Pocket billiards, most commonly referred to as pool, is the general term for a family of games played on a specific class of billiards table A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which billiards-type games (cue sports) are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables, regardless of whether for carom billiards, pocket billiards (pool) or snooker, provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth and surrounded by rubber cushions,, having 6 receptacles called pockets (or "holes") along the rails, in which balls A Billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various specific ball properties such as hardness, friction coefficient and resilience are very important to the finer points of are deposited as the main goal of play. Cue sports that are played on pocketless tables are generally referred to as carom billiards Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards or simply carambole , is the overarching title of a family of billiards games generally played on cloth-covered, 5 by 10 feet (approximately 1.5 × 3 m) pocketless tables, which often feature heated slate beds. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score points or "counts".

History

Outside the cue sports industry, pocket billiards is almost exclusively referred to as "pool", due to a perhaps unfortunate association with the "poolrooms" where gamblers Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period "pooled" their money to bet remotely ("off-track") on horse races Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling. The common sobriquet for Thoroughbred horse racing is The Sport of Kings. Because these venues often provided billiard tables, the term "pool" became synonymous with billiards. Though the original "pool" game was played on a pocketless table, the name stuck to pocket billiards as it gained in popularity. Though the traditional view of billiards as a refined The upper class is a concept in sociology that refers to the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class often have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area and noble Nobility is a state-privileged status which is generally hereditary, but which may also be personal only. Titles of nobility are usually associated with present or former monarchies. The term originally referred to those who were "known" or "notable" and was applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies. In the pastime did not blend well with the low-class connotations of gambling, the billiards industry's attempts to distance itself from the term "pool" beginning in the late 19th century were largely unsuccessful.

There are hundreds of pocket billiards games. Some of the more well known include eight-ball Eight-ball, sometimes called stripes and solids and, more rarely, bigs and littles or highs and lows, is a pocket billiards game popular in much of the world, and the subject of international amateur and professional competition. Played on a pool table with six pockets, the game is so universally known in some countries that beginners are often, nine-ball Nine-ball is a contemporary pocket billiards game, with historical beginnings rooted in the United States and traceable to the 1920s. The game may be played in social and recreational settings by any number of players (generally one-on-one) and subject to whatever rules are agreed upon beforehand, or in league and tournament settings in which the, straight pool Straight pool, also called 14.1 continuous or simply 14.1, is a pocket billiards game, and was the common sport of championship competition until overtaken by faster-playing games like nine-ball . This is the classic game from the history of pool and most of the greatest players of all time were known to play this game, and one-pocket One-pocket is a two-player (or -team) pocket billiards (pool) game. The object of the game is to score points by pocketing (potting) pool balls into specific pockets. A point is made when a player makes any object ball into that player's designated pocket. The winner is the first to score an agreed-upon number of points (most commonly 8). The. The game of snooker Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regulation table is 12 ft × 6 ft (3.6 m x 1.8 m). It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and six balls of different colours is played on a table with pockets but is considered to be its own cue sport and is governed internationally by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association/World Snooker Association (professional) and International Billiards and Snooker Federation (amateur). There are also hybrid games combining aspects of both pocket and carom billiards, such as English billiards English billiards, called billiards in many former British colonies and in Great Britain where it originated, is a hybrid form of carom and pocket billiards played on a billiard table. Billiards is less well known as the "English game", the "all-in game" and the "common game", American four-ball billiards, cowboy pool Cowboy pool, sometimes just called cowboy, is a hybrid pool game combining elements of English billiards through an intermediary game, with more standard pocket billiards characteristics. The game employs only four balls, the cue ball and three numbered balls, the 1, 3 and 5. It is played to 101 points, with points being awarded for a host of and bottle pool Bottle pool, also known as bottle-billiards and bottle pocket billiards, is a hybrid billiards game combining aspects of both carom billiards and pocket billiards. Played on a standard pool table, the game uses just two object balls, a cue ball, and a 6¾ inch tall, narrow-necked bottle called a shake bottle or tally bottle, traditionally made.

