Cue sports

Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue,
which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table
bounded by elastic bumpers known as cushions. Cue sports are also collectively referred to as billiards,
though this term has more specific connotations in some varieties of English.

There are three major subdivisions of games within cue sports:

▪ Carom billiards, played on tables without pockets, typically ten feet in length, including straight rail,
balkline, one-cushion carom, three-cushion billiards, artistic billiards, and four-ball
▪ Pocket billiards (or pool), played on six-pocket tables of seven, eight, nine, or ten-foot length,
including among others eight-ball (the world's most widely played cue sport), nine-ball (the dominant
professional game), ten-ball, straight pool (the formerly dominant pro game), one-pocket, and bank
pool
▪ Snooker, English billiards, and Russian pyramid, played on a large, six-pocket table (dimensions just
under 12 ft by 6 ft), all of which are classified separately from pool based on distinct development
histories, player culture, rules, and terminology.
Billiards has 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.

History
All cue sports are generally regarded to have evolved into indoor
games from outdoor stick-and-ball lawn games,[1] specifically those
retroactively termed ground billiards,[2] and as such to be related to
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
Billiards in the 1620s was played
billette, meaning 'stick', in reference to the mace, an implement with a port, a king pin, pockets, and
similar to a golf putter, and which was the forerunner to the modern maces.
cue; however, the term's origin could have been from French bille,
meaning 'ball'.[3] The modern term cue sports can be used to
encompass 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.[3]

A recognizable form of billiards was played outdoors in the 1340s, and was reminiscent of croquet. King
Louis XI of France (1461–1483) had the first known indoor billiard table.[3] Louis XIV further refined
and popularized the game, and it swiftly spread among the French nobility.[3] 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.[3] The imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, 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).[3]
 A 1588 inventory of the Duke of Norfolk's estate included a "billyard
bord coered with a greene cloth ... three billyard sticks and 11 balls of
yvery".[3] Billiards grew to the extent that by 1727, it was being
played in almost every Paris café.[3] In England, the game was
developing into a very popular activity for members of the gentry.[3]

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 is known today was finally developed by about 1800.[3]

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
The sons of Louis, Grand Dauphin, cue came to be the first choice of equipment.[3]
playing the 'royal game of
fortifications', an early form of The demand for tables and other equipment was initially met in
obstacle billiards with similarities to Europe by John Thurston and other furniture makers of the era. The
modern miniature golf
early balls were made from wood and clay, but the rich preferred to
use ivory.[3]

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 the arch) in
the early 17th to late 18th century,[4][3] 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.[3]

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 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 the form of Illustration of a three-ball pocket billiards game
pockets, or holes partly cut into the table bed and partly into in early 19th century Tübingen, Germany,
the cushions, leading to the rise of pocket billiards, using a table much longer than the modern
type
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
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 a well-known game and has many players of all different skill levels.[5]

As a sport
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 the latest.[6] 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 the World Games since
2001.

Equipment

Billiard balls
Billiard balls vary from game to game, in size, design and quantity.

Russian pyramid and kaisa have a size of 68 mm (211⁄16 in). In Russian

pyramid there are 16 balls, as in pool, but 15 are white and numbered,
and the cue ball is usually red.[7] In kaisa, five balls are used: the yellow Cue balls from left to right:
object ball (called the kaisa in Finnish), two red object balls, and the ▪ Russian pool and kaisa
two white cue balls (usually differentiated by one cue ball having a dot —68 mm (211⁄16 in)
or other marking on it and each of which serves as an object ball for the ▪ Carom—61.5 mm
opponent). (27⁄16 in)
▪ American-style pool—
Carom billiards balls are larger than pool balls, having a diameter of 57.15 mm (21⁄4 in)
61.5 mm (27⁄16 in), and come as a set of two cue balls (one colored or
▪ Snooker—52.5 mm
marked) and an object ball (or two object balls in the case of the game (21⁄16 in)
four-ball).
▪ Blackball pool—51 mm
(2 in)
Standard pool balls are 57.15 mm (21⁄4 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 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 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 (21⁄16 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 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.[8][9]

Tables
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
Pool table with equipment
tables are now considered antiques.

High-quality tables have 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).

Cloth
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 Women playing on an elaborately
decorated green-covered table in an
wool. Snooker cloth traditionally has a nap (consistent fiber
early 1880s advertising poster
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.[10] 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.

Rack
 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.

Aluminium billiard rack that is used for 8-

There are several other types of less common rack types that are
ball, 9-ball, and straight pool
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 the break has been completed and no balls are
obstructing the template.

