PYRAMID

TOURNAMENT
Similar to the ladder tournament, the pyramid tournament
maintains continuous, prolonged competition. It allows for more
challenges to be made and so more participation, and can include
a larger number of participants than the ladder tournament.
After the original draw is made, any player may challenge any
other player in the same horizontal row. If they win, they can
challenge any players in the row above them. When a player
loses to someone in the row below them, they change places with
the winner. Again, as in the ladder tournament, clear, concise and
specific rules should be posted with the challenge board in order
to avoid disputes about challenge matches.
Condensed version of "A Brief History of the Noble Game of Billiards" By Mike Shamos.
Curator of The Billiard Archive, a nonprofit organization set up to preserve the game’s history.
With permission of the Billiard Congress of America.

The History of billiards is long and very rich. The game has been played by kings and
commoners, presidents, mental patients, ladies, gentlemen, and hustlers alike. It evolved from a
lawn game similar to the croquet played some-time during the 15th century in Northern Europe
and probably in France. Play moved indoors to a wooden table with green cloth to simulate
grass, and a simple border was placed around the edges. The balls were shoved, rather than
struck, with wooden sticks called "maces." The term "billiard" is derived from French, either
from the word "billart", one of the wooden sticks, or "bille", a ball.

Most of our information about early billiards comes from accounts of playing by royalty and
other nobles. It has been know as the "Noble Game of Billiards" since the early 1800’s but
there is evidence that people from all walks of life played the game since its inception. In 1600,
the game was familiar enough to the public that Shakespeare mentioned it in Antony and
Cleopatra. Seventy-five years later, the first book of billiards rules remarked of England that
there were few "few Tones of note therein which hath not a publick Billiard-Table."

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 turn the mace
around and use its handle to strike the ball. The handle was called a "queue" meaning "tail"
from which we get the word "cue." For a long time only men were allowed to use the cue;
women were forced to use the mace because it was felt they were more likely to rip the cloth
with the shaper cue.

Tables originally had flat walls for rails and their only function was to keep the balls from falling
off. They resembled river banks and even used to be called "banks". 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.

Billiard equipment improved rapidly in England after 1800, largely because of the Industrial
Revolution. Chalk was used to increase friction between the ball and the cue stick even before
cues had tips. The leather cue tip, with which a player can apply side-spin to the ball, was
perfected by 1823. Visitors from England showed Americans how use spin, which explains why
it is called "English" in the United States but nowhere else. (The British themselves refer to it as
"side".) The two-piece cue arrived in 1829. Slate became popular as a material for table beds
around 1835. Goodyear discovered vulcanization of rubber in 1839 and by 1845 it was used to
make billiard cushions. A two-to-one ratio of length to width became standard in the 18th
century. Before then, there were no fixed table dimensions. By 1850, the billiard table had
essentially evolved into its current form.
The dominant billiard game in Britain from about 1770 until the 1920’s was English Billiards,
played with three balls and six pockets on a large rectangular table. The British billiard
tradition 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.

The dominant American billiard game until the 1870’s was American Four-Ball Billiards,
usually played on a large (11 or 12-foot), four-pocket table with four balls - two white and two
red. It was a direct extension English Billiards. Points were scored by pocketing balls,
scratching the cue ball, or by making caroms on two or three balls. A "carom" is the act of hitting
two object balls with the cue ball in one stroke. With many balls, there were many different ways
of scoring and it was possible to make up to 13 pints on a single shot. American Four-Ball
produced two offspring, both of which surpassed it in popularity by the 1870’s. One, simple
caroms played with three balls on a pocketless table, is something known as "Straight rail", the
forerunner of all carom games. The other popular game was American Fifteen-Ball Pool, the
predecessor of modern pocket billiards.

The word "pool" means a collective bet, or ante. Many non-billiard games, such as poker,
involve a pool but it was to pocket billiards that the name became attached. The term
"poolroom" now means a place where pool is played, but in the 19th century a poolroom was
a betting parlor for horse racing. Pool tables were installed so patrons could pass time
between races. The two became connected in the public mind, but the unsavory connotation of
"poolroom" came from the betting that took place there, not from billiards.

