Pool Table Glossary and Pool - List of Terms
Pool Table Glossary and Pool and Small Pool Table - List of Terms - Definitions - Explained
A
Above
Used in snooker in reference to the position of the cue ball. It is above the object
ball if it is off-straight on the baulk cushion side of the imaginary line for a
straight pot (e.g. "he'll want to finish above the blue in order to go into the pink
and reds"). It is also common to use the term high instead.
Action
1.Gambling or the potential for gambling (US).
2.Lively results on a ball, usually the cue ball, from the application of spin.
See also cue action.
Added
Used with an amount to signify money added to a tournament prize fund in addition to
the amount accumulated from entry fees (e.g. "$500 added").
Ahead race
Also ahead session. A match format in which a player has to establish a lead of an
agreed number of frames (games) in order to win (e.g. in a ten ahead race a player
wins when she/he has won ten more racks than the opponent).
Aiming line
An imaginary line drawn from the desired path an object ball is to be sent (usually
the center of a pocket) and the center of the object ball.
Anchor nurse
A type of nurse used in carom billiards games. With one object ball frozen to a
cushion and the second object ball just slightly away from the rail, the cue ball is
gently rebounded across the face of both balls, freezing the away ball to the rail and
moving the frozen ball away the same distance its partner was previously, resulting in
an identical but reversed configuration, in position to be struck again by the cue
ball from the opposite side.:9 Compare cradle cannon.
Anchor space
A 7 inch (17.8 cm) square box drawn on a balk line table from the termination of a
balk line with the rail, thus defining a restricted space in which only 3 points may be
scored before one ball must be driven from the area. It developed to curtail the
effectiveness of the chuck nurse, which in turn had been invented to thwart the
effectiveness of the Parker's box in stopping long, repetitive runs using the anchor
nurse.
Angle of incidence
The angle at which a ball approaches a rail, as measured from the perpendicular to the
rail.[he phrase has been in use since as early as 1653.
Angle of reflection
The angle from which a ball rebounds from a rail, as measured from the perpendicular
to the rail.
Angled ball
In snooker and pool, a ball situated in the jaws of a pocket such that the ball on
cannot be struck directly. Compare corner-hooked.
Arc
The extent to which the cue ball curves as a result of a semi-massé or massé shot.
Apex Also apex ball, apex of the triangle, apex of the diamond or apex of the rack. The
ball placed at the front of a group of racked object balls (i.e., toward the breaker
and furthest from the racker), and in most games situated over the table's foot spot.
Around the table
In carom games, a shot in which in attempting to score, the cue ball contacts three or
more cushions, usually including both short rails.
B
Back
Same as stake.
Back cut
A cut shot in which if a line were drawn from the cue ball to the rail behind the
targeted object ball, perpendicular to that rail, the object ball would lie beyond the
line with respect to the pocket being targeted.
Backer
Same as stake horse.
Back spin Also backspin, back-spin, backward spin. Same as draw.
Baize
Main article: Baize
A coarse woolen cloth used to cover billiard tables, usually green in colour and
sometimes called felt based on a similarity in appearance, though very different in
makeup.
Balance point
The point, usually around 18 in. from the bottom of a cue, at which the cue will
balance when resting on one hand.
Balk
Also balk space.
1.An area defined on a billiard table by one or more balk lines. In the eponymous game
of balkline billiards, there are eight balks defined by perpendicular balk lines, in
which only a set number of caroms may be scored before at least one ball must leave
the area. In the earlier (and short-lived) "champions' game", there were four
triangular balks, one at each corner, defined by single diagonal balklines. Not to be
confused with baulk, but see second definition.
2.An area defined on a billiard table, in games such as pool, snooker, English
billiards and bagatelle, by a single balkline (drawn or imaginary) that runs across
the table near the head (bottom) end; exactly where depends upon table type and size.
This balk is where the cue ball is placed in lagging for lead, for making the opening
break shot, and sometimes for other purposes, depending upon the game. This usage of
"balk" is strictly technical, and rarely used in practice. In pool, this area is
called the kitchen and is divided from the rest of the table by the head string, while
in snooker, English billiards and blackball it is the somewhat differently-sized and
delimited baulk, defined by the baulk line. On baulk tables, which have a "D" inside
baulk, and on pool tables with a break box in the kitchen, the actual area from which
to shoot is even smaller than the baulk or kitchen, respectively – a balk within the
balk.
1.A line drawn horizontally from a point on a billiard table's rail to the
corresponding point on the opposite rail, thus defining a region (a balk). In the
eponymous [Balkline and straight rail|balkline billiards]] there are four balklines,
drawn parallel to and 14 or 18 inches from the cushions of the table, dividing it into
nine compartments or divisions, of which the outside eight are the balks. in which
only a set number of caroms may be scored before at least one ball must leave the
area. Not to be confused with baulk line, though the concepts and etymologies
are related. See balk, second definition.
2.Formerly, in "the champions' game", a line drawn diagonally from a long to a short
rail at the corners of the table, defining a triangular balk space at each.
3.A type of carom billiards game, called balkline billiards, created to eliminate very
high runs in straight-rail that relied on repetitive nurse shots.
Ball-in-hand
Also cue ball in-hand. The option of placing the cue ball anywhere on the table prior
to shooting. Usually only available to a player when the opposing player has committed
some type of foul under a particular game's rules- 36 (cf. the free throw in
basketball by way of comparison). See also in-hand for the snooker definition. A
common variation, used in games such as straight pool and often in bar pool, is ball-
in-hand behind the headstring/behind the line/from the kitchen, meaning the ball-in-
hand option is restricted to placement anywhere behind the head string—the area of a
table known as the kitchen.
Ball-on
Not always hyphenated. Plural: balls-on. Also on[-]ball. Any legally strike able ball
on the table in generally British terminology. For example, in blackball, if a
player is playing yellows, any yellow ball (or any solid, from 1 to 7, if using a
solids-and-stripes ball set) can be the "ball-on" until they are all potted, in which
case the 8 ball is the ball-on. In snooker, at the beginning of a player's turn,
unless all are already potted, any red ball can be the "ball-on".] Compare object
ball.
Ball return
A collection bin mounted below the foot end of a table to which balls potted in any
pocket will return by means of gravity assisted gutters or troughs running from each
pocket opening to the bin. Ball returns have been in use since at least the 1700s.
Pockets which simply collect balls are known as drop pockets.[1] A table without a
ball return may be called a "drop pocket table", while a table featuring a ball return
may be called a "gully table."
Banger
A derogatory term for a recreational or beginning player who "bangs" the balls without
any thought for position nor attempt to control the cue ball; also a reference to the
predilection of beginners to often hit the cue ball far harder than necessary.[8] See
also potter.
Bank
1.Same as cushion.
2.Same as bank shot.
Bank shot
Also bank. Shot in which an object ball is driven to one or more rails prior to being
pocketed (or in some contexts, prior to reaching its intended target; not necessarily
a pocket). Sometimes "bank" is conflated to refer to kick shots as well, and in the UK
it is often called a double.
Bank-the-8
A rule variant common in bar pool versions of eight-ball, in which the 8 ball must be
pocketed on a bank shot (or sometimes on either a bank shot proper or a kick shot);
shooting the 8 straight in is a loss of game. Players may agree before the game begins
to invoke this rule, or one player may challenge another player (who might accept or
refuse) to conclude the game in this manner after if is already under way. Playing
bank-the-8 can be considered rude if many other players are waiting to use the table,
since it often makes the game last considerably longer.
Bar player
Also bar league player. A player that predominantly plays in bars/pubs, or is in a
bar-based pool league. Often used pejoratively by pool hall players to refer to a
perceived lesser skill level of such players. See also bar pool, bar table.
Bar pool
This section contains a level of detail that appears better suited to a stand-alone
article and beyond the scope a single entry in a list.
Also bar rules. Pool, almost always a variant of eight-ball, that is played by bar
players on a bar table. Bar pool has rules that vary from region to region, sometimes
even from venue to venue in the same city, especially in the U.S. It is thus always a
good idea to understand/agree to rules before engaging in a money game under bar
rules. Typical differences between bar pool and tournament eight-ball are the lack of
ball-in-hand after a foul, the elimination of a number of fouls, and (in U.S. bar
pool) the requirement that most aspects of a shot (rails and other balls to be
contacted) be called, not just the object ball and pocket. Bar pool has evolved into
this "nitpicky" version principally to make the games last longer, since bar pool is
typically played on coin-operated tables that cost money per-game rather than per-
hour. Competitive league pool played on bar tables, however, usually uses
international, national or local/regional league rules, and is not what is usually
meant by "bar pool". Depending on local dialect may also be called tavern pool, pub
pool, etc. Not to be confused with the game of Bar billiards.
A common protocol for determining the sequence of players for coin-operated bar tables
in the United States involves indicating one's desire to play by placing the requisite
coins (usually quarters) in some visible spot on or near the table (but not so that
they interfere with play). The first person to have his "quarters up" will play the
winner of the current match.
Bar table
Also bar box. Distinctive pool tables found in bars/taverns. They are almost always
coin-operated and smaller than tables found in pool rooms and professional venues.
Typical bar boxes are 3.5 ft (1.1 m) x 7 ft (2.1 m), though 4x8 and even 3x6 examples
can sometimes be found). Most North American brands of bar tables have pocket
proportions confusingly opposite those of regular tables—the side pockets are
remarkably tight, while the corners are more generous than those of pool hall tables.
Because they are coin-operated and capture pocketed balls, they employ one of several
mechanisms to return a scratched cue ball. The oversized, and extra-dense cue ball
methods are deprecated, because these cue balls do not play correctly (especially with
regard to cut and stop/draw shots, respectively; cf. smash-through). Modern bar tables
make use of a magnet and a regulation or near-regulation size and weight cue ball with
an iron core, to separate the cue ball from the others and return it to the
players. Pool hall players complain also that the cloth used on bar tables is often
greatly inferior (in particular that it is "slow" and that English does not "take"
enough), and often find that the cushions are not as responsive as they are used to.
Baulk
Also baulk area. In snooker, English billiards, and blackball,[7] the area of the
bottom of the table that is between the baulk line and the baulk cushion, which houses
the "D" and is somewhat analogous to the kitchen in American-style pool
Baulk colour
In snooker, any of the three colour balls that get spotted on the baulk line: the
yellow, green or brown ball.
Baulk cushion
In snooker, the cushion opposite the top cushion and bounded by the yellow and green
pockets (i.e. same as bottom cushion).
Baulk line
A straight line drawn 29 inches (73.66 cm) from the face of the baulk cushion on a
standard 6 × 12 foot snooker table.[1] Its positioning varies on other sizes of
tables. Baulk lines may also be drawn on English billiards tables, and even British-
style pool tables. The baulk line is an integral part of the "D". The baulk line's
position is always determined by measurement from the baulk cushion, in contrast to
the similar but different head string, the position of which is determined by the
diamonds. Not to be confused with balk line.
Baulk rail
Same as bottom rail (UK), head rail (US).
Bed
The playing area of a table, exclusive of the cushions.
Be in stroke
See In stroke.
Below
Used in snooker in reference to the position of the cue ball. It is "below" the object
ball if it is off-straight on the top cushion side of the imaginary line for a
straight pot (e.g. he'll want to finish below the black in order to go into the reds).
This may seem counterintuitive, see above for an explanation.
Big
Also bigs, big balls, big ones. In eight-ball, to be shooting the striped suit (group)
of balls (9 through 15); "you're big, remember", "you're big balls" or "I've got the
big ones". Compare stripes, yellows, high, overs; contrast little. Not to be
confused with the carom billiards concept of a big ball.
Big ball
A carom billiards metaphor, it refers to an object ball positioned and being
approached in such a manner that a near miss will rebound off a cushion and still
score. It is as if the ball were larger than normal, making it easier to contact.
Normally a ball a couple inches from a rail is a big ball, but only if being
approached from an angle and if all the prerequisite rails have already been
contacted. A ball near a corner can effectively be a foot wide. Not to be confused
with the eight-ball term "the big balls". In older British usage the concept was
referred to as "large ball". See also "big pocket".
Big pocket
A pocket billiards and occasionally snooker term (inherited from carom billiards by
way of "big ball", above), it is a metaphor for a shot that is very difficult to miss
pocketing for any of a number of reasons, most commonly either because the object ball
is positioned such that a near miss on one side of it will likely cause the cue ball
to rebound into the object ball off the rail and pocket it anyway, or another ball is
positioned such that if the target ball does not go straight in, it is still likely to
go in off the other ball in a kiss. It is as if the pocket, for this one shot, had
become larger. The term can also refer to the angle of shot toward a pocket,
especially a side pocket; the pocket is said to be "bigger", for example, on a shot
that is only a 5-degree angle away from straight on, than on a 45-degree angle shot
which is much more likely to hit one of the cushion points and bounce away.
Billiard
Also billiard shot.
1.Any shot in which the cue ball is caromed off an object ball to strike another
object ball (with or without contacting cushions in the interim)
2.In certain carom billiards games such as three-cushion, a successful attempt at
making a scoring billiard shot under the rules for that game (such as contacting three
cushions with the cue ball while executing the billiard). A failed attempt at scoring
would, in this context, not be called "a billiard" by players of such games even if it
satisfied the first, more general definition.
Billiards
1.In the US, Canada and in many different countries and languages (under various
spellings) as well as historically, generally refers to all cue sports;
2.Sometimes refers to just carom games as opposed to pocket billiards (especially in the US and Canada);
3.In British terminology, chiefly refers to the game known in the rest of the world as
English billiards.
Black ball
Also the black.
1.In snooker, the highest-value colour ball on the table, being worth seven points.
In some (especially American) snooker ball sets it is numbered "7" on its surface.
2.The black ball (usually numbered "8") in the eight-ball variant game blackball (and
its variants); also the common British term for the slightly larger but otherwise
identical 8 ball in a Kelly pool set (a.k.a. American or WPA pool set).
ball.
Blank1.An unfinished bottom half of a two piece cue (the butt section) with the splice
completed, but the cue not yet turned on a lathe to produce the final shape, and
certain features having not yet been added such as a wrap, joint mechanism, butt cap,
bumper and inlays.
2.An unsuccessful inning at the table. Also known as a duck egg, goose egg, cipher or
naught.
Blood test
Any very difficult shot that must be made under pressure.
Blue ball
1.In snooker, the colour ball worth 5 points, whose spot is at the center of the
table.
2.Also the blues. In the eight-ball game variant blackball, also known as eight-ball
pool, a differently colored but otherwise identical replacement for the red group
(i.e., what would be the solids in an American-style pool ball set).
Body English
The useless but common practice of contorting one's body while a shot is in play,
usually in the direction one wishes a ball or balls to travel, as if in the vain hope
that this will influence the balls' trajectories; the term is considered humorous.
Bottle Also shake bottle, pea bottle, pill bottle, Kelly bottle, tally bottle. The
bottle used in various games to hold numbered peas, it is employed to assign random
spots to players in a roster (such as in a tournament), or to assign random balls to
players of a game (such as in kelly pool and bottle pool).
Bottom
1.Chiefly British: The half of the table from which the break shot is taken. This
usage is conceptually opposite that in North America, where this end of the table is
called the head. Contrast top. See also baulk.
2.Chiefly American: Exactly the opposite of the above – the foot end of the table. No
longer in common usage.
3.Short for bottom spin, i.e. same as screw (British), draw (American).
Bottom cushion
Chiefly British: The cushion on the bottom rail. Also known as the baulk cushion,
especially in snooker. Compare head cushion; contrast top cushion.
Bottom rail
Chiefly British: The short rail at the bottom of the table. Traditionally this is the
rail on which the table manufacturer's logo appears. Also known as the baulk rail,
especially in snooker. Compare head rail; contrast top rail.
Bottom spin Also bottomspin, bottom-spin, bottom. Same as back spin, i.e. screw (UK),
draw (US). Contrast top spin. See illustration at spin.
Break1.Also break shot or break off, as a noun. Typically describes the first shot in
most types of billiards games. In carom games it describes the first point attempt, as
shot from an unvarying cue ball and object balls placement; in many pocket billiards
(pool) games it describes the first shot, which is used to separate the object balls
which have been racked together;
2.A series of consecutive pots by a player during a single inning. Most often applied
in snooker and English billiards, e.g., "The player had a break of 89 points".
(chiefly British; compare US run). See also Maximum break.
Break and dish
Same as Break and run (chiefly British).
Break and run
Also break and run out. Chiefly American: In pool games, when a player breaks the
racked object balls, pockets at least one ball on the break, and commences to run out
the remaining object balls without the opponent getting a visit at the table.
Hyphenated when used as an adjective or compound noun instead of a verbal phrase. See
also run the table.
Break box
Diagram showing the break box and its relation to the kitchen area and head string. In
European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) nine-ball, a zone in the "kitchen" of the
head (British: bottom of the table, from which the break shot must be taken with the
cue ball not unlike the "D" zone used in snooker, English billiards and
blackball. The break box consists of the middle 50% of the kitchen area, delimited
laterally by the head rail (British: bottom rail) and head string (not the baulk
line), and longitudinally by two parallel lines drawn from the head rail diamonds that
are closest to the head corner pockets, out to the head string (see illustration to
the right). This departure from WPA World Standardised Rules defeats the common
break-from-the-side-rail technique for pocketing the 9 ball on the break to win the
game instantly; while 9 ball breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult
under the new rule. This EPBF Euro-Tour requirement was recently added to the
Europe vs.. US all-star team event, the Mosconi Cup, but has not otherwise been seen
much by non-Europeans.
