Billiards

:This article is about the group of cue games. In the UK, "billiards" is the name for the specific game of English billiards. In the Netherlands, billiards is the name for the game of Carambole billiards.

Types of games

There are two main styles of billiard games: carom and pocket. The most popular pocket games are Eight-ball (or 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 balls of a different colour.

Related Topics:
Eight-ball - 9-ball - Snooker

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Straight billiards and three cushion

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.

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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.

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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. In the United Kingdom the game is commonly played in pubs and it is competitively played in leagues. It is also played as a world championship tournament run by the International Pool Asociation

Related Topics:
United States - United Kingdom - International Pool Asociation

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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.

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The World Pool Association (WPA), holds an annual 9-ball tournament to determine the world 9-ball champion.

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One Pocket

One pocket is a strategic game for two players. Each player is assigned one of the corner pockets on the table. This is the only pocket into which he can legally pocket balls. The first player to pocket the majority of the balls (8) in his pocket wins the game. The game requires far more defensive strategy than offensive strategy, much unlike 8-ball, 9-ball, or straight pool. It has been said that if 8-ball is checkers, one-pocket is chess.

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