Billiards is an imposing and highly intellectual game. To win billiards, endurance, a keen eye, a firm hand, knowledge of geometry and physics are necessary. If you have all these skills, then for a confident game you need to master the correct strokes in billiards. Below in the article we will talk about the main types of strokes that will help you win in Russian billiards.
Main rule
No matter how long you play billiards, putting this rule into practice will help you in the game. Your movements while hitting the ball with a cue should be as smooth as possible. Not sharp and jerky, namely calm and smooth.
The speed of the hand holding the cue stick should be constant from the start of movement until the cue sticker touches the cue ball. This rule makes it possible to hit the ball with the cue in the right place, which will allow you to set the cue ball (the ball that you hit with the thin tip of the cue with a sticker) to the desired trajectory.
The smoother you accelerate the cue, the more accurately you will get a hit. If, just before the cue and the cue ball are in contact, you slightly loosen the hand holding the cue, you will create ideal conditions under which the cue ball will receive an elastic blow inflicted by the weight of the cue, and not your hand. This technique of impact in billiards is considered the most correct and accurate.
In addition to the right hit on the cue ball, you must know and follow the rules of the game. An ordinary amateur game is held without the participation of a judge, so compliance with the rules will become your common concern with the game partner. You cannot count on the audience present at your game, as they can make subjective judgments for various reasons. Ignorance of the rules will turn your game into billiards simply into a series of senseless punches to the balls, which will soon bore you, and the game itself may disappoint. Regardless of whether you play good or bad, the rules of the game should be known to you.
Initial strike ("Robbery" or "Breakdown")
This is the first hit in Russian billiards when a pyramid breaks. It can be insidious, especially for beginners.
Upon impact, one of the following requirements must be met:
- one or more balls were clogged;
- at least three balls from the pyramid must touch the sides of the table;
- two balls touched the sides of the table and at least one of the balls crossed the center line of the table.
If you do not fulfill one of these conditions, you will be fined and the first ball you score will not be counted.
Stall
In billiards, an unsuccessful blow has a biting name - a kick that came to this aristocratic game from music. There, this term means a breakdown of the voice.
In billiards, a greased blow to your ball does not bode well for the player. With some varieties of the Russian “pyramid”, a penalty is imposed for such an oversight in the game - the player sets up one of the earlier scored balls on the table.
"Propich"
This kind of hit in billiards in all varieties of Russian billiards entails a fine. When you continue to strike after a moving cue ball until it contacts the aiming ball, you will definitely earn a penalty. Do not allow the simultaneous contact of the end of the cue (stickers), cue ball and sight ball. If you score a ball in the pocket with the help of a “push”, it will not be counted and you will still have to set up one successful ball.
Double punch
Repeated hits in billiards, following one after another on the cue ball, are prohibited and are also punishable by penalty points. Remember once and for all - in billiards only a single touch of the cue sticker and cue ball is allowed during the execution of the strike.
"Guy", "coasting" and others
This is the name of the blows in billiards, applied not to the center of the cue ball, but below or above it. As a result of this impact technique during pulling, the cue ball reverses after impact on the aiming ball. In the event of a roll, the cue ball continues to move forward after touching another ball. Such strokes allow you to set the balls on the field in accordance with the desire of the player.
"Masset" - a punch with a strong rotation, giving the cue ball the trajectory of movement along the arc. With it, an experienced player can score a ball, a direct hit on which does not guarantee a hit in the pocket. To perform such a blow, the player must have an excellent eye and extensive experience in playing billiards.
It’s almost impossible for a person who recently picked up a cue or plays this game from time to time to make such complex (in technical execution) strikes. However, if you are a beginner, this does not mean that you must abandon attempts to carry out such a blow during the game. Beginners are usually lucky, and in order to learn how to score such difficult balls, even the virtuosos of billiards had to play more than one hundred games.
Leap, brother-in-law and eff
To overcome the obstacle in the form of a ball standing between the cue ball and the aiming ball, an experienced player can make a “jump” - a blow that causes the cue ball to jump over the table and overcome the masking ball. Such hits in billiards can only be afforded by experienced players. For beginners, they usually end with the ball flying out of the table.
A blow in which a player directs a cue ball into the pocket, not a sighting ball, is called the "brother-in-law". Such a strike technique is a fairly common occurrence when playing Russian billiards. Unlike the American, in our version of the game, a penalty is not imposed for a cue ball driven into a pocket.
If a cue ball moves in a straight line while spinning around its axis, this is an “eff”, a twisted hit. With the help of this technique, professional billiards players can give the aiming ball the necessary trajectory, which is different from moving in a straight line.
We have examined what kind of strokes are in Russian billiards. Perhaps this will help you to improve your skills in this exciting game. Good luck to you party!