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"How Force and Side Influence Angle of Rebound"

But if you play at the same spot on the side cushion, and spot your ball in exactly the same place, and are again most careful not to use any side, your ball will take a very different angle if you play so slowly that it barely passes the middle pocket, as indicated by the dotted line in my diagram. To make my point clear, I purposely exaggerated the difference in the angles when instructing the artist who drew this diagram. You must allow for this, and also for variations in different makes of cushions. But when every compensation is applied, you will see very clearly that strength of stroke undoubtedly affects the angle of rebound in the manner here demonstrated. You can see it even more readily when playing the "double" shown in Fig. 58. Here, if you strike the red dead full, the normal angle of rebound will take it to the middle pocket, as shown by the continuous line in the diagram. But if you strike the red exactly as before, except that you use forcing strength, then the red will return on the dotted line in my diagram, or thereabouts. It is very necessary to understand how force of stroke affects the angle of rebound in the manner I have explained. The whole thing is ignored by countless cue men who wonder at times why their angles are more eccentric than reliable, and the subject is one which well repays careful study by any man who hopes to make useful breaks.