Pocket billiards is more popular than carom billiards in most countries of the world.[citation needed] Carom billiard games thrive in Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it accounts for 60% of the world's current human population. It is located chiefly in the eastern and northern hemispheres, Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and and Latin America Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages (i.e., those derived from Latin) – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken.Latin America has an area of approximately (7,880,000 sq mi), or almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface. As of 2008, its population was estimated at more than 569, but pool (especially in the form of nine-ball and eight-ball) and snooker are gradually taking over as the most widely played cue games.[citation needed]

As a competitive sport, pocket billiards is governed internationally by the World Pool-Billiard Association The World Pool-Billiard Association is the international governing body for pocket billiards (and also sactions rules and events for carom billiards games as well, in cooperation with other bodies). The group was formed in 1987, and was initially headed by a provisional board of directors consisting of representatives from Japan, the United States, (WPA), which has national affiliates such as the US Billiard Congress of America (BCA), and which represents pocket billiards in the World Confederation of Billiard Sports, which in turn represents all forms of cue sports in the International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on June 23, 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees.

Equipment

Pool Balls

Pocket billiards uses different equipment from carom billiards. Other than the table having pockets, the balls for pocket billiards are generally smaller and range from 2.25 inches (57.15 mm) in diameter to 2.375 inches (60.33 mm) in diameter. (By comparison Carom billiard balls are generally 2.375 inches (60.33 mm), or 61.5 millimetres (2.42 in).[1] While UMB, the International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on June 23, 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees-recognized world carom billiards authority, permits balls as small as 61.0 millimetres (2.40 in), no major manufacturer produces such balls any longer, and the de facto standard is 61.5 millimetres (2.42 in). Modern pocket billiard tables range in size from 3.5 feet (1.07 m) by 7 feet (2.13 m), to 4.5 feet (1.37 m) by 9 feet (2.74 m). Modern cues A cue stick , is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the cue ball. Cues are tapered sticks, typically about 58 inches (1.5 m) long and 18–21 ounces (510–600 g). Most cues are made of wood, but occasionally the wood is covered or bonded with other are generally 58.5 inches (148.6 cm) long for pocket billiards while cues prior to 1980 were designed for straight pool and had an average length of 57.5 inches (146.0 cm), while carom billiards cues are generally 56 inches (142.2 cm) long.

