El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-10
Brain and Eye Must Work With
Hands In the Billiard Game
BY WILLIE HOPPE.
Worlds Champion at 1871 and 1872 Baldine Billiards.

In my two previous articles on the
art of billiards I have endeaVored 10
explain the correct way to manage
both hands in handling the cue. The
proper bridge was first explained Then
/ told how TO grasp the cue in the
stroke hand.
At the same time 1 said that three
things cut the most important part in
making good billiardists, stroke bein;,
the third and greatest of these. Stroke
depends almost entirely on the two
things / have already explained. These
two. once learned, the stroke will fol-
low.
But the brain and eve must work in
unison with the hands in. order to gain
proficiency and Judge of distance. Fer
should the brain falter at the moment
of striking the cue ball, the stroke will
necessarily be hampered and retarded.
BY this / mean the thing / have tried
TO impress upon my readers from the
start-absolute freedom of motion.
What Stroke Means.
Stroke means nothing more nor less
than striking the cue ball with such
ease of motion that 1t will travel
around the table with great speed, or
go few inches only. according to the
will of the player and the needs of the
shot. Nothing else in the realm of
sport is so easy to understand and SO
difficult to acquire. In baseball there
are natural batters. Every good hitter
steps into the ball." the form varying
greatly. But no good batter ever
pulls away from the plate" In golf
the successful player allows his club TO
follow through" the ball in every in
stance.
Each player may have his own indi-
vidual style, but unless he does these
things he cannot be other than ordina-
ry. So it is in billiards. With the ex-
ception Of the dead ball shot every
stroke in billiards is a follow
through Sharp draws or short, sim
pie ones, follows, angle shots of all
descriptions, around the table drives
and simple nursing shots all depend
upon the follow through" for proper
execution The cue must not halt when
the cue ball is struck The distance
that 1t travels before being drawn back
naturally at the end of the stroke. de-
Ponds, of course, upon the shot itself.
That is thing that comes only with
practice, just as speed and correct an
giles are learned after long effort.
Many Experts Use "Diamonds."
The diamonds" on a billiard table
are placed for the guidance of players
on angle shots. Many experts use
them; George Slosson. who has chal-
lenged me for my 1871 balk line title.
is a notable example But other great
players. such as Schaefer and Ives, shot
more by intuition. They knew the
diamonds" were there, but they learn
ed to play accurately without particu-
lar regard to their presence. That fea-
ture was also a matter of practice and
knowledge.
If the average player will toss aside
his desire to count certain easy shots
by his own bungling method which
scatter the balls and bring no results
beyond the one count, and will follow
the simple rules l have laid down re-
garding the three cardinal principles of
billiards, he cannot help improving his
game by many percent.
Stroke, despite its many variations,
amounts to exactly the same thing.
whether the game be straight rail, balk
line. three-cushion caroms or pool. The
stroke of the pool player is best suited
to the three-cushion game as has been
proven by the manner in which such
fifteen-ball men as De Oro HueSton
and DAILY have taken to the hard an
gle game That. however is more be-
cause of their knowledge OF angles and
the fact that the pool player is accus-
toned TO using a hard force stroke
which is most frequently used-than
to any other causes
The balk-line player is liable to spoil
his delicacy OF touch by applying him
self to three cushions. For that rea son
i have left the latter game almost Sc