Fifteen-Ball Pool was played with 15 object balls, numbered 1 through 15. For sinking a ball, the
player received a number of points equal to the value of the ball. The sum of the ball values in a
rack is 120, so the first player who received more than half the total, or 61, was the winner. This
game, also called "61-Pool" was used in the first American championship pool tournament
held in 1878 and won by Cyrille Dion, a Canadian. In 1888, it was thought more fair to count
the number of balls pocketed by a player and not their numerical value. Thus, Continuous Pool
replaced Fifteen-Ball Pool as the championship game. The player who sank the last ball of a rack
would break the next rack and his point total would be kept "continuously" from one rack to the
next.

Eight-Ball was invented shortly after 1900; Straight Pool followed in 1910. Nine-Ball seems to
have developed around 1920.

While the term "billiards" refers to all games played on a billiard table, with or without pockets,
some people take billiards to mean carom games only and use pool for pocket games. Through
the 1930’s, both pool and billiards, particularly three-cushion billiards, shared the spotlight.

From 1878 until 1956, pool and billiard championship tournaments were held almost
annually, with one-on-one challenge matches filling the remaining months. At times,
including during the Civil War, billiard results received wider coverage than war news. Players
were so renowned that cigarette cards were issued featuring them. Pool went to war several times
as a popular recreation for the troops. Professional players toured military posts giving
exhibitions; some even worked in the defense Industry. But the game had more trouble emerging
from World War II than it had getting into it. Returning soldiers were in a mood to buy houses
and build careers, and the charm of an afternoon spent at the pool table was a thing of the past.
Room after room closed quietly and by the end of the 1950’s it looked as though the game
might pass into oblivion.

Billiards was revived by two electrifying events, one in 1961, the other in 1986. The first was
the release of the movie, "The Hustler". The black-and-white film depicted the dark life of a
pool hustler with Paul Newman in the title role. New rooms opened all over the country and for
the remainder of the 60’s pool flourished until social concerns, the Vietnam War, and a desire for
outdoor coeducational activities led to a decline in billiard interest. In 1986, "The Color of
Money", the sequel to "The Hustler" with Paul Newman in the same role and Tom Cruise as an
up-and-coming professional, brought the excitement of pool to a new generation. The result was
the opening of "upscale" rooms catering to people whose senses would have been offended by
the old rooms if they had ever seen them. This trend began slowly in 1987 and has since
surged.

In the 1920’s, the poolroom was an environment in which men gathered to loiter, smoke,
fight, bet, and play. The rooms of today bear no resemblance to those of the earlier times. Until
very recently, billiards was completely dominated by men. The atmosphere of the poolroom was
very forbidding and women had trouble being accepted there. Nonetheless, women have been
enthusiastic players since the game was brought up from the ground in the 15th century. For over
200 hundred years, women of fashion have played the game. In the past, it was very difficult for
a woman to develop billiard skills because male players, her family, and friends usually did not
support her efforts and it was not easy to find experienced female instructors or coaches. As
these situations have changed, and continue to change, we can expect women to equal men in
ability and take the game to new heights.

