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83-537: Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball ) is a discipline of the cue sport pool . The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with pockets at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a cue stick , players must strike the white cue ball to pocket nine colored billiard balls , hitting them in ascending numerical order. An individual game (or rack )

166-529: A bed made of thick slate, in three pieces to prevent warping and changes due to temperature and humidity. The slates on modern carom tables are usually heated to stave off moisture and provide a consistent playing surface. 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). All types of tables are covered with billiard cloth (often called "felt", but actually

249-426: A handicap is given by one player being spotted a ball , some tournament venues enforce a rule that the spotted ball must be racked as one of the two balls in the row directly behind the 1 ball. In the initial rack in straight pool , fifteen balls are racked in a triangular rack, with the center of the apex ball placed over the foot spot. Traditionally, the 1 ball is placed on the rack’s right corner, and

332-578: A pack or a pyramid in British English ). Traditional racks are in the form of triangular frames, usually made from wood, plastic or metal. A modern variation, called a template rack , is made from a thin material (usually 0.14 mm or less) that contains precision cut-outs to hold the balls in place. Purported benefits of template racks include a more consistent racking, and their popularity has warranted specific inclusion in profession rules. Unlike traditional racks, template racks are left on

415-407: A triangle ) is a piece of equipment that is used to place billiard balls in their starting positions at the beginning of a pocket billiards game. Rack may also be used as a verb to describe the act of setting billiard balls in their starting positions (e.g. "to rack the balls"), or as a noun to describe a set of balls that are in their starting positions (e.g. "a rack of balls", more often called

498-460: A "bilzeart burde" covered with green cloth at Holyrood Palace in 1581. The imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots , had a billiard table at Tutbury Castle . She complained when her table de billiard was taken away (by those who eventually became her executioners, who were to cover her body with the table's cloth). A 1588 inventory of the Duke of Norfolk 's estate included a "billyard bord coered with

581-463: A balkline parallel to each rail after a specified number of points have been scored. Another solution was to require a player's cue ball to make contact with the rail cushions in the process of contacting the other balls. This in turn saw the three-cushion version emerge, where the cue ball must make three separate cushion contacts during a shot. This is difficult enough that even the best players can only manage to average one to two points per turn. This

664-440: A blue colored cloth which was chosen for better visibility and contrast against colored balls. 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

747-411: A corner or along the same rail for the purpose of playing a series of nurse shots to score a seemingly limitless number of points. The first straight rail professional tournament was held in 1879 where Jacob Schaefer Sr. scored 690 points in a single turn (that is, 690 separate strokes without a miss). With the balls repetitively hit and barely moving in endless "nursing", there was little for

830-418: A flip of a coin, but often by playing a lag , with both players playing a cue ball down the table, the closest to the top rail winning the initial break. After the break, if no fouls were committed, the shooter has the option to continue the rack as usual, or to play a push out . The rules on a push out are different to those of a regular shot, as the shot does not need to hit a rail or ball. After

913-426: A full-size table. Coloured ball racking positions must be remembered with care, as each time a coloured ball is potted, it is immediately replaced to its starting position, which occurs multiple times per frame, whereas reds are not returned to the table's surface after being potted. If the starting position spot for a coloured ball is covered by another ball, the ball is placed on the highest available spot. If there

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996-544: A greene cloth ... three billyard sticks and 11 balls of yvery". Billiards grew to the extent that by 1727, it was being played in almost every Paris café. In England, the game was developing into a very popular activity for members of the gentry. By 1670, the thin butt end of the mace began to be used not only for shots under the cushion (which itself was originally only there as a preventative method to stop balls from rolling off), but players increasingly preferred it for other shots as well. The footless, straight cue as it

1079-789: A long history from its inception in the 15th century, with many mentions in the works of Shakespeare , including the line "let's to billiards" in Antony and Cleopatra (1606–07). Enthusiasts of the sport have included Mozart , Louis XIV of France , Marie Antoinette , Immanuel Kant , Napoleon , Abraham Lincoln , Mark Twain , George Washington , Jules Grévy , Charles Dickens , George Armstrong Custer , Theodore Roosevelt , Lewis Carroll , W. C. Fields , Babe Ruth , Bob Hope , and Jackie Gleason . All cue sports are generally regarded to have evolved into indoor games from outdoor stick-and-ball lawn games , specifically those retroactively termed ground billiards , and as such to be related to

