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A Beginner's Guide to Billiards

Billiards is a universally popular indoor game that is enjoyed by people of all ages and both sexes. Traditionally, billiards is played in bars, clubs, pubs, and specials pool or billiard halls. However, more and more people are realizing the benefits and entertainment value of having a billiards table and games room within their very own home. This makes a great addition to any home, adding a touch of relaxation and atmosphere where any member of the family can escape the trials of everyday life for a short while. And with so many different billiards games to play, you can enjoy this entertainment year in and year out.

There are a number of different billiards games to choose from, but before you play these you need the necessary equipment. Apart from getting a good quality pool table that you can enjoy for many years to come, you will need the billiards balls and a good pool cue. You need to be able to use the correct movements and hone your skills to master billiards, so it may take a lot of practice before you become adept at this game – however, you can have great fun with billiards even when learning to play and practicing the shots.

A Brief History

Billiards is a hugely popular indoor game today, with countless fans that either go out to establishments to play these games or those that have their own billiards tables and pool rooms within the home. The game actually became popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in England. Gaming establishments known as pool rooms began to incorporate one or two of these billiards tables but they became so popular that soon they became the main feature of these pool rooms, and they became known as pool tables.

Pocket Billiards

Pocket billiards is played on a pool table with holes known as ‘pockets’ in which to shoot the billiards balls. There is a pocket on each corner of the table and then one on each side, making six pockets in all. In all pockets billiards games, the object of the game is to shoot the balls into the pockets, although how and where you shoot the balls can vary from game to game. Below is a rundown of some of the most popular pocket billiards games:

8 BALL This is one of the most basic and popular types of pool games, and is played by old and young, male and female, all across the world. With 8 ball fifteen balls are used, each of which is numbered. Player one is assigned balls one through to seven and player tow is assigned balls nine through to fifteen. The object of the game is for each player to try and pot all of his assigned balls. The first player to pot all of his balls can then try and pot the 8-ball. If he manages to do this without also potting the cue ball (the ball with which he is potting the other balls) then he wins the game.

9 BALL This is another very simple form of billiards, and is an excellent starter game and ideal for those learning or practicing their billiards skills. With this game there are just nine numbers billiards balls along with the cue ball. Each player has to shoot at the lowest ball in order to try and pot it, and as each lowest number gets potted the players move to the next one until the final ball, number nine, has been pocketed.

SNOOKER This is a hugely popular game in England, where pool first originated. This particular variation of the game originated in the British Forces. Snooker is played with 21 colored balls and one cue ball. The majority of the 21 balls used in snooker are red – fifteen in all. The remaining six balls are each of a different color, including one pink ball, one brown ball, one blue ball, one green ball, one yellow ball and one black ball. Each ball represents a different score when it is pocketed, with the lowest score going to the reds at one point each. The other ball scores range from 2-7, the highest being the black ball. Players must pocket a red ball before going on to pocket the colored balls, and all colored balls must be pocketed in order of value, so the black ball is always potted last.

STRAIGHT POOL In this variation of the game, you use fifteen numbered balls and a cue ball. In this game the balls can be potted in any order. However, there is a twist…the player must specify which ball he is going to pot and which pocket he is going to shoot the ball into. Once fourteen of the balls have been pocketed and only one is left, the fourteen potted balls are places back on the table. The player then has to pot the final ball whilst breaking apart the racked up fourteen balls.

ONE POCKET Like straight pool, this game is played with fifteen numbered balls and a cue ball. With this game one of the player’s must select a corner pocket from the foot of the table. The second player is given the remaining pocket from the foot of the table, and both players have to aim to shoot into their own pockets. Points are awarded for each ball that you pot into your own pocket, and points are deducted for potting a ball into your opponent’s pocket or for potting the cue ball.

ENGLISH BILLIARDS This game is played with just three balls, and scored can be notched up in three different ways. The first way is by deflecting your ball off another ball and into a pocket. The second way is by hitting the ball and striking the other two balls. And the third way is by hitting the ball and knocking one of the other balls into a pocket.

General rules of the game
Most pocket billiards games involve a certain set of rules, although these should be checked against the regulations of each individual game. Some of the generalized rules include the following:

Racking balls: This must be done using a triangle, with the apex ball at the foot spot. All other balls should be racked behind the apex and should be tightly packed so that they are within the triangle and touching one another in a perfect triangle formation. Striking the ball: The cue ball should be struck using the tip of the cue, otherwise the shot can be classed as a foul.