ORIGINS
The winning game was played with two white balls, and was a 12-point contest. To start, the
player who could strike a ball at one end of the table and get the ball to come to rest nearest the
opposite cushion without lying against it earned the right to shoot for points first. This is the
origin of the modern custom of "stringing" (or "lagging"). A player who pocketed the opponent's
ball scored two points,[3] as is still the case in modern billiards.
Fouls (or faults): A player missing the opponent's ball added one point to his opponent's total;
the shooter conceded two points if that player's own ball (then acting as the cue ball) went into a
pocket after striking the opponent's ball; and the player conceded three points if the cue ball was
pocketed without even hitting the opponent's ball. These rules continued to exist in English
billiards until 1983, when a standard two points for all fouls was introduced.
By contrast, in the losing game a player could only score (2 points) by pocketing the cue ball
through a carom off the opponent's ball.[3] "Winning hazard" and "losing hazard" are terms still
mentioned in the official rules for these two fundamental shot types, although "pot" and "in-off"
have become the usual terms for them in British English.
The final element was the cannon (or carom) shot, which came from carom or carambole
billiards, a three-ball game popular in various countries of western Continental Europe,
especially popularized by France[4] (and today also popular in many parts of Asia and South
America).
In the 1700s, the carambole game added a red object ball to the two white cue balls, and
dispensed with the pockets.[5] This ball was adopted into the English game, which retained the
pockets,[5] and the goal was to cannon off both the red and the opponent's ball on a single shot,
earning 2 points. This influence on the English game appears to have come about through the
popularity of French tables in English coffee houses; London alone had over two thousand such
establishments in the early 18th century.[6] One period advertisement read: "A very good French
Billiard Table, little the worse for wearing, full size, with all the materials fit for French or
English play".[6]
The three ancestral games had their British heyday in the 1770s, but had combined into English
billiards, with a 16-point score total, by approximately 1800.[3] The skill required in playing these
games helped retire the billiard mace in favour of the cue.
There are a number of pocket billiard games directly descended from English billiards, including
bull dog, scratch pool, thirty-one pool and thirty-eight. The last of these gave rise to the more
well-known game cowboy pool.[7][8] English Billiards was virtually unknown in the United States
until 1913, when Melbourn Inman visited the US and played the game against Willie Hoppe. By
1915 the game had become rather popular, prompting American billiard hall proprietors of the
period to increase the number of English-style tables in their establishments. [9] It also became
favored in British colonies; the game's longest-running champion was an Australian, Walter
Lindrum, who held the World Professional Billiards Championship from 1933 until his
retirement in 1950. The game remains popular in the UK, although it has been eclipsed
by snooker.

AS A SPORT
The first governing body of the game, the English Billiards Association, was formed in the UK
in 1885, a period that saw a number of sporting bodies founded across the British sporting world.
[10]
 By the mid-20th century, the principal sanctioning body was the Billiards Association and
Control Council (later the Billiards and Snooker Control Council).
In the 19th century and up through the mid-1950s, a common way for championship titles to
change hands was by a challenge match. A challenge was issued to a championship title holder
accompanied by stake money ("acclamation") held by a third party.[11] Up until the first organised
professional tournament in 1870, all English billiards champions were decided by challenge.
The first champion was Jonathan Kentfield, who held the title from 1820–1849, losing it to John
Roberts, Sr. after Kentfield refused his challenge. Roberts's 21-year reign lasted until he lost to
William Cook in 1870. That year was also the first in which an English billiards challenge match
was held in the United States.[3]
From 1870 to 1983 the champions were: John Roberts, Jr., (1870, 1871, 1875–77, 1885); Joseph
Bennett, (1870, 1880–81); Charles Dawson, (1899–1900, 1901, 1903); H.W. Stevenson, (1901,
1909–11); Melbourne Inman, (1908–09, 1912–19); Willie Smith, (1920, 1923); Tom Newman,
(1921–22, 1924–27); Joe Davis, (1928–32); Walter Lindrum, (1933–50); Clark McConachy,
(1951-68); Rex Williams, (1968–76, 1982–83); and Fred Davis, (1980).[3]
A "Women's Billiard Association" was formed in Britain in 1931. One of the founders
was Teresa Billington-Greig who had been a leading suffragette and was then married to a
billiard ball manufacturer.[12]
Over the course of the 20th century, English billiards has been increasingly superseded as the
favoured competitive spectator cue sport in the United Kingdom by the game of snooker played
on the same table. However, because of the "in-off" scoring option, ball control (including for
snooker) can be enhanced after much solo practice. A common exercise is to hit the object ball
from the "D", go in-off into the centre pocket while the object ball hits the top cushion and
returns to the same position halfway down the table. A highly skilled player can repeat the shot
over and over, except in competition where the sequence run is limited, because it constitutes
a nurse shot.

8 BALL RULES & REGULATIONS

1. OBJECT OF THE GAME Eight-Ball is a call shot game played with a cue ball and 15
object balls, numbered 1 through 15. One player must pocket balls of the group numbered 1
through 7 (solid colors), while the other player has 9 through 15 (stripes). The player pocketing
either group first and then legally pocketing the 8-ball wins the game.

2. CALL SHOT In Call Shot, obvious balls and pockets do not have to be indicated. It is the
opponent's right to ask which ball and pocket if he is unsure of the shot. Bank shots and
combination shots are not considered obvious, and care should be taken in calling both the object
ball and the intended pocket. When calling the shot, it is never necessary to indicate details such
as the number of cushions, banks, kisses, caroms, etc. Any balls pocketed on a foul remain
pocketed, regardless of whether they belong to the shooter or the opponent. The opening break is
not a "called shot." Any player performing a break shot in 8-Ball may continue to shoot so long
as any object ball is legally pocketed on the break.