1162-887: 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. There are many sizes and styles of billiard tables . Generally, tables are rectangles twice as long as they are wide. Table sizes are typically referred to by the nominal length of their longer dimension. Full-size snooker tables are 12 feet (3.7 m) long. Carom billiards tables are typically 10 feet (3.0 m). Regulation pool tables are 9-foot (2.7 m), though pubs and other establishments catering to casual play will typically use 7-foot (2.1 m) tables which are often coin-operated, nicknamed bar boxes . Formerly, ten-foot pool tables were common, but such tables are now considered antiques. High-quality tables have

1245-425: 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

1328-421: A yellow (worth two points), green (three points), brown (four points), blue (five points), pink (six points) and black ball (seven points). At one end of the table (the "baulk end" ) is the so-called baulk line , which is 29 inches from the baulk end cushion. A semicircle of radius 11.5 inches, called the "D" , is drawn behind this line, centred on the middle of the line. On the baulk line, looking up

1411-397: 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)

1494-571: Is an important element to make good shots in pool or snooker . 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

1577-399: Is known today was finally developed by about 1800. Initially, the mace was used to push the balls, rather than strike them. The newly developed striking cue provided a new challenge. Cushions began to be stuffed with substances to allow the balls to rebound, in order to enhance the appeal of the game. After a transitional period where only the better players would use cues, the cue came to be

1660-421: Is made by crushing silica and the abrasive substance corundum or aloxite (aluminium oxide ), into a powder. 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). Each manufacturer's brand has different qualities, which can significantly affect play. High humidity can also impair

1743-507: 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 at least the 16th century, but it is also produced in other colors such as red and blue. Television broadcasting of pool as well as 3 Cushion billiards prefers

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1826-414: Is played on a billiard table with six pockets . The cue ball , which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments), is struck to hit the nine object balls , which are numbered 1 through 9, each a distinct color, with the 9 ball typically having a yellow stripe on a white base. The aim of the game is to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table (often referred to as

1909-478: Is sometimes described as "hardest to learn" and "require most skill" of all billiards. There are many variations of games played on a standard pool table. Popular pool games include eight-ball , nine-ball , straight pool and one-pocket . Even within games types (e.g. eight-ball ), there may be variations, and people may play recreationally using relaxed or local rules. A few of the more popular examples of pool games are given below. In eight-ball and nine-ball,

1992-403: 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. 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

2075-528: Is typically slightly smaller than that of standard solids-and-stripes sets. Snooker balls are smaller than American-style pool balls with a diameter of 52.5 mm ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 16  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 object ball). Other games, such as bumper pool , have custom ball sets. Billiard balls have been made from many different materials since

2158-624: Is won by the player pocketing the 9 ball . Matches are usually played as a race to a set number of racks, with the player who reaches the set number winning the match. The game is currently governed by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), with multiple regional tours. The most prestigious nine-ball tournaments are the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships . Notable 9-Ball players in

2241-438: The ball on ) and pocket balls in succession to eventually pocket the nine-ball. As long as the lowest numbered ball on the table is contacted first by the cueball, and any one or more of the object balls are pocketed in any of the pockets with no foul being committed, a player's inning continues. When the table passes to another player, they must play from where the balls were last positioned, except if

2324-435: The kitchen refers to the area behind the table's head string ). In both one-pocket and bank pool all fifteen object balls are racked entirely at random, with the center of the apex ball placed directly over the foot spot. Snooker is played on a large table (full, pro tournament size is 12 × 6 ft). It is played using a cue stick , one white ball (the cue ball), fifteen red balls and six colours:

