There's one thing here - if you're a somewhat older pool player and just interested in taking up 3 cushion because you find it interesting and you'd like to play around with it, and you want a couple basic lessons, all this advice on playing the small games is nonsense. It will take you quite a long time to be even basically good at the small games. If you want to play recreational 3C for the hell of it, just get the Byrne book and play through the easy shots part of the book, then the rest of it, it will take you awhile. The Byrne book will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the game in simple terms.
If you master that, then you can start talking systems and small games and so forth. Please don't scare off any pool player that wants to dip their cue in the game by telling them they need to back up and play the small games for a year, etc. More harm than good.
That aside, 3kushn, yeah, the 2nd rail is so important. Been learning from the Gretillat book, and the 2nd rail is so important in the small games becaue you can't rely on a 3 rail running line. You need to be able to call the cueball off two rails to within an inch, with exactly the right speed, and hitting the right ball first. There's no 3C bank shot nonsense about hitting either ball, you need to hit the ball you're aiming for exactly. It's humbling
