Cross RestLast lesson we discussed bridging with the cue ball close to and touching a cushion. This lesson we will look at Awkward Bridging along the cushions from both sides, over intervening balls plus a run through on using the rest.

Bridging over or along a cushion rail is a little difficult at times. Depending how close the cue ball is, I suggest you sometimes loop your index finger around the cue to help guide it. In making a shot when the cue ball is close or against a cushion the backward cue action is slow and short.

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I have previously outlined how to set your bridge hand and I have also mentioned the bridge hand and it’s importance in relation to the stance and cueing. It is the third leg of the tripod of the stance. With your body weight forward over your bent front knee onto your bridge hand, you have to support your forward body weight by comfortably setting your bridge arm straight from your shoulder to your bridge hand as is possible, depending on the position of the cue ball or any other balls. Having set your stance with your back leg straight (braced against any movement backwards) and your straight bridging arm (propping on your bridging hand) these two anchor points will assist greatly in holding you steady against any forward or backward movement, particularly when using power shots.

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Pool CueHow hard or soft to hit? Where does the power come from? Good questions. This is my fathers take on it. “Having comfortably taken my stance, aligned my cue and my aim, I am now ready to start cueing. With my cue tip approximately 13mm (½”) from the cue ball at address, my length of backward stroke will be governed entirely by the power I intend putting into the shot. Because my power does not come from the strength of the grip of my cue, but in fact, from the drive of my cue arm, it stands to reason that if I intend to play a soft stroke, the travel of my cue back from the cue ball will be short. Because of the intended soft stroke, the gap from my bridge hand to cue ball would be shorter than normal. Having shortened up in front with my bridge hand, it follows that I will shorten up my gripping point on the butt of my cue with my cueing hand, by moving my grip forward. I play from on, or close to cushions the same way”.

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The Cue Action Continued - Lesson 6

13/09/2012 3:46:23 PM

Cue Action - How to play SnookerWe started with an overview and a basic, but very good practice routine to help develop your cue action. How is it going? I am positive if you are incorporating all the lessons and diligently putting in the practice you will be seeing some slight improvement. Regardless, never be deterred, it takes a few years to be able to do what the players on television do. They were once in your position. If you are young, you will also need to grow a little taller as well. I first started to play when I was 7 in my Great Grand Father’s billiard club in the town of Swansea, a little town at the mouth of the channel that feeds Lake Macquarie, just south of Newcastle in New South Wales. My father, his brother James and many from the local area learnt to play there. I started by standing on a wooden fruit box, so I could see over the cushion properly. I had a side-arm cue action then, but as I got taller it turned over to be the cue action I talk about today. Stick with your practice.



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The Cue Action - Lesson 5

20/08/2012 12:51:04 PM

Cue ActionThe most important individual point of the cue sports games is the correct striking of the cue ball by the tip of the cue. This is solely controlled by the cue action. You will need to develop an action that will deliver the tip to the cue ball to send it on the correct path to hit the object ball on the area that will then send it to the intended pocket. Keep in mind – nearly every shot you play, the cue ball has to travel in a straight line. In advanced play, even shots where you intentionally hit off centre of the cue ball, to impart a side spin, you need to allow for the ‘throw” of the cue ball when aiming, but the cue ball still has to travel the line of aim to strike the object in the correct area, (this, plus intentionally ‘swerving’ the cue ball will be covered in a later lesson).

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Aiming the Cue and Ball - Lesson 4

27/07/2012 2:13:52 PM

Lesson 4 – Aiming

Eddie Charlton Takes AimAiming to pocket a ball in snooker or the pool games relies on stance as much as the visual aspect. Sighting at the cue sports is like sighting with a rifle. The most important point to remember is when aiming you must keep in mind at the point of firing the shot you must be looking at the target. In the cue sports the target is the object ball. The following technique was taught to me when I was very young and was never upgraded through the subsequent years, as it proved to be simple and successful.

by Edward Charlton
Professional Player
(now retired)

