 Pool table with cue ball, object balls, cue stick, and rack Billiards refers to a group of games played on a table with multiple balls and a cue stick. The object of the games are fairly diverse, but most involve scoring points by striking or pocketing balls. The term billiards generally refers to games played on tables with no pockets, where points are usually scored by making contact with certain balls. Caroms and carom billiards are other terms for a billiard game with no pockets. All billiards games are generally regarded to have evolved into indoor games from outdoor stick and ball games (1).
The word pool generally refers to pocket billiard games such as 8-ball, 9-ball, or Straight pool. The word pool comes from poolrooms, where people gambled off track on horse races. They were called poolrooms as money was "pooled" to determine the odds. These rooms commonly provided billiard tables, and by association pool became synonymous with billiards. The terms pool and pocket billiards are synonymous.
Equipment
Billiard balls
Cue ball and one ball near pocket The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of Billiard balls differ depending upon the specific billiards game being played. In 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool, and related games, 16 balls are employed. Eight of them are solid colored and numbered one through 8. Seven of them have a colored stripe and are numbered nine through 15. The color of the first 7 balls and the color of the stripe on the last 7 balls coincide i.e. the 1 and the 9, the 2 and the 10 are the same color. In order, the colors are yellow, blue, light red or pink, purple, orange, green, and dark red. The 8th ball is black. In addition to the 16 object balls there is a white cue ball. These balls are normally 2-1/4" in diameter and 5 1/2 to 6 oz.
In snooker, there are 15 red balls, 6 colored balls, and 1 white cue ball. The balls are assigned the values two through seven, but are typically not numbered. These balls are normally 2-1/16" in diameter.
In games such as carom, straight billiards, balkline, and three cushion, there are two cue balls and a red ball. One of the cue balls is typically white and the other one is either yellow or white with a red dot. These balls are normally 2-3/4" in diameter.
Tables
There are many sizes and styles of pool or billiard tables. Generally, tables are twice as long as they are wide. Most pool tables are known as 7, 8, or 9 footers referring to the length of the largest side. Pool halls tend to have 9 foot tables and cater to the serious pool player. Bars will typically use 7 foot tables which are often coin operated. The length of the pool table will typically be a function of space, with many homeowners going for an 8 foot table as a compromise. High quality tables are mostly 9 footers with a bed made of a single slab of granite or thick slate to prevent warping and changes due to humidity. Pocket billiard tables typically have 6 pockets, three on each side. Tables are covered with billiard cloth (typically a form of felt). Bar tables, which get lots of play, use slower more durable cloth. Good quality pool cloth is faster. Snooker table cloth traditionally has a nap and balls behave differently when rolling against the direction of the nap. The cloth of the billiard table is typically green reflecting its origin (Shamos).
Cue sticks
Billiards is played with a stick known as a cue. A cue is either a one piece tapered stick or a two piece stick divided in the middle by a joint of metal or phenolic resin. The butt of the cue is the piece of larger circumference. The thinner piece of the cue is the shaft. High quality cues sticks are generally two pieces and are made of a hardwood, typically maple for billiards and ash for snooker. All cues are tapered from the butt to the tip. The tip of the cue is cuffed by a ferrule which holds the leather cue tip. The leather tip, in conjunction with chalk, is used to impart spin to the cue ball. Cheap cue sticks are generally one piece cues made of aluminum or wood with inferior tips of various materials. A quality cue can be expensive and may be made of exotic woods and other expensive materials which are artfully enlayed into decorative patterns. Skilled players may use more than one cue during a game, including a stick for the opening break shot and another shorter cue with a special tip for jumping. (See cue stick.)
Chalk
Chalk is often applied to the tip of the cue stick to increase friction when the stick impacts the cue ball. The increased fiction willl impart greater spin to the cue ball.
Shooting techniques
If the cue ball is not struck directly in the center, spin will be imparted onto the cue ball. Spin can be used to control the path of the cue ball. This spin can also influence the path that an object ball will take when it is hit by the cue ball. Unintentional spin can cause missed shots.
If the cue ball is struck above the center of the ball, follow is said to be imparted to the ball. If the cue ball is struck below the center of the ball draw is imparted. Follow is over spin, where the cue ball is spinning faster than it would from its natural roll. The main use for this is to control what happens when the cue ball hits an object ball. If the cue ball has overspin on it, the cue ball, after making contact with a ball, rather than stopping abruptly, will resume rolling forward and follow the struck ball. If the cue ball was hit with draw, it will reverse direction after hitting an object ball and draw back. Spin dissipates as the cue ball travels, thus the effect will be less pronounced when it finally contacts an object ball.
If the cue ball is struck to the left or right of center, english or side spin is imparted. Interchangeable terms for the type of english include left or right english and running english or reverse english. The latter two terms are useful to describe what happens when a ball hits a rail. If a ball has running english, it will speed up when it hits a rail, and angle of the rail will be shallower than if the ball had no english on it. If the ball has hold up or reverse english, then the speed of the ball will slow down when it hits a rail and will come off the rail at greater angle than if it did not have side spin on it. Hitting a rail in itself will impart some spin onto the ball.
Another effect of spin is called throw. When a cue ball hits a ball, the friction between the balls can affect the path the object ball will travel. If a cue ball was hit on the left side and hits a ball fairly fully with moderate speed, it will tend to throw the ball to the right.
