The Basics of Billiards: a Beginner's Guide to Getting Started

Spots. There are two marked spots on a pool table. But there are other games that fall under the billiards category as well. Luckily, we have an overview that will clear up the major differences between each category. To know who will begin the match, you will have to string, which can either be based on an imaginary line (head string) or the number of wins (scoring string). Strings. Strings are two imaginary lines on the table which pass perpendicular to the head and foot spots, and all called the head string and the foot string. The pockets in the middle of the long rails are called side pockets. The opposite end of the table is often called the head rail. I had seen a steel engraving of him at the head of a double volume of Memoirs a month before, and I felt ancient beyond telling. And I have seen lawns where only the masters and not the undergraduates may walk, and staircases where only the graduates and not the students may play billiards; I have seen professors in rabbits’ fur and cloaks as red as lobsters, I have seen the graduates kneel and kiss the hand of the Vice-Chancellor; of all these wonders I have been able to make a drawing only of one venerable college provost, who poured out for me a glass of sherry at least as old as the elder Pitt.

Pool is normally played with one black ball, seven yellow balls, seven red balls, and a white cue ball, however, the number of balls used depends on the game. This article provides an introduction to the game of 8-ball, including standard rules and common variations. The most common sizes are 7 feet, 8 feet, and 9 feet in length. It’s common for people to use the two words interchangeably. Now that you can spot a pool and billiards table, it’s time to bring the fun home to stay! In fact, it’s often a question that we get asked. Golf is the most nervous game yet invented, because most of the success of the game is a question of strength; it is an interesting question to ask. Billiards tables are slightly smaller, have larger balls, and the objective of the game is to pocket balls in a specific order. Here we have got on to something really valuable. And here is a second one, bigger still, with four courtyards, a park beyond the river, a cathedral of its own, a still bigger Gothic dining-hall, rafters five hundred years old, a gallery of old portraits, still older traditions and still more famous students’ college with three names.

If you’re interested in pool (and billiards) ball, you can read the history behind them here. Likewise, when a player sinks their cue ball, it is spotted back on the table behind the head string. The head spot lies in the middle of the head string. The Kitchen. This is the area from the head string to the head rail. The player who breaks, what is billiards can place the cue ball anywhere in the kitchen. The term "billiards" refers to any game that is played on a cloth covered table with a cue stick. The game of billiards is played on a table with no pockets, unlike pool which we will get to in the next section. Most trick shots are set up outside of regular gameplay, but sometimes players will attempt trick shots during play. Call shot. The player describes what will happen before making the shot. Breakout shot. Making a shot with the intention of breaking up a tight grouping of balls into more favorable positions.

Defensive shot. Making a shot where the primary purpose is to leave your opponent without any decent shots for his next turn. Understand the mechanics and execution of basic shots, including straight shots, follow shots, draw shots, and bank shots. Some games require players to call all their shots, and other games make it a requirement only for the final winning shot. Some people call this an angle shot. You may hear players call them side rails. Long rails. The long rails are the two wider sides of the table. Short rails. The short rails are the two narrower sides of the table. Diamonds. There are three diamonds or marks evenly spaced between each pocket on rails. Billiards uses only three balls - one red and two white (or one red, one white, and one yellow). This has also earned it the nickname "pocket billiards." Instead of three balls as with billiards, players use between 8 and 15 object balls. The short rail is where you rack the balls at the start of the game. In addition to the standard game of pool, there are a ton of fun games you can play.