Forward
Some 50+ years ago, when I first became acquainted with the magic of 3-cushion billiards, a well-meaning old codger passed along this wisdom: “The skill necessary to score a single point in 3-cushion is the equal of the skill it takes to run 13 balls in pool.”
Now I don’t know who created that formula (nor how, for that matter), but I can certainly agree that billiards is considerably harder to play well than pool is. A good pool player — and that’s merely a good one — pockets balls as intended at a success percentage rate well into the 90s. If you could score a billiard every other turn — in other words, at 50% — you’d be a national-class player (in this country, anyway).
The thing is, nobody scores one point every other turn. Successful billiards players score in twos and threes, and frequently higher runs. If your three-cushion opponents are consistently getting their game point before you do, that’s probably how they’re beating you. And you only get to blame the fates, or the billiards gods, part of the time. The rest of the time, your opponents are probably getting better second shots than you do. And this is the book that can fix that.
No doubt you’ll need to modify your approach to 3-cushion billiards to become a better player at it. But that’s what improving is all about, and you could not be in better hands.
There are few players in America who have studied the game more analytically than Bill Smith. His own mentor’s knowledge of billiards was encyclopedic, and now Smith is ready to pass those skills along to you. Master the position-play concepts he has for you, and not only will you be playing better billiards, you’re going to find yourself playing a whole new game.
Bill Smith has elevated my own game by at least .2, an eye-popping boost, and that was just in casual instruction without a book or DVD like these. Imagine the quantum leap your own game is in for! Enjoy your read, and good luck and good billiards.
George Fels
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