Tuzul system Tuzul · 1-tip short–long–short basics
Add a table value that depends on spin to find the first cushion. Learn the 1-tip reference that comes back to the same height on the short rail you started from.
Written and edited by TTBoys · How we write and check sources · Report an error
Sources and diagrams reviewed: 2026-10-10. 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 10: 5 per diamond on the short rail.
- Arrival 10: the same height on the starting side.
- TV 5: the table correction value set with a reference shot.
Slope and correction: 10 − 10 + 5 = 5 is the first-cushion number. TV is not an angle number, and you add it only once. If you changed the tip position or speed, check TV again first.
If you’re new: a reference shot before 1 tip
Tuzul has short–long–short, long–short–long and double-rail variations. This time you practice the cue ball’s path around three cushions and back before hitting any object ball. TV is a correction value you set from your own tip position, stroke and table conditions. It is not a law of physics that 1 tip gives exactly 5 for everyone.
Read next: How the path differs from Double Rail
1. Start and arrival are 5 per diamond; the first cushion is 10 per diamond
- Start S and arrival D: right short rail, 5 per diamond from the top corner 0
- First cushion A: left short rail, 10 per diamond from the top corner 0
- Extend the line from the cue ball toward the first cushion backward and read start S on the right short rail.
- Read the third-cushion target D on the right short rail too. In this example both start and arrival are 10.
- Add TV=5 only once. If you use a table that already adds 5 to the start marks, as some other materials do, don’t add TV again.
2. Back to the same height: 10 − 10 + 5 = 5
Start 10 − arrival 10 + TV 5 = first cushion 5
- Red dashed line: extend the first aim line backward to read the start number
- White line: the order in which the cue ball travels around three cushions
- Yellow line: an example of meeting the two object balls after the third cushion
A sketch of the worked example's ball layout and travel order. Where the ball actually lands depends on thickness, spin and speed.
Check yourself: From the same start 10, if you change the arrival to 5 and keep TV=5?
10−5+5=10. The first cushion moves half a diamond, from 5 to 10, while the arrival moves one diamond, from 10 to 5. Check the different scale units.
3. Check TV on your own table
TV = actual first-cushion number + actual arrival number − start number
- The source uses roughly 5 for 1 tip, 10 for 2 tips and 15 for 3 tips, but it varies with tip height, cue speed and cloth condition. Smallville describes 1 tip as a top tip position at 12:45 or 11:15. Pick the side that matches the direction of travel, fix that tip position and a smooth follow-through, and check TV.
- For example, if you shoot with start 10 and first cushion 5 and the ball arrives at 11, the observed TV is 5+11−10=6. Don’t settle on it from one result; repeat several times.
- Once TV is stable, move on to layouts with object balls. When you hit the first object ball first, the starting direction and remaining spin after contact change, so plugging in the basic table alone can’t guarantee a score.
In some write-ups, a sentence about a ‘long-rail start’ doesn’t match the short-rail scale drawing printed with it. This article follows the short–long–short drawing. The source’s typo 15−10=10 is marked as 15−10=5.
The drawings are concept diagrams that explain the scales and the order of travel, not measured paths. Repeat with the same tip position, thickness and power, and adjust on a real table. Articles with a simulator link give a starting layout for comparison. The app’s results are not a real-world check of these rules of thumb.
Practice with the example layout
Back to the worked example and layout ↑A layout example that goes first short rail 5 → long rail → 10 on the short rail on the starting side, then meets the two object balls. If you hit the first object ball first, the remaining spin and the start line change, so practice that separately.
- Point to the cue ball, the ball you hit first and the last ball, and say the cushion order.
- 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
- 강병익 · 튜즐 시스템 — Compared the short–long–short and long–short–long summary based on Tuzul Billiard Systems, the TV formula and the short-rail scale drawing. The original book was not checked in full.
- 스몰빌 · 튜즐 이론과 1팁 공략 — Compared with a table that includes TV in the start marks. The mismatched path names and the calculation typo were not carried over.
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.