Break down one's cue
To take one's two-piece cue stick apart. When done before a game's conclusion, it
often indicates that the game is conceded.
Bridge
Either the player's hand or a mechanical bridge used to support the shaft end of the
cue stick during a shot. Also the particular hand formation used for this purpose
(there are many).
Bridge hand
The hand used by a player as a bridge during a normal shot that doesn't involve a
mechanical bridge. The bridge hand is usually a player's non-dominant hand.
Brown ball
Also brown. In snooker, the highest-value baulk colour, worth 4 points.
Bumper
The bumper on the bottom of a cue, usually made from rubber, which insulates the butt
cap from contact with the floor and greatly reduces noise. The bumper was first
patented in 1880.
Burnish
1.To seal the pores of a wooden cue's shaft by rubbing vigorously with some material.
Leather is commonly employed for the task, as is paper money.
2.To similarly vigorously rub the edge of a cue tip (especially a new one) to fortify
it against mushrooming and ensure that it is perfectly flush with the ferrule.
3.To smooth out minor dents in the shaft with a rigid burnisher.
Burnisher
1.A pad, usually of leather, used to burnish (seal the wood pores of) a cue shaft.
2.A rigid tip tool used to finish and harden the sides of a new cue tip.
3.A shaft maintenance tool, most commonly a cylindrical glass rod, used for smoothing
minor nicks in the shaft. This is sometimes done after swelling the wood at the nick
site with some moist application.
Bushka rings
Named after their innovator, legendary cue maker George Balabushka, Bushka rings are
decorative bands of material incorporated into pool cues, commonly just above the wrap
area, in the form of ebony and ivory blocks, or sometimes other materials, alternating
in a checked pattern.
Business, doing Collusion between match play opponents who prearrange who will win a
match on which other people's money is wagered, in order to guarantee a payday.
Butt
The bottom portion of a pool cue which is gripped by a player's hand.
Butt cap
A protective cap mounted on the end of the butt of a cue.
Button
A point bead on a scoring string.
C
Calcutta
A player's auction at a pool tournament. Each player is called and players and
spectators bid on the player. The highest bidder(s) pays their bid to the Calcutta,
and by doing so invest in that player's success. If a player wins or places in the
tournament, those who "bought" the player receive a percentage of the total Calcutta
payout, usually tracking the percentage payout of the tournament prize fund.
Typically, players have the option of purchasing half of themselves when the high bid
is won by a third party. Like English and scotch doubles, usually not capitalized.
Call
Any instance of a player having to say what they are about to do, or have already
done. For example, in straight pool a player must call the pocket in which a ball is
intended to be potted. Contrast fish, slop.
Call-shot
Also called-shot; call-pocket or called-pocket; ball-and-pocket. Any game in which
during normal play a player must call the ball to be hit and the intended pocket;
"eight-ball is a call-shot game." Sometimes referred to as "call[ed]-pocket", "call
the ball and pocket", etc., to distinguish it from the common American bar pool
practice of requiring every aspect of shots to be called, such as caroms, kick shots,
and cushions to be contacted (this is sometimes also ambiguously referred to as
"call-shot", or more accurately "call-everything" or "call-it-all"). See also
gentlemen's call.
Called ball
The ball designated by a player to be pocketed on a shot.
Called pocket
The pocket designated by a player to which a ball is to be shot.
Cannon
British/Australian and sometimes Canadian term for carom.
Card
Short for tournament card.
Carom
Carom came into use in the 1860s and is a shortening of carambola, which was earlier
used to describe the red object ball used in many billiards games. Carom generally
refers to any type of strike and rebound, off a rail or ball, but may also be used
as short for a carom shot in which a point is scored in carom billiards games by
careening the cue ball into the two object balls. Also called a cannon in British
terminology.
Carambole
Also spelled carombola.
1.The red ball in carom games, derived from an orange-colored, tropical Asian fruit,
called a carambola in English, which was a corruption of the original name of the
fruit, karambal in the Marathi language of India.
2.A general purpose term for carom billiards games;
3.Alternate name for the game of straight rail;
4.A carom.
Catch a stroke
See Stroke, catch a.
Center spot
Also centre spot, middle spot. The (usually unmarked) spot at the geometric center of
the bed of a table. It lies at the intersection of the center string and long string.
Center string
Also centre string. The (usually unmarked) line bisecting the centers of the two side
pockets (if any) and the center spot. It runs horizontally (i.e. the short way) across
the dead center of the table. Its intersection with the long string defines the
position of the center spot.
Centre pocket
In the UK, one of the two pockets one either side of a pool, snooker or English
billiards table halfway up the long rails. They are cut shallower than corner pockets
because they have a 180 degree aperture, instead of 90 degrees. Also commonly called a
middle pocket. These terms are not generally used in the US, where "side pocket"
prevails.
Century
Main article: Century break
Also century break. In snooker, English billiards and other British usage, a break of
100 points or more, which involves potting at least 25 balls consecutively, in
snooker, but can be earned via a combination of scoring techniques in English
billiards, etc. A century of centuries is the achievement of 100 or more century
breaks in a career, a feat few players have performed to date. See also double
century.
Chalk
A powdered substance placed on a cue's tip to increase its friction and thereby
decrease slippage between the tip and cue ball. Cue "chalk" is not actually chalk
(calcium carbonate) at all, but a compound of silica and aluminum oxide. Chalk is sold
in compressed, dyed (most commonly blue) cubes wrapped on five sides with a paper
label, and is applied (properly) in a manner similar to lipstick on the mouth. Chalk
is essential to shots involving spin, and failure to use it frequently during a game
is likely to lead to miscuing. Modern cue chalk was co-invented by pro player William
A. Spinks and engineer William Hoskins. See also hand chalk.
Chasing one's money
The inability of some players to stop gambling once they have lost money because they
"have" to get their money back.
Cheat the pocketTo aim at an object ball such that it will enter one side or the
other, rather than the center, of a pocket. This permits the cue ball to strike the
object ball at a different contact point than the most obvious one. Cheating the
pocket is employed for position play, to allow a ball to pass another partially
obscuring the path to the pocket, and to prevent scratches on dead-straight shots in
cases where draw is not desirable (or may not be dependable, e.g. because of smash-
through).
Check side
A type of spin imparted to the cue ball to make it rebound from a cushion at a
shallower angle than it would if the spin had not been used.
Chinese snooker
Chinese snooker on the red ballA situation where the cue ball is directly in front of
another ball in the line of the shot such that the player is hampered by it, having to
bridge over it awkwardly with the likelihood of a foul looming if the object ball is
inadvertently touched.] The term is most common in the game of snooker but is used in
U.S. parlance.
Chuck nurse Known as a rocking cannon in British terminology. A type of nurse used in
carom billiards games. With one object ball frozen to a cushion and the second object
ball a few inches away from the rail, the cue ball is gently rebounded off the frozen
ball not moving it, but with just enough speed to meet the other object ball which
rocks in place, but does not change position. Developed to thwart the restrictions
emplaced by the Parker's box.
Choke
To commit errors while shooting, especially at the money ball, due to pressure.
See also dog, one-stroke.
Cinch a ball
To play a shot with the stroke and speed that makes it easiest to pocket the object
ball, even at the expense of sacrificing position.
Cinch a pocket
To maneuver a ball on a shot so that it will be favorably positioned for later play
into a particular pocket, even at the expense of sacrificing position or the inning to
achieve that result.
Cinch position
To play a shot using a more difficult application of stroke and speed to achieve a
certain desired position for the next shot, even at the expense of or sharply
increasing the likelihood of a miss.
Clean
1.Chiefly British. Describing a pot that goes straight into the pocket without
touching either knuckle.
2.Chiefly American. Describing a shot in bar pool: the pocketing of an object ball in
a manner such that the target object ball does not kiss any other object ball, and is
not banked, kicked, caromed, or combo'd in, and without double-kissing, though it may
hit the knuckles, and depending upon local bar-rules may be allowed to contact either
of the cushions, not just at the knuckle, that run into the target pocket. Usage
example: "The 7 in that corner, clean". Usage can be narrower, to indicate clean other
than as already specified, e.g. "bank the 7 in that corner, clean".
Clearance
In snooker and British pool, the successful potting of all object balls-on in a single
frame. A player is said to have "cleared up" or to have "cleared the table". Also, if
a snooker player compiles a break consisting of all 15 reds with colours, then the
colours in sequence, this is known as a "total clearance". Compare break and run.
Cling
Phenomenon where two balls, (usually the cue ball and an object ball) have some
foreign material (often residual chalk or dirt picked up from unbrushed cloth) between
them at the point of contact, resulting in the object ball struck being thrown offline
from the expected trajectory, and often also affecting the post-impact path of the cue
ball. A typical precaution against cling is to ask for the cue ball and/or object ball
to be cleaned by the referee in order to remove chalk that is already on the ball
prior to the shot. The table cloth should also be clean. However, no precaution can
ward against cling resulting from chalk transferred from the cue tip to the cue ball
during a single shot. Coincidental cling can therefore cause unpredictable play and
occasionally lead to rudimentary shots being missed at even the highest levels of the
game. "Cling" (and derived words like "clung", "clinger", "clinging", etc.) may be
used as a mass noun, less commonly as a count noun, as a verb, and rarely as an
adjective ("cling is annoying", "two clings in one frame", "they clung",
"unintentional cling shot", respectively). Also known as skid, or in the UK, kick
(sense 2). See also dead ball, sense 2.
Closed bridge Also loop bridge. A bridge formed by the hand where a finger (normally
the index finger) is curved over the cue stick and the other fingers are spread on the
cloth providing solid support for the cue stick's direction. A closed bridge is less
common in snooker play than in other games. Compare Open bridge.
Cloth
The baize cloth covering the tables playing surface and rails, usually made from wool
or a wool-nylon blend. In use since the 15th century, cloth is traditionally green-
colored, chosen for its evocation of grass. Sometimes cloth is improperly referred to
as "felt." The properties of the cloth used to cover a table, as well as environmental
conditions that can affect it—notably humidity, the degree its been stretched when
installed, and its level of cleanness—have a profound affect on play.[1]:53 See also
fast.
Cluster
Two or more object balls that are touching or are close together. More rare uses of
the term include the intended action of a gather shot, and a run of points.
Cocked-hat double Also cocked hat double. A term applied especially in snooker for a
type of double off three cushions, e.g. around the baulk colours and into a centre
pocket. Such a shot is very difficult to make and would not normally be played as
anything more than a shot for nothing.
Collar The protector of the joint of the cue on the joint end of the butt and shaft
(i.e., the butt collar and shaft collar respectively). Most modern cues use collars of
steel and/or other materials, but carom billiards cues usually have a collar less
wood-on-wood joint, as do "sneaky petes".
Collision-induced side spinSide spin imparted to an object ball by the friction from
the hit of the cue ball during a cut shot.
Collision-induced throw
Deflection of an object ball's path away from the impact line of a cut shot, caused by
sliding friction between the cue ball and the object ball. One of the two types of
throw.
Colour ball
Also coloured ball(s), colour(s); American spelling color sometimes also used.
1.In snooker, any of the object balls that are not reds. A colour ball must be potted
after each red in the continuation of a break, and are re-spotted until the reds run
out, after which the colours must be potted in their order:
■yellow (2 points);
■green (3 points);
■brown (4 points);
■blue (5 points);
■pink (6 points);
■black (7 points).
Although the full term includes "ball" after the colour, they are most commonly
referred to with the omission of "ball", just stating the colour (e.g. "he's taken
five blacks with reds so far").
2. In blackball, a generic, collective term for the red and yellow groups of object
balls, corresponding to the (originally American, but used much more widely today)
solids and stripes, respectively.
Combination shot
Also combination, combo. Any shot in which the cue ball contacts an object ball, which
in turn hits one or more additional object balls (which in turn may hit yet further
object balls) to send the last-hit object ball to an intended place, usually a pocket.
In the UK this is often referred to as a plant.
Contact point
The point on each of two balls at which they touch at the moment of impact.
Containing safety
A type of safety shot in the middle of a safety exchange that is not intended to put
the opponent in a difficult situation regarding their next safety, but rather played
so as to not leave an easy pot on. A typical example in snooker, which sees the most
shots of this kind, is a slow roll-up into the pack.
Corner-hooked
When the corner lip of a pocket blocks the path of the cue ball from contacting an
intended object ball. Interchangeable with "tittie-hooked".]
Corner pocket
Any of the four pockets in each corner of a pool or snooker table. They have a 90
degree aperture and as such are cut deeper than center pockets, which have 180 degree
apertures.
Count
A successful shot or score; more common in carom games.
Count, the
The running score during a game inning where multiple successive points have been
made.
Cradle cannon
A type of nurse shot used in English billiards in which two coloured balls are
positioned on either side of the mouth of a snooker table pocket but not touching and,
thus placed, can be successively contacted and scored off over and over by the cue
ball without moving them. The cradle cannon's first known use was by Walter Lovejoy in
1907. The unofficial record using the shot is held by Tom Reece who in 1907, over the
course of a month, scored 499,135 points using the cradle cannon before stopping
without missing. This feat prompted the Billiards Association to outlaw the shot. The
official record is held by William Cook with 42,746 points scored. Compare anchor
nurse.
Creep
Deviation of a ball from its initial direction of travel. Often the result of a poor-
quality table and may be an artifact of the cloth, the bed, a ball with uneven weight
distribution, or simply the floor the table stands on being uneven. It should not be
confused with the nap of the cloth.
Cribbage
A set of paired balls in the game of cribbage pool that have a number value which
combined equal 15. For example, the 8 ball and the 7 ball added together equal 15 and
thus constitute one cribbage if pocketed in succession.
Cross
Also cross rake or jigger. A type of rest, with a straight shaft and "x" -shaped head
for resting the cue upon.
Cross-corner
A bank shot that rebounds from a cushion into a corner pocket across the table.
Cross double
A British term describing a bank shot in which the cue ball crosses the future path of
the object ball. Such shots are usually played into a center pocket because there is
the danger of a double-kiss if played to a corner pocket.
Cross-side
A bank shot that rebounds from a cushion and into a side pocket.
Crotch
The corner formed by the rails on a carom billiards table. In modern straight rail
rules, only three counts may be made while both object balls are inside the boundaries
of the crotch before one ball must be driven away. The boundaries of each of the four
crotch areas are measured by drawing a line from the first diamond on the end rail to
the second diamond on the long rail.
Crucible Curse
Main article: Crucible Curse
The phenomenon that (as of 2009) no first-time winner of the World Snooker
Championship, at the Crucible Theatre, has successfully defended the title the
following year.
Cue
1.Noun: Also cue stick. A stick, usually around 55-60" in length with a tip made of a
material such as leather on the end and sometimes with a joint in the middle, which is
used to propel billiard balls. For more information see the cue stick main article.
2.Noun: Sometimes "cue" is short for cue ball.
3.Verb: Same as stroke, definition 1
Cue action
Chiefly British: The posture and timing used by players on their shots, often
indicative of how they play in their shot selection. A fast, natural player would tend
to be more aggressive whereas a less naturally-gifted player might have a slow action
and tend to be more conservative on the table. It is widely thought that better
snooker players get lower to the table with their chins on the cue, have a straight
back leg, their elbow hinging in line with the shot, and a straight follow-through
after the cue ball has been struck.[citation needed]
Cue ball
Also cue ball. The ball in nearly any cue sport, typically white in color, that a
player strikes with a cue stick.[5] Sometimes referred to as the "white ball",
"whitey" or "the rock". For more information, see the billiard ball main article.
Cue ball control
See position play.
Cue power
A British term describing the amount of control a player can retain when playing shots
with heavy spin and great pace; "it took tremendous cue power to get onto the 2 ball
having been relatively straight on the 1."
Cue stick
Also cuestick. Same as cue.
Cue tip
For more details on this topic, see Cue stick#Tips.
A material, usually leather, placed on the end of a cue stick which comes in contact
with the cue ball.
Curve shot
Same as semi-massé. Compare #Swerve shot.
Cueist
A player of cue sports.
Cushion
The elastic bumpers mounted on all rails of a billiards table, usually made from
rubber or synthetic rubber, from which the balls rebound.[5]
Cut shot
Technically, any shot that is not a center-to-center hit, but almost always employed
when describing a shot that has more than a slight degree of angle.[5]
D
"D", theA semicircle with an 111⁄2 inch (291 mm) radius, drawn behind a snooker
table's baulk line, centred on the middle of the line, and resembling the upper case
letter "D" in shape. The "D" is also used in English billiards and sometimes also in
blackball and other pool games played on British-style tables.
Dart stroke
A short and loose stroke performed in a manner similar to the way one throws a dart;
usually employed for a jump shot. See also nip draw.
Dead
When two or more object balls are frozen or nearly frozen, such that cue-ball contact
with one object ball, without the necessity of great accuracy, will almost certainly
pocket an intended object ball in the cluster. The most common form of dead
arrangements are the dead combination or dead combo (a combination shot in which
contact with the first object ball will pocket another one, and the dead kiss, in
which contact with the first object ball will pocket it off of another one. See also
wired.
Dead cushion
Same as dead rail.
Dead ball
1.Short for dead ball shot.
2.A ball that has been used for some time, with a dirty surface, as opposed to a slick
new (or highly-polished used) ball.[15] A spinning dead ball will transfer more spin
to other balls it comes into contact with, and not be as fast on the cloth. Even cut
shot angles may be affected because of the cling or skid (British: kick) effect, and
professional players often ask a referee to clean a ball, mid-game.[citation needed]
Others may actually be more used to dead balls and prefer them.
