A New Community Joined 3-Cushion Billiard, Opinions Needed!

3c4ever

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Hey Billiard Lovers,

Vietnamese Americans in Orange County, Southern CA have shown a lot of interest in this beautiful 3C game recently, about 3 years now. Most of the players who are playing 3C now have made their successful switch from straight rail to 3C. A good guess is that there are about 120 (3C) players in which about less than 10 of them are USBA members. A large number of players, up to five hundred, are still playing straight rail. Straight rail! sounds boring, doesn't it?::boring2:

Players who switched from straight rail to 3C said that they love 3C because it's a lot more fun than straight rail while other players who tried playing the game once or twice said that it's hard to play, not easy to make a point and ended up quit playing 3C. These players don't know that they missing out all the beauty that the game of 3C offer: nice and clean tables with heated cushions, great imagination, a classy game to play and it's more fun than any billiard game...well, at least thats what i think...:)

As a billiard lover i've played a few different types of games including straight rail, three cushion and pocket billiards. I've been playing 3C for a couple of years and i must say that this game is fascinating. It's interesting and full of creativity. Hmm...just love this game.
There are three billiard places in the community that have 3C tables with Thanh Tam Billiard has the most, ten 3C tables. Anyone has any opinions on how to get more players to play this 3C game, especially the ones who are playing straight rail in the community?


WHATTA SHOT! NICE!:thumbup:
 
First Let me say Welcome to Carom Billiard section and AZ. Nice write up. Beside Straight Rail and 3C, does anyone play Korean 4 Ball? I leave the issue of membership to the Regional USBA BOD. And if doing his job - he should reply!! Right BW.
 
Japanese have they own version of 4 Balls "Kiyaromu" the spelling is probably total wrong.

Never play 2 Ball.
 
I've never played 2 ball either but just tonight I heard of a practice drill with 2 balls.

Simple rules: Every shot is a 3 rail bank. Guess you could do this with 2 players?

Hey 3c4ever now that you have a group of 3C players why not join the USBA and start playing tournaments. The great thing about tournament play is first you get your moneys worth since it's a round robin. You meet a bunch of enthusiasts. And you'll learn a bunch about the game that you wouldn't otherwise.
 
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3kushn,
Hey 3c4ever now that you have a group of 3C players why not join the USBA and start playing tournaments. The great thing about tournament play is first you get your moneys worth since it's a round robin. You meet a bunch of enthusiasts. And you'll learn a bunch about the game that you wouldn't otherwise.

That actually make sense. And New Policy for Membership can be found at www.usba.net. Just look at "The Mole" signature a direct link to USBA.

Why ain't there a direct link to the USBA in your signature
 
I've never played 2 ball either but just tonight I heard of a practice drill with 2 balls.

Simple rules: Every shot is a 3 rail bank. Guess you could do this with 2 players?

Eliminate the red. Each player hits the others cue ball--three rails--then hits it again.

Simple...No? :wink:
 
I played at Thanh Tam a few times. Some of the players from that room would come down for the local tournaments in Maywood (eight ball). It is a nice place.

They have bad tables for straight rail though, don't judge the straight rail community in America by those tables alone please. When I play straight rail there I play on the three cushion tables anyways. One of the workers there helped my straight rail game a lot.

They have really good Bahn Mi (Viet style sandwhich) especially the spam and egg one, I recommend it after a hard billard session.

I ran my first ten in straight rail on a 4 ball table, in a 4 ball game, long ago.:) I think the Japanese call 4 ball Yotsu-dama, which translates into 4 ball. I think the Japanese brought the game to Korea when Korea was part of Japan. The set ups are different probably because of the animosity between the two countries.

They have pool tables, but I am not sure of the quality of those tables ( I think they are Puyat). No snooker table.
 
I think the Japanese call 4 ball Yotsu-dama, which translates into 4 ball
Dean_H . Is Correct. If only other would register with AZ, maybe then we could really get a feel how large the carom is in the USA.

As Jim Shovak,commented about Houston, Tx area and the many carom players. I would to see a 4ball tournament held in the USA or an exhibit done from Carom Cafe on CaromTV. Or Live Streaming elsewhere.

This also included Straight Rail.
 
Speaking of tournaments... youngs pool hall in koreatown in los angeles has an anual 3 ball tournys. Ive seen the results posted on their walls a couple years back, think the players were matched up according to handicap. 200, 250, 300, 400 and so forth. Not that many players but all the junkies from over there. just fyi
 
How Correct the below information is ???

Four-ball billiards is one of the classic billiard games, but there are variations. Int the basic version of the game, you hit four balls around a pool table in a certain manner to win the game. The right winning strategies can help you get ahead in this classic billiard game.

Once the King of American Billiards
Pool enthusiasts trace American four-ball billiards to the 1870s, when it was the most popular billiards variation in the United States. This variation is played on an English-style pool table, with no pockets and four balls: two personal cue balls and two red balls. American four-ball billiards is an old game, and it isn’t played regularly in the United States anymore. One of the most popular variations of four-ball billiards is a variation that’s extremely popular in Asian countries.

In both American and Asian four-ball, players must strike the two red balls with their personal cue ball, but avoid striking the opponent’s cue ball. Failure to strike the two red balls ends the turn, while successfully striking them awards two points.

In the Korean version, players win by working their way down from a handicap score. In the Japanese version, players work their way up to a predesignated score to win. These variants also have differences in the way the opening shot works.

Four-Ball in Central Europe
Another variation of four-ball billiards in Central Europe includes a red ball, a blue ball and the two cue balls. When players hit any two balls, they score a point. If players hit all three balls, they score 10 points. If a three-ball hit follows a hit off the cushion, the point total doubles for a score of 20 points in a single shot.

Carom Four-Ball
While variations exist, including the classic four-ball game called American four-ball billiards, most people think of carom billiards when they talk about four-ball. Carom billiards involves hitting billiard balls around a pocketless table, and attempting to hit the balls in order to score. Each player has a private cue ball, and the object of the game is to hit as many of the other balls as possible in order to score.

Understand the Point System
Four-ball billiards relies on a point system to determine the winner. Each player is assigned a cue ball, and the object of the game is to hit as many other balls as possible with your cue ball. When you hit two of the other balls, you get one point. When you hit all three balls, you get two points. Some variations stipulate that you must hit cushions before or after a hit to score.

It takes a strong command of billiards geometry to work out the shots. Always take your time when sizing up a shot. Clarify the rules of the variation you’re playing before gameplay begins, so you know what you’re doing.

You can lose points in some variations for hitting your opponent's cue ball with your own. Going for one of the red balls is always preferable if there's even the slightest risk of touching your opponent's cue ball.

Think ahead to where you want your ball to lie at the end of the shot. Playing defensively can be a great strategy, if you can consistently keep your cue ball in your opponent's path or close enough to the red balls to make a double shot risky.
 
Thanks Everyone for relying in this post......

Well, I have to agree that having Weekly Tournaments is the way to get more players to play the game. We working on it....

I mostly see the Koreans play the four ball version, I think the balls are a little bigger then 3C balls. It's interesting that there are so many versions of carom biiliards.

Three Cushion is the Game of High Run.
 
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