how hard is carom

[MaartenM]

How hard is carom if you're an average snooker player? (40 break)
I always wanted to try it out but the learning curve seems so steep, especially when you're playing an opponent that is also a newbie at the game.
Is there a lot of external learning involved or can you improve from your mistakes?

[Watford]

We don't relly have carom in the UK.
I've never seen a table!

[Rane]

I would guess (with no other references than myself) that you would end somewhere around 0.3 - 0.4 as yearly average judging from your max. break. But coming from the worlds dominating carom country you must certainly be able to find a good player to give you some coaching.

[bongo]

Let's just say...very!

[Wodenson]

I personally have played about 10 hours of three cushion carom during the last 2 years ( when in Austria ) , and it is a great game.
I think for our friend to average 0.3 / 0.4 at 3c would be a great acheivment , as this is a pretty good average.
I myself managed a p.b avaerage of 0.3 in one set of 3 x 15up , and that included two breaks of 4 , which does not sound much , but you try getting one !!!!!.

[pigeonslayer]

I have seen a few videos on Youtube of Reyes and Blomdahl playing and it looks a very difficult game to get to grips with, but I should imagine that once you become experienced that there are stock shots that can be applied to positions around the table, the equivalent of a half ball in-off at Billiards.
The thing that struck me when watching the footage was how fast the tables were, they were hardly hitting them, yet it was pinging of 4 or 5 cushions. The level of cue ball control shown was fantastic.

Would love a crack at it, but have no idea where you could get a game in the UK

[dannyd0g]

Are there any special cue tips, cushions, or balls used to generate all the crazy googlee spinning bananna shots ?

[MikeWooldridge]

how hard can it be ?!?! they ain't even got pockets

on a serious note, i've tried it, it's bloody hard!

[noel]

WOW!!!

These shots are so hot it's a good thing the tables are a slippery as a pint!

Cheers mates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HanvU...eature=related


=o)

Noel

[Rane]

Are there any special cue tips, cushions, or balls used to generate all the crazy googlee spinning bananna shots ?

The balls are the size of pool balls and thus much heavier, and the table basicly a pooltable without holes. They typical uses a cue quite similar to a pool cue and quite heavy compared to a snooker cue. I guess you would ruin your cue imidiately, if you played with a snooker cue. For the massé shots they have even thicker cues, I would guess 15 mm. It´s only for really tough players and are normally not allowed in clubs, so I´ve never tried such a cue, but I would guess, that it´s even heavier.

I think the cloths are quite similar snookercloths nowadays, but it´s been played on that kind of cloth at least since the late seventies. I remember how shocking slow a snookertable was, when I first tried in the nineties on a table with the old type cloth. The marmorplate is heated, which off cause help the balls rolling fast, and another thing to note is that they hit the balls very thin, when if it has to travel 6 or 8 cushions.

Try searching for Semih Sayginer on Youtube, there are some amazing trickshots to be seen (called artistique).

[Rane]

This is pool, but try to watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzQ3S...eature=related

It must have taken a long time to figure that one out !

[Rane]

And Tini Wijnen the whiteheared guy was the first one to learn me a little bit about playing, stance, holding the cue, backspin etc. Unfortunately I didn´t pick up very well

http://www.ddbu.dk/show_video_2.php

The video must be from the late seventies/start eighties.

[Wodenson]

Hi all Carombal tables have nappless clothes , which also are heated , hence the very fast speed of the bed.

The top guys at this game , are brilliant cueists and could with practice become 100 break Snooker players , and 200+ break E.B players.

[iamback99]

it is very very hard........

[GryZnook]

it is very very hard........

...but VERY interesting and motivating! I used to play it (not 3-cushion tho, just the basic game called "la libre" in French) in the early 90's, and learned it hard thanks to a couple of books and muchooo practice :P

I just fell in love with this type of billiard game back then, and that's why I got interested in snooker afterwards, because, tho it's a pocket billiard game, you find the essential same requirement as in carom: control of the cue ball, for repositioning(sp?). Just love that.

BTW, search for "Diamond System +billiard" on google, you may find it useful to master this, to get better at carom