In a related situation, I heard that....
In Mexico they put 3-cushion billiards on TV. This was in the 1980s or so. To fit in a schedule, the matches had a fixed time of play as in the Snooker Shoot Out mentioned above, like maybe 30 minutes. Whoever was ahead at the end was the winner. If the score was close at the end and you were ahead but had no good shot, here is a special technique to waste time. Play a stop shot on the nearest object ball as hard as you can hit it and with maximum side spin. Your cue ball will sit there spinning while the clock runs down. It turns out that spinning takes a lot more time than a ball running around the table several times. If you practice at it and are playing on fast, thin cloth like carom cloth, 30 seconds is not hard.
In a normal clock shot situation, I suppose there might be a use for that technique if you had to clean your cue or some such and needed an extra 30-second time out.
In Mexico they put 3-cushion billiards on TV. This was in the 1980s or so. To fit in a schedule, the matches had a fixed time of play as in the Snooker Shoot Out mentioned above, like maybe 30 minutes. Whoever was ahead at the end was the winner. If the score was close at the end and you were ahead but had no good shot, here is a special technique to waste time. Play a stop shot on the nearest object ball as hard as you can hit it and with maximum side spin. Your cue ball will sit there spinning while the clock runs down. It turns out that spinning takes a lot more time than a ball running around the table several times. If you practice at it and are playing on fast, thin cloth like carom cloth, 30 seconds is not hard.
In a normal clock shot situation, I suppose there might be a use for that technique if you had to clean your cue or some such and needed an extra 30-second time out.
Last edited: