Nicky Meintjies asked:


A billiard table is rectangular shaped. The surface of the table is covered with green cloth. Though there are variations in the shape of billiard table and novelty tables are found in hexagonal, round, and zigzag shapes, the traditional rectangular shape is the most popular one. The rails of the table are raised and cushioned to facilitate the rebounding of the balls. There are two types of billiard tables: tables with pockets and tables without pockets. Tables with pockets are referred to as pocket billiard tables and these tables usually have six pockets that collect the balls. Of the six pockets four are found on the four corners of the rectangular table and two pockets are found facing each other in the middle of the longer sides of the table. The pockets in the corner are referred to as corner pockets and pockets in the middle of the longer sides are known as the side pockets. Pocket less billiard tables are used for a type of billiard known as carom, usually played with three balls.

The arrangement of billiard balls on the green bed of a pool table just before the break shot is sheer beauty. No other ball game offers so much color and variety as billiards does. In the game of Carom, a type of billiards played without pockets on the table, only three balls are used. One is a red ball and the other two are white balls with one of the white balls marked with a black dot. Sometimes a yellow ball is used instead of a white ball. The red ball is known as the “object ball”. The white ball is the “cue ball” for the first player. The yellow or the dotted white ball is the cue ball of the second player.

Billiard tables come in various sizes: 3.5 feet by 7 feet, 4ft by 8ft, 4.5ft by 9 ft, 5ft by 10ft, and 6ft by 12 ft. For tournament play 4.5 ft by 9ft tables are preferred. Billiard bars and halls use 3.5 ft by 7 ft tables to cope with space constraint. Pool and snooker games use 10ft and 12ft long tables. The height of the table is such that it allows for a person of average height to bend over the table at the waist level and play shots comfortably. The side railings of the table are raised a few inches above the table surface, and they are cushioned with vulcanized rubber so that when the balls hit the railings they rebound allowing for amazing angles of stroke play. A green cloth covers the entire surface and the railings of the table.

The pockets of a billiard table are rimmed with leather or plastic. The balls are collected in a plastic or leather net and are channelled to a collection chamber through ball return troughs inside the table. Carom billiard tables don’t have pockets. The surface of a carom billiard table is made up of slate, and often it is heated above room temperature to allow for faster play. International carom rules mandate that the bed of the table be heated for competition games.



Donna

Jonathon Hardcastle asked:


Bars and recreation venues in rural or urban areas offer to their visitors the excitement and the sportsmanship of a famous table-played game, called pool or billiard. On the billiards table’s totally flat surface, pool game fans strike, with the use of a specially designed long wooden stick known as “cue stick,” colorful balls moving them around the table’s area. Pool games attract a variety of publics from around the world, who enjoy the exhilaration of calculating angles and estimating how many strikes it will take them to accomplish their winning goal.

Pool tables are mainly separated into two categories, called carom and pocket tables. In fact, the word “billiards” when standing alone refers to the carom games played on a table without pockets, as opposed to games played on pocket billiards which people recognize as “pools” or also known as “snooker” tables. In Britain and Ireland though, the word “billiards” denotes the “English billiard” exclusively, which is the version of the table with the ball pockets. The difference between the two types is that carom billiards tables do not have six openings four at each table corner and two at the middle of each of the table’s largest sides in which the pool player is called to direct the colorful balls on the surface of the table by striking each one of them, or more than one at a time, with a white ball. The white ball acts as the “mediator” between the cue stick’s point and the round surface of the colored ball the striker aims to hit. If the striker manages to hit the white ball with the right speed and from the right angle then it will in turn hit the colored one which will be directed to fall into one of the tables’ holes. Pool table fans generally refer to pocket billiard games, such as 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool and one-pocket.

