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"Value of Half-Ball Play"

One of these is the "full-ball," where you have the unmistakable centre of the object ball to aim at. The other is the half-ball, where you have the edge of the object-ball standing out clear and sharp as your invariable target. In every other case, you have to estimate your target, to judge for yourself what part of the object-ball must be struck to produce a desired effect. As the "full ball" shot is rather infrequently met with, you may say that the half-ball stroke is the only one in constant request which automatically offers its own target on the object-ball. This is a very great advantage, and explains why you can never learn too much about the scope of the half-ball shot. There is so much in this that if you show me a man who seldom misses a half-ball stroke, I will show you an uncommonly good player. On the other hand, those who know little or nothing of half-ball play, will always consider a twenty break something of a performance for them, and this will be true if they play billiards for a lifetime.