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. 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
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.

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.

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, 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, 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
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 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 Billiard chalk is applied to the tip of the
began to experiment with side spin or applying curl to the ball. cue.

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 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)[11][12] is made by crushing silica and the abrasive substance corundum or
aloxite[12] (aluminium oxide),[13][14] into a powder.[12] 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).[12] 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.

Major games
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 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 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.

Games played on a carom billiards table

Straight rail
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 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[10] (that is, 690 separate strokes without a miss). With the balls repetitively hit
and barely moving in endless "nursing", there was little for the fans to watch.

Balkline
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 a balkline parallel to each rail after a
specified number of points have been scored.

Cushion billiards
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 is sometimes described as "hardest to learn"
and "require most skill" of all billiards.

Games played on a pool table

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. Man playing billiards with a cue and
a woman with mace, from an
In eight-ball and nine-ball, the object is to sink object balls until one illustration appearing in Michael
can legally pocket the winning eponymous "money ball". Well- Phelan's 1859 book, The Game of
known but waning in popularity is straight pool, in which players Billiards
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 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, 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".

Two-player or -team games

▪ Eight-ball: The goal is to pocket (pot) all of one's designated group of balls (either stripes vs. solids,
 or reds vs. yellows, depending upon the equipment), and then pocket the 8 ball in a called pocket.
▪ Nine-ball: The goal is to pocket the 9 ball; the initial contact of the cue ball each turn must be with
the lowest-numbered object ball remaining on the table; there are numerous variants such as seven-
ball, six-ball, and the older forms of three-ball and ten-ball, that simply use a different number of
balls and have a different money ball.
▪ Straight pool (a.k.a. 14.1 continuous pool): The goal is to reach a predetermined number of points
(e.g. 100); a point is earned by pocketing any called ball into a designated pocket; game play is by
racks of 15 balls, and the last object ball of a rack is not pocketed, but left on the table with the
opponent re-racking the remaining 14 before game play continues.
▪ Bank pool: The goal is to reach a predetermined number of points; a point is earned by pocketing
any called ball by banking it into a designated pocket using one or more cushion.

Speed pool
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.

Games played on a snooker table

English billiards
Dating to approximately 1800, English billiards, called simply billiards[15] in many former British
colonies and in the UK where it originated, was originally called the winning and losing carambole
game, folding in the names of three predecessor games, the winning game, the losing game and the
carambole game (an early form of straight rail), that combined to form it.[16] The game features both
cannons (caroms) and the pocketing of balls as objects of play. English billiards requires two cue balls
and a red object ball. The object of the game is to score either a fixed number of points, or score the most
points within a set time frame, determined at the start of the game.

Points are awarded for:

▪ Two-ball cannons: striking both the object ball and the other (opponent's) cue ball on the same shot
(2 points).
▪ Winning hazards: potting the red ball (3 points); potting the other cue ball (2 points).
▪ Losing hazards (or "in-offs"): potting one's cue ball by cannoning off another ball (3 points if the red
ball was hit first; 2 points if the other cue ball was hit first, or if the red and other cue ball were "split",
i.e., hit simultaneously).

Snooker
Snooker is a pocket billiards game originated by British officers stationed in India during the 19th
century, based on earlier pool games such as black pool and life pool. The name of the game became
generalized to also describe one of its prime strategies: to "snooker" the opposing player by causing that
player to foul or leave an opening to be exploited.

In the United Kingdom, snooker is by far the most popular cue sport at the competitive level, and major
national pastime along with association football and cricket. It is played in many Commonwealth
countries as well, and in areas of Asia, becoming increasingly popular in China in particular. Snooker is
uncommon in North America, where pool games such as eight-ball and nine-ball dominate, and Latin
America and Continental Europe, where carom games dominate. The first World Snooker
Championship was held in 1927, and it has been held annually since then with few exceptions. The
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) was established in 1968 to regulate the
professional game, while the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) regulates the
amateur games.

References

Citations
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2. Stein, Victor; Rubino, Paul (1996). The Billiard Encyclopedia: An Illustrated History of the Sport
(2nd ed.). Blue Book Publications. ISBN 1-886768-06-4.
3. Everton, Clive (1986). The History of Snooker and Billiards. Haywards Heath: Partridge Press.
pp. 8–11. ISBN 1-85225-013-5. This is a revised version of The Story of Billiards and Snooker
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4. Cotton, Charles (1674). The Compleat Gamester.
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