Found in many sizes and styles, billiards or pools are tables in a rectangular shape and are generally twice as long as they are wide. When someone refers to the number of a pool table’s foots this actually denotes its longer sides’ length. Mainly a function of space, the pool table’s length varies. English billiard tables, for example, are 12 feet long, while bars typically offer 7-foot tables. Pool halls tend to have 9-foot tables for more professional players, whereas the once commonly found 10-foot tables are now considered collectible items. Finally, the “felt” or “baize” is the cloth that covers the pool table’s exposed surface and he higher its quality the faster the balls run on its completely flat surface.

While the world “billiard” has presumably originated from the French word “billart,” which means “mace”-an implement that was the predecessor of the modern cue-the game did not remain constricted in Europe. Evolving from an outdoor to an indoor game, billiard became known as “pool,” which originates from “poolrooms” where people gambled off their money betting on horse races. Since billiard tables were commonly found in this type of venues, pools became a synonym of billiards and gained fanatic supporters in every continent.



Brittany

Josy Kinney asked:


The term “Billiard tables” is certainly very popular among most people and they are best known as the Billiard pool tables. But you do however get different types of Billiard tables. Here we will discuss all the different types of Billiard tables and their use.

The traditional shape of a billiards table is a square, but it is not uncommon to see variations to this shape. You will find pool tables that are circular, hexagonal and even zig zag shaped. The other variations is in the color of the cloth used to coat the surface of the table. Traditionally the cloth is green but you will also find them in other colors like red and blue. Regardless of the shape of the table, the rails of the table are raised and cushioned. This stops them from rolling off and helps them to bounce back. The table are available in pocketed and without pocket version. The ones with pockets are used to play pocket billiards and they have six pockets – one on each corner and two that face each other on the sides of the table. The pockets in the corner are called corner pockets while the ones in the middle are called side pockets. The table without pockets is specifically used to play a game called Carom which is usually played with three balls.

The sizes also vary, starting at 3.5 feet by seven feet and going up to 6 ft by 12 ft. They are also available in 4 ft by 8 ft, 4ft by 9 ft and 5 ft by 10 ft. For professional competitions a 4.5 ft by 9 ft table is used. Pool parlors and Billiard Halls usually use a 3.5.ft by 7 ft table so that they can accommodate more tables in a limited amount of space. But the hugest tables are reserved for pool and snooker games which are 10ft by 12 ft in size. The height of the table is just perfect for a for a person with average height to use the pool table comfortably without having to bend too much. The side railings of the table are lined with vulcanized rubber and are a few inches above the surface of the table. The cushioning helps the balls to bounce back, letting players enjoy an amazing angle of stroke play. The cloth which is used to cover the surface is also used on the railings.

The pockets of the pool table are made out of leather or plastic. Once the balls enter the pockets they are collected in a leather or plastic net and then they are led to a collection area through a trough inside the table. But the pool tables used for Carom don’t have pockets. The surface of a billiard table used for Carom is made out clay that has been heated above room temperature. This aids in faster play. According to the international Carom regulations, the boards used in the game necessarily need to have a surface that has been heated.



Lauren

Josephine Thunder asked:


8-ball is the most popular billiard game in the world. It is so popular, that 8-ball pool is almost a synonym for billiards. However, 8-ball is only a part of a one big happy family of billiard games.

8-ball pool, 9-ball pool, snooker, one pocket, balkline are all cue sports games. They all share a rectangular cloth-covered table, a long cue stick, a set of balls and an ambition to score, but they differ in their rules, objects, and even their terminology.

Generally, billiard games divide into two types: pocket billiard games and carom billiard games. Pocket billiard games, usually referred to as pool games, are the type of billiard played on a table that has six pockets. In pocket billiard games, the players aspire to sink the balls into the table pockets, according to specific games rules.

Carom billiard games, on the other hand, are played on pocketless tables. Only three billiard balls are involved in the carom games. The purpose of the players in most carom games is to maneuver their cue ball so it will carom off the other two balls, again, according to the specific requirements of the game.

8-ball pool is a pocket billiard game. Other popular pocket billiard games include 9-ball pool, 14.1 continuous (formerly known as straight pool) and even snooker. Snooker is the most popular cue sports in the UK. Even though snooker is played on a pocketed pool table, it is not governed by the same association that administrates pocket billiard rules. Therefore, pocket billiard general rules do not apply to snooker.