3. RACKING THE BALLS The balls are racked in a triangle at the foot of the table with the 8-
ball in the center of the triangle, the first ball of the rack on the foot spot, a stripe ball in one
corner of the rack and a solid ball in the other corner.

4. DECISION OF BREAK Flip a coin (NOT OVER THE TABLE). Winner of the coin toss has
the option to break. During competition, players will alternate breaking on each subsequent
game. 

5. NO JUMP SHOTS OR MASSE

 6. LEGAL BREAK SHOT To execute a legal break, the breaker (with the cue ball behind the
head string) must either pocket a ball, or drive at least four numbered balls to the rail. If s/he fails
to make a legal break, the other player has three choices: A) Play from there. B) Break again. C)
Have the other player re-break.

7. SCRATCH ON A LEGAL BREAK If a player scratches on a legal break shot (cue ball is
pocketed): A) All balls pocketed remain pocketed (exception, the 8-ball: see rule 9). B) It is a
foul. C) The table is open. NOTE: Incoming player has cue ball in hand behind the head string
and may not shoot an object ball that is behind the head string, unless he first shoots the cue ball
past the head string and causes the cue ball to come back behind the head string and hit the
object ball.

 8. OBJECT BALLS JUMPED OFF THE TABLE ON THE BREAK If a player jumps an
object ball off the table on the break shot, it is a foul and the incoming player has the option of
accepting the table in position and shooting, or taking cue ball in hand behind the head string and
shooting.

 9. 8-BALL POCKETED ON THE BREAK If the 8-ball is pocketed on the break, breaker may
re-rack or have the 8-ball spotted and continue shooting. If the breaker scratches while pocketing
the 8-ball on the break, the incoming player has the option of a re-rack or having the 8-ball
spotted and begin shooting with ball in hand behind the head string.

10. OPEN TABLE The table is "open" when the choice of groups (stripes or solids) has not yet
been determined. When the table is open, it is legal to hit a solid first to make a stripe or vice-
versa. The 8-ball can be used in the middle of a combination, but if it is the first ball contacted, it
is a foul and no stripe or solid may be scored in favour of the shooter. The shooter loses his turn;
the incoming player is awarded cue ball in hand; any balls pocketed remain pocketed; and the
incoming player addresses the balls with the table still open. On an open table, all illegally
pocketed balls remain pocketed. NOTE: The table is always open immediately after the break
shot. 

11. CHOICE OF GROUP The choice of stripes or solids is not determined on the break even if
balls are pocketed from only one or both groups. The choice of group is determined only when a
player legally pockets a called object ball after the break shot. 

12. LEGAL SHOT On all shots (except on the break and when the table is open), the shooter
must hit one of his group of balls first and pocket a numbered ball, or cause the cue ball or any
numbered ball to contact a rail. NOTE: It is permissible for the shooter to bank the cue ball off a
rail before contacting the object ball; however, after contact with the object ball, an object ball
must be pocketed, or the cue ball or any numbered ball must contact a rail. Failure to meet these
requirements is a foul.

 13. SAFETY SHOT For tactical reasons, a player may choose to pocket an obvious object ball
and also discontinue his turn at the table by declaring "safety" in advance. A safety shot is
defined as a legal shot. If a player fails to declare "safety" to his opponent and the called object
ball is pocketed, the shooter is required to shoot again. Any balls pocketed on a safety shot
remain pocketed. 

14. SCORING A player is entitled to continue shooting until failing to legally pocket a ball of
his group. After a player has legally pocketed all of his group of balls, he shoots to pocket the 8-
ball.