Dead ball shot
Same as kill shot.
Dead rail
A cushion that has either lost a degree of elastic resiliency or is not firmly bolted
to the frame, in both cases causing balls to rebound with less energy than is normal.
Dead stroke
When a player is playing flawlessly, just "cannot miss" and the game seems effortless.
Deadweight
Describing a pot played at such a pace as to just reach the pocket and drop in without
hitting the back.
Deflection
Displacement of the cue ball's path away from the parallel line formed by the cue
stick's direction of travel; occurs every time English is employed. The degree of
deflection increases as the amount of English applied increases. It is also called
squirt, typically in the United States.
Deliberate foul
A shot, especially common in straight pool and in some variants of blackball (but not
WEPF/EPA rules), in which a player intentionally commits a foul with the object in
mind of either leaving the opponent with little chance of running out or simply to
avoid shooting where no good shot is presented and to do anything else would give the
opponent an advantage. It is often referred to in straight pool as a "back scratch."
Develop
To move a ball (usually deliberately) from a safe position, e.g. close to the middle
of a cushion or in a cluster, so that it becomes pottable.
Diamond
1.
A manufacturer's sample board showing various styles of diamond inlays for billiard
tables. One of a number of identical markings, usually inlaid into the surface above
the rail cushions, used as target or reference points. Three equally-spaced diamonds
are normally between each pocket on a pool table. On a carom table, the pockets
themselves are replaced by additional diamonds. Diamonds get their name from the shape
of the markings traditionally used; though many today are round, square, etc., these
rail markings are still referred to as "diamonds". (See also diamond system.)
2.
Racking up a game of seven-ball using the diamond rack more commonly used for nine-
ball, but sideways. The 1 ball is about to be placed on the foot spot to complete the
rack. A particular shape of ball rack, in the form of a parallelogram ("diamond
shape"), used for racking games of nine-ball and seven-ball, though the triangle rack
can also be used for the former, and hexagonal racks also exist for the latter. (See
also triangle.)
Diamond system
Any system for banking or kicking balls multiple rails which uses table diamonds as
aiming references.
Discipline
1.A cue sports game (such as eight-ball, three-cushion billiards, 18.2 balk line,
etc.), especially as a professional or serious amateur specialization: "He was a World
Champion in three billiards disciplines."[citation needed]
2.An artistic pool term for a category of trick shots; artistic pool is divided into
eight disciplines, and APTSA tournaments present both discipline-specific and all-
around awards.
Dish
Same as run out (chiefly British). See also break and dish.
Dog
Also dog it.
1.A widespread term in US parlance describing missing a relatively easy shot—often in
the face of pressure. Can be used in many forms: "I dogged the shot"; "I hope he dogs
it"; "I'm such a dog."[6][28] See also choke, one-stroke.
2.Same as slop shot (chiefly southern US, colloquial).
Dots
In chiefly UK parlance, the non-striped ball group of a fifteen ball set that are
numbered 1 through 7 and have a solid color scheme. Compare solids, reds, low, small,
little, spots, unders; contrast stripes.
Double
Same as kick shot (chiefly British).
Double century
Also double-century break. In English billiards, a break of 200–299 points (i.e.
double a century). Larger multi-centuries are regularly achieved. Rare in amateur
play, triple centuries are routine, and quadruples not uncommon at World Professional
Billiards Championships; 2007 winner Mike Russell shot four triples in the final round
alone, while of sixteen competitors, three shot quadruple centuries (one once, one
twice, and Russell three times). Quintuple centuries are rare even at the professional
level, with only the 494 shot by nine-time World Champion Russell (who has more such
titles than any other player in history as of 2007) coming close in that event.[30]
World Champion Geet Sethi holds the world record, at a duodectuple century (and then
some) of 1276 consecutive points.
Double cheeseburger, the
Same as hill, hill.
Double-elimination
Main article: Double elimination tournament
Also double elimination. A tournament format in which a player must lose two matches
in order to be eliminated.[5] Contrast single-elimination.
Double hit
An illegal shot (foul) in which the cue stick's tip contacts the cue ball twice during
a single stroke. Double hits often occur when a player shoots the cue ball when it is
very close to an object ball or cushion, because it is difficult to move the cue stick
away quickly enough after the cue ball rebounds from the cushion or object ball.
Double kiss
A situation in which a ball strikes another ball which is close to a rail and the
struck ball rebounds back into the ball it was hit by; usually but not always
unintended.
Double shimmed
A pool table where two shims have been placed on the sides of each pocket (in the jaws
beneath the cloth), making the pockets "tighter" (smaller). Such tables are "tougher"
than unshimmed or single-shimmed tables.
Double the rail
Sometimes called a snake shot. A carom billiards shot, common in three-cushion
billiards, where the cue ball is shot with reverse English at a relatively shallow
angle down the rail, and spins backwards off the adjacent rail back into the first
rail.
Double the pocket
To intentionally rebound the cue ball off both of the pocket points to achieve
position.
Doubles
A form of team play in which two players compete against another team of two players
in any given frame or match. In a doubles game, the first player from the breaking
team is the only one who shoots during the opening inning, with control of the table
passing to a member of the opposing team at the end of that inning, then upon the end
of the opponent's inning to the doubles partner of the original player, and next to
the second opponent, play proceeding in this doubly-alternating manner until
concluded. Contrast Scotch doubles.
Down-table
Toward the foot of the table.
Down-trou
Also downtrou'. New Zealand: A traditional informal (pub pool and university student)
rule, in blackball and eight-ball is the "down-trou" requirement: One who loses
without pocketing any of one's own object balls is expected to honor this humiliation
by dropping one's pants.[32][clarification needed] (See also pantsed.)
Drag shot
A shot played slowly and with heavy draw and follow-through so that the cue ball can
be struck firmly but with a lot of the pace taken out, allowing more control than just
a gentle tap that would travel as far. Also called "Drag Draw".
Draw
Also known as back spin, a type of spin applied to the cue ball by hitting it below
its equator, causing it to spin backwards even as it slides forward on the cloth. Back
spin slows the cue ball down, reduces its travel, and narrows both the carom angle
after contact with an object ball, and angle of reflection off a cushion. There are
several variant terms for this, including "bottom" and "bottom spin" in the US and
"screw" in the UK. Draw is thought to be the first spin technique understood by
billiards players prior to the introduction of leather tips, and was in use by the
1790s.
Draw shot
A shot in which the cue ball is struck below its equator with sufficient draw to make
it reverse direction at the moment of contact with an object ball because it is still
back-spinning. When the object and cue balls are lined up square, the reversal will
be directly backwards, while on a cut shot, the effect will alter the carom angle. It
can also refer to any shot to which draw is applied, as in "draw it off the foot rail
just to the left of the center diamond".
Drill
1.A set practice routine;
2.To beat badly; "I drilled my opponent."
3.In British terminology, a bank shot.
Drop pockets
Netted or cupped pockets that do not return the balls to the foot end of the table by
means of a gutter system or sloped surface beneath (they must instead be retrieved
manually).
Duck
1.(Noun): Derived from "sitting duck", usually referring to an object ball sitting
close to a pocket or so positioned that is virtually impossible to miss. Same as
hanger (US, colloquial), sitter (UK).
2.(Verb): To intentionally play a safety.
Dump
To intentionally lose a game, e.g. to disguise one's actual playing ability.[8] An
extreme form of sandbagging. See also hustle. See also Match fixing for the synonym
"tank", used in sports more generally.
E
8 ballAlso the 8. The money ball (game ball or frame ball) in a game of eight-ball. It
is the last ball that must be pocketed, after the suit of seven object balls belonging
to the player shooting for the 8 (pocketing the 8 ball early is a loss of game—unless
done on the break, in most rules variants). It is usually black in colour with the
numeral "8" in a white circle. In other games, such as nine-ball and straight pool,
the 8 is simply an object ball. Due to its coloring and regular use as a money ball,
it is commonly used as a symbol in popular culture.
End rail
Either of the two shorter rails of a billiards or pocket billiards table.
English
Chiefly American: Also known as side spin, english (which is usually not capitalized)
is spin placed on the cue ball when hit with the cue tip to the left or right of the
ball's center. English has a marked effect on cue ball rebound angle off cushions
(though not off object balls), and is thus crucial for gaining shape; and can be used
to "throw" an object ball slightly off its otherwise expected trajectory, to cheat the
pocket, and for other effects. "English" is sometimes used more inclusively, to
colloquially also refer to follow and draw. In combination one could say bottom-right
english, or like the face of a clock (4 o'clock english). The British and Irish do
not use this term, instead preferring "side". See illustration at spin.
Equator
The horizontal plane directly in the center of the cue ball, which when hit exactly by
the cue tip should impart no follow or draw.
Escape
A successful attempt to get out of a snooker.
Extension
1.Any mechanical aid that serves to extend the length of the player's cue, normally
added to the end of the butt either by clipping around the end or screwing into the
base. Though extensions are used for pool, it is more common in snooker because of the
significantly larger table size.
2.In a tournament where players get limited time to make their shots (common in
televised matches), an extension is extra time granted before making a shot; players
have a limited number of extensions in each frame.
F
Fast
1.Describes tightly-woven and well-used (but clean) billiard table cloth (baize), upon
which the balls move quickly and roll farther, as they experience less friction than
with fuzzy or dirty cloth. May be used more extendedly, as in "this is a really fast
table". Fast cloth makes draw (screw) shots somewhat less effective, as there is less
purchase for the cue ball 's back spin. By the same token, slide and stop shots are
easier on fast cloth because it is so comparatively smooth.
2.Producing lively action; may be said of the table, cushions, or balls, in addition
to the above definition.
3.Unusually "willing" to accept balls; said of pockets; see pocket speed for more
information.
"Slow" is the direct opposite of "fast" in all of these usages.
Fat
See undercut.
Fault
Same as foul (chiefly British, and declining in usage; even the WPA and WEFP blackball
rules use "foul").
Feather shot
Also feather. A very thin cut shot in which the cue ball just brushes the edge of an
object ball. "Feather" by itself can be both noun and verb (e.g. "feathering the
ball").See also snick.
Felt
Same as cloth (deprecated; it is factually incorrect).
Ferrule
A sleeve, fitted onto the lathed-down tip end of the cue, made from fiberglass,
phenolic resin, brass, ivory, horn or antler, melamine, plastic, or other rigid
material, upon which the cue tip is mounted and which protects the shaft wood from
splitting from impact with the cue ball.
Firewood
Common slang in the US for a cheap, poorly-made cue. Compare wood.
Fish
1.An easy mark;
2.A person who loses money gambling and keeps coming back for more;
3.Sometimes, a poor player;
4.As a verb, either to hit the balls hard with no intention in mind other than to get
lucky, or to shoot hard at the money ball ball with the same intention. Compare slop
and fluke; contrast mark (sense 3) and call.
Flagrant foul
A foul where the rules are blatantly, intentionally violated, with a stiffer penalty
(e.g., loss of game) than normal.
Flat-back pack
In snooker, a situation during a frame in which the first line of the remaining reds
grouped together, where the original pack was, are in a straight horizontal line. This
has implications when opening the pack, as a full-ball contact off the top cushion
will usually cause the cue-ball to stick to the red and fail to leave a chance.
Fluke
A shot that has a positive outcome for the player, although it was not what the player
intended. Examples of flukes include an unexpected pot off several cushions or other
balls having missed the pocket aimed for, or perhaps a lucky safety position after
having missed a pot. Compare fish and slop; contrast mark (sense 3) and call. It is
customary to apologise to one's opponent if one does this.
Follow
The forward rotation of the cue ball that results from a follow shot. Also known as
top spin or top, follow is applied to the cue ball by hitting it above its equator,
causing it to spin more rapidly in the direction of travel than it would simply by
rolling on the cloth from a center-ball hit. Follow speeds the cue ball up, and widens
both the carom angle after contact with an object ball, and angle of reflection off a
cushion.
Follow shot
A shot in which the cue ball is struck above its equator with sufficient top spin to
cause the cue ball to travel forward after it contacts an object ball. When a cue ball
with follow on it contacts an object ball squarely (a center-to-center hit), the cue
ball travels directly forward through the space previously occupied by the object ball
(and can sometimes even be used to pocket a second ball). By contrast, on a cut shot,
a cue ball with follow on it will first travel on the tangent line after striking the
object ball, and then arc forward, widening the carom angle.
Follow-through
On a shot, the extension of the cue stick through the cue ball position during the end
of a player's stroke in the direction originally aimed.
Foot
Chiefly American: The half of the table in which the object balls are racked (in games
in which racked balls are used). This usage is conceptually opposite that in British
English, where this end of the table is called the top. Contrast head.
Foot cushion
Chiefly American: The cushion on the foot rail. Compare top cushion; contrast head
cushion.
Foot rail
Chiefly American: The short rail at the foot of the table. Frequently used
imprecisely, to mean foot cushion. Compare top rail; contrast head rail.
Foot spot
The point on the table surface over which the apex ball of a rack is centered (in most
games). It is the point half the distance between the long rails' second diamonds from
the end of the racking end of the table. The foot spot is the intersection of the foot
string and the long string, and is typically marked with a cloth or paper decal on
pool tables. Contrast head spot.
Foot string
An imaginary line running horizontally across a billiards table from the second
diamond (from the foot end of the table) on one long rail to the corresponding second
diamond on the other long rail. The foot string intersects the long string at the foot
spot. It is rarely drawn on the table.]
Forced shot
Same as cheating the pocket. Principally used in snooker.
Force follow
A powerful follow shot with a high degree of top spin on it; usually when the object
ball being hit is relatively close to the cue ball and is being hit very full;[5] also
known as "prograde top spin" or "prograde follow" (when referring to the action on the
shot rather than the shot per se), and as a "jenny" in Australia.
Forward spin
'Same as follow (top spin).
Foul
Sometimes interchangeable with scratch, though the latter is often used only to refer
to the foul of pocketing the cue ball.
A violation of a particular game's rules for which a set penalty is imposed. In many
pool games the penalty for a foul is ball-in-hand anywhere on the table for the
opponent. In some games such as straight pool, a foul results in a loss of one or more
points. In one-pocket, in which a set number of balls must be made in a specific
pocket, upon a foul the player must return a ball to the table. In some games, three
successive fouls in a row is a loss of game. In straight pool, a third successive foul
results in a loss of 16 points (15 plus one for the foul).
Possible foul situations (nonexclusive)
■The player shoots the cue ball first into a ball that is not an object ball;
■The player shoots and after contacting an object ball, no ball is pocketed and
neither the cue ball nor a numbered ball contacts a cushion (excepting push out
rules);
■The player pockets the cue ball (see scratch);
■The player does not have at least one foot on the floor at the moment of shooting;
■The player shoots the cue ball before all other balls have come to a complete stop;]
■The player hits the cue ball more than once during a shot (a double hit);
■The player touches the cue ball with something other than the tip of the cue;■The player touches any ball other
than the cue ball;
■The player causes a ball to leave the table's playing surface without it returning
(e.g., jumping a ball off the table);
■The player marks the table in any manner to aid in aiming;
■The player who has ball-in-hand, touches an object ball with the cue ball while
attempting to place the cue ball on the table;
■The player shoots in such a manner that his cue tip stays in contact with the cue
ball for more than the momentary time commensurate with a stroked shot (a push shot).
Frame
A term especially used in snooker and blackballbut also in the US for each rack from
the break off until a clearance, losing foul or concession has been made. A match is
made up of several frames. See also game (sense 1), which has a slightly broader
meaning.
Frame ball
Same as game ball (chiefly in snooker and blackball). The term is sometimes used
figuratively, to refer to the last difficult shot required to win.
Free ball
A situation where a player has fouled, leaving the opponent snookered. In UK eight-
ball this would normally give the opponent the option of one of two plays: (1) ball-
in-hand with two shots; (2) being allowed to contact, or even pot, a ball other than
one from his/her set from the snookered position (although the black may not be
potted), with the loss of the first shot. In addition, some variations of the game
allow the player to pot on the first visit only, the opposing team balls, without the
loss of a 'free shot'.
In snooker it allows a player to call any ball as the ball she/he would have wanted to
play, potting it for the same number of points, or the opponent can be put back in
without the same privilege, having to play the ball snookered on. It should be noted
that the definition of snooker on this occasion means the opponent cannot strike both
extreme edges of the object ball (or a cluster of touching balls).
Free stroking
1.Pocketing well and quickly but without much thought for position play.
2.Playing loose and carefree.
3.Same as dead stroke.
Freeze up
To dedicate a set amount of money that a gambling match will be played to; no one may
quit until one player or the other has won the "frozen up" funds.
Frozen
A resting ball that is in actual contact with one or more balls or with a rail is
"frozen" (or, colloquially, "froze") to the touching ball(s) or rail. (For frozen
combination/combo, frozen kiss, etc., see the more common variants under dead.
Full
Also full-ball. A type of contact between two balls from which no or little angle is
created between their paths; the contact required to pot a straight shot. It is
commonly used in reference to how much of an object ball a player can see with the cue
ball: "Can you hit that full?".
Fundamentals
The basic actions necessary to shoot well—stance, grip, stroke, bridge, follow-through
and pre-shot routine.
G
Game
1.Play, from the opening break shot until one player has won (or the game has been
halted for some reason by a referee). Games are the units that make up matches, races
(in some senses of that term) and rounds. Essentially the same as frame, except with
regards to straight pool, which is a multi-rack game.
