The following are articles that
have appeared in Billiards Digest, and are presented here in PDF format with
permission of the publisher. They are listed by year-month of publication.
If you have comments or corrections
related to any article, please forward them to jewett@sfbilliards.com and they may be
posted here with the articles.
Also, there are numerous typos, a
few from the original publication
and more from the scanning and character recognition software that was used to
make the PDFs. Please forward notes about those if you spot them.
-- Bob Jewett October, 2005
1992-04 Be Part of an Experiment -- cutting a ball frozen on the rail
1992-06 An Experiment in Curve -- making an object ball curve
1992-10 The Truth at Last -- results from the frozen ball experiment
1992-12 Progressive Practice -- explanations and two drills
1993-04 Close Calls -- judging hits when two object balls are close
1993-06 Close Quarters -- a system for aiming when the object ball is close
1993-08 Close Quarters II -- avoiding double hits on a near object ball
1993-10 Close Quarters III -- the rules governing close shots
1993-12 Test Time -- Questions from the BCA instructor course
1994-04 How Tough is Tough? -- calculating the difficulty of shots
1994-06 Test Time -- The Answers -- answers to the BCA quiz
1994-08 Squirt Testing -- using a tough spin shot to test squirt
1994-10 Bytes & Billiards -- billiards on the internet in 1994
1994-12 Bytes and Billiards II -- several billiard simulators described
1995-02 Pythagoras & Pool Perpendiculars -- the 90-degree rule
1995-04 Friction: Friend and Foe -- three types of table friction
1995-06 Seeking Truth of Beliefs -- several myth-destroying results
1995-08 Virtual Pool -- a review of the pool/billiard simulator
1995-10 Follow and Draw Systems -- judging the carom angle with follow and draw
1995-12 A Basic Skill Test -- measure your ability with progressive drills
1996-02 Two Interference Systems -- the 2-times- and 10-time-fuller systems
1996-04 Bad Equipment -- problems you can have with tables, balls, ...
1996-06 Chances Are -- probabilities and billiards
1996-08 Create Your Own Drills -- developing custom progressive drills
1996-10 Mirror Systems -- banking using the equal angle idea
1996-12 Handicaps -- the basic NPL system of handicapping matches
1997-02 Hidden Hanger -- shots that are much easier than they seem
1997-04 Finding the Pocket -- the effective center of the pocket
1997-06 Collective Wisdom -- excerpts from the RSB FAQ
1997-08 Those Who Can, Teach -- several teaching techniques/demos
1997-10 A Safety Dance -- playing safe on a close ball ... what's legal?
1997-12 Welcome to Masse 101 -- basic masse concepts
1998-02 Masse 102 -- masse techniques and practice
1998-03 The Right Time to Masse -- sometimes it's the right shot
1998-04 Side Spin with a Kick -- progressive practice for simple english shots
1998-05 Putting Proper Spin On It -- side spin theory and practice
1998-06 Spin It In -- does get-in english really exist?
1998-07 Complete Breakdown -- computer simulation of stick physics
1998-08 1,001 Banks -- lots of bank practice shots
1998-09 Battle of the Robots -- the Meucci and Predator cue-testing robots
1998-10 Peeling the Onion -- options during run-outs
1998-11 Hitting the Peaks -- when during the stroke to hit the cue ball
1998-12 Cut to the Chase -- follow angle system 1:4 ratio
1999-01 Making Contact -- driving a ball to a cushion
1999-02 More Spin, Less Speed -- quality of the stroke
1999-03 Progressive Progress -- more practice drills
1999-04 Freeze Frame -- Jacksonville project report
1999-05 Judgement Call -- to call or not to call fouls
1999-06 Don't Grip It and Rip It -- Jacksonville cue impact study
1999-07 To Kiss Or Not To Kiss -- finding which bank shots kiss out
1999-08 Judgement Day -- Results for the May 1999 column
1999-09 The New Frontiers -- increasing your comfort zone
1999-10 Communication Barriers -- pool vocabulary
1999-11 Systems of Aiming -- a smorgasbord of systems
1999-12 Hidden Treasures -- three diamond systems
2000-01 Tricky Business -- learning from trick shots
2000-02 Sources of Evil -- variables on the pool table
2000-03 Add It Up -- summing up sources of error
2000-04 A Rub the Right Way -- details of throw
2000-05 Practice Session 2000 -- the game of Fargo
2000-06 Systems Analysis -- details of three aiming systems