 15. FOUL PENALTY In the event of a foul, opposing player gets cue ball in hand. This means
that the player can place the cue ball anywhere on the table (does not have to be behind the head
string except on opening break). This rule prevents a player from making intentional fouls which
would put an opponent at a disadvantage. With "cue ball in hand," the player may use a hand or
cue (including the tip) to position the cue ball. When placing the cue ball in position, any
forward stroke motion contacting the cue ball will be a foul, if not a legal shot.
 16. ILLEGALLY POCKETED BALLS An object ball is considered to be illegally pocketed
when that object ball is pocketed on the same shot a foul is committed, or the called ball did not
go in the designated pocket. Illegally pocketed balls remain pocketed and are scored in favour of
the shooter controlling that specific group of balls, solids or stripes. The penalty is loss of turn
only. 

17. OBJECT BALL JUMPED OFF THE TABLE If any object ball is jumped off the table, it
is a foul and loss of turn, unless it is the 8-ball, which is a loss of game. Any jumped object balls
are not re-spotted. 

18. PLAYING THE 8-BALL. When the 8-ball is the legal object ball, a scratch or foul is not
loss of game if the 8-ball is not pocketed or jumped from the table. Incoming player has cue ball
in hand. 

19. LOSS OF GAME A player loses the game by committing any of the following infractions:
A) Fouls when pocketing the 8-ball (exception: See Rule #9). B) Pockets the 8-ball on the same
stroke as the last of his group of balls. C) Jumps the 8-ball off the table at any time. D) Pockets
the 8-ball in a pocket other than the one called. E) Pockets the 8-ball when it is not the legal
object ball.

 20. COACHING (Applies to team play) A player can ask for a coach any time during the game.
A player can ONLY be coached by a member of his own team. No unsolicited coaching is
acceptable. NOTE: All infractions must be called by the opponent before another shot is taken,
or else it will be deemed that no infraction occurred. THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN CALL
A FOUL IS THE OPPONENT. 

9 BALL RULES & REGULATIONS

1. OBJECT OF THE GAME Nine-Ball is played with nine object balls numbered one through
nine and a cue ball. On each shot, the first ball the cue ball contacts must be the lowest numbered
ball on the table, but the balls need not be pocketed in order. If a player pockets any ball on a
legal shot, he remains at the table for another shot, and continues until missing, committing a
foul, or winning the game by pocketing the 9-ball. After a miss, the incoming player must shoot
from the position left by the previous player, but after any foul the incoming player may start
with the cue ball anywhere on the table. Players are not required to call any shot. A match ends
when one of the players has won the required number of games.

 2. RACKING THE BALLS The object balls are racked in a diamond shape, with the 1-ball at
the top of the diamond and on the foot spot, the 9-ball in the center of the diamond, and the other
balls in random order, racked as tightly as possible. The game begins with cue ball in hand
behind the head string.

 3. DECISION OF BREAK Flip a coin (NOT OVER THE TABLE). Winner of the coin toss
has the option to break. During competition, players will alternate breaking on each subsequent
game. 

4. LEGAL BREAK SHOT The rules governing the break shot are the same as for other shots
except: A) The breaker must strike the1-ball first and either pocket a ball or drive at least four
numbered balls to the rail. B) If the cue ball is pocketed or driven off the table, or the
requirements of the opening break are not met, it is a foul, and the incoming player has cue ball
in hand anywhere on the table. C) If on the break shot, the breaker causes an object ball to jump
off the table, it is a foul and the incoming player has cue ball in hand anywhere on the table. The
object ball is pocketed (exception: if the object ball is the 9-ball, it is re-spotted).

5. CONTINUING PLAY On the shot immediately following a legal break, the shooter may
play a "push out" (see rule 6). If the breaker pockets one or more balls on a legal break, he
continues to shoot until he misses, fouls, or wins the game. If the player misses or fouls, the other
player begins an inning and shoots until he misses, fouls, or wins. The game ends when the 9-
ball is pocketed on a legal shot, or the game is forfeited for a serious infraction of the rules.

 6. PUSH OUT The player who shoots immediately after a legal break may play a push out in an
attempt to move the cue ball into a better position for the option that follows. On a push out, the
cue ball is not required to contact any object ball nor any rail, but all other foul rules still apply.
The player must announce the intention of playing a push out before the shot, or the shot is
considered to be a normal shot. Any ball pocketed on a push out does not count and remains
pocketed except the 9-ball. Following a legal push out, the incoming player is permitted to shoot
from that position or to pass the shot back to the player who pushed out. A push out is not
considered to be a foul as long as no rule (except rules 8 and 9) is violated. An illegal push out is
penalized according to the type of foul committed. After a player scratches on the break shot, the
incoming player cannot play a push out.