Pocketing the ball: If you do not pocket the ball then you are not allowed another shot and the next shot goes to your opponent until he also fails to pocket a ball, at which point it is your turn again.

Pocketed balls: A pocketed ball is that which is shot from the table bed into a hole (pocket) on the table and remains there. If it rebounds back on to the table it cannot be classed as a pocketed ball.

Ball positioning: The center (base) of the ball is what determines its final position.

Foot placement: In order to shoot a ball without fouling, the player must have one or both feet in contact with the floor. The footwear must also be taken into consideration and must be standard in size, shape and height.

Moving balls: A player cannot shoot a ball that is in motion without it being classed as a foul. This includes the cue ball and the object ball. A stroke cannot be counted until all balls have stopped moving.

Cue ball: If the player pots the cue ball, this is counted as a foul. Also, if the cue ball hits a ball that has already been pocketed, this is also classed as a foul.

Contact with balls: Any contact with object balls with anything other than the cue ball is a foul. Also, any contact with the cue ball with anything other than the cue tip is classed as a foul. This can include contact through hands, clothes, elbow or any other object or body part.

Jumping the ball: If a player intentionally strikes the cue ball below the center and causes it to jump in order to clear another ball, this is classed as a foul. Striking upwards and causing the cue ball to jump from the table bed is also considered a foul in most games.

17 Deadly Mistakes That Keep You Losing At Billiards

Chances are, this is where you live in Billiards. You are just beginning and have found you enjoy the game. There is more to it than that. This is a game you can come to love, but if you don't get out of these 17 deadly mistakes...well I wouldn't recommend you buy your own cue.

These 17 deadly mistakes show up in four major areas: Vision, Preparation, Execution and Bad Habits. That's right, pull the sheet away and let's take a look at them, better still, one by one, eliminate them from your game.

VISION MISTAKES

Deadly Mistake #1

Thinking like a player and not like a contender.

This is not just a game like Canasta or Monopoly.

The day of the social pool player is fading. It is being supplanted by the idea of becoming a steadily learning and improving contender. This is a concept many miss completely when starting out.

You can't be absorbed with the idea if you win, you will hurt your friend who you happen to be beating. Settle on one objective, I CAME TO WIN!! This will help you focus on a single goal.

Deadly Mistake #2

You have not made a commitment to mastering the Basics of Billiards.

Let's go back to Canasta a moment: We all know how to shuffle, (well most of us do) cards; we can deal the whole deck; and we can count a hand well enough to decide how we'll play the game. We don't have to re-learn these basic every time we sit down to play.

Billiards is and should be the same when it comes to building your foundational skills.

The rock solid basics are stance, grip, bridge, stroke and aiming--we'll get into the right way in another article, right now we are trying to slip free of deadly mistakes.

Deadly Mistake #3

You are not dedicated to lifelong learning—Billiards is not a game of instant success. You will find steady improvement only comes over a period of years and much practice.

PREPARATION MISTAKES

Deadly Mistake #4

You don't have a game winning strategy and don't know where to find one. Strategy is your overall approach to the game whether you play in weekly matches, leagues or tournaments. A good strategy consists of several tactics such as Safety Play, Break and Run, and pattern play.

Deadly Mistake #5

You have not taken the time to find your unique game--Look at things not instrumental to your game, positioning of your grip hand, to cup or not cup the grip wrist, maybe a new twist to the bridge. Be an early adopter of new technology like specialized eyewear. How about the new cue extensions? Practice to perfect right or left hand cue use. In fact, all attempts at becoming unique will involve a lot of practice to make it a habit.

Deadly Mistake #6

You have no confidence in your skill seta—You lack consistency and find it difficult to maintain a game plan for more than two or three shots.

Deadly Mistake #7

You focus on any pocket-hugging ball on the table as the target of choice without regard to its higher purpose.

Deadly Mistake #8

You don't prepare yourself by knowing your opponent's game. Study your opponent from the chair or from the sidelines, even when you are not playing him or her.

Deadly mistake #9

You don't persist in developing a pre-shot routine that employs all the basics. This is a must for your game. It is the starting point for every shot. If you don't have one, eventually you will falter.

