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"In and Out of Baulk"

of losing hazards as well as cannons, and is very well shown in the cannon now before us. It is what I call a "good, bad shot" just to make this cannon by means of a run-through played so gently that the red stops short of the baulk-line. This is infinitely more difficult than it is to play the cannon with proper positional effect, yet it is the method nine beginners out of ten will select if left to their own devices.

Figure 72 shows a clever cannon, simple as it looks. The cue-ball is in hand, and there are many scoring possibilities. The forcing cannon direct from white to red is favored by people who knock the balls about, but never play billiards. A more workmanlike shot is a cannon played half-ball from about the centre-spot of the baulk-line, making the cannon by the natural angle of rebound off the top cushion. But there is always a big chance of a kiss spoiling this cannon, and the cue-ball, coming so straight at the red off the top cushion, is exceedingly likely to knock that ball straight towards baulk and leave nothing. For these reasons, of which the latter is the stronger, I advise you to play this cannon by spotting your ball well towards the right of the "D" and playing half ball on the white with strong right-hand side on your ball. This makes the cannon by bringing your ball off the top cushion at the angle shown in my diagram, which greatly increases the chance of leaving the red well placed in the direction of the right top pocket where, you will notice, the white is waiting for it. Here you have to be careful not to play so hard that the white gets too near the pocket, perhaps in it. This is one of the strokes I warned you about a little earlier in my book. Do what you will, you must direct the white along the dangerous line of the top pocket, so you protect yourself by playing too slowly for the ball to reach the pocket.