?

Andy Janquitto, former president of the USBA has written a great article about the history of crossing-over. (It goes back more than 100 years!)

Link: The Feel of It: Cross-Over Billiard Players Through the Years

Here's my take...

Pool players can benefit by learning about how the cue ball caroms off the object ball, and improve position play by learning how the application of English changes as the cue ball hits multiple rails.

Billiard players can benefit by learning to aim with more precision, especially when it comes to driving the object ball to precise points on a rail to play position or avoid kisses.

Anyone play both games? Any first hand experience on whether crossing-over helps... or hurts?

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You know I play both dougster
Crossing over and all the learning you take in only helps and makes everything you play that much more fun because of the greater understanding of what the cue ball will do after first contact

And I don't play 3c balkline or freegame just to make my pool better, I play carom because I enjoy the hell out of it
More than pool

PocketSpeed11 said:

If you don't have access to a 3C table, you can still get away with a little straight-rail. I also like to play carom pocket billiards (there might be another name for it), where you hit the object ball into another ball (could be cue ball or any other ball), to make it into a pocket.

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I used to play a game called Scratch (it was really fun). You did not use the cue ball to play it. You would use the solids and striped balls. You would place the solids against each of the diamonds on one side of the table, and then you would place the solids on the other side of the table (against each of the diamonds) on the opposite direction of the side pockets. Then you would carom your solids (or stripes) off of your opponents balls, in order to pocket your balls into a pocket, and the player to 1st get all of their solids (or strips) off of the table 1st, wins the game. I understand that the game is not nearly as difficult as 3 cushion billiards, but it is a great game as practicing carom shots. Anyways, it was really fun (for me and many of my old pool hall buddies). I got so good at the game, that I had to start offering spots to all of the players that I knew who played the game. It was a really cool game I thought.

I play both games also. Caroms has helped my pool game a lot. It has helped me see different ways to get my cue ball to certain places on the table. Also my kick shots are better. But like Beneath The Sur, I enjoy the hell out of 3C and would rather play that than pool.

bdorman said:

But would we have to wear vests and bowties?

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Uhhhhh... that's Snooker

Dale

While some would submit mastering 3 cushion would improve your pool game, truth is
billiards is a different game. You are playing for contact, instead of controlled movement
of the intended object ball into the pocket. Although 3 cushion may actually help you on
some shots, aside from a 3 rail safety kick, where the intended object ball is adjacent to
a pocket, the number of times it comes up in an actual match is few and far between.

Instead of practicing 3 cushion to improve your pool game. just learn the Diamond System
and master it for one rail kick shots tor both the short rail and the long rail. In mastering the
Diamond System, you will also become adept at 3 rails kicks that become a lot easier when
the intended object ball is frozen, or near frozen, to a rail. I rely upon it quite a bit & it's reliable
to the extent that ball in hand seldom happens. You make contact even on hardest kick shots.


Matt B.

playing softly into the second object ball helps a lot with safety and position play

Definitely gives you insight into some creative kick shots & high-spin shots in 9-ball. I never played alot of 3-cushion, but played and read just enough that it influenced a few of my 9-ball shots over the years.

Keep in mind that playing softly for contact isn't worth a tinker's dam in reality....IMO.

Billiard tables I've played on had faster cloths than the Simonis cloths on 9 ft tables and much more importantly, the tables are longer and wider. Regulation 5 x 10 foot carom billiards tables have a playing surface (measured between the noses of the cushions) of 112" x 56" within 5 mm.

Regulation 4 1/2 x 9 pocket billiard tables have a playing surface (measured between the noses of the cushions) of 100 " x 50" (127 cm) with a   1⁄8-inch within 3.2 mm. Geometrically speaking, the tracks don't change but the stroke velocity required does differ for play on a 10 ft. Also keep in mind there's no open rails to deal with. A 9 ft, table has at least 27" of open rail that doesn't occur on a billiard table.

Additionally, the English you apply is often more extreme and you don't have to deliver that to an object ball that's 6 ft. away that needs to be hit with a thin 1/8 cut shot. In billiards, you are shooting at the short or long rail directly or as an intended consequence after striking one of the billiard balls. You frequently spin the cue ball more than needed in pocket billiards. Lastly, the shot forgiveness is enormous since you have 2.25" of object ball to only need touch anywhere on its spherical shape instead of a specific aim point for pocketing a shot in pocket billiards.

I've played a lot of 3 cushion billiards and let me tell you, if you are not careful, it can throw off your pocket billiards game. Remember while center ball is used more sparingly in 3 cushion billiards, it's a tremendous ally in pocket billiards. You can pick up some bad habits for your pocket billiards game if you are not careful to balance out your time.