2000-07 A Rusty Game? -- straight pool discussion
2000-08 Into Focus -- Pre-shot routine and concentration
2000-09 Wales, Watching -- A report on the 2000 WPC in Wales
2000-10 Jump Shots -- useful jump shots
2000-11 Half-Ball, Revisited -- half-ball summary
2000-12 Bank Losses, Rolling Ratios -- follow and bank distance ratios
2001-01 Combinations
and Throw -- how throw affects close combos
2001-02 Newton
on the Ball -- George McBane guest column on 90-degree imperfections
2001-03 Weird
Techniques -- strange ways to hit balls
2001-04 Three
Draw Drills -- three challenging drills
2001-05 Charting
the Course -- how to find follow distances geometrically
2001-06 Drawing
Draw -- continued for draw and angle shots
2001-07 The
Rack -- It's more than a torture device
2001-08 When
Spheres Collide -- ball-ball contact and Hertz' Law
2001-09 Sliding
Friction -- ball-to-bed-cloth friction measured
2001-10 Playing
Games -- trying games strange to you
2001-11 Round
Robin Formats -- basic round-robin charts
2001-12 Elimination
Formats -- single elimination, byes, seeding
2002-01 Double-Elimination Formats
-- two double-elimination formats
2002-02 8-Ball Rules -- a brief history of the rules of 8-ball
2002-03 Who Wants a Spot -- calculating the odds with unequal players and spots
2002-04 Outside Assistance -- using outside english to help the angle
2002-05 9-Ball Progress -- progressive drills for nine ball
2002-06 A Challenge to Improve -- some tough proposition shots
2002-07 99 Critical Points -- problems in Ray Martin's classic book
2002-08 Squirt -- a Review -- history of squirt in billiard literature
2002-09 Squirt -- Where it Comes From -- the physical cause of squirt
2002-10 Squirt Continued -- dealing with squirt
2002-11 Chalk Marks, Cue Marks -- chalking -- a simple but important task
2002-12 An Experiment in Throw -- a test to see if throw exists
2003-01 One Thing at a Time -- implementing Bob Fancher's idea for practice
2003-02 Physics and Pool? -- is physics useful for playing billiards
2003-03 Experimental Results -- readers' new ideas about throw
2003-04 The Results Are In -- numerical results for the throw experiment
2003-05 Progressive Masse -- some drills to improve your masse
2003-06 Handicapping 14.1 -- instructions for setting up a league
2003-07 Odds and Ends -- making a ball curve, frozen rail shots, a throw demo, banks
2003-08 Bumping Balls -- moving balls precisely
2003-09 Jumping As It Should Be -- practicing jump shots
2003-10 Sharks and Scams -- petty thievery for fun and profit
2003-11 Practicing Inside Spin -- progressive drills for inside
2003-12 Practicing Outside Spin -- more progressive drills
2004-01 Thin Hits -- safeties and cut shots
2004-02 Where's Your Elbow -- Do you want to be a piston or a pendulum?
2004-03 Where's Your Elbow Now -- observations, including at the Mosconi Cup
2004-04 Not So Simple -- keeping the run simple
2004-05 Short Kicks -- using the mirror system for balls by the rail
2004-06 More Aiming Systems -- ferrule system, lights system, overlap system
2004-07 Long Kicks -- mirror system training
2004-08 Shortening Banks -- actual measurements about speed vs. angle
2004-09 Short Banks -- the 70% system for cross-side and cross-corner
2004-10 Useful Strokes -- From Wallace Ritchie to Bob Byrne
2004-11 Stroke Straightening -- making your arm move straight
2004-12 Help With Aiming -- aiming devices, including do-it-yourself
2005-01 Make Your Own -- more aiming/carom angle devices
2005-02 Frozen Bank Shots -- banking balls frozen on the cushion
2005-03 Hoppe to It -- making your own simple position system -- no english
2005-04 Do Try This At Home -- now, add side spin
2005-05 Faszinating -- amazing stop-action pictures from Austria
2005-06 By the Books -- parallel aiming through the years
2005-07 Target Pool, Revived -- Do-it-yourself practice routines
2005-08 Close Quarters -- repeat of the August 1993 column
2005-09 Taking A Lesson -- various aspects of taking and giving lessons
2005-10 Different Strokes -- a catalog of strokes
2005-11 Different Strokes, Part 2 -- more catalog of strokes
2005-12 Wrong Size, Wrong Shape -- the balls are not quite right
2006-01 A Modest Proposal -- Double hit rule discussion
2006-02 Better Safe Than Sorry -- Shot selection at the IPT KOH
2006-03 A Carom Puzzle -- How many ways to play one position?
