Billiard Lore and Lessons by John Roberts

Kensington News and West London Times, Friday 01 January 1909

JUMP STROKES.

Speaking of knocking the balls off the table reminds me that my father used to specialise in this direction. He could knock a ball off the table whenever he liked, and it was by no means outside his powers to send two balls hurtling off the table if he thought he would. He used to do this kind of thing with a fair amount of certainty, as regards the direction a ball would take when it left the table, and he has been known to make a target of an unfortunate marker who failed to give him satisfaction during the progress of a game. But the “jump” stroke is the only stroke which demands that a ball shall leave the bed of the table in the course of an ordinary game, and as this stroke often comes in useful at Snooker, a few hints concerning it will doubtless prove of interest to my readers. A ball can be made to jump either by striking it very high or very low, but of the two methods the latter is decidedly more reliable, and preferable in every way. Aim should be taken at the lowest portion of the cue-ball perceptible to the striker, and the cue should be gripped tightly the instant it strikes the ball. But instead of the quick, “snappy” action, demanded by the screw back stroke, the cue should be allowed to swing further away from the player and a “jump” shot will certainly result. A little practice will enable any average player to accomplish this stroke with reasonable accuracy, but it is just as well to practice it on a table where the penalty for cutting the cloth is not what may be called excessive. …