 7. FOULS When a player commits a foul, he must relinquish his run at the table and no balls
pocketed on the foul shot are re-spotted (exception: if a pocketed ball is the 9-ball, it is re-
spotted). The incoming player is awarded ball in hand. If a player commits several fouls on one
shot, they are counted as only one foul.

8. BAD HIT If the first object ball contacted by the cue ball is not the lowest numbered ball on
the table, the shot is foul.

9. NO RAIL If no object ball is pocketed, failure to drive the cue ball or any numbered ball to a
rail after the cue ball contacts the object ball on is a foul.

10. CUE BALL IN HAND When the cue ball is in hand, the player may place the cue ball
anywhere on the bed of the table, except in contact with an object ball. The player may continue
to adjust the position of the cue ball until shooting.

11. OBJECT BALLS JUMPED OFF THE TABLE An unpocketed ball is considered to be
driven off the table if it comes to rest other than on the bed of the table. It is a foul to drive an
object ball off the table. The jumped object ball(s) is not re-spotted (exception: if the object ball
is the 9-ball, it is re-spotted) and play continues.

12. NO JUMP SHOTS OR MASSE

13. THREE CONSECUTIVE FOULS If a player fouls three consecutive times on three
successive shots without making an intervening legal shot, the game is lost. The three fouls must
occur in one game. The warning must be given between the second and third fouls. A player’s
inning begins when it is legal to take a shot and ends at the end of a shot on which he misses,
fouls or wins, or when he fouls between shots.

14. END OF GAME 

On the opening break, the game is considered to have commenced once the cue ball has been
struck by the cue tip. The 1-ball must be legally contacted on the break shot. The game ends at
the end of a legal shot which pockets the 9-ball, or when a player forfeits the game as the result
of a foul. NOTE: All infractions must be called by the opponent before another shot is taken, or
else it will be deemed that no infraction occurred. THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN CALL A
FOUL IS THE OPPONENT. 

SCORING
Points are awarded as follows:
 Cannon – striking the cue ball so that it hits, in any order, the other cue ball and the red
ball on the same shot: 2 points.
 Winning hazard (or potting, in snooker terms) – striking the red ball with one's cue ball
so that the red enters a pocket: 3 points; or striking the other cue ball with one's cue ball so
that the other cue ball enters a pocket: 2 points.
 Losing hazard (in-off in snooker terms) – striking one's cue ball so that it hits another ball
and then enters a pocket: 3 points if the red ball was hit first; 2 points if the other cue ball
was hit first; 2 points if the red and the other cue ball are hit simultaneously.
Combinations of the above may all be scored on the same shot. The most that can be scored in a
single shot is therefore 10 – the red and the other cue ball are both potted via a cannon (the red
must be struck first), and the cue ball is also potted, making a losing hazard off the red.
Winning is achieved by a player reaching a fixed number of points, determined at the start of the
game, e.g. first to 300 points or by a timed game.

Billiard balls vary from game to game, in size, design and quantity.
Russian pyramid and kaisa have a size of 68 mm (2 11⁄16 in). In Russian pyramid there are sixteen
balls, as in pool, but fifteen are white and numbered, and the cue ball is usually red.[9] In kaisa,
five balls are used: the yellow object ball (called the kaisa in Finnish), two red object balls, and
the two white cue balls (usually differentiated by one cue ball having a dot or other marking on it
and each of which serves as an object ball for the opponent).
Carom billiards balls are larger than pool balls, having a diameter of 61.5 mm (2 7⁄16 in), and
come as a set of two cue balls (one colored or marked) and an object ball (or two object balls in
the case of the game four-ball).
American-style pool balls are 57 mm (2 1⁄4 in), are used in many pool games found throughout
the world, come in sets of two suits of object balls, seven solids and seven stripes, an 8 ball and
a cue ball; the balls are racked differently for different games (some of which do not use the
entire ball set). Blackball (English-style eight-ball) sets are similar, but have
unmarked groups of red (or blue) and yellow balls instead of solids and stripes, and at 56 mm (
2 3⁄16 in) are smaller than the American-style; they are used principally in Britain, Ireland, and
some Commonwealth countries, though not exclusively, since they are unsuited for playing nine-
ball.
Snooker balls are smaller than American-style pool balls with a diameter of 52.5 mm (2 1⁄15 in),
and come in sets of 22 (15 reds, 6 "colours", and a cue ball). English billiard balls are the same
size as snooker balls and come in sets of three balls (two cue balls and a red, an object ball).
Other games, such as bumper pool, have custom ball sets.
Billiard balls have been made from many different materials since the start of the game,
including clay, bakelite, celluloid, crystallite, ivory, plastic, steel and wood. The dominant
material from 1627 until the early 20th century was ivory. The search for a substitute for ivory
use was not for environmental concerns but based on economic motivation and fear of danger for
elephant hunters. It was in part spurred on by a New York billiard table manufacturer who
announced a prize of $10,000 for a substitute material. The first viable substitute was celluloid,
invented by John Wesley Hyatt in 1868, but the material was volatile, sometimes exploding
during manufacture and was highly flammable.[10][11]