2407-580: The American Poolplayers Association (APA) and other organizations. Nine-ball events worldwide are run at the highest level by the WPA. The WPA World Nine-ball Championship has events for men, women and junior players. Events are generally open to any player who can pay the entry fee, however, some events are based on qualification. The WPA hosts a world ranking schedule based on WPA events, with other ranking systems also operated by

2490-566: The Diamond Pool Tour , Asian Tour and Euro Tour . Several games have been derived from nine-ball. Six-ball is essentially identical to nine-ball but with three fewer balls, which are racked in a three-row triangle, with the money ball placed in the center of the back row. According to Rudolf Wanderone , the game arose in early 20th century billiard halls; halls charged for matches by the 15 ball rack rather than by table, so players of nine-ball had six balls left over. For this reason,

2573-548: The WPA World Ten-ball Championship . The sport has featured in popular culture, most notably in the 1959 novel The Hustler and its 1961 film adaptation , and the 1984 sequel novel The Color of Money and subsequent film . In Endless Ocean: Blue World , Nineball Island, which serves as the player's home base, is won through a game of nine-ball. Cue sport There are three major subdivisions of games within cue sports: Billiards has

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2656-555: The World Games since 2001 . 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 16 balls, as in pool, but 15 are white and numbered, and the cue ball is usually red. In kaisa, five balls are used: the yellow object ball (called the kaisa in Finnish), two red object balls, and

2739-482: 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 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. Chalk

2822-560: The 1 ball is on the foot spot , which further stops overpowered break-off shots. The general rules of the game are fairly consistent and usually do not stray too far from the earliest format set by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA). These later formed the basis of the standardized WPA rules, which the BCA follows as a member, although amateur league play may be governed by similar but slightly different rules promulgated by

2905-551: The 1340s, and was reminiscent of croquet. King Louis XI of France (1461–1483) had the first known indoor billiard table. Louis XIV further refined and popularized the game, and it swiftly spread among the French nobility. While the game had long been played on the ground, this version appears to have died out (aside from trucco) in the 17th century, in favor of croquet, golf and bowling games, even as table billiards had grown in popularity as an indoor activity. James VI and I had

2988-471: The 20th century and is still enjoyed today in Commonwealth countries. Another pocket game, Russian pyramid and its variants like kaisa are popular in the former Eastern bloc . In straight rail, a player scores a point and may continue shooting each time his cue ball makes contact with both other balls. Some of the best players of straight billiards developed the skill to gather the balls in

3071-416: The 5 ball on the left corner from the racker's vantage point to maximize contrast between the corner balls and the background, as the 1 and 5 are the brightest colored balls, however, the world standardized rules do not require this. All other balls are placed at random. Straight pool is played to a specific number of points agreed on prior to the match's start, with each pocketed ball being worth one point to

3154-672: The APA and the EPBF. Other major events held by the WPA include the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship , China Open 9-Ball Championship and the International 9-Ball Open . In addition, Matchroom Sport runs major international competitions including the Mosconi Cup , World Cup of Pool and World Pool Masters . Outside those events held on an worldwide basis, nine-ball is played in continental tour series. Events are held on series such as

3237-471: The Euro Tour is that the break shot be taken from a " break box " a rectangular box smaller than the regular nine-ball breaking area. While making the money ball on breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult with the break box. This was later used on the annual international Mosconi Cup tournaments. Another Mosconi Cup rule change in 2007 called for racking such that the 9 ball rather than

3320-399: The ancestral mace games, and even the modern cueless variants, such as finger billiards, for historical reasons. Cue itself came from queue , the French word for ' tail '. This refers to the early practice of using the tail or butt of the mace, instead of its club foot, to strike the ball when it lay against a rail cushion . A recognizable form of billiards was played outdoors in

3403-423: The arch) in the early 17th to late 18th century, but other game variants, relying on the cushions (and pockets cut into them), were being formed that would go on to play fundamental roles in the development of modern billiards. The early croquet-like games eventually led to the development of the carom billiards category. These games are played with three or sometimes four balls on a table without holes in which

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3486-487: 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 are made of compressed talc. (Tip chalk is not used for this purpose because it