The equipment used in snooker games is also different from the one used in pocket billiard tournaments. For example, the snooker table is a bit larger than the standard pool table plus its pockets are narrower. The terminology used in both billiard games is different as well. While pool players’ goal is to “pocket” the “object balls”, snooker players aim to “pot” the “red” or the “on-ball”.



Cathy

Jonathon Hardcastle asked:


Billiards, or commonly referred to as pool, is an indoor sport that has gained fanatics all over the world. As the trend of more and more home owners deciding to purchase a pool table and add it to their own home’s entertainment corner or room shows, pool fans are drunk, extremely aggressive-looking fellows that are always ready to fight and have no sense of manners, or in any case, odor, is an image one can mainly attribute to movie scenes and real decadence-looking bars. But, as pool table fans are indeed increasing in numbers, the idea that these people probably have not been portrayed accurately generates a new interest in pool games and generates a chain reaction.

However, pool fans are not a recent phenomenon. Since this game’s conception, thousands of individuals have experienced its thrills and were able to compete against each other during friendly or professional games. Some of the most famous pool fans are people known from history, politics, arts and science. Individuals like Mark Twain, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Antoinette, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, and Paul Newman, have embraced the game of pool and have contributed to its fame traveling around the globe over the centuries.

Abraham Lincoln, one of the first real American celebrities and an immensely important person in American history, owned a pool table and was admittedly a great pool gamer and fan. If one might think that critical issues of the American national interest, like slavery, the Civil War, and international relations, were probably discussed over a billiard game, perhaps is not far from the truth. As a billiard table has been brought in the White House and existed there for several administrations, many of the recent US Presidents have had the opportunity to play a couple of games with prestigious opponents, like Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, King Hussein, or Margaret Thatcher. Isn’t it chilling for one to imagine that the world’s fate might have been “played” over a billiards game?

In recent times, pool tables are produced in different sizes and for vastly different budgets. Much more affordable than their predecessors, pool tables now attract the attention of “simple” folks who wish to spend some quality time playing a great game. Thus, even if you are not yet an owner but would like to become one, there is no better time to attain your goal than today. Visit your local games department store, research over the Internet, participate at an auction or get to your neighbor’s house sale. Perhaps a new talent is hidden under your sleve. Isn’t time for you to discover it?



Mitchell

Josephine Thunder asked:


8-ball pool is one of the most popular games in America. It is played in pool halls, restaurants, private billiard rooms and on personal computers everywhere throughout the nation, as well as in other parts of the world. While the origins of billiards – the general name used to describe all indoor games played on a rectangular covered with felt table with a stick and a set of balls – stretches back to the 15th century, it was not until the late 18th century that the game we refer to as 8-ball pool, or simply pool had become a legitimate recreation.

First there was billiart. Actually, first there was the outdoor game called croquet used to be played the French upper classes during the 14th century. At this time, billiart was introduced as an indoor version of croquet. The green felt that covered the table meant to evoke the lawn on which it was played.

The billiard game was brought to America by the middle of the 19th century, no one knows exactly how. Back then, one pocket was the most popular billiard game followed by a game called four-ball. Later on, a game called straight, similar to the popular European billiard game was carombole game and played on a table with no pockets, was the favorite billiard game in America.

The most ancient version of modern pool game can be tracked back to the end of the 18th century. The game fifteen-ball pool used to be played with a set of 15 balls in poolrooms, which mainly acted as horse betting parlors. Fifteen-ball pool, which was later called straight pool, continuous pool or 14.1 continuous, was the most popular pool game for a long time. That, until the game of 8-ball was invented.

Michael Phelan, a legendary billiard player, the first American billiard author and the ancestor of American billiards, is the one who brought the pool games from the underground poolrooms into the light of day. By establishing the first billiard championship in America (and winning it too) as well as publishing the first set of billiard rules and pool table etiquette, Phelan made the pool and billiards the popular sports they are today.



Antonio