2006-04 Straight-Pool Wrinkles -- Issues at the DCC 2006 14.1
2006-05 Where’s The Rub? -- Throw with draw and follow
2006-06 Straight Statistics -- High run statistics at 14.1
2006-07 Carom Conundrum -- Solutions for the carom puzzle of March
2006-08 The Perfect Tournament -- Details of tournament organization
2006-09 One Cushion Precision -- Playing for exact position on one cushion
2006-10 The Cutting Edge -- The thinnest possible/likely cuts
2006-11 Round-Robin Revisited -- Round robin wrinkles from the IPT
2006-12 Don't Blow It -- Where's the nose of the cushion?
2007-01 Get to the Point -- Precise position practice
2007-02 Online Magic -- YouTube videos from Semih Sayginer
2007-03 Derby City Shootout -- The 2007 edition of DCC 14.1
2007-04 Transferred Side -- History of the controversy
2007-05 Lets Twist Again -- Shots with transferred side
2007-06 Degrees of Difficulty -- Cutting and banking more than 90 degrees
2007-07 Divide and Conquer -- Fractional ball aiming
2007-08 Many Questions -- Some close combination puzzles with answers
2007-09 Killer Geometry -- The semi-circle of death
2007-10 Active Spectating -- What to watch for at tournaments
2007-11 Scratched to Death -- Extensions of the semicircle of death
2007-12 Tricky Ticky Tactics -- Lots of ways to use rail-first shots
2008-01 The Letter of the Law -- The new WPA World Standardized Rules
2008-02 Killing Me Softly? -- The soft break and nine ball
2008-03 Freezing to Death -- How a tight rack destroys nine ball
2008-04 Measured Force -- Ten degrees of force of stroke
2008-05 Springs Have Sprung
– compression of cushions, balls and tips
2008-06 Rulebooks
Revisited – A plea for standardization and some problems
2008-07 Follow
Along – A system to plan the cue ball’s path on follow shots
2008-08 As
Easy as 1-2-3 – The three phases of learning to play pool
2008-09 Safe
Drilling – Learning precise control of the cue ball for safe play
2008-10 Close
Calls – A discussion of the shots in the video referees’ quiz
2008-11 Get
Snookered – Basic rules and strategy of snooker
2008-12 Game
Changers – How 9-ball rules have changed in 40 years
2009-01 Giving
and Deceiving – Four “impossible” shots
2009-02 Take
the Easy Path – Use a simple, rolling cue ball when possible
2009-03 Spinning
a Web – The game of “Spider”
2009-04 Just
Skidding – What skid/cling/kick/bad contact is and its cause
2009-05 Just
for Kicks – Basic one-cushion shots
2009-06 Kick
It One Time – A basic system
2009-08 Mirror,
Mirror – Kicking using an isosceles triangle
2009-09 Eyeing
the Angle – A “stick” one-rail system and System Sid
2009-10 Precision
Safeties – Squeezing the last inch out of safeties
2009-11 Banking
Tips – Some rules of thumb
2010-01 Competitive
Practice – Testing yourself
2010-02 Oldie
but a Goodie – English Billiards and a book review
2010-03 Back
to the Basics – Fundamental work on stroke and mechanics
2010-05 Diamond
Systems 101 – Basic diamond system concepts
2010-06 Diamond
Redux – The “standard” diamond
system: the corner-5
2010-07 Diamonds,
Part III – Details of the corner-5 including second rail
2010-08 The
Right Track – Extending the corner-5 to the 4th rail
2010-09 Polishing
Up – Checking your corner-5 knowledge
2010-10 Prop-Shot
Lessons – Some interesting proposition shots
2010-11 Beginning
3-C – Some basic 3-cushion info
2010-12 More
the Merrier – Ring games, starting with 9 ball and pink ball
2011-01 More
the Merrier II – More multi-player games
2011-02 More
the Merrier III – Cutthroat and other multi-player games
2011-03 More
the Merrier IV – Several kinds of golf on pool/snooker tables
2011-04 Stroke
Fiddling – What is the best length of bridge, etc.
2011-05 Forced
Accuracy – Testing for the best bridge length
2011-06 Clocking
In – A list of times related to the game
2011-07 Cleaning
House – And cues and balls and tables
2011-08 Second
Level – An organized look at position play
2011-09 Inside
and Outside – Practice methods to master side spin
2011-10 Every
Which Way – Inside/outside, running/reverse, draw/follow/stun
2011-11 Control,
Part Four – Adjusting multi-cushion position shots
2011-12 Open
Notebook – Observation from the 2011 US Open 9-Ball in Chesapeake, VA
2012 and 2013 in progress