2.An identifiable, codifiable set of rules. pool is not a game, but a class of games.
Nine-ball is a game.
3.Note: There are also slang usages, such as "to have game" (to be a good player, as
in "he['s] got game") and "to be game" (to be willing to play or to gamble, as in
"yeah, I'm game, so let's see what you've got"). But these usages are not particular
to cue sports.
Game ball
The ball required to win the rack. In snooker and blackball it is called the frame
ball. See also money ball.
Games on the wire
To give a handicap to an opponent where they have to win a specified number less games
than the other player in order to triumph in the match. The name refers to posting
games on the scorekeeping mechanism known as a wire, though it is employed when no
actual use of the particular device is available or intended.
Gapper
An agreement between two players in a tournament, one of whom will advance to a
guaranteed money prize if the match is won, to give a certain percentage of that money
to the loser of the match. Also known as a saver.
Gather shot
In the carom games, any shot where the end result is all the balls near each other;
ideally, in position for the start of a nurse on the next stroke.
Gentlemen's call
Also Gentleman's call. An informal approach to the "call-everything" variation of
call-shot, common in bar pool. Obvious shots, such as a straight-on or near-straight
shot for which the shooter is clearly aiming and which could not be mistaken for
another shot, need not be called. Bank shots, kicks, caroms and combinations are
usually less obvious and generally must be called, though this may depend upon the
mutual skill level and shot selection perception of the players. An opponent has the
right to ask what the shooter's intention is, if this is unclear.
Ghost ball
A common aiming method in which a phantom ball is imagined frozen to the object ball
at the point where an imaginary line drawn between their centers is aimed at the
desired target; the cue ball may then be shot at the center of the "ghost" ball and,
ideally, impact the object ball at the proper aiming contact point. The ghost ball
method of aiming results in misses where adjustment is not made for collision induced
throw.
Go off
Describes the propensity of a player losing small sums of money at gambling to
suddenly sharply increase the stakes; often continuing to lose until broke. Compare
Chasing one's money.
Golden break
In nine-ball, especially in the UK, a break shot that pots the 9 ball without fouling,
in which case the player wins in one shot. See also on the break/snap.
Goose neck
Also goose neck rest. Same as swan.
Green
1.Nearly table-length distance between the cue ball and target object ball, or near
cue and object balls and target pocket, i.e. a potentially difficult shot ("you sure
left me a lot of green on that one")
2.The cloth covering the table ("oh, man, you just ripped the green")
3.The green ball ("that was a great shot on the green")
4.Money ("I won a lot of green last night from that wannabe hustler")
Green ball
Also green. In snooker, the colour ball that is worth three points, being the second-
least valuable colour behind the yellow. It is one of the baulk colours.
Green pocket
The pocket in snooker that is closest to the green spot.
Grip
1.The way in which a player holds the butt end of the cue stick.
2.The wrap of the cuestick where the hand is placed, also known as the "grip area."[5]
Group
Same as suit, predominantly in British terminology, i.e., in eight-ball either of the
set of seven balls (reds or yellows) that must be cleared before potting the black.
Generally used in the generic, especially in rulesets or articles, rather than
colloquially by players.
Gully table
1.A table with a ball return system, as opposed to a drop pocket table.
2.Also gutter table. Same as bar table.
H
Half-ball hit
Half-ball strikingA shot aimed such that the center of the cue ball is in line with
the edge of the object ball, eclipsing half of the ball. "Hit it just a little thinner
than half-ball." Assuming a cling does not occur, the shot will impart post-contact
momentum on the object ball in a direction 30° (which is arcsin(1 − x), where x is the
fraction of object ball eclipsed: ½ in this case) off the direction of the cue-ball's
pre-contact momentum. Also notable because the carom angle the cue ball takes is more
consistent than at other contact points.
Half-century
In snooker and other British usages, a break of 50–99 points (100 points or more being
called a century), which involves potting at least 12 consecutive balls.
Hand chalk
A misnomer for hand talc.
HandicappingModification of the rules and/or scoring of a game to enable players of
variable abilities to compete on a more even playing field. Examples of
handicapping include spotting balls and giving games on the wire to an opponent. In
league play, other forms of handicapping include awarding compensating points to a
lesser-skilled team, or using numerical player ranking systems to adjust final scores
between opponents of different skill levels. See Handicapping main article for more
general information on sports handicapping.
Hanger
Same as duck. Derives from an easily-shot ball "hanging" in the pocket.
Hanging in the pocket
A ball hanging over the edge of a pocket.
Have the nuts
Be in a game where either because of disparity in skill level, or because of a
handicap given, it would be very difficult to lose.
Having the cue ball on a string
Used when describing perfect cue ball position play.
Hazard
1.Literally, a pocket, but generally used in the phrases losing hazard – potting
(pocketing the cue ball off another ball – and winning hazard – using the cue ball to
pot another ball – the two types of legal shots that pocket balls in games in which
the term is used at all, which is very few today. The term principally survives in
English billiards, in which both types of shots are point-scoring. Formerly, a large
number of different games made use of the two types of hazards as point scorers or
losers in various different ways (thus their suggestive names). The term ultimately
derives from holes or pockets in the table to be avoided, in very early forms of
billiards. While the terms are disused in pocket billiards today,
their lingering effect is obvious, as the vast bulk of such games focus on making
winning hazards and avoiding losing hazards (a notable exception being Russian pyramid
in which both are legal shots).
2.In golf billiards, an area of the table (sometimes marked) that a player will be
penalized for entering if their ball does not leave. Derives from the use of the term
in the outdoor game of golf.
Head
Chiefly American: The half of the table from which the break shot is taken. This usage
is conceptually opposite that in British English, where this end of the table is
called the bottom. Contrast foot. See also kitchen.
Head cushion
Chiefly American: The cushion on the head rail. Compare bottom cushion; contrast foot
cushion.
Head rail
Chiefly American: The short rail at the head of the table. Traditionally this is the
rail on which the table manufacturer's logo appears. Compare bottom rail, baulk rail;
contrast foot rail.
Head spot
The intersection of the head string and long string, which is usually not marked on a
table with a spot decal, unlike the foot spot, though some pool halls mark both spots
so that racking can be done at either end of the table, and wear on the cloth from
racking and breaking is more evenly distributed.
Head string
A line, sometimes imaginary (especially in American pool), sometimes drawn on the
cloth, that runs horizontally across the table from the second diamond (from the head
rail) on one long rail to the corresponding second diamond on the other long rail.
In most pool games, the opening break shot must be performed with the center (base) of
the cue ball behind the head string (i.e. between the head string and head rail). The
head string intersects the long string at the head spot, and delimits the kitchen
(and, in European nine-ball, the outer boundary of the break box). The head string's
position is always determined by the diamonds, in contrast to the similar but
different baulk line, the position of which is determined by measurement from the
bottom cushion (head cushion).
Heads up
Same as straight up.
Heart
The strength of a player's will to win; the ability to overcome pressure; "he showed a
lot of heart in making that comeback."
High
1.Also highs, high balls, high ones. In eight-ball and related games, to be shooting
the striped suit (group) of balls (9 through 15); "you're high balls" or "I've got the
highs" ("you're high" is rare, because of the "intoxication" ambiguity). Compare
stripes, yellows, big ones, overs; contrast low.
2.With follow, as in "I shot that high left", meaning "I shot that with follow and
with left english". Derives from the fact that one must aim above the cue ball's
equator, i.e. "high" on the ball, to impart follow. "With" is optional (e.g. "I shot
that with high left"). Contrast low.
3.With run, a lengthy run. The exact implication is dependent upon context, e.g. "my
high run at three-cushion is 15", "Jones had the highest run of the tournament", "that
was a pretty high run you just did", etc.
4.In snooker, same as "above", as in "she'll want to finish high on the black to allow
position on the red".
Hill
See on the hill, hill-hill.
Hill-hill
The point in match play where both players (or teams) need only one more game (frame)
victory to win the match or race. See also on the hill.
Hold the spot, to
In snooker, to leave the cue ball ball on the spot of a colour ball after potting it.
This is usually performed where re-spotting of the colour ball would cause positional
problems for the player, such as blocking available pots on one or more red balls.
HoAlso ho ball(s). An exhortatory cry to a ball or balls to slow down or come to a
stop, often made when overshooting position with the cue ball.
Hook
1.Same as snooker (verb)
2.Same as hook rest.
Hook rest
Also the hook. In snooker, a type of mechanical bridge that has only recently been
endorsed by the WPBSA to allow its use in major tournament play. It is a normal rest
with the head in line with the shaft, but the last foot or so of the shaft is curved.
This allows players to position the curved end around an obstructing ball that would
have otherwise left them hampered on the cue ball and in need of a spider or swan with
extensions, which would have less control.
House cue
Usually a one-piece cue freely available for use by patrons in bars and pool halls.
House man
A pool room employee who plays with a good degree of skill.
House rack
A pejorative term for an improper rack in which the balls are not properly in contact
with their neighbors, often resulting in a poor spread on the break.
House rules
The rules played in a particular venue not necessarily in comportment with official
rules, or with common local bar pool custom.
Hug the rail
Describes a ball rolling along a rail in contact or near contact with it, or which
makes multiple successive contacts with the rail. See velcro.
Hustle
Main article: Hustling
To play for money and lull a victim into thinking they can win, prompting them to
accept higher and higher stakes, until beating them and walking off with more money
than they would have been willing to bet had they been beaten soundly in the
beginning. The terms hustler, for one who hustles, and hustling, describing the act,
are just as common if not more so than this verb form. See also sandbag, on the
lemonade, lemonade stroke, shark, dump.
I
Illegal
As in many other sports, "illegal" means causing or likely to cause a foul (the
opposite being legal). (See legal for specific examples of usage.)
In-hand
1.Shortening of ball-in-hand.
2.In snooker, the ability to place the cue ball anywhere inside the boundaries of the
D. This occurs at the start of a frame, and after the cue ball has been potted or
forced off the table.
Inning
A player's (or doubles team's) turn at the table, usually ending with a failure to
score a point or to pocket a ball, depending on the game, a foul, a safety or with a
win. In some games, such as five-pins and killer, a player's inning is always
limited to one shot, regardless of the intent and result of the shot. Usually
synonymous with visit, except in scotch doubles format. The term is sometimes used to
mean both players'/teams' visits combined, e.g. when referring to which inning in
which a memorable shot occurred.
In-off
In snooker and British pool, an instance where the cue ball has been potted after
contacting an object ball. It is a fault in most games. There is no equivalent
(current) American term for this specific means of pocketing the white ball. Compare
losing hazard, scratch.
Inside english
Side spin placed on a same side of the cue ball as the direction in which the object
ball is being cut (left-hand english when cutting a ball to the left, and vice
versa). In addition to affecting cue ball position, inside english can increase
throw.
In stroke
Cueing and timing the balls well; in good form, where potting, safety and clarity of
thinking seems to come a lot easier. If a player is not doing as well but then
suddenly picks up, which happens during the course of most matches, she/he is said to
catch a stroke.
Insurance ball
A ball that is easily made from many positions on the table but which is left
untouched while the rack is played, so that in the event the player gets out of
position, the shooter has an insurance shot. Typically an insurance ball will be in or
near the jaws of a pocket.
In the balls
In snooker, a phrase used to describe a situation where the player has an easy pot and
in general the balls are in a position to go on to make a sizeable break.
In the money
In a tournament, to place high enough to receive a payout. E.g., in a tournament that
pays from 1st down to 5th places, to be at least 5th place is to be in the money.[6]
In turn
When a particular ball is given as a handicap in nine-ball, designating that ball in
turn means that it must be made in rotation, when it is the lowest numerical ball
remaining on the table, and cannot be made to garner a win earlier in the game by way
of a combination, carom or any other shot. For example, if a player is spotted the 8
ball, he only wins by making that ball after balls 1 through 7 have been cleared from
the table. The phrase is not common in the U.S.
Irish linen
Linen made from flax and produced in Ireland which is often used to wrap the gripping
area of the butt of a cue.
J
Jack up
1.To elevate the back of the cue on a shot.
2.In gambling, to "jack up a bet" means to increase the stakes.
Jail
When a player is on the receiving end of a devastating safety where it is very
difficult or near impossible to make a legal hit on an object ball.[39]
Jam up
Adjectival expression for a player's deadly game; "watch out, he plays jam up."
Jawed ball
A ball that fails to drop into a pocket after bouncing back and forth between the jaws
of a pocket.
Jaws
The inside walls of a pocket billiards table's pockets.
Jenny
Chiefly Australian: Same as a force follow shot.
Jigger
Same as cross.
Joint
The interlocking connection between the butt and shaft ends of a two-piece cue
stick.Usually connects via means of a steel or wooden pin, and may be protected by a
collar of metal or some other material, or may connect wood-on-wood.
Joint protectors
Plugs that screw into the joint when a two-piece cue is broken down to keep foreign
objects and moisture from contacting the joint mechanism.
Jump cue
A cue dedicated to jumping balls; usually shorter and lighter than a playing cue and
having a wider, hard tip. Also referred to as a jump stick.
Jump draw
A rare and very difficult trick jump shot that turns into a draw shot upon landing.
Requires precise application of spin in addition to the precise application of ball
pressure to effectuate the jump. Jump draws are fairly often seen in professional
trick shot competition.
Jump massé
A rare and extremely difficult trick jump shot that turns into a massé upon landing.
Requires very precise application of spin in addition to the precise application of
ball pressure to effectuate the jump. Turn-of-the-last-century World Balkline Champion
Jacob Schaefer Sr. was known to daringly perform jump massés in competition.
Jump shot
Also simply jump. Any shot where the cue ball is intentionally jumped into the air to
clear an obstacle (usually an object ball, even in games with non-ball objects,
e.g. bottle pool). Jump shots must be performed by hitting the cue ball into the
table's surface so that it rebounds from the cloth. Scooping under the cue ball to
fling it into the air is deemed a foul by all authoritative rules sources, as the cue
ball is technically struck twice, once by the tip, once by the ferrule.[citation
needed] A legal jump shot works by compressing the cue ball slightly against the slate
under the cloth, causing it to spring upward when the downward pressure of the cue is
released.[citation needed] Naturally, non-standard "rock" cue balls (made of ceramic,
is much denser than the more typical phenolic resin and other plastics used for
billiard balls) are not well-suited to jump shots. Some billiard halls and even entire
leagues prohibit all jump (and in those cases usually also massé) shots, out of fears
of damage to the equipment, especially the cloth. Specialized jump cues exist to
better facilitate jump shots; they are usually shorter and lighter, and with harder
tips, than normal cues. Jump shots that go through or into objects rather than over
them are common in trick shot competition.
K
Key ball
The object ball involved in a key shot.
Key shot
1.A shot or ball that allows a player to obtain shape on another ball hard to play
position to.
2.A shot or ball that is the "key" to running out.
3.The 14th object ball in a rack of straight pool that, when proper position is
achieved on, allows easy position play, in turn, on the last (15th) object ball for an
intergame break shot.
Kick
1.Short for kick shot. Also used as a verb, "to kick [at]" (US).
2.Same as cling (US) and skid (British). Noun, verb and rare adjective usage as per
"cling".
Kick shot
A shot in which the cue ball is driven to one or more rails (cushions in British
English) before reaching its intended target—usually an object ball. Often
shortened to 'kick'.
Kill shot
Also dead ball shot. A shot intended to slow down or "kill" the cue ball's speed as
much as possible after contact with an object ball; usually a shot with draw, often
combined with inside english. It is often shortened to kill.
Kiss
An instance of contact between balls, usually used in the context of describing an
object ball contacting another object ball (e.g. "the two ball kissed off the twelve
ball"). If the player's intention was to cause two object balls to kiss (e.g. to
pocket a shot ball after a ricochet off a stationary one), it is often called a kiss
shot. Compare double kiss; contrast carom.
Kiss shot
See kiss.
Kitchen
The area on the table behind the head string.[5] The origin of the term has been the
subject of some speculation but the best explanation known is that in the 1800s, many
homes didn't have room for both a billiard table and a dining room table. The solution
was a billiards table that had a cover converting it into a dining table. Kept in the
dining room, play on such a table was often restricted by the size of the room, so it
would be placed so that the head rail would face the connected kitchen door, thus
affording a player room for the backswing without hitting a wall. A player was
therefore either half or sometimes fully (literally) "in the kitchen" when breaking
the balls. See also baulk.
Knuckle
One of two sharp, jutting curves of the cushions either side of a pocket at the points
where cushion and pocket meet, forming the jaws of the pockets. Also known as a point,
a tittie or a horn.
L
Ladies' aid
Also lady's aid. A denigrating term for the mechanical bridge.
Lag
To determine the order of play, players (representing only themselves, or teams) each
simultaneously shoot a ball from the kitchen (or in British games, from the baulk
line) to the end rail and back toward the bottom rail. Whichever shooter's ball comes
to rest closest to the bottom rail gets to choose who breaks the rack.[22]:139 It is
permissible but not required for the lagged ball to touch or rebound from the bottom
rail, but not to touch the side rails. Lagging is usually a two-party activity, though
there are games such as cutthroat in which three players might lag. In the case of a
tie, the tying shooters re-lag. The lag is most often used in tournament play or other
competitions. In hard-break games like nine-ball and eight-ball the winner of the lag
would normally take the break, while in soft-break games like straight pool would
likely require the loser of the lag to break, since breaking would be a disadvantage.
