"Ed Howdershelt - 3rd World Products 1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Howdershelt Ed)

Gary stepped up to it and began aiming at one of the striped balls.

тАЬHold it, Gary. Those are mine. Yours don't have stripes.тАЭ

He actually looked apologetic.

тАЬSorry,тАЭ he said, then he then began lining up to shoot the eight into a very close side pocket.

тАЬHold it again, Gary. The eight ball goes in last, after we've sunk all the other balls.тАЭ

He looked up at me and said again, тАЬSorry.тАЭ Straightening up, he asked, тАЬIs there anything else I should
know?тАЭ

I laughed. тАЬYeah, but they're just minor details, like not hitting my ball first when you shoot at one of
yours. For now, just shoot anything that isn't a stripe or an eight. Get the feel of using the stick.тАЭ

He nodded and aimed at the four ball. I noticed that he held the stick precisely as I had, letting the stick
slide on his thumbnail instead of wrapping a finger over the top. He poked the cue ball and seemed vastly
surprised when the four didn't go in the corner pocket. I told him why he'd missed.
тАЬControl is in the back of the stick, Gary. Don't let it waffle back and forth or up and down when you
shoot. Watch.тАЭ

The cue ball was only a foot from the rail, so this time I shot one-handed, simply laying the stick on the
table and nudging the cue ball to knock the twelve in the side. The cue ball stopped rolling near the rail,
so I used a one-handed shot again on the nine.

Gary asked, тАЬWhy did you begin the game using both hands?тАЭ

тАЬI didn't, really. I used one hand on the break, but in my next three shots the cue ball was too far from the
rail or too close to other balls, so I had to use my left hand as a guide.тАЭ

There was a lot of table between the balls on my next shot. I shot too hard when I tried to put backspin
on the cue ball to keep it from following the ten into the pocket. My ten ball rattled inside the pocket and
climbed back out and the cue ball stopped less than a foot from the table-end rail.

Gary laid his stick on the table and eyeballed a corner shot for the six ball, then poked the cue ball. His
six ball rolled two feet or so and dropped neatly into the corner. He smiled and walked around the table
for his next shot, again aiming one-handed. It went in.

тАЬYou're right, Ed. It's much easier this way.тАЭ

тАЬSome people would argue that opinion. You'll still want to become familiar with using both hands,тАЭ I
said. тАЬSome shots really require it and some people don't react well to strangers who do things in
non-standard ways. They'll think they're being hustled.тАЭ

Gary missed his next shot when one ball barely touched another and skewed a bit off-course. He looked
up and shrugged.

тАЬHustled?тАЭ he asked.