3569-416: The baulk line. At the exact middle of the table sits the blue ball. Further up the table is the pink ball, which sits midway between the blue spot and the top cushion, followed by the red balls (one each), placed in a tightly-packed triangle behind the pink. The apex must be as close as possible to the pink ball without touching it. Finally, the black ball is placed on a spot 12.75 inches from the top cushion on

3652-416: The break has been completed and no balls are obstructing the template. 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

3735-460: The break, must strike the lowest numbered ball first) over the table's foot spot, and the 9 ball is placed in the center of the rack. Some players (most often amateurs) place the balls in numeric order but for the 9 ball; from the top of the triangle down and from left to right, i.e., the 1 on the foot spot, followed by the 2 then 3 in the second row, and so on. However, all balls other than the 1 and 9 may be randomly placed. In nine-ball games where

3818-423: The cue ball and fifteenth object ball are either in the rack area at the time an intragame rack is necessary, or are in such close proximity to the intragame racking area, that the physical rack cannot be used without moving the one or the other. The rules also vary depending on whether the cue ball or fifteenth ball are resting on the table's head spot. Such rules are detailed on the following chart (note therein that

3901-518: The cue ball over other balls. However, if any ball leaves the cloth at the end of a shot, it is counted as a foul. Jumping is common in nine-ball, and players often have a dedicated jump cue. As of the 2000s, the rules have been somewhat in flux in certain contexts, especially in Europe. The European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF), the WPA-affiliate in Europe, has instituted a requirement on

3984-664: 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. Recently, carbon fiber woven composites have been developed and utilized by top professional players and amateurs. Advantages include less flexibility and no worry of nicks, scratches, or damages to

4067-465: 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

4150-451: The cue. Skilled players may use more than one cue during a game, including a separate cue with a hard phenolic resin tip for the opening break shot, and another, shorter cue with a special tip for jump shots . 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

4233-403: 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 once

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4316-445: The early 1980s. While not a common game, it was featured on television broadcaster ESPN 's Sudden Death Seven-ball which aired in the early 2000s. The most common derivative game is the game of ten-ball . The game is a more stringent variant, using ten balls in which all pocketed balls must be called . Unlike in nine-ball, the money ball cannot be pocketed on the break for an instant win. Due to its more challenging nature, and

4399-423: The effectiveness of chalk. Harder, drier compounds are generally considered superior by most players. There are two main varieties of billiard games: carom and pocket . The main carom billiards games are straight rail , balkline and three cushion billiards. All are played on a pocketless table with three balls; two cue balls and one object ball. In all, players shoot a cue ball so that it makes contact with

4482-416: The fact that there is no publicly known technique for reliably pocketing specific object balls on the break shot, there have been suggestions among the professional circuit that ten-ball should replace nine-ball as the pro game of choice, especially since the rise of the nine-ball soft break, which is still legal in most international and non-European competition. Ten-ball has its own world championship known as

4565-411: The fans to watch. In light of these skill developments in straight rail, the game of balkline soon developed to make it impossible for a player to keep the balls gathered in one part of the table for long, greatly limiting the effectiveness of nurse shots. A balkline is a line parallel to one end of a billiards table. In the game of balkline, the players have to drive at least one object ball past

4648-453: The first choice of equipment. The demand for tables and other equipment was initially met in Europe by John Thurston and other furniture makers of the era. The early balls were made from wood and clay , but the rich preferred to use ivory . Early billiard games involved various pieces of additional equipment, including the "arch" (related to the croquet hoop), "port" (a different hoop, often rectangular), and "king" (a pin or skittle near

4731-491: The form of pockets , or holes partly cut into the table bed and partly into the cushions, leading to the rise of pocket billiards , including "pool" games such as eight-ball, nine-ball, straight pool, and one-pocket ; Russian pyramid ; snooker ; English billiards ; and others. In the United States, pool and billiards had died out for a bit, but between 1878 and 1956 the games became very popular. Players in annual championships began to receive their own cigarette cards . This

