starting to play three cushion billiards

S

Slh

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As the title says I would like to start playing three cushion billiards.
The majority of the players in my room play three cushions but I don't feel good enough ( yet) to play it. Should I start with some easier game like straight rail or one-cushion ( sorry I don't know the correct names, I know the italian names of the games)? Or should I start with 3 cushions?
I have a predator sneaky pete pool cue, can I use it to play 3 cushions? I understand it is not ideal for playing the game, but is it ok for starting?
 
First of all there are no easy games. Sure, it's easier to run 3 in straight rail than run 3playing 3Cushion but the goal in Straight Rail is to run 25, 50, 1000 or more. Or average 15 or 20. That's really really hard!

The classical way to learn this game is to start off with straight rail and master it before moving to 3Cushion. I think it’s probably best if you have the patience to do this while being constantly pulled toward 3Cushion.

Straight rail will teach you many of the finer points of ball and rail interactions that are easily missed playing 3Cushion. But if Straight Rail becomes too tedious move to 1 Rail. Let’s face it, all the games require making a carom be it ball to ball or ball to a cushion.

Personally I prefer 1 rail for 2 reasons. 1) You have more shots where you send the CB longer distances like in 3Cushion. 2) It requires you to hit that first rail carom. In 3C the shot is over after the second rail, therefore in 1 rail, be it contacting a second cushion or ball 2 off a single rail, you're essentially doing the same thing as 3C but without the added rail requirement. Simply observe the extension of the shot if it were a 3Cushion game.

If you need an additional challenge while practicing, have the rule that no more than one rail can be hit. You'll be amazed at the 3 cushion shots you'll make by mistake that you normally would think are nearly impossible.
 
Slh said:
As the title says I would like to start playing three cushion billiards.
The majority of the players in my room play three cushions but I don't feel good enough ( yet) to play it. Should I start with some easier game like straight rail or one-cushion ( sorry I don't know the correct names, I know the italian names of the games)? Or should I start with 3 cushions?
I have a predator sneaky pete pool cue, can I use it to play 3 cushions? I understand it is not ideal for playing the game, but is it ok for starting?
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The Predator should be fine for carom.

If you want to play 3-C, a lot of knowledge is involved. Get a book of shots and practice them. Byrne's "Standard Book of Pool and Billiards" is a good one. Watch the best players in your room.

For straight rail or one cushion there are also books available but I don't know what's available easily. Maurice Daly's "Billiard Book" has been the best book in English for about 100 years. There are lots of videos available on YouTube to show some of the shots, but it will be a long time before you have mastered the techniques needed for long runs.
 
yesterday an old man in my room run a 10 in a friendly match ( in 3 cushions on a regular 10ft heated table)... I understand it is a good run, but how good it really is? Obviously talking about amateurs.
 
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Slh said:
yesterday an old man in my room run a 10 in a friendly match ( in 3 cushions on a regular 10ft heated table)... I understand it is a good run, but how good it really is? Obviously talking about amateurs.
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In some major tournaments the best run on one day might be 10 among all the players playing. To see more statistics, go to www.umb.org and look under "calendar and results", then click on a completed event. An example set of results is http://www.umb.org/ausschreibung/upload/results/278/P. Final Ranking.pdf
where you see that the high run of the winner was only 9 for the whole tournament. (In that particular format the runs will tend to be a little shorter because the sets are to 15 points.)
 
I'd like to add that when you are watching other players trying to learn from them, you should pay a good deal of attention to things besides the amount of ball struck or the english imparted.

Technique is so important in the game, it's why old farts like me can still play well, technique can get you a long ways.

By technique I'm referring to many things which include the length of the bridge, the elevation of the butt, the position on the cue you grip the butt, whether you follow through as you always would playing pool or use a "check" stroke with as little follow through as possible.

These types of things can have a huge impact on the path of the cue ball and as such knowing when to apply them can make shots much "bigger" (easier to make).

Have fun.
 
junksecret said:
I'd like to add that when you are watching other players trying to learn from them, you should pay a good deal of attention to things besides the amount of ball struck or the english imparted.

Technique is so important in the game, it's why old farts like me can still play well, technique can get you a long ways.

By technique I'm referring to many things which include the length of the bridge, the elevation of the butt, the position on the cue you grip the butt, whether you follow through as you always would playing pool or use a "check" stroke with as little follow through as possible.

These types of things can have a huge impact on the path of the cue ball and as such knowing when to apply them can make shots much "bigger" (easier to make).