Lesson 4 – Aiming
Aiming to pocket a ball in snooker or the pool games relies on stance as much as the visual aspect. Sighting at the cue sports is like sighting with a rifle. The most important point to remember is when aiming you must keep in mind at the point of firing the shot you must be looking at the target. In the cue sports the target is the object ball. The following technique was taught to me when I was very young and was never upgraded through the subsequent years, as it proved to be simple and successful.
“Step into the shot from directly behind the cue ball along the line of aim and position your feet while sighting over the cue ball at an area on the object ball that, when connected on by the cue ball, will send it on the line to the pocket. Place the bridge hand and align the cue tip firstly on the area on the cue ball that you intend to strike with the cue tip, and secondly seeing the cue ball on to the object ball that will send it on line to the pocket”.

Having decided on your shot selection and where you want to strike the cue ball you can set your stance and bend over with your chin just touching the cue for good sighting. You are now ready to begin cueing. The only parts of your body that move when you are cueing are your cueing arm from the elbow down, but keep the wrist firm, and your eyes. First thing is to check your cueing and make sure that you are going to strike the cue ball where you intend to. If all is good, raise your eyes only, to the object ball, re-checking for the second time that your sighting on to the object ball is still correct. Continuing your cueing lower your eyes to the cue ball to re-check for the second time that you are going to strike the cue ball where you intended to. Raise your eyes to the object ball again checking for the third time that you are sighting correctly. Then, with your cue tip back to the cue ball, stop your cue for a brief pause, drop your eyes to the cue ball for the third and last time, making sure that your tip is still on the intended area of the cue ball, before raising your eyes to the object ball for the fourth and last time. This whole procedure has taken no more than 10 seconds.
Remember: When the time comes to play the shot, your eyes should be on the object ball.

I can recall my father at the end of his exhibition nights giving a few tips to the local players. On his sighting technique he would tell them that there were three things to have in mind while sighting:-
“When sighting the object ball, you are saying to yourself, am I hitting this ball in the right place to send it on the path to the pocket”?
“When sighting on the cue ball, am I hitting it on the area that I intend to with the cue tip to get it to go where I want it to go after making contact with the object ball ready for the next shot”?
“Finally, while your eyes have been concentrating from the cue ball to the object ball, you always have the feeling in mind regarding your cueing arm, as to how hard or soft you are going to play the shot”.

It is important that you spend as much time as possible going over this lesson and the preceding lessons leading up to the next lesson.
















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Gripping the Cue - Lesson 3

20/07/2012 12:52:06 PM

One thing to keep in mind with the grip is that you never hold the cue in a strangle hold. You need to have a firm hold, strong enough to have control over the cue, basically so someone cannot pull the cue out of your hand with a gentle pull. Most shots you will play will have the same pressure. There are shots that I will cover later in the series where grip pressure has an effect on the cue ball.

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Lesson 2 - The Stance... conclusion

09/07/2012 3:45:09 PM

The stance conclusionTo finish off the stance we’ll need to set your bridge hand. Sit your hand flat on the bed of the table with your fingers together. Now keep your fingers straight and raise the knuckles up to build a small tent, then spread your fingers out, but keep your thumb pressed against your index finger. This is for the cue to slide across. It needs to be tight so the cue doesn’t slide around and be allowed to go off line.

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As I stated in the intro, we will start with the basics. The stance, grip of the cue, aiming and cue action are the  basics, but most important parts of playing any of the cue sport games. As you are generally competing on a singular basis there is only you who can help you when something may go wrong.
As a person is beginning at the different games the percentage of physical ability to mental ability is around 90% physical. After years, (and I mean years) of solid practice and competitive play the players among the world’s best will have a mental to physical ratio of approximately 70-80% mental. I will explain all of this as we progress through these lessons. 