If the cue ball is struck so that spin is imparted along both axes, then the effects of both can be combined. Hitting a ball with draw and sidespin can actually cause the ball to curve. A shot called the masse, when the ball is hit from above, can cause the ball to go forward, curve, and then reverse direction. This shot is quite difficult. The masse is not allowed in some places as the table's cloth can be damaged.
Another technique known as the jump shot is allowed in some games such as nine ball. A legal jump shot requires that the ball be hit above center driving it down into the table, such that the ball will leave the table surface. This is a difficult shot, and can also damage the table cloth. As such, this shot is also forbidden in some establishments.
Applying a significant amount of force with a hit below center at a low angle can also create a jump. This technique is very difficult to control and more often than not it is the result of an accidental poorly-made shot rather than a practiced technique. This is considered an illegal shot in most games, but is accepted by some in casual settings.
Types of games
There are two main styles of billiard games: carom and pocket. The most popular pocket games are 8-ball, 9-ball, and snooker. In 8-ball and 9-ball the object is to sink a designated ball to win. In 8-ball, players must pocket a group of balls, either the solids or the stripes, before they can pocket the eight for the win. In 9-ball, players must shoot the balls in order, from one through nine. In snooker, players score points by alternating shooting red balls and numbered balls.
The most popular billiard games are probably straight billiards and three cushion. In both, players shoot the cue ball so that it makes contact with their opponent's cue ball as well as the red ball. Some of the best players of this game developed the skill to drive both balls into a corner and were able to score large numbers of consecutive points once the balls were in the corner. The first professional tournament was held in 1879 (Shamos), where Jacob Schaefer Sr scored 690 points in a single turn. Because the balls barely moved, there was nothing for the fans to watch. Changes were subsequently made to the rules to add balklines, and the player had to drive a ball past these lines after so many shots. Initially, the championship game was 18.1 balkline. After a shot, one of the balls had to be driven past the balkline which were 18 inches from the rail. A more elegant solution was three cushion billiards, which requires a player to make contact with the other two ball on the table and contact three rail cushions in the process. This is difficult enough that even the best players can only manage to average one to two points a turn.
8 Ball
In the United States, the most commonly played game is 8-ball. This game is most often played on coin operated tables that are 7 feet long.
9 Ball
9-ball is the championship game in the US, and is played on 9 foot tables. The governing organization of the United States Championship and the US Open is the Billiard Congress of America (BCA). Besides the US Open there are many other professional pool tournaments are played annually.
The World Pool Association (WPA), holds an annual 9-ball tournament to determine the world 9-ball champion.
Championship Pool
- US Open Championship (BCA) - 9 Ball
- World Pool Association (WPA) - 9 Ball
- Snooker and carom billiards events often determine the champions in these events.
Billiard games
Carom billiards
Pocket billiards
Other variants
Glossary
- Bank - Short for bank shot where the cue ball contacts a ball, the ball hits into a rail, and then that ball is pocketed.
- Baulk-line - A straight line drawn 29" from the face of the bottom cushion. Similar to the head string. Not to be confused with the balkline carom games.
- Balkline - A type of carom game created to eliminate very high runs in straight rail.
- Break - Many billiards games start with a break shot. For example, in 8-ball the first person to start play must place the cue ball in the kitchen and shoot the cue ball into the rack.
- Cue - Short for pool cue, or sometimes cue ball.
- Cue ball - A usually white ball. In most games the players start each shot by hitting their pool cue into the cue ball in an attempt to score points or pocket balls.
- Cue stick - A cue stick is usually around 5 ft. long which can be easily gripped with a tip which not only cushions the impact, but allows for spin to be transferred to the cue ball.
- Head string - A line indicating an area where the cue ball can be placed when a player is making a break shot. The line runs across the short side of the table from the second diamonds on either side. The line is rarely drawn on the table. Also called the balk-line, or baulk-line.
- Kick shot - Like a bank shot, except the cue ball contacts the rail before striking the object ball. Some people use the term bank shot for this shot as well.
- Kitchen - The area on the table behind the head string.
- Pocket - An opening in a table into which balls are shot. Also used as a verb to describe the act of a ball being sent into a pocket.
- Pot - Same as the word pocket used as a verb.
- Rack - A wooden or plastic triangle which is used to assist in setting up balls in games like 8-ball, 9-ball, and snooker. The rack allows for conistently tight grouping of balls, which is necessary for a good break shot. The term also is often used to refer group of balls itself. In games with 15 balls, the rack is triangle shaped. In 9-ball either a standard triangle rack is use, or a nine ball diamond rack is used.
- Rail - Pool tables have elastic rails which are covered in cloth. They are also called cushions.
- Safety - An intentionally defensive shot. This is a perfectly legal in many games, and there are often rules restricting how this shot may be executed. For example, in many pool games you cannot shoot into a ball which is in contact with a rail when playing a safety.
- Sink - Same as the word pocket used as a verb.
More information
References
- Stein, Victor & Rubino, Paul. The Billiard Encyclopedia - An Illustrated History of the Sport (2nd ed.) Blue Book Publications. ISBN 1-886768-06-4
- Byrne, Robert. 1998. Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards. ISBN 0156005549.
- Shamos, Mike. 1991. Pool. Mallard Press. ISBN 0-7924-5310-7.
External links
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