See also string-off.
Last-pocket
Also last pocket. A common rule in informal bar pool, especially bar/pub eight-ball,
in which the money ball must be pocketed (potted) in the same pocket as the shooter's
last object ball (each player may be said to eventually "own" a pocket, for the
duration of the game, in which their 8 ball shot must be played if they have already
run out their suit). The variant is not extremely common in the United States or the
UK, but is near-universal in much of Latin America (where two cue ball scratches are
permitted when attempting the 8 ball shot and count as simple fouls, with only a third
scratch constituting a loss of game). Last pocket is also common in North Africa.
Last-pocket rules require careful position play, and frequently result in bank and
kick shots at the 8 ball.
League
An organization that promotes competitive, usually team, amateur cue sports, most
commonly pool, especially eight-ball and nine-ball, although there are also well-
established snooker leagues. Some leagues, many of which are decades old, are entirely
local and either informal or incorporated, and may use their own local rules or may
have adopted more widely-published rulesets, such as those of the WPA. Other leagues
are organized on a multi-regional or even international level, and may be non-profit
or for-profit enterprises, usually with their own fine-tuned rule books. Despite
differences, the largest leagues are increasingly converging toward the WPA rules,
with the exception of the APA/CPA, which retains rules much closer to US-style bar
pool. At least four major pool leagues hold international championships in Las Vegas,
Nevada annually (APA/CPA, BCAPL, VNEA and ACS/CCS). Some leagues also offer one-on-one
tournaments, scotch doubles events, artistic pool competition, and other non-team
activities. (See Category:Cue sports leagues for a listing of articles on various
leagues.)
Leave
The cue ball's position after a shot. "Good" or "bad" in reference to a leave describe
respectively and advantageous or disadvantageous position for the next shot, or to
leave an incoming opponent safe.see also position play; compare position, shape.
Legal
As in many other sports, "legal" means not causing or likely to cause a foul (the
opposite being illegal). A legal hit is one in which the requirements for a non-foul
hit are met (e.g., in nine-ball, the lowest-numbered ball on the table was hit by the
cue ball first, and at least one object ball was pocketed, or any ball reached a
cushion, after the hit on the first object ball.). A legal shot is one in which no
foul of any kind was involved (e.g. there was not a double hit by the cue, the
player's bridge hand did not move a ball, etc.). A legal stroke is one in which the
cue stroke obeyed the rules (e.g. the shooter did not perform an illegal jump shot by
scooping under the cue ball with the cue tip). A legal ball is a ball-on, an object
ball at which it is permissible for the player to shoot. And so on. The term can be
used in many ways consistent with these examples ("legal pocket" in one-pocket, "legal
equipment" under tournament specifications, etc.).
Left
Short for left english (side), i.e. spin imparted to the cue ball by stroking it to
the lefthand side of its vertical axis. Contrast right.
Lemonade stroke
An intentionally amateurish stroke to disguise one's ability to play. Compare on the
lemonade.
Let out
To allow an opponent to stop playing a set for money in exchange for something. If a
player is winning a set by a wide margin, with $100 on the line, the player could say,
"I'll let you out now for $75." This is usually meant to save pride.
Little
Also littles, little ones, little balls. In eight-ball, to be shooting the solid suit
(group) of balls (1 through 7); "you're little, remember", "you're the little balls"
or "I've got the littles". Compare small, solids, reds, low, spots, dots, unders;
contrast big.
Lock
A game that basically cannot be lost based on disparity of skill levels; "this game is
a lock for him."
Lock artist
Someone talented at making lock games.
Lock up
The act of playing a devastating safety which results in the opponent facing a very
difficult or near impossible to make a legal hit on an object ball.
Long bank
A cross-corner bank shot from one end of the table to the other (i.e. across the
center string). Long banks are considerably more difficult, because of the smaller
margin for error due to distance and angle widening, than cross-side banks and short
cross-corner banks from the same end of the table.
Long double
Chiefly British: bank shot played up and down the longer length of the table off a
short rail and into a corner pocket, as opposed to the more common bank across the
short length into a center pocket or corner.
Long pot
In snooker, a pot into any of the corner pockets where the cue ball had started in the
opposite lengthwise half of the table. In other words, a pot in which the cue ball or
object ball crosses an imaginary line joining the middle pockets.
Long rail
Same as side rail.
Long string
An imaginary line dividing the table into two equal halves lengthwise. It intersects
the head string, center string and foot string at the head spot, center spot and foot
spot, respectively.
Look back
To enter the loser bracket in a double elimination tournament, or otherwise slip in
standing in other tournament formats (i.e., to lose a game/frame/round/match, but
still remain in the competition).
Losing hazard
Also loser. (Largely obsolete.) A shot in which the cue ball is potted after caroming
off another ball. In snooker and most pool games doing this would be a fault (foul),
but the move will score points in many games in which hazards (as such) apply, such as
English billiards, or in the final or game point in Cowboy pool. The term derives from
this hazard costing the player points in early forms of billiards.Compare in-off,
scratch. Contrast winning hazard.
Low
1.Also lows, low balls, low ones. In eight-ball, to be shooting the solid suit (group)
of balls (1 through 7); "you're low, remember", "you're low balls" or "I've got the
lows." Compare solids, reds, little, spots, dots, unders; contrast high.
2.With draw, as in "I shot that low left", meaning "I shot that with draw and with
left english". Derives from the fact that one must aim below the cue ball's equator,
i.e. "low" on the ball, to impart draw. Contrast high.
M
Mark
1.The target of a scam or hustle;
2.A foolish person in a pool room;
3.To indicate where something is to be done. To "mark the pocket" means to indicate
which pocket you intend to sink an object ball. Contrast fish.
Massé
An extreme massé shot by William A. Spinks during an 1893 exhibition game against
Jacob Schaefer, Sr. Starting from bottom left, his cue ball swerves into and caroms
off one object ball, then due to its extreme spin rebounds into the cushion four times
before finally rolling away for a perfect, scoring hit on the other object ball. And
Spinks lost this game.Also massé shot. A steep curve or complete reversal of cue ball
direction without the necessity of any rail or object ball being struck, due to
extreme spin imparted to the cue ball by a steeply elevated cue.] Compare semi-massé.
Match
1.The overall competition between two players, two pairs of players or two teams of
players, usually consisting of a predetermined number of frames or games (sometimes
organized into rounds). There are also specialized match formats where the game number
is not predetermined; see race and ahead race for examples.
2.To agree to rise to a higher wager, as in "$100? Yeah, I'll match that" (i.e.,
basically equivalent to "call a raise" in poker).
Match ball
The ball required to guarantee victory in a match. Sometimes used figuratively to mean
the last difficult ball required (chiefly British and usually used in multi-frame
matches, particularly snooker).
Match playAlso matchplay, match-play.
1.Chiefly British: Competitive play in matches with standings consequences, such as
local snooker league competition or the World Snooker Championship, as opposed to
practice, playing with friends at the pub, or hustling pool for money.
2.Chiefly American: Same as one-on-one as applied to league play. (Definition appears
to have been introduced by USA Pool League misapplying the term "match" to what is
otherwise termed a "race".)
Maximum break
Main article: Highest snooker break
Also simply maximum. In snooker, the highest break attainable with the balls that are
racked; usually 147 points starting by potting fifteen reds, in combination with
blacks, and clearing the colours. Also called a 147 (one-four-seven). In six-red
snooker, the maximum break is only 75 points, due to fewer red balls and thus fewer
black-scoring opportunities. See also total clearance.
Mechanical bridge
Also called a rake. A special stick with a grooved, slotted or otherwise supportive
end attachment that helps guide the cue stick – a stand-in for the bridge hand. It is
usually used only when the shot cannot be comfortably reached with a hand bridge.
Often shortened to bridge or called a bridge stick.[5] An entire class of different
mechanical bridges exist for snooker, called rests (see that entry for details), also
commonly used in blackball and English billiards. Mechanical bridges have many
derogatory nicknames, such as "crutch", "granny stick", and "sissy stick" because of
the perception by many amateur players that they are evidence of weak playing skills
or technique (the opposite is actually true)[citation needed] or are somehow unmanly.
Small mechanical bridges, that stand on the table surface instead of being mounted on
sticks, exist for disabled players who do not have or cannot use both hands or arms.
Middle pocket
Same as centre pocket.
Middle spot
Same as center spot; uncommon.
Miscue
A stroke in which the cue's tip glances or slips off the cue ball not effectively
transferring the intended force.[5] Usually the result is a bungled shot. Common
causes include a lack of chalk on the cue tip, a poorly groomed cue tip and not
stroking straight through the cue ball, e.g. because of steering.
Miss
In snooker, a rule (commonly called the miss rule) whereby if a player fouls and
leaves it safe, his opponent has the option to make the opponent play exactly the same
shot again, or at least as accurately as the referee is able to reproduce the ball
positions. A miss usually only applies when the player has been put in by the opponent
after a safety. It is a controversial rule that tries to account for deliberate fouls;
a frowned-upon practice. A referee will normally call a miss on any failed attempt to
get out of a safety—especially snookers. If a player misses a shot three times while
not snookered, he forfeits the frame; players will often play an easy hit that is
likely to leave a chance for the opponent on the third attempt
Missable
Describing a difficult pot: "the awkward cueing makes this shot missable."
Money addedAlso money-added. Said of a tournament in which the pot of money to pay out
to the winner(s) contains sponsor monies in addition to competitor entry fees. Often
used as an adjective: "a money-added event". See also added.
Money ball
Name for the ball that when pocketed, wins the game, or any ball that when made
results in a payday such as a way in the game of Chicago.
Money, in the
See in the money.
Money table
The table reserved for games played for money or the best table in the house. This
table is always of better quality and regularly maintained. Money tables are most
commonly reserved for big action.
Mushroom
Leather of the cue tip overhanging the ferrule because of compression from repeated
impacts against the cue ball. It must be trimmed off, or it will cause miscues and
inaccuracies, as it is not backed by the solid ferrule and thus will compress much
more than the tip should on impact9 See also burnish.
Mushroom trimmer
Also mushroom shaver, mushroom cutter. A sharp-bladed tip tool used to trim the
mushroomed portion off a cue tip and restore it to its proper shape.
N
Nap
A directional pile created by the short fuzzy ends of fibers on the surface of cloth
projecting upward from the lie and which create a favorable and unfavorable direction
for rolling balls. The convention in most billiards games in which directional nap
cloth is used is to brush the cloth along the table in the same direction of the nap,
usually from the end that a player breaks. In snooker and UK eight-ball especially,
this creates the effect of creep in the direction of the nap, the most-affected shot
being a slow roll into a center pocket against the nap. It is commonly referred to in
the fuller term "nap of the cloth." When nap is used in relation to woven cloths that
have no directional pile, such as those typically used in the U.S. for pool tables,
the term simply refers to the fuzziness of the cloth.
Natural
1.Noun: In pool, a natural is an easy shot requiring no side spin (english).
2.Adjective: In pool, a shot is said to be natural if it does not require adjustments,
such as a cut angle, side spin, or unusual force. A natural bank shot, for example, is
one in which simply shooting straight into the object ball at medium speed and with no
spin will send the object ball directly into the target pocket on the other side of
the table.
3.In three cushion billiards, the most standard[clarification needed] shot where the
third ball is advantageously placed in a corner.
9 ball
Also the 9. The money ball (game ball or frame ball) in a game of nine-ball. It is the
last ball that must be pocketed, after the remaining eight object balls have been
pocketed, or may be pocketed early to win the game so long as the lowest-numbered ball
on the table is struck before the 9. In other games, such as eight-ball, the 9 is
simply one of the regular object balls (a stripe, in particular).
Nip draw
A short, jabbed draw stroke usually employed so as to not commit a foul (i.e. due to
following through to a double hit) when the cue ball is very near to the target object
ball.
Nit
Someone who wants too high a handicap or refuses to wager any money on a relatively
fair match; a general pool room pejorative moniker. Probably derived from "nitwit".
Nurse
Also nurse shot, nursery shot. In carom games such as straight rail, balkline and
cushion caroms, where all the balls are kept near each other and a cushion, and with
very soft shots, can be "nursed" down a rail on multiple successful shots that
effectively replicate the same ball setup so that the nurse shot can be repeated again
(and again, etc.). Excessive use of nurse shots by players skilled enough to set them
up and pull them off repeatedly at will is what led to the development of the balkline
carom billiards game variations, and repetitive shot limitation rules in English
billiards. A clear example of why: In 1907, Tom Reece scored a record break of 499,135
consecutive points over a period of five weeks, without a miss, using the cradle
cannon nurse shot.
O
Object ball
Depending on context:
1.Any ball that may be legally struck by the cue ball (i.e., any ball-on);
2.Any ball other than the cue ball.
Usage notes: When speaking very generally, e.g. about the proper way to make a kind of
shot, any ball other than the cue ball is an object ball. In narrower contexts, this
may not be the case. For example when playing eight-ball one might not think of the 8
ball as an object ball unless shooting for the 8.
On a string
Used when describing perfect play; a metaphoric reference to puppetry.
1.Pool: See Having the cue ball on a string.
2.Carom billiards: Order may be inverted: "as if the balls had strings on them".[
On the hill
Describes a player who needs only one more game win to be victorious in the match.See
also hill, hill.
On the lemonade
Also on the lemon Disguising the level of one's ability to play; also known as
sandbagging or hustling (though the latter has a broader meaning). Compare lemonade
stroke.
On the snap
As a result of the opening break shot (the "snap"), usually said of winning by
pocketing the money ball ("won on the snap", "got it on the snap", etc.) Employed most
commonly in the game of nine-ball where pocketing the 9 ball at any time in the game
on a legal stroke, including the break shot, garners a win.Sometimes used alone as an
exhortatory exclamation, "On the snap!"[8] See also golden break.
One-on-oneAlso 1-on-1, one on one, etc.
1.Competition between an individual player and an individual opponent, as opposed to
team play, scotch doubles and other multi-player variants.
2.A team play format in which an individual player from the home team plays a race
against an individual player from the visiting team, and then is finished for that
match.(Same as match play, definition 2.) Several large leagues use this format,
including APA/CPA and USAPL. (Contrast round robin.)
One-strokeTo shoot without taking enough warm-up strokes to properly aim and feel out
the stroke and speed to be applied. One-stroking is a common symptom of nervousness
and a source of missed shots and failed position.] See also choke, dog.
Open
1.In eight-ball, when all object balls are balls-on for either player. See open table.
2.A description of a break shot in which the rack (pack) is spread apart well. See
also the open break requirement in some games' rules, including eight-ball and nine-
ball
3.In carom billiards, descriptive of play in which the balls are not gathered. See
open play.
4.A description of a layout of balls in a pocket billiards game (of almost any kind)
that, because it is so spread out, makes its easy for a good player to run out and
win, due to lack of problematic clustered and frozen balls.
Open break
A requirement under some pocket billiards rulesets that either an object ball be
pocketed, or at least four object balls be driven to contact the cushions, on the
opening break shot.] Contrast soft break.
Open bridge
A bridge formed by the hand where no finger loops over the shaft of the cue.
Typically, the cue stick is channeled by a "v"-shaped groove formed by the thumb and
the base of the index finger.
Open play
A description of play in carom billiards games in which the balls remain widely
separated rather than gathered, requiring much more skill to score points and making
nurse shots effectively impossible, and making for a more interesting game for
onlookers. Most skilled players try to gather the balls as quickly as possible to
increase their chances of continuing to score in a long run.
Open table
1.In eight-ball and related games, describes the situation in which neither player has
yet claimed a suit (group) of balls. Often shortened to simply open: "Is it still an
open table?" "Yes, it's open."
Orange crush, the
The 5 out (meaning the player getting the handicap can win by making the 5, 6, 7, 8 or
9 balls).
Out
1.A specific ball number followed by "out" refers to a handicap in nine-ball or other
rotation games where the "spot" is all balls from that designated number to the money
ball. To illustrate, the 6-out in a nine-ball game would allow the player getting
weight to win by legally pocketing the 6, 7, 8 or 9 balls.
2.Short for run out, especially as a noun: "That was a nice out."
Outside english
Side spin on a cue ball on the opposite side of the direction of the cut angle to be
played (right-hand english when cutting an object ball to the left, and vice versa).
In addition to affecting cue ball position, outside english can be used to decrease
throw.
Overcut
Hitting the object ball with too large of a cut angle; hitting the object ball too
thin. It is a well-known maxim that overcutting is preferable to undercutting in many
situations, as is more often leaves the table in a disadvantageous position on the
miss than does an undercut. See also professional side of the pocket.
Overs
Same as stripes, in New Zealand.[48] Compare yellows, high, big ones; contrast unders.
P
Pack
1.In snooker, the bunch of reds that are typically left below the pink spot in the
early stages of a frame, not including those reds that have been released into
pottable positions.
2.A cluster of balls.
3.Same as package.
Package
Successive games won without the opponent getting to the table; a five-pack would be a
package of five games.
Pantsed
Australian: Defeated with all seven of one's object balls (in blackball or eight-ball)
remaining on the table. Informal Australian pub play may stipulate that if one loses
this badly, one has been "pantsed" and must hobble one full lap around the pool table,
with one's pants around one's ankles, or even fully naked.[citation needed] (See also
down-trou.)
Paper cut
Same as feather (US) or snick (UK) (US, colloquial).