4814-496: The game include Luther Lassiter , Buddy Hall , Efren Reyes , Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening . The game is often associated with hustling and gambling , with tournaments often having a "buy-in" amount to become a participant. The sport has featured in popular culture, notably in the 1961 film The Hustler and its 1986 sequel The Color of Money . Nine-ball has been played with varied rules, with games such as ten-ball , seven-ball and three-ball being derived from

4897-407: The game is often played with the balls numbered between 10 and 15, with the 15 ball as the money ball. Seven-ball is also similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven object balls, which are racked in a hexagon, and players are restricted to pocketing the money ball on their designated side of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the game's invention in

4980-453: The game of nine-ball (although a triangular rack can also be used) and template racks come in a variety of shapes. In eight-ball , 15 object balls are used. Under the world standardized rules, it is prescribed that: In nine-ball , the basic principles are the same as detailed in the eight-ball section above, but only balls 1 through 9 are used; the 1 ball is always placed at the rack's apex (because in nine-ball every legal shot, including

5063-544: The game. While usually a singles sport, the game can be played in doubles, with players completing alternate shots. Examples of tournaments featuring doubles include the World Cup of Pool , World Team Championship and the Mosconi Cup . The game was established in America by 1920, although its exact origins are unknown. Nine-ball is played with the same equipment as eight-ball and other pool games. The game of nine-ball

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5146-410: The goal is generally to strike one object ball with a cue ball , then have the cue ball rebound off of one or more of the cushions and strike a second object ball. Variations include straight rail , balkline , one-cushion , three-cushion , five-pins , and four-ball , among others. One type of obstacle remained a feature of many tables, originally as a hazard and later as a target, in

5229-402: The head), are broadly tournament-approved. In Italy, a longer, thicker cue is typically available for this kind of tricky shot. For snooker, bridges 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,

5312-525: The historical games jeu de mail and palle-malle , and modern trucco , croquet , and golf , and more distantly to the stickless bocce and bowls . The word billiard may have evolved from the French word billart or billette , meaning 'stick', in reference to the mace , an implement similar to a golf putter , and which was the forerunner to the modern cue ; however, the term's origin could have been from French bille , meaning 'ball'. The modern term cue sports can be used to encompass

5395-627: The latest. Quite a variety of particular games (i.e., sets of rules and equipment) are the subject of present-day competition, including many of those already mentioned, with competition being especially broad in nine-ball, snooker, three-cushion, and eight-ball. Snooker, though a pocket billiards variant and closely related in its equipment and origin to the game of English billiards, is a professional sport organized at an international level, and its rules bear little resemblance to those of modern pool, pyramid, and other such games. A "Billiards" category encompassing pool, snooker, and carom has been part of

5478-419: The lowest numbered ball, pocketing the cue ball, or not making contact with a rail with the object ball. A foul shot for any reason offers the opponent ball in hand , which means they can place the cue ball at any location on the table. A player making three successive fouls (for any reason) awards that rack to the opponent. Unlike some other cue sports, such as snooker , players are allowed to jump

5561-497: The object balls placed in a rack and one player playing a break . The object balls are placed in a diamond-shaped configuration, with the 1-ball positioned at the front on the foot spot , and the 9-ball placed in the center. The rack used to position the balls may be either triangle-shaped, as is used for eight-ball and other pool games, or a specific diamond-shaped rack that holds only nine balls may be used. Racks are usually made of wood or plastic. A template that lies on

5644-400: The object is to sink object balls until one can legally pocket the winning eponymous " money ball ". Well-known but waning in popularity is straight pool, in which players seek to continue sinking balls, rack after rack if they can, to reach a pre-determined winning score (typically 150). Related to nine-ball, another well-known game is rotation , where the lowest-numbered object ball on

5727-399: The opponent's cue ball as well as the object ball. Others of multinational interest are four-ball and five-pins . The most globally popular of the large variety of pocket games are pool and snooker . A third, English billiards , has some features of carom billiards. English billiards used to be one of the two most-competitive cue sports along with the carom game balkline, at the turn of