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A Way To Play

28/06/2012 12:50:43 PM

Introduction
I’ve been asked on many occasions to give some tips on how to become a better player of the cue sports. I was lucky when growing up as I could tap into one of the best players in the world of cue sports. My father, Eddie Charlton AM, was without doubt Australia’s greatest all-round player, achieving the highest level of any player in all codes of the cue sports in our country. His list of achievements at both National and International level is only a dream but to a few players world wide.
I can let you know that as the sport is solely an individual sport, it is up to the individual to achieve to whichever level they wish to. As my father did for me and I can for you, is to pass on an encyclopaedia worth of information, it will always be up to you to put the dedicated work in to advance yourself in ability.
I can certainly attest to this, as much as I wanted to become a top notch player, I just was not dedicated enough to work continuously on my game. To be fair on my self I did make a conscious choice to try and run my family business at the same time. This decision proved to be detrimental to my playing career.




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Billiards Games

01/12/2011 2:14:42 PM

Let’s to Billiards..... What’s in a name?

We generally use the word billiards more in a generic sense than to describe the games of the same name. We also do it for the word Pool. Maybe a quick run through of the names and games will help clear up any confusion for the uninitiated.

At this stage I think it necessary to mention that there are quite a few different games that are played on billiards tables. The word Billiards has a couple of meanings. It is used correctly to describe the table. All tables can be referred to as billiards tables, regardless of the game played. It also covers two varieties of games, Carom and English Billiards.

Carom Billiards is played on tables that have no pockets, using three balls, a red, a white and a yellow ball. Carom, means cannon; hence the game is played and scored by making cannons. This is where the three balls all make contact within the one shot. To add degrees of difficulty to the games you may have to have your cue ball also make contact with one, two or three cushions within the shot. The most popular form for Professional events is the Three Cushion game. To give an example, the player has to cause their cue ball to make contact with three different cushions at some point within the shot – cue ball to hit the red then three cushions then the opponent’s cue ball. If you own a table regardless of size or having pockets, just try it. The scoring is one point per cannon. A run of 4 or 5 points is regarded as very good. Having seen the game played, I can assure you the players are very clever. The tables are usually 10 foot by 5 foot for tournament play.







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0 Comments | Posted in Billiards By Edward Charlton

Which Billiard Cue to use....

13/09/2011 2:11:01 PM

Predator 5K4 CueI have previously written about some of the different billiards games that are played around the world, most of which we can play here in Australia. So it begs the question, what cue to use?

The selection of a cue is personal, but I’ll give you some things to look for.

Better quality Snooker cues are made using either a Maple or Ash shaft with a hardwood butt. What is referred to as a machine splice cue the butt is joined to the bottom of the shaft. Whereas, in the case of a handmade cue, the butt is overlayed over the shaft up to four places. The Ash cue is preferred by the majority of Professional players. In general, quality cues sold through billiards outlets are manufactured 57 inches (145cm) in length and weigh 16 to 18 ounces (454 to 510g). Snooker cues should taper evenly from the butt end to the tip and have a slightly rigid shaft. Some manufacturers will make a cue to personal specifications, but unless you have intentions of pursuing the sport to a higher than club level, the cost may be prohibitive and to no avail. Some suppliers of cues will alter the cue to your measurements, but this could also alter the balance.
I am often asked about the length a cue should be for snooker.  Again, we enter into the ability a player has or wishes to attain to.  For 98% of the playing public the standard length cue you purchase will certainly suffice. For the 2% of players that go on to good






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0 Comments | Posted in Pool Cues By Edward Charlton

eddie-charltonI get asked all the time what I would look for if choosing a billiards table or a pool table. Over the years, I have heard people say things like ‘does it really matter, because a billiard table is a billiard table’. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are a number of things to look for so you end up with a good quality product on your floor. Keep in mind the purchase of a billiards table is two-fold, one being the quality and the other, the playability.

To achieve the preferred results of quality and playability there are a number of components that you should be aware of. Let’s deal with the quality first. Now, quality we’ll put into two categories: material and workmanship.

Most tables made for home use will be manufactured from timber, usually polished as they are also a piece of furniture. The first thing to ascertain is what timber has been used. Hardwoods are the best. They will give longevity, which will give value for money with a better re-sale value. The two main parts where hardwood is most important are the legs and cushions (rails). The legs for stability and cushions for playability. It won’t matter how fancy the table looks you won’t play a single shot on any carving.

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0 Comments | Posted in Pool Tables By Edward Charlton