Parker's box
Named after Chicagoan J. E. Parker, it is a 3½ × 7 inch box drawn on a balkline table
from the termination of a balkline with the cushion, thus defining a restricted space
in which only a set number of points may be scored before one ball must be driven from
the area. Now supplanted by anchor spaces, it was developed to curtail the
effectiveness of the anchor nurse, which in turn had been invented to exploit a
loophole in balkline rules: so long as both object balls straddled a balkline, there
was no restriction on counts, as each ball lay in a separate balk space.
Parking the cue ball
1.Having the cue ball stop at or near the center of the table on a forceful break shot
(the breaking ideal in many games such as nine-ball);
2.Having the cue ball stop precisely where intended.
Pea
Also pills, tally balls and shake balls. Small, round markers typically numbered 1
through 15 or 16, which are placed in a bottle for various random assignment purposes,
such as in a tournament roster, to assign order of play in a multiplayer game, or to
assign particular balls to players in games such as kelly pool.
Percentage
See play the percentages. Used by itself often with "low" and "high": "that's a
low-percentage shot for me", "I should really take the high-percentage one".
Pin
1.A bolt-threaded protrusion inside the joint of the cue, usually protruding from the
butt and screwing into the shaft rather than vice-versa. Most modern cues make use of
metal pins and collars, but carom billiards cues usually have a wooden pin, and a
collarless wood-on-wood joint.[25]
2.Same as skittle.
Pink ball
In snooker, the second-highest value colour ball, being worth six points.
Pill
Same as pea.
Piqué
Also piquet. Either a massé shot with no english, or a shot in which the cue stick is
steeply angled, but not held quite as vertical as it is in full massé.
Place
To reach a certain position in a tournament. "I placed 17th." "She will probably place
in the money this time."
Plant
Chiefly British. Same as combination shot.
Play the percentages
Using knowledge of the game and one's own abilities and limitations to choose the
manner of shooting and the particular shot from an array presented, that has a degree
of likelihood of success. This often requires a player to forego a shot that if made
would be very advantageous but does not have a high likelihood of success, in favor of
a safety or less advantageous shot that is more realistically achievable.
Pocket
1.(noun) An opening in a table, cut partly into the bed and partly into the rails and
their cushions, into which balls are shot (pocketed or potted).
2.(verb) Send a ball into a pocket, usually intentionally.
Further information: Pocket (billiards)
Pocket speed
Also pocket-speed.
1.Describes the propensity of pockets to more easily accept an imperfectly aimed ball
shot at a relatively soft speed, that might not fall if shot with more velocity ("that
ball normally wouldn't fall but he hit it at pocket speed"). The less sensitive to
shot-speed that a pocket is, the "faster" it is said to be.
2.Describes the velocity of an object ball shot with just enough speed to reach the
intended pocket and drop. "Shoot this with pocket speed only, so you don't send the
cue ball too far up-table."
Point
1.A unit of scoring, in games such as snooker and straight pool with numerical
scoring.
2.A unit of scoring, in team matches in leagues that use numerical scoring instead of
simple game/frame win vs. loss ratios.
3.Another term for knuckle / tittie.
Pointing
A term used to indicate balls that are frozen, or close enough that no matter from
which angle they're hit from the combination will send the outer ball the same
direction. "Are the 2 and 7 pointing at the corner?? Okay, I'll use that duck to get
position way over there."
Pool glove
A tight, Spandex glove covering usually most or all of the thumb, index finger and
middle finger, worn on the bridge hand as a more convenient and less messy alternative
to using hand talc, and for the same purpose: a smooth-gliding stroke.
Pool shark
See shark (in all senses).
Position
The placement of the balls, especially the cue ball, relative to the next planned
shot. Also known as shape. See also position play, leave.
Position play
Skilled playing in which knowledge of ball speed, angles, post-impact trajectory, and
other factors are used to gain position (i.e. a good leave) after the target ball is
struck. The goals of position play are generally to ensure that the next shot is easy
or at least makeable, and/or to play a safety in the advent of a miss (intentional or
otherwise).
Further information: Cue sports techniques
Pot
1.(verb, chiefly British) To sink a ball into a pocket.See also pocket (verb).
2.(noun, chiefly British) An instance of potting a ball ("it was a good pot
considering the angle and distance of the shot").
3.(noun) Pooled money being played for in money games or tournaments, as in poker and
other gambling activities. This very old term derives from players placing their
stakes into a pot or other receptacle before play begins.
Pot and tuck
A tactic employed in UK eight-ball pool in which a player calls and pots one of the
balls in a favorably-lying set, then plays safe, leaving as many of his/her well-
placed balls on the table as possible, until the opponents commits a foul or leaves a
chance that the player feels warrants an attempt at running out.
Potter
A British term for someone with little experience or understanding of the game, who
may be skilled at potting individual balls but does not consider tactics such as
position or safety; "he's a potter not a player." See also banger.
Potting angle
The desired angle that must be created between the path of the cue ball and the path
of the object ball upon contact to pot the object ball. It is usually measured to the
center of the pocket. See also aiming line.
Power draw
Extreme application of draw.
Professional foul
A deliberate foul that leaves the balls in a safe position, reducing the risk of
giving a frame-winning chance to the opponent. The miss rule in snooker was
implemented primarily because of the professional foul possibility.
Professional side of the pocket
Also pro side of the pocket and missing on the professional (or pro) side of the
pocket. Sometimes "of the pocket" is left off the phrase. To err on the side of
overcutting a difficult corner pocket cut shot rather than undercutting in nine ball;
"missing on the professional side of the pocket." So called because experienced
players understand that on a thin cut, overcutting the object ball to a corner pocket
will far more often leave the object ball in an unfavorable position for the incoming
opponent than will an undercut, which often leaves the object ball sitting in front of
or nearby the pocket it had been intended for on a miss. By contrast, in
eight-ball, except when both players are shooting at the 8 ball, the incoming player
after a miss is shooting for different object balls, so this maxim does not apply, and
the opposite may be good strategy as, if the object ball stays near the pocket through
an undercut, it is advantageously positioned for a subsequent turn and may block the
opponent's use of the pocket.
Program
Also (chiefly British) programme. Short for shot program.
Push
Means either push out or push shot, depending on the context.
Push out
As an adjective or compound noun: push-out. A rule in many games (most notably nine-
ball, after and only after the break shot), allowing a player to "push out" the cue
ball to a new position without having to contact any ball, much less pocket one or
drive it to a cushion, but not counting any pocketed ball as valid (other foul rules
apply, such as double hits, scratching the cue ball, etc.), with the caveat that the
opponent may shoot from the new cue ball position or give the shot back to the pusher
who must shoot from the new position. In nine-ball particularly, and derived games
such as seven-ball and ten-ball, pocketing the money ball on a push-out results in
that ball being respotted (which can be used to strategic advantage in certain
circumstances, such as when the break leaves no shot on the ball-on, and failure to
hit it would give the incoming player an instant-win combination shot on the money
ball).[clarification needed]
Push shot
Any foul shot in which a player's cue tip stays in contact with the cue ball for more
than the momentary time commensurate with a stroked shot. In the game of
snooker, it is considered a push if the cue strikes the cue ball more than once in a
given shot (a double hit) or if the cue stick, cue ball and ball-on are all in contact
together during a shot (if the cue ball and object ball are frozen together, special
dispensation is given provided the cue ball is struck at a downward or otherwise "off"
angle; that is, not directly into the line of the two balls).
Pyramid
The full fifteen ball set of pool or snooker object balls after being racked, before
the break shot (i.e., same as rack, definition 2, and triangle, defn. 2). Chiefly
British today, but also an American usage ca. World War I.
Pyramid spot
Same as foot spot. Chiefly British today, but also an American usage ca. World War I.
Q
Quadruple century
Also quadruple-century break. See double century.
Quintuple century
Also quintuple-century break. See double century.
R
Race
A predetermined, fixed number of games players must win to win a match; "a race to
seven" means whomever wins seven games first wins the match.[5][10] See also ahead
race for a more specialized usage.
Rack (noun)1.A geometric form, usually aluminum, wooden or plastic, used to assist in
setting up balls in games like eight-ball, nine-ball, and snooker. The rack allows for
more consistently tight grouping of balls, which is necessary for a successful break
shot. In most games a triangle-shaped rack capable of holding fifteen balls can be
employed, even if the game calls for racking less than a full ball set, such as in the
game of nine-ball. For further information, see the Rack (billiards) main article.
2.Used to refer to a racked group of balls before they have been broken.
3.In some games, refers to a single frame.
4.Colloquial shorthand for "a set of balls".
Rack (verb)
1.The act of setting up the balls for a break shot. In tournament play this will be
done by the referee, but in lower-level play, players either rack for themselves or
for each other depending on convention.
2.A "Jimmy-Rack" is when your opponent purposely racks the billiard (or pool) balls so
loosely, that when you break, the balls barely move, thus the opponent trying to
“Jimmy-Rack you" to gain an advantage or upset you. The person breaking may observe
the rack prior to breaking and call shenanigans, forcing a re-rack. Can also be used
as an excuse when the person breaking hits the balls poorly and cries "I got a Jimmy-
Rack!".
Rail
The sides of a table's frame upon which the elastic cushions are mounted. May also be
used interchangeably with cushion.
Rake
Same as mechanical bridge; so-called because of its typical shape.
Rat in
To pocket a ball by luck; "he ratted in the 9 ball"; usually employed disapprovingly.
See also slop.
Rebound angle
Same as angle of reflection.
Red ballAlso red(s), the red(s).
1.In snooker, any of the 15 balls worth 1 point each that can be potted in any order.
During the course of a break a player must first pot a red followed by a colour, and
then a red and colour, etc., until the reds run out and then the re-spotted six
colours must be cleared in their order. Potting more than one red in a single shot is
not a foul – the player simply gets a point for each red potted.
2.In blackball, one of two groups of seven object balls that must be potted before the
black. Reds are spotted before yellows, if balls from both group must be spotted at
the same time. Compare stripes; contrast yellow ball.
3.In carom billiards, the object ball that is neither player's cue ball.
References
The person in charge of the game whose primary role is to ensure adherence by both
players to the appropriate rules of the game being played. Other duties of the referee
include racking each frame, re-spotting balls during the course of a game, maintaining
the equipment associated with the table (e.g. keeping the balls clean), controlling
the crowd and, if necessary, controlling the players. Formerly sometimes referred to
as the umpire.
Re-rack
1.In snooker, the abandonment of a frame upon agreement between the players, so that
the balls can be set up again and the frame restarted with no change to the score
since the last completed frame. This is the result of situations, such as trading of
containing safeties, where there is no foreseeable change to the pattern of shots
being played, so the frame could go on indefinitely.
2.In pool, placing of the object balls back in the rack, after a foul break.
Re-spot
Also respot.
1.Same as re-spotted black.
2.Same as spot (verb), sense 1 (pool) and sense 2 (snooker).
Re-spotted black
In snooker, a situation where the scores are tied after all the balls have been
potted, and the black ball is re-spotted and the first player to pot it wins. The
players toss for the first shot, which must be taken with the cue ball in the D, and a
safety battle will ensue until a crucial error or a fluke is made.
Rest
A chiefly British term for a set of mechanical bridges. British-style rests differ
from most American-style rake bridges in shape, and take several forms: the cross, the
spider and the swan (or goose neck), as well as the rarer and often unsanctioned hook.
When used unqualified, the word usually refers to the cross. Rests are used in
snooker, English billiards, and blackball.
Reverse english
side spin on the cue ball that causes it to unnaturally roll off a cushion (contacted
at an angle) against rather than with the ball's momentum and direction of travel. If
angling into a cushion that is on the right, then reverse english would be right
english, and vice versa. The angle of deflection will be steeper (narrower) than if no
english were applied. The opposite of running english, which has effects other than
simply the opposites of those of reverse english.
Right
Short for right english (side), i.e. side spin imparted to the cue ball by stroking it
to the right-hand side of its vertical axis. Contrast left.
Ring game
1.A style of game play in which as many players are allowed to join as the
participants choose, and anyone can quit at any time. The term, most often
used in the context of gambling, is borrowed from poker. The folk games three-ball and
killer are usually played as open ring games, as is Kelly pool.
2.By extension, a multi-player game that anyone may initially join, but which has a
fixed roster of competitors once it begins, is sometimes also called a ring game.
Cutthroat is, by its nature, such a game. A famous regular ring game event of this
sort is the Grady Mathews-hosted six-player, $3000-buy-in ring ten-ball competition at
the annual Derby City Classic.
3.A nine-ball ring game is played by more than two players and has special rules.
Typically, the players choose a random method for setting the order of play, with the
winner breaking. Safeties are not allowed and there are two or more money balls –
usually the five and nine.[citation needed]
Road mapA pool table spread in which the balls are extremely easily positioned for a
run out, and where little movement of the cue ball on each shot is necessary to obtain
position on the next.
Road player
A highly-skilled hustler making money gambling while traveling.[6] Fast Eddie Felson
in The Hustler was a road player. One of the most notorious real-life road players is
Keith McCready.
RobPlaying an opponent for money who has no chance of winning based on disparity of
skill levels. The term robbed is also sometimes used humorously in exclamations when a
shot that looks like it would work did not, as in "Oh! You got robbed on that one!"
Roll1.Describes lucky or unlucky "rolls" of the cue ball; "I had good rolls all night;
"that was a bad roll." However, when said without an adjective ascribing good or bad
characteristics to it, "roll" usually refers to a positive outcome such as in "he got
a roll".
2.The roll: same as the lag.
Roll-up
A gentle tap of the cue ball with the intention of getting it as tight as possible
behind another ball, in the hope of a snooker. It is most common in the game of
snooker, and is illegal in many pool games, in which on every shot a ball must either
be pocketed, or some ball must contact a cushion after the cue ball has contacted an
object ball.
Rotation
1.Descriptive of any game in which the object balls must be struck in numerical order.
Billiard researcher Mike Shamos observes that it would be more intuitive to call such
games "'series' or 'sequence'". The term actually derives from the set-up of the game
Chicago, in which the balls are not racked, but placed numerically around the table
along the cushions (and must to be shot in ascending order). Other common
rotation games include pool (obviously), nine-ball, seven-ball, ten-ball
2.The specific pool game of rotation.
Round
1.A multi-game division of a match, as used in some league and tournament formats. For
example, in a match between 2 teams of 5 players each, a 25-game match might be
divided into 5 rounds of 5 games each, in which the roster of one team moves one line
down at the beginning of each round, such that by the end of the match every player on
team A has played every player on team B in round robin fashion.
2.A level of competition elimination in a tournament, such as the quarterfinal round,
semifinal round and final round.
Round robin
A tournament format in which each contestant plays each of the other contestants at
least once. In typical league team play, round robin format means that each member
of the home team plays each member of the visiting team once. This format is used by
BCAPL, VNEA and many other leagues.
Round the angles
Describing a shot which requires one or more balls to be played off several cushions,
such as an elaborate escape or a positional shot; "he'll have to send the cue ball
round the angles to get good position."
Rubber match
The deciding match between two tied opponents. Compare hill, hill.
Ruckus
A British term (especially in snooker) for the splitting of a group of balls when
another ball is sent into them, typically with the intent of deliberately moving them
with the cue ball to develop them.
Run
The number of balls pocketed in an inning in pool (e.g., a run of five balls), or
points scored in a row in carom billiards (e.g., a run of five points).[4]:244[5]
Compare British break (sense 2), which is applied to pool as well as snooker in
British English.
Run out
1.(verb) Make all of the required shots in a game without the opponent ever getting to
the table or getting back to the table
2.(noun; usually run-out, sometimes runout) An instance of running out in a game.
Run the table
Similar to run out (sense 1), but more specific to making all required shots from the
start of a rack. See also break and run, break and dish.
Running english
Side spin on the cue ball that causes it to roll off a cushion (contacted at an angle)
with rather than against the ball's natural momentum and direction of travel. If
angling into a rail that is on the right, then running english would be left english,
and vice versa. The angle of deflection will be wider than if no english were applied
to the cue ball. But more importantly, because the ball is rolling instead of sliding
against the rail, the angle will be more consistent. For this reason, running English
is routinely used. Also called running side in British terminology. Contrast reverse
english.
S
Safe
1.Describing a ball that is in a position that makes it very difficult to pot.
2.Describing a situation a player has been left in by the opponent, intentionally or
otherwise, that makes it difficult to pot any balls-on. See also snooker.
Safety
1.An intentional defensive shot, the most common goal of which is to leave the
opponent either no plausible shot at all, or at least a difficult one.
2.A shot that is called aloud as part of a game's rules; once invoked, a safety
usually allows the player to pocket his or her own object ball without having to shoot
again, for strategic purposes. In games such as seven-ball, in which any shot that
does not result in a pocketed ball is a foul under some rules, a called safety allows
the player to miss without a foul resulting. A well-played safety may result in a
snooker.
Safety break
A break shot in which the object is to leave the incoming player with no shot or a
very difficult shot, such as is normally employed in the opening break of straight
pool.
Sandbag
To disguise the level of one's ability to play in various ways such as using a
lemonade stroke; intentionally missing shots; making an uneven game appear "close";
purposefully losing early, inconsequential games. Sandbagging is a form of hustling,
and in handicapped leagues, considered a form of cheating. See also dump and on the
lemonade.
Saver
Same as gapper
Scotch doubles
A form of doubles play in which the two team members take turns, playing alternating
shots during an inning (i.e. each team's inning consists of two players' alternating
visits, each of one shot only, until that team's inning ends, and the next team begins
their alternating-shot turn.) Effective scotch doubles play requires close
communication between team partners, especially as to desired cue ball position for
the incoming player. Like "english", "scotch" is usually not capitalized in this
context. The term is also used in bowling, and may have originated there.
