Guide
What three-cushion is
Three-cushion is the carom discipline: three balls on a pocketless table - the cue ball (white here) and two object balls, the red and the yellow. A point is a billiard in which the cue ball reaches both object balls having touched at least three cushions on the way. No pot, no pocket: every point has to be built out of angles, spin and pace.
Systems and feel
Most of the positions on this paper are the standard patterns of the game - the big ball in the corner, the ticky, the short angle, rail first, the break and the five-cushion escape. Some can be played by feel, but the reliable ones are played from a system, and the aim of the paper is to feel where the cue ball goes after each cushion before you learn the numbers.
How this paper is graded
A made billiard scores three points. A miss still earns partial credit of up to three points, scored on how close the cue ball finished to the second object ball - so a near miss is worth practising, not just marking. Where an ellipse is drawn on the cloth it is a position zone, and each ball that stops inside it is worth a further point, which is what the positional shots at the end of the Advanced section are about. Play Shot opens the position on the table, you play it, and the simulation scores it straight away. Your best attempt on each shot is the one that counts.
Reading the assessment
The strip at the top shows how many shots you have completed and your percentage of the points available, with an assessment band that climbs from Beginner to Master as the score improves. Reset clears the paper and starts you again.
Using this paper as training
This paper is more than something to be marked: it is the basis of a three-cushion training course. The twenty positions run from the basic patterns through to the difficult ones, so playing the paper again and again trains exactly the cushion judgement and cue-ball control that score points. Work through it once in order, then run it again - the percentage at the top of the page is your training progress.
Prefer to just play? Open a full game of three-cushion, or compare this paper with the snooker, libre and sagu exams. All four papers are free and need no account.
Shot List
Basic
Big ball in the corner
An easy shot with many variations of thickness and spin all leading to the corner. This is the primary pattern in three cushion, played with running side.
Ticky
An easy shot with many variations of thickness and spin all leading to success. Once you can judge the cushion angle then you can vary spin and speed for position play.
Making it long
The ball will naturally head for the corner, so learn how to make it go long by hitting fuller ball or thinner.
Short angle
A very important pattern, a supposedly easy shot, but watch out to avoid the cue ball curving after the first cushion if hit too hard.
Intermediate
Short angle with draw
Finding the right amount of backspin takes some practice, when you get the feel for this shot it becomes more forgiving.
Rail first double rail
Can be an easy shot when it is at max spin, practice how much spin you need depending on the angle of attack.
Three-Cushion Break
Half ball, medium pace and not too much spin, you will get good at this in no time, but it takes some patience to learn a repeatable setup.
Standard rail first
All players love this shot, all players will have made this shot, but if you want to make it reliable you will need to learn a system.
Long cushion double rail
Avoid hitting the long cushion too near the corner as it makes it sensitive to spin. Top spin helps make short cushion less wild.
Outside plain ball
Best played with pure topspin, the final cushion will pick up side from the trajectory.
Five cushion
An easy shot if you can avoid the kiss. Often in three cushion it is easier to find a five cushion solution.
Advanced
Long plain ball
Taken from a Korean system video, speed is all important here, slower makes it longer.
Full ball short angle
Sometimes it is easier to hit a fuller ball with more spin to create more angle on the final cushion.
Force follow double rail
Lots of top spin and the cue ball will hug the rail
Draw to long cushion
Force the cue ball onto the natural line with draw
Short-long-short center table
This frequently occurring shot is very sensitive to aim. Ideally you want to hit the long cushion perpendicularly and allow the spin to hold to the third cushion. When aiming pick a target on the third cushion with a big angle into the target ball.
Rail first shallow angle
For shallow angles top spin will make it more reliable.
The drop in
A very difficult starting position, this shot is hard to judge but nice when you do
Big ball with position
An easy shot with many variations of thickness and spin all leading to the corner. Try to get the red into the opposite corner to improve positional chances for the next shot. (positional bonus)
Three-Cushion break positional
Half ball, medium pace and not too much spin, you will get good at this in no time, but it takes some time to learn the setup. Try to get the red around to the same side of the table as the yellow for perfect position.