References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)
  1. ^ World Rules of Carom Billiard (English language version), Chapter II ("Equipment"), Article 12 ("Balls, Chalk"), Section 2; Union Mondiale de Billard, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium, 1 January January 1 is the first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year . The preceding day is December 31 of the previous year 1989 1989 was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). The year is considered a historical turning point for the wave of revolutions that swept the Eastern Bloc, starting in Poland. Collectively known as the Revolutions of 1989, they heralded the end of the Soviet Union two years later and the beginning of the post-Cold (official online PDF scan, accessed 5 March March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 301 days remaining until the end of the year 2007 2007 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century).
Cue sports
Pocket billiards (pool) Nine-ball Nine-ball is a contemporary pocket billiards game, with historical beginnings rooted in the United States and traceable to the 1920s. The game may be played in social and recreational settings by any number of players (generally one-on-one) and subject to whatever rules are agreed upon beforehand, or in league and tournament settings in which the · Eight-ball Eight-ball, sometimes called stripes and solids and, more rarely, bigs and littles or highs and lows, is a pocket billiards game popular in much of the world, and the subject of international amateur and professional competition. Played on a pool table with six pockets, the game is so universally known in some countries that beginners are often · One-pocket One-pocket is a two-player (or -team) pocket billiards (pool) game. The object of the game is to score points by pocketing (potting) pool balls into specific pockets. A point is made when a player makes any object ball into that player's designated pocket. The winner is the first to score an agreed-upon number of points (most commonly 8). The · Straight pool Straight pool, also called 14.1 continuous or simply 14.1, is a pocket billiards game, and was the common sport of championship competition until overtaken by faster-playing games like nine-ball . This is the classic game from the history of pool and most of the greatest players of all time were known to play this game · Bank pool Bank pool is a Pocket billiards game that has as it most fundamental requirement, that all scoring shots in the game to be made by banking a called ball off a cushion and into a called pocket. While the game has multiple variations, the predominant version through much of its history was played with a full fifteen-ball rack, of which the winning · Blackball · Baseball pocket billiards · Bottle pool Bottle pool, also known as bottle-billiards and bottle pocket billiards, is a hybrid billiards game combining aspects of both carom billiards and pocket billiards. Played on a standard pool table, the game uses just two object balls, a cue ball, and a 6¾ inch tall, narrow-necked bottle called a shake bottle or tally bottle, traditionally made · Chicago · Cowboy pool Cowboy pool, sometimes just called cowboy, is a hybrid pool game combining elements of English billiards through an intermediary game, with more standard pocket billiards characteristics. The game employs only four balls, the cue ball and three numbered balls, the 1, 3 and 5. It is played to 101 points, with points being awarded for a host of · Cribbage pool Cribbage, sometimes called cribbage pocket billiards, cribbage pool, fifteen points and pair pool, is a two-player pocket billiards game that, like its namesake card game, has a scoring system which awards points for pairing groups of balls that total 15. Played on a standard pool table, participants who pocket a ball of a particular number are · Golf pool · Kelly pool · Rotation · Ten-ball · Three-ball · more Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber cushions
Carom billiards Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards or simply carambole , is the overarching title of a family of billiards games generally played on cloth-covered, 5 by 10 feet (approximately 1.5 × 3 m) pocketless tables, which often feature heated slate beds. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score points or "counts" Three-cushion Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards or simply carambole , is the overarching title of a family of billiards games generally played on cloth-covered, 5 by 10 feet (approximately 1.5 × 3 m) pocketless tables, which often feature heated slate beds. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score points or "counts" · Artistic billiards Artistic billiards, sometimes called fantasy billiards or fantaisie classique, is a carom billiards discipline in which players compete at performing 76 preset shots of varying difficulty. Each set shot has a maximum point value assigned for perfect execution, ranging from a 4-point maximum for lowest level difficulty shots, and climbing to an 11- · Five-pins Five-pins , also known as stecca (in Italian), five-pin billiards, 5-pins, cinco quillas (in Spanish), Italian billiards (Italian biliardo all'italiana), and simply Italiana (in Italian and Spanish), with a variant known as nine-pins, 9-pins, nine-pin billiards or goriziana (in Italian), is a usually carom but sometimes pocket form of cue sport, · Balkline & straight rail Balkline is the overarching title of a large array of carom billiards games generally played with two cue balls and a third, red object ball, on a cloth-covered, 5 foot × 10 foot, pocketless table that is divided by balklines on the cloth into marked regions called balk spaces. Such balk spaces define areas of the table surface in which a player · Cushion caroms Cushion caroms sometimes called by its original name, the indirect game, is a carom billiards discipline generally played on a cloth-covered, 5 foot × 10 foot, pocketless table with two cue balls and a third red-colored ball. The game is sometimes incorrectly referred to as one-cushion or one-cushion billiards, which is the direct translation of · Four-ball Four-ball is a carom billiards game. The game is played on a pocketless table with four balls, usually one light red, one dark red, and two whites . Each player is assigned one of the white balls as his own cue ball. A point is scored when a shooter caroms on any two other balls. Two points are scored when the player caroms on each of the three · more
Other games Snooker Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regulation table is 12 ft × 6 ft (3.6 m x 1.8 m). It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and six balls of different colours · English billiards English billiards, called billiards in many former British colonies and in Great Britain where it originated, is a hybrid form of carom and pocket billiards played on a billiard table. Billiards is less well known as the "English game", the "all-in game" and the "common game" · Russian pyramid Russian pyramid, also known simply as pyramid or pyramids and often called Russian billiards (Russian: ру́сский билья́рд, russky bilyard) or Russian pool, is a cue sport that has several differences from Western pool, although game play is still dominated by attempts to pocket (pot) billiard balls. It is played in countries of the · Bumper pool Bumper pool is a billiards game played casually on an octagonal table with one pocket centered on each end. Most tables have 12 bumpers, although some tables have 14 or 16. Two bumpers surround each pocket with the other eight arranged on the table's midlines leaving a center space just large enough for a ball to pass through. Tables with 14 · Bagatelle Bagatelle is an indoor table game related to billiards, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the nineteenth century) past pins (which act as obstacles) into holes. It probably developed from the table made with raised sides for trou madame, which was also played with ivory balls (Gloag 1969 illustrates a London design · Carrom · Novuss · more
Resources Glossary The following is an encyclopedic glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: pocket billiards , which denotes a host of games played on a table with six pockets; carom billiards referring to the various carom games played on a table without pockets; and snooker, played on a large pocket · Techniques Cue sports techniques are an immensely important aspect of game play in the various cue sports such as carom billiards, pool, snooker and other games. Such techniques are used on each shot in an attempt to achieve an immediate aim such as scoring or playing a safety, while at the same time exercising control over the positioning of the cue ball · Billiard table A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which billiards-type games (cue sports) are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables, regardless of whether for carom billiards, pocket billiards (pool) or snooker, provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth and surrounded by rubber cushions, · Billiard ball · Billiard hall · Cue stick · Rack · Players · Organizations · Events · Categories

Categories: Pool | History of sports

 

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