Scratch
Pocketing of the cue ball in pocket billiards. In most games, a scratch is a type of
foul. "Scratch" is sometimes used to refer to all types of fouls. See, more
generally, foul.
Screw
Same as draw (chiefly British).
Scuffer
An abrasive tip tool used as a grinder to roughen the cue tip to better hold chalk
after it has become hardened and smooth from repeated impacts with the cue ball.
Tappers serve the same purpose, but are used differently. Similar to a shaper, but
shallower and less rough.
Seeding
The placement of player(s) automatically in a tournament where some have to qualify,
or automatic placement in later rounds.
Sell out
To bungle a shot in a manner that leaves the table in a fortuitous position for the
opponent. Contrast sell the farm.
Sell the farm
To bungle a shot in a manner that leaves the table in such a fortuitous position for
the opponent that there is a strong likelihood of losing the game or match.[6]
Contrast sell out.
Semi-massé
Also semi-massé shot. A moderate curve imparted to the path of the cue ball by an
elevated hit with use of english (side); or a shot using this technique. Also known as
a curve (US) or swerve (UK) shot. Compare massé.
Session
1.Principally US: One or more sets, usually in the context of gambling. See also ahead
race (a.k.a. ahead session) for a more specialized usage.
2.Principally British: Any of a group of pre-determined frames played in a match too
long to be completed within a single day's play. A best of 19 frame match, for
example, is generally played with two "sessions", the first composed of nine frames,
the second of ten. This term is generally used only in the context of professional
snooker, as matches at the amateur level are rarely played over more than nine frames.
Longer matches can be split into three or four sessions.
Session to spare
Principally British: In snooker, if a player wins a match without the need for the
final session to be played (for example, if a player wins a best-of-25-frames match
split into three sessions – two sessions of eight frames and one of nine – by a margin
of say, 13 frames to 3), then they are said to have won the match "with a session to
spare".
Set
A predetermined number of games, usually played for a specified sum of money. Compare
race.
Sewer
A pocket; usually used in disgust when describing a scratch (e.g., "the cue ball's
gone down the sewer").
Shaft
The upper portion of a cue which slides on a player's bridge hand and upon which the
tip of the cue is mounted at its terminus. It also applies to the main, unsegmented
body of a mechanical bridge.
Shape
Same as position. "She got good shape for the next shot". See also position play,
leave.
Shaper
A highly abrasive tip tool used to shape an unreasonably flat new cue tip, or
misshapen old one, into a more usable, consistently curved profile, most commonly the
curvature of a nickel or dime (or equivalently-sized non-US/Canadian coin) for larger
and smaller pool tips, respectively. Similar to a scuffer, but deeper and rougher.
Shark
Also pool shark, poolshark (US); sharp, pool sharp (British)
1.Verb: To perform some act or make some utterance with the intent to distract,
irritate or intimidate the opponent so that they do not perform well, miss a shot,
etc.[6] Most league and tournament rules forbid blatant sharking, as a form of
unsportsmanlike conduct, but it is very common in bar pool.
2.Noun: Another term for hustler.
3.Noun: A very good player. This usage is common among non-players who often intend it
as a compliment and are not aware of its derogatory senses (above).
Sharp
Chiefly British: Same as shark (senses 1, 2).
Short rack
Any game which uses a rack composed of less than 15 balls.
Short rail
Either of the two shorter rails on a standard pool, billiards or snooker table.
Contrast side rail/long rail.
ShortstopAlso short stop, short-stop.
1.One of the best players in a region but who is not quite good enough to beat a
serious road player or a professional.
2.A second-tier professional who is not (yet) ready for World Championship
competition. The term was borrowed from baseball.
Shot
Verb form: to shoot. The use of the cue to perform or attempt to perform a particular
motion of balls on the table, such as to pocket (pot) an object ball, to achieve a
successful carom (cannon), or to play a safety.
Shot for nothing
Also shot to nothing. A British term for a shot in which a player attempts a difficult
pot but with safety in mind, so that in the event of missing the pot it is likely that
the opponent will not make a meaningful contribution, and will probably have to reply
with a safety. The meaning refers to lack of risk, i.e. at no cost to the player ("for
nothing" or coming "to nothing"). Compare two-way shot.
Shot program
Also (chiefly British) shot programme. The enumerated trick shots that must be
performed in the fields of artistic billiards (70 pre-determined shots) and artistic
pool (56 tricks in 8 "disciplines").
Side
Chiefly British: Short for side spin. In Canadian usage, the term is sometimes used as
a verb, "to side".
Side pocket
One of the two pockets one either side of a pool table halfway up the long rails. They
are cut shallower than corner pockets because they have a 180 degree aperture, instead
of 90 degrees. In the UK the term centre pocket or middle pocket are preferred.
Side rail
Either of the two longer rails of a billiards or pocket billiards table, bisected by a
center pocket and bounded at both ends by a corner pocket. Also called a long rail.
Side spinAlso sidespin, side-spin, side. spin placed on the cue ball when hit with the
cue tip to the left or right of the ball's center; usually called english in American
usage. See english, in its narrower definition, for details on the effects of side
spin. See illustration at spin.
Single-eliminationMain article: Single elimination tournament
Also single elimination. A tournament format in which a player is out of the
tournament after a single match loss.Contrast double-elimination.
Sink
Same as pocket (sense 2).
Sink-in Shot
Any shot that intentionally accounts for the elasticity of the cushions to allow a
ball to bank past an otherwise blocking ball. The moving ball will sink in to the
cushion very near the blocking ball giving it sufficient space to get past it or kiss
off the back side of it.
Sitter
Chiefly British: Same as duck, and stemming from the same obvious etymology.
Skid
'"British: Same as cling, and kick, sense 2. Noun, verb and rare adjective usage as
per "cling".
Skittle
An upright pin, which looks like a miniature bowling pin, cone or obelisk. Skittles,
as employed in billiards games, have been so-called since at least 1634.[1] One
standardized size, for the largely Italian and South American game five-pins, is 25 mm
(1 in.) tall, with 7 mm (0.28 in.) round bases[57], though larger variants have long
existed for other games such as Danish pin billiards. Depending upon the game there
may be one skittle, or several, and they may be targets to hit (often via a carom) or
obstacles to avoid, usually the former. They are also sometimes called pins, though
that term can be ambiguous. Because of the increasing international popularity of the
Italian game five-pins), they are sometimes also known even in English by their
Italian name, birilli (singular birillo). Skittles are also used as obstacles in some
artistic billiards shots. #Flat, thin rectangular skittles, somewhat like large
dominoes, approximately 6 in. tall by 3 in. wide, and placed upright like an obelisks
on the table in specific spots, are used in the obsolescent and principally Australian
games devil's pool and victory billiards. Depending upon the exact game being played,
there may be one pin, or several of various colors (e.g. ten white and two black in
devil's pool), and they may be targets or obstacles, most commonly the latter.]
They are usually made of plastic, and are increasingly difficult to obtain, even from
Australian billiards suppliers. A black obelisk skittle of this sort features
prominently, as a particularly dire hazard, in several scenes of sci-fi/pool film Hard
Knuckle (1992, Australia). Skittles as used in billiards games date to ground
billiards (13th century or earlier) played with a mace, and hand-thrown games of bowls
from at least the same era using the same equipment. Ball games using a recognizable
form of skittle are known from as early as ca. 3300 BCE in Ancient Egypt.[60]:3–44
Skunk
During a set if the opponent does not win a single game, they are said to have been
skunked.
Slate
The heavy, finely-milled rock (slate) that forms the bed of the table, beneath the
cloth. Major slate suppliers for the billiards industry are Italy, Brazil and China.
Some cheaper tables, and novelty tables designed for outdoor use, do not use genuine
slate beds, but artificial materials such as Slatrol.
Slide
Also, sliding ball when used in gerund form. Describes a cue ball sliding on the cloth
without any top spin or back spin on it.
Slip stroke
A stroking technique in which a player releases his gripping hand briefly and re-
grasps the cue farther back on the butt just before hitting the cue ball.[61] See
Cowboy Jimmy Moore; a well known practitioner of the slip stroke.
Slop
1.Also slop shot. A luck shot. Compare fish and fluke; contrast mark (sense 3) and
call.
2.Also sloppy. Descriptive of any game where the rules have been varied to allow luck
shots not normally allowed or where no foul rules apply.
Slop pockets
Pocket openings that are significantly wider than are typical and thus allow shots hit
with a poor degree of accuracy to be made that would not be pocketed on a table with
more exacting pocket dimensions.
Slow
Exact opposite of fast, all senses.
Small
Also smalls, small ones, small balls. In eight-ball, to be shooting the solid suit
(group) of balls (1 through 7); "you're the small one" or "I've got the smalls".
Compare little, solids, reds, low, spots, dots, unders; contrast big.
Small pool table
Bar and home pool table are included in small pool tables definition - bar tables size is usually 3.5 x 7 and
usually are coin operated and found in taverns and bars. Miniature pool tables, mini pool tables and home
tables usually measure 4 x 8 but the mini and miniatures can be smaller.
Smash-through
The effect of shooting regulation-weight object balls with an old-fashioned over-
weight bar table cue ball, such that the cue ball moves forward to occupy (sometimes
only temporarily), or go beyond, the original position of the object ball, even on a
draw or stop shot, because the mass of the cue ball exceeds that of the object ball.
Players who understand smash-through well can use it intentionally for position play,
such as to nudge other object balls nearby the target ball. Smash-through also makes
it dangerous in bar pool (when equipped with such a cue ball) to pocket straight-on
ducks with a stop shot instead of by cheating the pocket because of the likelihood of
scratching the cue ball.
Snap
Same as break, sense 1.
Sneaky peteA two-piece cue constructed to resemble a house cue, with a near-invisible
wood-to-wood joint. The subterfuge often enables a hustler to temporarily fool
unsuspecting fish into thinking that he or she is an unskilled banger with no regard
for finesse or equipment quality. Many league players also use cheap but solid sneaky
petes as their break cues.
Snick
A British term for a pot that requires very fine contact between cue ball and object
ball. See also feather.
Snooker
1.(noun) The game of snooker.
2.(verb) To leave the opponent (accidentally or by means of a safety) so that a
certain shot on a preferred object ball cannot be played directly in a straight line
by normal cueing. It most commonly means that the object ball cannot be hit, because
it is hidden by another ball or, more rarely, the knuckle of a pocket (see corner-
hooked). It can also refer to the potting angle or another significant point of
contact on the object ball, blocking an otherwise more straightforward shot, even if
an edge can be seen. A common related adjective describing a player in this situation
is snookered. Also known as "to hook", for which the corresponding adjective "hooked"
is also common. See also free ball.
3.(noun) An instance of this situation (e.g. "she's put him in a difficult snooker").
A player can choose a range of shots to get out of a snooker; usually a kick shot will
be implemented but semi-massés are often preferred, and in games where it is not a
foul, jump shots may be employed that often yield good results for skilled players.
"Snooker" is used loosely (when used at all; "hook" is favored) in the US, but has
very specific definitions and subtypes (such as the total snooker) in blackball.[7]
See also safe.
Snookers required
A phrase used in snooker to describe the scenario whereby there are not enough
available points on the table to level the scores for the frame, therefore the
trailing player needs his/her opponent to foul in order to be able to make up the
deficit. The name comes from the fact that this would normally have to be achieved by
placing the leading player in foul-prone situations such as difficult snookers.
Soft break
A break shot in which the rack (pack) is disturbed as little as possible within the
bounds of a legal shot, in order to force the opponent to have to break it up further.
A soft break is desirable in some games, such as straight pool, in which breaking is a
disadvantage; and forbidden by the open break rules of other games such as nine-ball
and eight-ball.
Solids
Also solid, solid ones, solid balls. The non-striped ball suit (group) of a fifteen
ball set that are numbered 1 through 7 and have a solid color scheme (i.e., not
including the 8 ball). As in, "I'm solid", or "you've got the solids". Compare low,
small, little, reds, spots, dots, unders; contrast stripes.
Speed
A player's skill level.
Speed control
The use of the correct amount of cue ball speed in position play to achieve proper
shape for a subsequent shot.
Spider
Also spider rest. A type of rest, similar to a common American-style rake bridge but
with longer legs supporting the head so that the cue is higher and can reach over and
around an obstructing ball to reach the cue ball. See also swan.
Spin
Basic cue tip contact points on the cue ball to impart various forms of spin. Top spin
is also known as follow, side spin as english, and bottom spin as back spin, draw or
screw.Rotational motion applied to a ball, especially to the cue ball by the tip of
the cue, although if the cue ball is itself rotating it will impart (opposite) spin
(in a lesser amount) to a contacted object ball. Types of spin include top spin,
bottom or back spin (also known as draw or screw), and left and right side spin, all
with widely differing and vital effects. Collectively they are often referred to in
American English as "english". See also massé.
Split
1.Also split shot and split hit. In pool, a type of shot in which two object balls are
initially contacted by the cue ball simultaneously or so close to simultaneously as
for the difference to be indistinguishable to the eye.] In most sets of rules it is a
foul if the split is one in which one of the object balls is a (or the only) legal
target (ball-on) and the other is not; however, such a split is commonly considered a
legal shot in informal bar pool in many areas if it is called as a split and does
appear to strike the balls simultaneously).
2.In pool, the degree to which racked balls move apart upon impact by the cue ball as
a result of a break shot.
3.In snooker, a shot sending the cue ball into the pack of red balls and separating
them (after potting the ball-on). At least one split is usually necessary in each
frame, since the original triangle of reds does not allow any balls to be potted
reliably.
Spot (noun)
1.In pool games such as nine-ball, a specific handicap given (e.g., "what spot will
you give me?").
2.In snooker, any of the six designated points on the table on which a colour ball is
replaced after it has left the playing surface (usually after it has been potted).
3.An (often unmarked) point on the table, at the intersection of two strings. See also
foot spot, head spot, center spot for examples.
4.In UK eight ball, (when not playing with a reds-and-yellows colour ball set) any of
the group of seven balls, other than the 8, that are a solid colour with just a
circled number on the surface. In the US, these balls are usually referred to as
solids or more colloquially as lows, littles or smalls. Another British term is dots,
unders. Contrast stripes.
5.Alternate name for a table's diamonds.
Spot (verb)
1.In pool, return an illegally pocketed object ball to the table by placement on the
foot spot or as near to it as possible without moving other balls (in ways that may
differ from ruleset to ruleset).
2.In snooker, return a colour ball to its designated spot on the table. Also called
re-spot.
3.In nine-ball, the giving of a handicap to the opponent where they can also win by
making a ball or balls other than the 9 ball (e.g. "she spotted me the seven ball").
4.In eight-ball, one-pocket and straight pool, the giving of a handicap to the
opponent where they have to make fewer balls than their opponent does.
5.In some variants of pool, to place the cue ball on the head spot or as near to it as
possible inside the kitchen/baulk, after the opponent has scratched.
Spot shot
The situation arising in many pool games where a ball is spotted to the table's foot
spot or some other specific location and the cue ball must be shot from the kitchen or
the "D". There are diamond system aiming techniques for pocketing such shots without
scratching the cue ball into a pocket.
Spot stroke
Also spot-stroke, spot hazard. A form of nurse shot in English billiards, in which the
red ball, which must be spotted to a specific location after every time it is potted
before another shot is taken, is potted in such as way as to leave the cue ball in
position to repeat the same shot, permitting a skilled player to rack up many points
in a single break (series of shots in one visit).
Squeeze shot
Any shot in which the cue ball or an object ball has to squeeze by (just miss with
almost no margin for error) another ball or balls in order to reach its intended
target.
Squirt
Same as deflection.
Stake
1.(noun) A player's wager in a money game. Contrast pot, definition 3.
2.(verb) To provide part or all of a player's stake for a gambling session in which
one is not a player. A person who stakes or backs a player is called a stakehorse or
backer.[1] "Stakehorse" can also be used as a verb. See also back.
Stall
1.To intentionally hide one's "speed"; "he's on the stall."
2.To intentionally play slowly so as to irritate one's opponent. This form of sharking
has been eliminated from many tournaments with a shot clock, and from many leagues
with time-limit rules.
Stance
A shooter's body position and posture during a shot. See also cue action.
Stay shot
In the UK, a long-distance shot played to pot a ball close to a pocket with heavy top
spin, so that when the cue ball hits the cushion it bounces off but then stops due to
the counteraction of the spin. It is not common in competitive play, being more of an
exhibition shot.
Steering
The lamentable practice of not following through with the cue straight, but veering
off in the direction of the shot's travel or the side english is applied, away from
the proper aiming line; a common source of missed shots.
Stick
Same as cue.
Stop shot
Any shot where the cue ball stops immediately after hitting an object ball.[5]
Generally requires a full hit.
Straight eight
Also straight eight-ball. Same as bar pool. Not to be confused with the games of
straight pool or straight rail.
Straight up
To play even; without a handicap. Also called heads up.
String
1.A (usually unmarked) line running across the table between one diamond and its
corresponding diamond on the opposite rail. See also head string, foot string, long
string for examples.
2.Same as wire, sense 2. Can be used as a verb, as in "string that point for me, will
you?"
3.A successive series of wins, e.g. of games or frames in a match or race.
4.Chiefly British; same as lag.
See also Having the cue ball on a string.
String-off
Also string off. Obsolete: Same as string, sense 4, and lag.
