Sid’s System Sid’s System · no-English two cushions
A no-English reference that finds the first cushion by multiplying the departure number by the second-cushion arrival number. It finds the path only as far as two cushions, so to complete a 3-cushion score you also have to check the rest of the path.
Written and edited by TTBoys · How we write and check sources · Report an error
Sources and diagrams reviewed: 2026-10-04. Rules of thumb are practice references for a specific diamond scale and stroke. Geometric constructions are kept separate from real trajectories, and nothing was measured on a real table. On mobile, the table stays in landscape so the directions in the text match the diagrams.
Presets are comparison examples from a physics model; they do not guarantee the formula's real-world accuracy or a point.
What do you read from the layout?
- Start 3: the small number on the starting short rail.
- Target 2: the number on the second cushion, a long rail.
- First cushion 6: 3 × 2, 60% of the way between 0 and 10.
Slope and correction: This basic table has no separate angle term. Starting from a long rail or arriving farther away takes you outside this table, so you need the matching variation.
What to know first
The white ball is the cue ball you strike. The long sides are the long rails and the short sides are the short rails. The numbers are names given to the diamond marks for calculation, not centimeters or angles. Dashed lines are reference lines you read by extending them backward; arrows show the order in which the ball travels. Unlike the previous two systems, the white target is the second cushion, not the third. Even within no-English shots, the departure, aim and arrival scales differ from each other.
1. Read small departure number × arrival number
- Red S · departure number: read it by extending the aiming line back behind the cue ball.
- Yellow A · first-cushion aim number: the spot you calculate and aim at.
- White D · arrival number: the target on the cushion you want to send the ball to.
- Take departure number 3 on the right short rail. If the ball sits inside the table, read this number by extending the first aiming line backward.
- Take the second-cushion arrival number 2 you want on the top long rail. The arrival numbers of System 1 used here are measured at the cushion nose, not the frame.
- The first cushion is the opposite, left short rail. The answer 6 doesn't mean six diamonds; it means 0.6 of a diamond, between 0 and 10.
2. Aim at 3 × 2 = 6
3 × 2 = 6
Multiply departure 3 by arrival 2 to find first cushion 6. It is the 60% point of the stretch from first-cushion mark 0 to 10.
3. Check up to two cushions, then look at the rest of the path
- System 1 as used here is played with a center-to-upper tip position and no left-right spin. Don't jab or draw the ball; keep the roll and power consistent.
- System 2 in the Ssamjang material reads the arrival at frame points and uses a center tip position. Even with the same name and multiplication formula, don't mix their arrival scales or tip positions.
- The beginner diagram marks only the arrival 1 and 2 range confirmed directly in the source. Farther arrival values are not a steady 1 per diamond, so don't arbitrarily extend to 3, 4, 5.
- Variants that depart from a long rail, or layouts where the object ball is off the cushion, need separate corrections. Check the source for that variant rather than carrying this table over as is.
- Practice problem: with departure 4 and arrival 2, the first cushion is 8. First check that the ball reaches the second-cushion target; in real play, plan the object balls and the third cushion that follow separately.
The diagrams are concept drawings that explain the numbers and the cushion order. They do not guarantee an exact path or a successful score given ball size, spin, speed and table condition. Repeat a reference shot on a real table with the same tip position and power, and adjust.
Practice with the example layout
Back to the worked example and layout ↑We calculated only cue ball → short rail 6 → long rail 2. In a 3-cushion game you still have to check the remaining third cushion and the contact with both object balls. Don’t read the arrival number 2 as the last ball.
- Point to the cue ball and the cushion target where the calculation ends. Then think separately about the cushions and the order of the two object balls after this partial route.
- Repeat the same layout 5 times and record where the first cushion and the calculated target actually land.
- If the first cushion is already off, check your aim and thickness; if the first cushion is right but later ones drift, check spin and speed. Change only one thing for the next 5.
Sources and verification
- 쌈장의 3구 교실 · 시드 시스템 정리 및 확장 — Checked the scale diagrams of Systems 1 and 2, the cushion nose vs. frame difference, and the center-to-upper vs. center tip position. The article uses the basic range of System 1.
- 스포츠 야골당 · 시드 시스템 — Cross-checked the departure × second cushion = first cushion relationship, the center-to-upper tip position, and the separate approach for long-rail departures.
Sources may use different diamond scales and conditions. The text notes which scale it uses and the limits of what was checked; the diagrams are our own concept drawings.