In the game of straight
rail, the object of the game is to hit both of the object balls with
your cue ball (one player has the white cue ball, the other player has the
yellow cue ball). Unlike 3-cushion billiards, you do not have to hit any rails.
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© Copyright 1998, Jim Loy
In the game of straight
rail, the object of the game is to hit both of the object balls with
your cue ball (one player has the white cue ball, the other player has the
yellow cue ball). Unlike 3-cushion billiards, you do not have to hit any rails.
The animation, on the left, shows the most important shot in straight rail, the rail nurse. The cueball hits both object balls, knocking one of them into the rail, resulting in the same position, a few inches down the rail. With the use of the rail nurse, a player can run many points. Professionals have run thousands of points.
In reality, a player seldom achieves a perfect rail nurse. Each position may vary. And, when he/she gets out of shape, it may take several shots to get back to the above basic position. Dealing with the corners often takes some creativity, as well. A player can usually maneuver around a corner, or go back the way he/she came, after one or two shots.
When the balls are far apart, the basic task is to get them close together, to gather the balls. Once the balls have been gathered, the basic task is to achieve a rail nurse.
Note: Older sets of balls have two white cue balls, one of which has a black dot on it (and is sometimes called the black ball). The third ball is a red ball.