Stripes
Also striped ones, striped balls. The ball suit (group) of a fifteen ball set that are
numbered 9 through 15 and have a wide colored bar around the middle. Compare bigs,
highs, yellows, overs; contrast solids.
Stroke
1.The motion of the cue stick and the player's arm on a shot;
2.The strength, fluidity and finesse of a player's shooting technique; "she has a good
stroke."
3.See In stroke: A combination of finesse, good judgement, accuracy and confidence.
Stroke, catch a
To suddenly be in stroke after poor prior play; "she caught a stroke."
Stroke, to be in
See In stroke.
Stun run-through
A shot played with stun, but not quite enough to completely stop the cue ball,
allowing for a little follow. It is played so that a follow shot can be controlled
more reliably, with a firmer strike than for a slow roll. It is widely considered as
one of the most difficult shots in the game to master, but an excellent weapon in a
player's armory once it has been.
Stun shot
A shot where the cue ball has no top spin or back spin on it when it impacts an object
ball, and "stuns" out along the tangent line. Commonly shortened to just "stun."
Sucker shot
A shot that only a novice or fool would take. Usually because it is a guaranteed
scratch or because it has a low percentage of being pocketed and is likely to leave
the opponent in good position.
Suit
A (principally American) term in eight-ball for either of the set of seven balls
(stripes or solids) that must be cleared before sinking the 8 ball. Borrowed from card
games. Generally used in the generic, especially in rulesets or articles, rather than
colloquially by players. See also group for the British equivalent.
Surgeon
A player skilled at very thin cut shots, and shots in which a ball must pass cleanly
through a very narrow space (such as the cue ball between two of the opponent's object
balls with barely enough room) to avoid a foul and/or to pocket a ball.[63] Such shots
may be referred to as "surgery", "surgical shots", "surgical cuts", etc. (chiefly US,
colloquial). See also feather (US) or snick (UK).
Swan
Also swan rest. A type of rest, similar to a spider in that the head is raised by
longer supporting legs, but instead of a selection of grooves on the top for the cue
to rest in there is only one, on the end of an overhanging neck, so that a player can
get to the cue ball more easily if the path is blocked by two or more obstructing
balls. Also known as the goose neck
Sweaters
Those who are stakehorsing a match or have side bets on it and are "sweating the
action."
Swerve
An unintentional and often barely perceptible curve imparted to the path of the cue
ball from the use of english without a level cue. Not to be confused with a swerve
shot.
Swerve shot
Same as semi-massé. Compare curve shot.
T
Table cloth
Same as cloth.
Table scratch
1.Failure to hit an object ball at all with the cue ball. In most sets of rules, this
is a foul like any other. However, in some variants of bar pool a table scratch while
shooting for the 8 ball is a loss of game where other more minor fouls might not be,
as is scratching on the 8 ball (neither result in a loss of game in most professional
rules).
2.By way of drift from the above definition, the term is also applied by many league
players to the foul in more standardized rules of failing to drive a (any) ball to a
cushion, or to pocket a legal object ball, after the cue ball's initial contact with
an object ball.
3.By way of entirely different derivation ("scratch off the table"), it can also mean
knocking the cue ball (or more loosely, any ball) completely off the table.
Talc
White talcum powder placed on a player's bridge hand to reduce moisture so that a
cue's shaft can slide more easily. It is not provided in many establishments as many
recreational players will use far more than is necessary and transfer it all over the
table's surface. Venues that do provide it usually do so in the form of compress cones
about 6–inches tall. Some serious players bring their own, in a bottle or a porous bag
that can be patted on the bridge hand. Many players prefer a pool glove. Talc is
frequently mistakenly referred to as "hand chalk", despite not being made of chalk.
Tangent line
The imaginary line drawn perpendicular to the impact line between the cue ball and an
object ball. The cue ball will travel along this line after impact with an object ball
if it has no vertical spin on it (is sliding) at the moment of impact on a non-
center-to-center collision. See also stun shot.
Taper
The profile of the shaft of the cue as it as it increases in diameter from the tip to
the joint. A "fast" or "slow" taper refers to how quickly the diameter increases. A
"pro" taper describes a shaft that tapers rapidly from the joint size to the tip size
so as to provide a long, untapered stroking area.
Tapper
A tip tool with fine, sharp points used to roughen the cue tip to better hold chalk
after it has become hardened and smooth from repeated impacts with the cue ball.
Tappers are firmly tapped on or pressed against the tip. Scuffers serve the same
purpose, but are used differently.
Thin
See overcut.
Three-foul rule
The three-foul rule describes a situation in which a player is assessed a defined
penalty after committing a third successive foul. The exact penalty, its prerequisites
and whether it is in place at all, vary depending on the games. In nine-ball and
straight pool, a player must be the told he is on two fouls in order to transgress the
rule, and if violated, results in a loss of game for the former and a special point
penalty of a loss of fifteen points (plus one for the foul itself) in the latter
together with the ability to require the violator to rerack and rebreak. In Irish
standard pool and English billiards, it is a loss of game if a player commits a third
foul while shooting at the black. In snooker, three successive fouls from an
unsnookered position result in forfeiting the frame. Repeat fouls from a snookered
position are quite common - Dave Harold holds the record in a competitive match,
missing the same shot 14 successive times.
Throw
The normal phenomenon where the object ball is pushed in a direction very slightly off
the pure contact angle between the two balls. Caused by the friction imparted by the
first ball sliding past or rotating against the other ball.
Tickie
A shot in which the cue ball is driven first to one or more rails, then hits an object
ball and kisses back to the last rail contacted. It is a common shot in carom games,
but can be applied to such an instance in any relevant cue sport.
Tied up
Describing a ball that is safe because it is in close proximity to one or more other
balls, and would need to be developed before it becomes pottable.
Tight
Describing a situation where a pot is made more difficult, either by a pocket being
partially blocked by another ball so that not all of it is available, or the cue ball
path to the object ball's potting angle involves going past another ball very closely.
Time shot
Any shot in which the cue ball moves another ball to a different position and then
rebounds from one or more rails to contact the object ball again (normally in an
attempt to pocket it or score a billiard).
Timing
The ease with which a player is generating cue power, due to well-timed acceleration
of the cue at the appropriate point in a shot.
Tip
Same as cue tip.
Tip clamp
A small clamping tip tool used to firmly hold and apply pressure to a replacement cue
tip until the glue holding the tip to the ferrule has fully dried.
Tip tool
Also tiptool, tip-tool. Any of a class of maintenance tools for cue tips, including
shapers, scuffers, mushroom trimmers, tappers, burnishers and tip clamps. Road, league
and tournament players often carry an array of tip tools in their cases. The term is
generally not applied to cue chalk.
Tittie
Same as knuckle.
Tittie-hooked
Same as corner-hooked.
Top
1.Chiefly British: The half of the table in which the object balls are racked (in
games in which racked balls are used). This usage is conceptually opposite that in
North America, where this end of the table is called the foot. In snooker, this is
where the reds are racked, nearest the black spot; this is the area in which most of
the game is usually played. Contrast bottom.
2.Chiefly American: Exactly the opposite of the above – the head end of the table. No
longer in common usage.
3.Short for top spin, i.e. same as follow.
Top cushion
Chiefly British: The cushion on the top rail. Compare foot cushion; contrast bottom
cushion.
Top rail
Chiefly British: The rail at the Top of the table. Compare foot rail; contrast Bottom
rail.
Top spinAlso topspin, top-spin, top. Same as follow. Contrast bottom spin, back spin.
See illustration at spin.
Total clearance
A term used in snooker for the potting of all the balls that are racked at the
beginning of the frame in a single break (run). The minimum total clearance affords 72
points (barring multiple reds being potted on a single stroke), in the pattern of red
then yellow repeatedly until all reds are potted, then all of the colour balls. The
maximum break is 147 (barring a foul by the opponent immediately before the break
began).
Total snooker
In blackball, a situation where the player cannot see any of the balls she/he wants to
hit due to obstruction by other balls or the knuckle of a pocket. The player must call
"total snooker" to the referee, which allows a dispensation to the player from having
to hit a cushion after contacting the object ball, which is otherwise a foul.
Touching ball
In snooker, where the cue ball is resting in contact with another ball. If this ball
is a ball that may legally be hit, then it is allowable to simply hit away from it and
it counts as having hit it in the shot. If the ball moves, then a push shot must have
occurred, in which case it is a foul.
Tournament card
Jargon for a tournament chart, showing which players are playing against whom and what
the results are. Often shortened to card.
Treble
Same as triple.
Treble century
Same as triple century.
Training template
Training templateA thin sheet of rigid material in the size and shape of a physical
ball rack (e.g. a diamond for nine-ball), with holes drilled though it, which is used
to make permanent divots in the cloth of the table, one at a time for each ball in the
racking pattern, by placing a ball in one of the holes in the carefully placed
template and tapping it sharply from above to create the cloth indentation. The holes
are spaced slightly closer than the regulation ball width of 21⁄2 inch (57.15 mm)
apart, so that when the balls settle partially into their divots, the outer sides of
these indentations create ball-on-ball pressure, pushing the balls together tightly.
The purpose of the template is to do away with using a physical rack, with racking
instead being performed simply by placing the balls into position, and the divots
aligning them into the tightest possible formation automatically. This prevents
accidental loose racks, and also thwarts the possibility of cheating by carefully
manipulating the ball positions while racking. The European Pocket Billiard Federation
(EPBF, Europe's WPA affiliate organization) has adopted this racking technique for its
professional Euro-Tour event series.
Triangle
Racking up a game of cribbage pool using the triangle rack, with the 15 ball in the
middle, no two corner balls adding up to 15, and the apex ball on the foot spot.1. A
rack in the form of an equilateral triangle. There are different sizes of triangles
for racking different games (which use different ball sizes and numbers of balls),[5]
including the fifteen ball racks for snooker and various pool games such as eight-ball
and blackball. A larger triangle is used for the twenty-one ball rack for baseball
pocket billiards). The smallest triangle rack is employed in three-ball (see
illustration at that article) but is not strictly necessary, as the front of a larger
rack can be used, or the balls can be arranged by hand.
Further information: Rack (billiards)
2. The object balls in triangular formation, before the break shot, after being
racked as above (i.e., same as rack, definition 2). Principally British. (See also
pyramid.)
Trick shot
Main article: Trick shot
An exhibition shot designed to impress either by a player's skill or knowledge of how
to set the balls up and take advantage of the angles of the table; usually a
combination of both. A trick shot may involve items otherwise never seen during the
course of a game, such as bottles, baskets, etc., and even members of the audience
being placed on or around the table.
Triple
Also treble. A British term for a type of bank shot in which the object ball is potted
off two cushions, especially by sending it twice across the table and into a side
pocket. Also called a two-cushion double.
Triple century
Also treble century, triple-century break, treble-century break. See double century.
Turn
Same as visit.
Two-cushion double
Same as triple.
Two-shot carry
A rule in blackball[7] whereby after an opponent has faulted and thus yielded two
shots, if the incoming shooter pots a ball on the first shot, (s)he is still allowed
to miss in a later shot and take a second shot in-hand (from the "D" or from baulk, or
if the opponent potted the cue ball, from anywhere)—even on the black, in most
variants. Also called the "two visits" rule; i.e., the two penalty shots are
considered independent visits to the table, and the limiting variants discussed at two
shots below cannot logically apply.
Two shots
In blackball, a penalty conceded by a player after a fault. The incoming opponent is
then allowed to miss twice before the faulting player is allowed another visit. Many
local rules state the in-hand from the "D" or baulk (or if the opponent potted the cue
ball, from anywhere) nature of the second shot is lost if a ball is potted on the
first shot, that it is lost if the ball potted in the first shot was that player's
last coloured ball (object ball in their group), and/or that there is only ever one
shot on the black after a fault. See two-shot carry for more detail on a sub-rule that
may apply (and eliminate the variations discussed here).
Two visits
See two-shot carry.
Two-way shot
1.A shot in which if the target is missed, the opponent is safe or will not have a
desirable shot;
2.A shot in which there are two ways to score;
3.A shot in which a second ball is targeted to be pocketed, broken out of a cluster,
repositioned or some other secondary goal is also intended.
U
Umbrella shot
A three cushion billiards shot in which the cue ball first strikes two cushions before
hitting the first object ball then hits a third cushion before hitting the second
object ball. So called because the shot opens up like an umbrella after hitting the
third rail. Umbrella shots may be classified as inside or outside depending on which
side of the first object ball the cue ball contacts.
Umpire
Chiefly American, and largely obsolete: Same as referee.[15] Derives from the usage in
baseball.
Undercut
Hitting the object ball with not enough of a cut angle; hitting the object ball too
full or "fat". It is a well-known maxim that overcutting is preferable to
undercutting. See also professional side of the pocket.
Unders
Same as solids, in New Zealand.[48] Compare little, small, reds, low, spots, dots;
contrast overs.
Unintentional english
Inadvertent english placed on the cueball by a failure to hit it dead center on its
horizontal axis. It is both a common source of missed shots and commonly overlooked
when attempts are made to determine the reason for a miss.[4]:89 In UK parlance this
is usually called 'unwanted side'.
Up-table
Toward the head of the table.
V
Velcro
A British term describing when a ball is tight on the cushion and a player sends the
cue ball to hit both the object ball and the rail at nearly the same time; the object
ball, ideally, stays tight to the rail and is thus "velcroed" to the rail. Inside
english is often employed to achieve this effect, hitting slightly before the ball.
The movement of a ball just next to the rail (but not the shot described to achieve
this movement) is called hugging the rail in both the UK and the US.
Visit
One of the alternating turns players (or doubles teams) are allowed at the table,
before a shot is played that concedes a visit to his/her opponent (e.g. "he ran out in
one visit"). Usually synonymous with inning as applied to a single player/team, except
in scotch doubles format.
W
Warrior
A ball positioned near a pocket so that a particularly positioned object ball shot at
that pocket will likely go in off it, even if aimed so imperfectly that if the warrior
was absent, the shot would likely result in a miss. Usually arises when a ball is
being banked to a pocket.
Way
1.Term for object balls in the game of Chicago that are each assigned as having a set
money value; typically the 5, 8, 10, 13 and 15.[clarification needed]
2.In games where multiple balls must be pocketed in succession to score a point, such
as cribbage pool or thirty-ball, when the last ball necessary to score has been
potted, the points given is referred to as a way.
Weight
To "give someone weight" is to give them a handicap so the game is more even in skill
level.
White ball
Also the white.
1.Alternate name for the cue ball.
2.In carom billiards games, a term for the opponent's cue ball, which for the shooting
player is another object ball along with the red.
Whitewash
Principally British: In snooker, if a player wins all of the required frames in a
match without conceding a frame to their opponent - for example, if a player wins a
best-of-nine-frame match with a score of 5-0 - this is referred to as a "whitewash".
This term is based on a similar term used in the card game of "patience" in the UK.
However, it is not used in the context of a 1-0 winning scoreline in a match
consisting of a single frame.
Whitey
Alternate name for the cue ball.
Wild
When a ball is given as a handicap it often must be called (generally tacit). A wild
handicap means the ball can be made in any manner specifically without being called.
Wing ball
Either of the balls on the lateral extremities of a racked set of balls in position
for a break shot; the two balls at the outside of a 15-ball rack in the back row, or
the balls to the left and right of the 9 ball in nine-ball's diamond rack-shaped
opening set up position. In nine-ball It is seen as a reliable sign of a good break
(which is normally taken from close to either cushion in the kitchen) if the opposite
wing ball is pocketed. See also break box.
Wing shot
Shooting at an object ball that is already in motion at the moment of shooting and cue
ball impact; illegal in most games and usually only seen in exhibition/trick shots.
Winning hazard
Also winner. (Largely obsolete.) A shot in which the cue ball is used to pot another
ball.In snooker and most pool games doing this is known as potting, pocketing or
sinking the targeted ball. The term derives from this hazard winning the player
points, while losing hazards cost the player points, in early forms of billiards.
Whether the ball is an object ball or an opponent's cue ball depends upon the type of
game (some have two cue balls). The move will score points in most (but not all) games
in which hazards (as such) apply, such as English billiards (in which a "red winner"
is the potting of the red ball and a "white winner" the potting of the opponent's cue
ball, each worth a different amount of points). Contrast losing hazard.
Wipe its feet
British term referring to the base or metaphorical "feet" of a ball that rattles in
the jaws of a pocket before eventually dropping. Usually said of an object ball for
which the intention was to pot it.
Wired
And wired combination/combo, wired kiss, etc. Same as dead (and variants listed
there).
Wire, the
1.The grapevine in the pool world, carrying news of what action is taking place where
in the country
2.Actual wire or string with multiple beads strung (like an abacus) used for keeping
score. Points "on the wire" are a type of handicap used, where a weaker player will be
given a certain number of points before the start of the game.
Wood
A slang term for a cue, usually used with "piece", as in "that's a nice piece of
wood".
Wrap
Also wrapping. A covering of leather, nylon string, Irish linen or other material
around the area of the butt of a cue where the cue is normally gripped.
Y
Yellow ball Also yellow(s).
1.In snooker, the lowest-value colour ball on the table, being worth two points. It is
one of the baulk colours.
2.In blackball, one of two groups of seven object balls that must be potted before the
eight ball; compare stripes; contrast red ball.
Yellow pocket
In snooker, the pocket nearest the yellow spot.
Z
Zone Also in the zone. Describes an extended period of functioning in dead stroke
("she's in the zone"). Small Pool Table
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