TABLES

Pool table with equipment.

There are many sizes and styles of pool and billiard
tables. Generally, tables are rectangles twice as long
as they are wide. Most pool tables are known as 7-,
8-, or 9-footers, referring to the length of the table's
long side. Full-size snooker and English billiard
tables are 12 feet (3.7 m) long on the longest
side. Pool halls tend to have 9-foot (2.7 m) tables and
cater to the serious pool player. Pubs will typically use 7-foot (2.1 m) tables which are often
coin-operated. Formerly, 10-foot (3 m) tables were common, but such tables are now considered
antique collectors items; a few, usually from the late 19th century, can be found in pool halls
from time to time. Ten-foot tables remain the standard size for carom billiard games. The slates
on modern carom tables are usually heated to stave off moisture and provide a consistent playing
surface.
The length of the pool table will typically be a function of space, with many homeowners
purchasing an 8-foot (2.4 m) table as a compromise. Full-size pool tables are 4.5 by 9 ft (2.7 m)
(interior dimensions). High-quality tables have a bed made of thick slate, in three pieces to
prevent warping and changes due to temperature and humidity. Smaller bar tables are most
commonly made with a single piece of slate. Pocket billiards tables of all types normally have
six pockets, three on each side (four corner pockets, and two side or middle pockets).
CLOTH
Women playing on an elaborately decorated green-
covered table in an early 1880s advertising poster.
All types of tables are covered with billiard cloth (often
called "felt", but actually a woven wool or wool/nylon
blend called baize). Cloth has been used to cover
billiards tables since the 15th century.
Bar or tavern tables, which get a lot of play, use
"slower", more durable cloth. The cloth used in
upscale pool (and snooker) halls and home billiard rooms is "faster" (i.e., provides less friction,
allowing the balls to roll farther across the table bed), and competition-quality pool cloth is made
from 100% worsted wool. Snooker cloth traditionally has a nap (consistent fiber directionality)
and balls behave differently when rolling against versus along with the nap.
The cloth of the billiard table has traditionally been green, reflecting its origin (originally the
grass of ancestral lawn games), and has been so colored since the 16th century, but it is also
produced in other colors such as red and blue. [12] Television broadcasting of pool as well as 3
Cushion billiards prefers a blue colored cloth which was chosen for better visibility and contrast
against colored balls.
The cloth was earlier said to be the most important part of the game, most likely because of the
reflection of the game's origin. The players were determined that the cloth should not be ripped –
women were made to continue to use maces after cues were invented, for fear that they would rip
the cloth with the sharper cues.
RACK

