This is getting sad now. Just noticed two additional errors in the Rupe's explanation of the dollar bill shot. First, you don't "strive for maximum running english" you clown. The ball would jump right over the rail. You use low left. And you don't even have the shot trajectory lined up correctly. Ffs, you don't play pool, do you?

Sparks, you seem mad. Anyway, the shot looks pretty easy to me. This guy got it on his first try.

Used to have a similar pool ball case at home. I think my dad took it with him.

Yes you do! This is a fairly easy "trick shot".

Why would more than ~2% of us care if he's good at trick shots?

We wanted that dude to post more chapters of Poker Knights regardless of his NLHE prowess.

Hello again, Gregorio.

Thank you for sharing the video, sir, I hadn't seen that one before.

Mike Massey in his excellent 'World Of Trick Shots' rates the challenge as being of average difficulty, reckoning on success seven times out of ten for a player of his calibre.

Mr Massey, of course, is a cueman of exceptional talent, perhaps the best bar none at this sort of stuff. For us mere mortals, however, the forty percent strike rate listed in my own book is probably nearer the mark.

One thing is for certain, though, it sure is a great hustle.

Best wishes.

wtf Sparks.

I for one enjoy Ruperman's posts as a collector, and don't care how good or poor he is as trick shots.

Good afternoon, everyone.

A while back I drew some pool ball themed logos to raise money for the Dogs' Trust. Apologies for the poor resolution and slight pixelation, the originals are crisp and clear.

This design was commissioned by an American pool playing team over here in England. The Stars & Stripes featuring an emblem of their county, Devon, the three hares.




This one was for a business. A stylised Union Jack flag with a new company logo based around a capital R and components of the .com suffix.




A personal badge for a player who wished to incorporate his nickname and national flag. I created him a logo playing on his initial glyphed into a gremlin of sorts with a devil's horns and tail.




Thanks for looking and best wishes.

Assuming youre not trolling, 6/4 instead of 3/2 is standard for UK odds (don't ask me why).

Too much?

Actually, you don't. If you played any pool you'd know that, but also, just watch the vid. Dude hits the cue ball, you guessed it, low left. If you use max running english, or top center, the ball flies right off the table.

Yeah fair enough question. I just was/am annoyed at someone misrepresenting their knowledge on a topic, that's all. No major crime here I suppose. I probably over-reacted. I definitely didn't dig the condescending tone of his response to me. Meh, I'll probably be over this in a bit.

Sparks,


Do you think you could complete this trick shot on your first try if you only practiced it using a video game?

Gregorio, please. I'm going to assume you realize he could have tried this 15 times before getting it right. I thought I made that clear, all the 9 rail dollar bill vids only show feasibility, not repeatability. Having said that, it's good you posted the vid. Shows clearly the low left english needed, not maximum running english, which would be top center on the cue ball.

Pretty sure you just went back 6 years for that, right? Nice! And my answer? No way.

Sparks is correct, but I also don't care about his playing ability or even his book. I stopped reading after the second page. I'm here for pics of balls.

bumby balls?

Good evening, everyone.

Just to clear up a little confusion: Maximum RUNNING english does not entail striking top centre of the cueball in my neck of the woods, we would term such a stroke as maximum FOLLOW or perhaps maximum TOPSPIN. Either way, such a tactic is definitely not advisable in this instance.

Maximum RUNNING english to us involves shooting low left or low right with the intent of widening the cueball's angle of rebound from the cushion (helping it 'run' along the way so to speak). Conversely, the opposite technique of narrowing the white's angle from the rail (and thus ******ing its pace) is known as CHECK sidespin.

There is a glossary of terms at the beginning of my book to help alleviate misunderstandings of this nature, but I can see how viewing a single chapter on its own like this might easily raise a few problems.

Best wishes.

In my defence, I did make mention to be aware of any particularly British turns of phrase in the introductory post #159.

I would also like to point out that I was not condescending towards anybody, I hope most can bear testament that such an accusation is palpably untrue. It is simply not in my nature to be rude or impolite at any time, even when chatting on an anonymous online forum.

Ditto for misrepresenting knowledge or expertise, I have done no such thing at all. For the record I was once an excellent pool player, certainly of a standard one would term as professional. Admittedly, those days are long since past now, but old age and two strokes will put a crimp in any fellow's cueing arm. Not world class maybe even in my pomp, but still the credentials to be employed as an expert columnist for Pot Black, Pool Today and Cuesport magazines for many years in the UK, and later for Pool & Billiard magazine when living in The Netherlands.

Ruperman, i would ignore Sparks. He's got a stick up his arse for some reason, and he doesn't speak for those of us who are enjoying your thread.
I certainly haven't found your tone in the least bit condescending.

Thank you, Sumey, much appreciated indeed.

I hope not to ignore anybody if possible, sir. I like to get along with folks, chatting about pool and collecting is often rewarding in so many ways. You're right, of course, regards recent events but the personal invective of those last few posts seemed so gratuitous that I felt the need to say something.

Best wishes.

Good evening, everyone.

A colleague and I recently sold a set of these rather rare and unusual cueballs. I've reprinted my introductory spiel in red just to give a little extra information.

Do we have any amateur sleuths among us, a budding Hercule Poirot or Ellery Queen, perchance? This week's mystery, brought to you in stereo from the great state of Texas, is The Case Of The Ringed Cueballs. Da da daaaa!

The unusual examples pictured below are strangely hypnotic when presented in concert, all those concentric circles mesmerising a viewer's eye as if in some billiardesque homage to Marcel Duchamp. But what exactly, one might ask, are these quirky pool balls? From where and when did they originate? Who made them? And why have they caused such debate of late within the collecting fraternity?

Permit me if you will, dear reader, to recount everything I know. Three full sets of these curios were recently obtained from Lübbecke, a town in northeast Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. They were sold to us as the veritable Holy Grail of any keen pool ball enthusiast... long lost prototype designs from the most desirable and heralded of manufacturers, the mighty Raschig.

Reserving one full set each for our respective collections, we are now offering the remaining sixteen balls individually to any fellow connoisseurs on this great forum (see thread in the FOR SALE section).

Here is the rub though, ladies and gentlemen. Despite exhaustive research we have been unable to confirm the origin of these balls to our total satisfaction. They are PROBABLY genuine Raschigs, but I'm not yet prepared to stake my good reputation on such a bold claim. The positive news is that they arrived in the iconic blue box, their lustrous patina is commensurate of a 1970's vintage, and they're undoubtedly of German heritage... that much at least I can guarantee with complete confidence.

It is feasible in my view that they were experiment pieces at the R & D stage of early production from this renowned company. An evaluation of possible stripe placement, number spot design or analysis of embossing processes perhaps? I can offer firm assurances that this configuration was never marketed, nor have the cueballs ever been struck in anger, they are in a pristine, unused condition.

I must, however, comment on the depth of groove which is a noticeable feature of almost every black circle... very few are perfectly flush with the ball's surface and some could be described as deep. It is rather reminiscent to me of those beautiful old sets where the number engravings have sunk or deteriorated somewhat, certainly an issue if one intended to play with them.

With unimpeachable provenance of authenticity these balls would surely be worth a great deal to existing Raschig owners or any avid collector. In this instance, however, the only honourable course of action is to advertise them as being of uncertain origin, pitch the price accordingly low and encourage potential buyers to don a deerstalker, fill a pipe or two and perhaps engage in a little detective work of their own.

And did anyone ever offer more thoughts on their provenance?