Have fun.
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That's too much for me :D just kidding, I'm trying to assimilate the more I can.

Yesterday I practiced 3 cushions alone for two hours. I feel I'm not good enough yet to play with other players, considering the others have played for more than 30 years :D. I did surprisingly well , considering yesterday was my first time I played three cushions and the table plays very differently compared to a pool table.
I'm still not convinced if I should start practicing 3 cushions or starting to play straight rail or and then switch to 3 cushions. I feel like starting to play with an electric guitar without starting with an acoustic guitar and then switch to the electric one.
 
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I wouldn't use a predator. Cause some shots you really have to juice up the cue ball and the ferrule on the predator doesn't seem to enjoy it. (From my experience anyhow) I started just playing 3 cushion in my local room. By watching some of the better players shots. They're plenty of simple 3 railer and 4,5 rail drills that will let you get the hang of the game at first and then go from there. Also practice the break quite a bit and get the speed down to set up for your next shot. Hope this helps some. I'm not a champion playing it but I can move my way around them ok ;)
 
Ryansnell said:
I wouldn't use a predator. Cause some shots you really have to juice up the cue ball and the ferrule on the predator doesn't seem to enjoy it. (From my experience anyhow) I started just playing 3 cushion in my local room. By watching some of the better players shots. They're plenty of simple 3 railer and 4,5 rail drills that will let you get the hang of the game at first and then go from there. Also practice the break quite a bit and get the speed down to set up for your next shot. Hope this helps some. I'm not a champion playing it but I can move my way around them ok ;)
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Do you started playing 3 cushions or straight rail? Can you link me some of these drills?
 
Slh said:
yesterday an old man in my room run a 10 in a friendly match ( in 3 cushions on a regular 10ft heated table)... I understand it is a good run, but how good it really is? Obviously talking about amateurs.
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10 is pretty sporty.. My highest was 6 from the break. Lol
 
But keep in mind 3 cushion WILL improve all other pool games banks, one pocket, and nine ball. It's great to have in your arsenal. Not to mention a nice stroke.
 
jimshovak said:
I think I might have just found a great reason to move to Italy!!!
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well... carom is not that played in Italy. I'm lucky to have found a hall which has carom tables. Actually is not a pubblic hall but it is a private club, so it is not allowed to everybody to enter. You must be a member to play.
If you want to play pool/carom/ snooker Italy is not really good. If you want to play italian billiards ( 5 pins billiard) is another story. Great game.

I basically don't play pool anymore, I love pool, but I'm really hooked on carom at the moment.
I'm still looking for some drills to improve my game. Some sites which have some of them is appreciated. Also if they have tips for a novice of the game is good too..
I'm praticing some shots but I feel with drills I could improve more and quicker.
 
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Slh said:
well... carom is not that played in Italy. I'm lucky to have found a hall which has carom tables. Actually is not a pubblic hall but it is a private club, so it is not allowed to everybody to enter. You must be a member to play.
If you want to play pool/carom/ snooker Italy is not really good. If you want to play italian billiards ( 5 pins billiard) is another story. Great game.

I basically don't play pool anymore, I love pool, but I'm really hooked on carom at the moment.
I'm still looking for some drills to improve my game. Some sites which have some of them is appreciated. Also if they have tips for a novice of the game is good too..
I'm praticing some shots but I feel with drills I could improve more and quicker.
Click to expand...
For the small games, do a search on "weingartner practice shots" which will get you to 76 practice diagrams developed by Heinrich Weingartner. For 3-cushion, I again recommend Byrne's Standard Book of Pool and Billiards, which has lots and lots of example shots to try along with explanations of why to try them and what to be careful of.
 
Bob Jewett said:
For the small games, do a search on "weingartner practice shots" which will get you to 76 practice diagrams developed by Heinrich Weingartner. For 3-cushion, I again recommend Byrne's Standard Book of Pool and Billiards, which has lots and lots of example shots to try along with explanations of why to try them and what to be careful of.
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What you mean with "the small games"?
this is the weingartner billiard program are you talking about?
http://wbpb.blogspot.it/2006/05/wbp-shot-01.html
at first I excluded Byrne's book because I thought I couldn't find it in italian stores, but I found it. I'm definetely going to buy it.
Thanks.
 
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I'm late to the party - been on vacation, not checking the forums.

Just to add my 2 cents - definitely get Byrne's first book, that's how I learned to play 3-cushion, a wealth of solid information and by going through those diagrams and working on the shots you will develop a solid foundation and can branch out from there. My copy is so worn out the binding is completely shot.

Scott
 
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