Just like the rules of the different games that fall under billiards, the billiard tables worldwide can be a bit different from each other.
If you have an American billiard table, chances are it’ll have a billiard diamond system.
Now you must be thinking, what the heck this billiard diamond system is?
No need to fret, because it’s there to assist you in improving your game play. Yes, it can help you to improve your accuracy and performance on the billiard table.
If you have an American billiard table, you must have noticed little marks on the frame of the rail. Often, diamonds are used to lay down these markings.
Wondering how these diamonds help you?
If you have understood this diamond system, you can use these diamonds to choose the right angle for kick shots and banks, ultimately leveraging your game by learning these markings.
Sometimes, instead of diamonds, you’ll find dots on the Pool table.
The impressive bit about this system is, if you hit the cue ball straight at one diamond, it will travel straight towards the diamond that is at the other end.
So if you use this diamond system or white dots on the Pool table in your favor, you can calculate and visualize the precise impact point to send the cue ball.
And, just in case, you are playing on a table which has no diamonds, you can imagine a diamond placed at the same spots in your mind and perform calculations in your mind to reach precision and accuracy.
Though a diamond system can be very difficult to understand, I’ll simplify it to let you know how it works and what are some formulas you can memorize to make it less complex for you to work over it.
The infographic at the top shows what a diamond system looks like.
There are three parameters which you can remember to make this system less complex for you. Aim, Start, and Finish (A,S,F).
Diamonds are being placed all around the table at a certain distance and with some numbering.
As all the dots are numbered:
Learn more about them in our detailed article on white dots (diamonds) on the table.
Diamond systems are particularly useful for long rail to shorts rail shot, that means your start value is higher than the finish value.
Remember this formula if you feel confused regarding it, A = S – F.
It means your aim should be the subtraction of your starting and finishing point.
For instance, you are starting from 30 and your finish point is 50, now you’ll aim first for the 20-number diamond or white dot.
If you have placed the dots/diamonds in the right manner and they are of the right size, then you are likely to get your ball pocketed. Normally, it’s quite accurate.
You must be able to determine your finish and start point for using this purpose. And for that, you must develop an easy way for yourself to number the diamonds on the short and long rail.
Diamond systems and white dots on tables are popular in America.
However, people have their own ways to use them. They develop their own tricks to utilize these measurements and the more they play the more new measurements they learn about it.
So if you want to be one of them, I’d advise you to learn how to set the numbering and apply the basics. In little time, you’ll also be able to make a few more tricks of your own.