Aluminium billiard rack that is used for 8-ball, 9-ball,

and straight pool.
A rack is the name given to a frame (usually wood,
plastic or aluminium) used to organize billiard balls at
the beginning of a game. This is traditionally triangular
in shape, but varies with the type of billiards played.
There are two main types of racks; the more common triangular shape which is used for eight-
ball and straight pool and the diamond-shaped rack used for nine-ball.
There are several other types of less common rack types that are also used, based on a "template"
to hold the billiard balls tightly together. Most commonly it is a thin plastic sheet with diamond-
shaped cut-outs that hold the balls that is placed on the table with the balls set on top of the rack.
The rack is used to set up the "break" and removed before the "break shot" occurs.
Cues
Billiards games are mostly played with a stick known as a cue. A cue is usually either a one
piece tapered stick or a two piece stick divided in the middle by a joint of metal or phenolic
resin. High quality cues are generally two pieces and are made of a hardwood, generally maple
for billiards and ash for snooker.
The butt end of the cue is of larger circumference and is intended to be gripped by a player's
hand. The shaft of the cue is of smaller circumference, usually tapering to an 0.4 to 0.55 inches
(10 to 14 mm) terminus called a ferrule (usually made of fiberglass or brass in better cues),
where a rounded leather tip is affixed, flush with the ferrule, to make final contact with balls. The
tip, in conjunction with chalk, can be used to impart spin to the cue ball when it is not hit in its
center.
Cheap cues are generally made of pine, low-grade maple (and formerly often of ramin, which is
now endangered), or other low-quality wood, with inferior plastic ferrules. A quality cue can be
expensive and may be made of exotic woods and other expensive materials which are artfully
inlaid in decorative patterns. Many modern cues are also made, like golf clubs, with high-tech
materials such as woven graphite. Skilled players may use more than one cue during a game,
including a separate generally lighter cue for the opening break shot (because of cue speed
gained from a lighter stick) and another, shorter cue with a special tip for jump shots.
Mechanical bridge
The mechanical bridge, sometimes called a "rake", "crutch", "bridge stick" or simply "bridge",
and in the UK a "rest", is used to extend a player's reach on a shot where the cue ball is too far
away for normal hand bridging. It consists of a stick with a grooved metal or plastic head which
the cue slides on. Many amateurs refuse to use the mechanical bridge based on the perception
that to do so is unmanly.[citation needed] However, many aficionados and most professionals employ
the bridge whenever the intended shot so requires.
Some players, especially current or former snooker players, use a screw-on cue butt extension
instead of or in addition to the mechanical bridge.
Bridge head design is varied, and not all designs (especially those with cue shaft-enclosing rings,
or wheels on the bottom of the head), are broadly tournament-approved.
In Italy a longer, thicker cue is typically available for this kind of tricky shot.
For snooker they are normally available in three forms, their use depending on how the player is
hampered; the standard rest is a simple cross, the 'spider' has a raised arch around 12 cm with
three grooves to rest the cue in and for the most awkward of shots, the 'giraffe' (or 'swan' in
England) which has a raised arch much like the 'spider' but with a slender arm reaching out
around 15 cm with the groove.

CHALK

Billiard chalk is applied to the tip of the cue.

Chalk is applied to the tip of the cue stick, ideally before
every shot, to increase the tip's friction coefficient so that
when it impacts the cue ball on a non-center hit,
no miscue (unintentional slippage between the cue tip and
the struck ball) occurs. Cue tip chalk is not actually the
substance typically referred to as "chalk"
(generally calcium carbonate), but any of several
proprietary compounds, with a silicate base. It was around the time of the Industrial Revolution
that newer compounds formed that provided better grip for the ball. This is when the English
began to experiment with side spin or applying curl to the ball. This was shortly introduced to the
American players and is how the term "putting English on the ball" came to be. "Chalk" may
also refer to a cone of fine, white hand chalk; like talc(talcum powder) it can be used to reduce
friction between the cue and bridge hand during shooting, for a smoother stroke. Some brands of
hand chalk actually are made of compressed talc. (Tip chalk is not used for this purpose because
it is abrasive, hand-staining and difficult to apply.) Many players prefer a slick pool glove over
hand chalk or talc because of the messiness of these powders; buildup of particles on the cloth
will affect ball behavior and necessitate more-frequent cloth cleaning.
Cue tip chalk (invented in its modern form by straight rail billiard pro William A. Spinks and
chemist William Hoskins in 1897)[13][14] is made by crushing silica and the abrasive
substance corundum or aloxite[14] (aluminium oxide),[15][16] into a powder.[14] It is combined with
dye (originally and most commonly green or blue-green, like traditional billiard cloth, but
available today, like the cloth, in many colours) and a binder (glue). [14] Each manufacturer's
brand has different qualities, which can significantly affect play. High humidity can also impair
the effectiveness of chalk. Harder, drier compounds are generally considered superior by most
players.