5810-531: The players must sink a set number of balls; respectively, all in a particular pocket , or all by bank shots . In snooker, players score points by alternately potting red balls and various special " colour balls ". Speed pool is a standard billiards game where the balls must be pocketed in as little time as possible. Rules vary greatly from tournament to tournament. The International Speed Pool Challenge has been held annually since 2006. Rack (billiards) A rack (sometimes called

5893-400: The preceding rack. The break is often the most crucial shot in nine-ball, as it is possible to win a rack without the opponent having taken a single shot. This is often called a break and run , or running the rack. Earl Strickland holds the record for break and runs, after he successfully ran 11 consecutive racks in a tournament in 1996. The first break of a match is sometimes decided by

5976-456: The prior inning ended in a foul. In that case, the incoming player takes ball in hand , anywhere on the table. The winner is the player who legally pockets the nine-ball, the game's money ball , regardless of how many balls have been pocketed beforehand. This can happen earlier than the nine-ball being the sole remaining object ball on the table if it is pocketed via a combination or other indirect method. Each rack begins with

6059-444: The push out, the opposing player has the option to play the shot that has been left, or to force their opponent to play on from that location. In early versions of nine-ball the push out could be called at any time during the game, but is now only for the shot after the break. If a player misses potting a ball on a shot, or commits a foul shot, then their opponent plays the next shot. A foul shot can involve not making first contact with

6142-422: The shooter. Because the game is played to a number of points normally far in excess of the fifteen points total available in the initial rack (in tournament play, one-hundred fifty points), multiple intragame racks are necessary. Intragame racking employs a separate set of rules from those in place at the game's start. After the initial rack, the balls are played until only the cue ball and one object ball remain on

6225-418: 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

6308-433: The table during the break has also come into use. The break consists of hitting the 1 ball, with the attempt to pocket any ball. If the 9 ball is successfully potted, the player automatically wins the rack. This is sometimes known as a golden break . Additional rules in some tournaments exist, such as a number of balls having to reach the head string , and players can be chosen to break alternately or whoever won

6391-549: The table during the break shot and removed at the players' earliest convenience. For this reason, template racks are almost never used for games where it is common to slow-break (i.e. not create a large spread of balls) since it is significantly more likely that the rack will interfere with slow-rolling balls. The most common shape of a rack is that of an equilateral triangle . Triangular racks are used for eight-ball , straight pool , one-pocket , bank pool , snooker and many other games. Diamond-shaped frames are sometimes used for

6474-405: The table from the 'baulk end', the yellow ball is located where the "D" meets the line on the right, the green ball where the "D" meets the line on the left, and the brown ball in the middle of the line. An easy way to remember these positions is with the mnemonic , 'God Bless You', with the first letter of each word being the first letter of the three colours as they are racked from left to right on

6557-431: The table must be struck first, although any object ball may be pocketed (i.e., combination shot). Each pocketed ball is worth its number, and the player with the highest score at the end of the rack is the winner. Since there are only 120 points available (1 + 2 + 3 ⋯ + 15 = 120), scoring 61 points leaves no opportunity for the opponent to catch up. In both one-pocket and bank pool,

6640-434: The table's surface. At that time, the fourteen pocketed balls are racked with no apex ball, and the rack is so placed so that if the apex ball were in the rack, its center would rest directly over the table's foot spot. Play then continues with the cue ball shot from where it rested and the fifteenth ball from where it rested prior to racking. A number of rules have developed which detail what must be done when one or both of

6723-536: 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 ). Standard pool balls are 57.15 mm ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 4  in), are used in many pool games found throughout

6806-668: 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 and yellow balls instead of solids and stripes, known as "casino" style. They are used principally in Britain, Ireland, and some Commonwealth countries, though not exclusively, since they are unsuited for playing nine-ball. The diameter varies but

6889-548: Was mainly due to the fact that it was a popular pastime for troops to take their minds off battle. However, by the end of World War II, pool and billiards began to die down once again. It was not until 1961 when the film The Hustler came out that sparked a new interest in the game. Now the game is generally well-known and has many players of all different skill levels. The games with regulated international professional competition, if not others, have been referred to as "sports" or "sporting" events, not simply "games", since 1893 at

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