Deadly mistake #10

You fear rejection—The closer you get to a win, the greater your anxiety, you don't want to cause disappointment in others. If you think this isn't true, how come you have a hard time playing someone who isn't even close to your skill level?

Deadly mistake #11

You do not make runs because you have no rhythm because you have no routine because you are too easily distracted. Watch a billiards pro. You can almost set a metronome to his or her game.

EXECUTION MISTAKES

Deadly mistake #12

You shoot poorly because you are trying to remember a dozen different stroke shot techniques instead of one: sinking the ball in front of you.

Deadly mistake #13

You leave the table before the balls stop rolling and have no idea why you missed.

Deadly Mistake #14

You set up your bridge over a ball with wobbly fingers and then go through an aiming routine that has your cue swinging like a searchlight.

Deadly Mistake #15

You pass on a simple rail shot in favor of a table length cut shot.

BAD HABIT MISTAKES

Deadly Mistake #16

You resort to the mechanical bridge when a little stretching across the table would give you a more solid base for the shot.

Deadly Mistake #17

You exhibit a negative pessimistic attitude as opposed to a positive, optimistic outlook for your game.

A Brief History of Billiards

The history of Billiards is long and very rich. The game has been played by king, commoners, mental patients, ladies, presidents and hustlers a like. It has evolved from the lawn game similar to croquet played during the 15th century in Northern Europe and France. Playing was moved indoors to a wooded table and green cloth to simulate grass, and a simple border was placed around the edges. The balls were shoved rather than struck with a wooden stick called" maces". The term Billiards was derived from French either from billart one of the wooden sticks or bille a ball.

The billiards game was originally played with two balls on a six pocket table with hoops similar to a croquet wicket and an upright stick used a s target. During the 18th century the hoop and target gradually disappeared leaving only the balls and pockets. In 16000 the game was familiar enough to the public that Shakespeare mentioned it in Anatomy and Cleopatra.

The cue stick was developed in the late 1600's, When the ball lay near a rail, the mace was very inconvenient to use because of its large head. In such a case, the players would rather turn the mace around and use it's handle to strike the ball. The handles was called a queue meaning tail from which we get the word cue. For a long time, only the men were allowed to play billiards using the cue. Women were forced to use the mace because they thought the women were more likely to rip the cloth.

Billiards tables were originally had flat vertical walls for rails and their only function was to keep the balls falling off. They resembled riverbanks and even were called banks. Billiards Players discovered that balls could bounce off the rails and began deliberately aiming at them. Thus a bank shot is one in which a ball is made to rebound from a cushion as part of the shot.

Billiards equipment improvement rapidly in England after 1800 largely because of the industrial revolution. Chalk was used to increase friction between the ball and the stick even before cues had tips. The leather cue tip which a billiards player could ad a spin to the ball was perfect for 1823. Visitors from England showed Americans how to use spin, which explains why it is called English in the US but no where else. The two piece cue was established in the 1812. Slate became popular as the table in the 1835. Goodyear discovered vulcanization of rubber in the 1839 and by 1845 it was used to make billiards cushions. By 1850 the billiards table essentially evolved into current form. 

The dominant billiard game in Britain from the 1770 until the 1930's was English Billiards, played with three balls and six pockets on a large rectangular table. A two to one ratio of length to width became standard in the 18th century. Before then, there was no fixed table dimensions. The British billiard traditions is carried on today primarily through the game of Snooker, a complex and colorful game combining offensive and defensive aspects and played on the same equipment as English Billiards but with 22 balls instead of three. The British appetite for Snooker is approached only by the American passion for baseball; it is possible to see a Snooker competition every day in Britain.

Billiards in the US

How billiards came to America has not been positively established as to when and where. There are tales that it was brought to St. Augustine by the Spanish in the late 1580's but has failed to reveal any trace f the game there. It was probably sent over by Dutch and English settlers. A number of American cabinetmakers in the 1700's turned out expensive billiard tables, although in small numbers. Nevertheless, the game did spread through out the Colonies. Even George Washington was reported to have won a match on 1748. by 1830 despite primitive equipment public rooms devoted entirely to billiards appeared. The most of them was Bassford's a New York room that catered to stockbrokers. Here a number of American versions of billiards were developed. Including Pin Pool, played with small wooden targets like miniature bowling pins and Fifteen Ball Poll.

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