|
Billiards is one of the indoor games that is
fast gaining momentum across the world, thanks
to more and more people embracing it as a hobby.
While it can be played on a snooker table,
billiards is not the same as snooker. Quite a
few pubs, bars and billiards clubs are good
places to play and practice the game.
Just eight balls are required to play
billiards. While you don’t need a PhD in
physics to become proficient at the game, an
understanding of some principles of physics
certainly helps. Billiards can be played alone
or with friends. You need mental focus,
concentration and the ability to calculate.
Billiards is also a whole lot of fun when you
just want to relax at the end of a long day,
while chatting with your friends or co-players,
yet enjoying the challenge of this wonderful
game.
Getting Started With Playing Billiards
Billiards is considered a complex game. There
are rules you must abide by. Some fundamental
aspects of billiards are the rules of the game,
principles of the game, cut shots, bank shots,
effects, etc. You will begin by learning your
stance. This is very important since it will
affect your ability to shoot no matter what your
weight, height or age. But as you get proficient
at the game, you will discover that different
players who are very successful do develop their
own successful style. You will learn about how
to grip and aim the cue stick.
What Kind Of Equipment Is Used?
Equipment used in billiards in pool tournaments
must conform to the standards of the World
Pool-Billiards Association. This however, does
not apply to the billiard equipment you use at
home. The billiard table itself comes in a
variety of sizes in rectangular shape. There are
3.5 x 7 ft, 4 ft x 8 ft, 4.5 ft x 9 ft and 5 ft
by 10 ft. tables commonly used. The table has a
rail of about 4 inches-7.5 inches wide along
with the rubber cushions. The table has pockets
or mouths. There are corner pockets and side
pockets. These pockets are lined. The billiard
table is covered by a cloth that neither pills
or fluffs and is usually in yellow green, blue
green or electric blue.
A set of billiard balls is made up of one cue
ball, that is white in color and fifteen colored
object balls that are numbered from one to
fifteen. These numbers are printed twice in
black on a white background to be highly
visible. The cue sticks that you see in pool
tournaments should be 40 inches long with a cue
tip that is about 14 mm wide. The tip must be
made of special leather that does not spoil the
billiard balls.
The billiard balls are placed in the table. The
white cue ball strikes the other balls into the
pockets with the help of the cue stick.
While some people prefer to slowly put together
their own billiard equipment, you can also play
at a pool bar or billiard hall.
Types Of Games Played
As we said, billiards is played on a table with
a cue stick that strikes the balls that move
around on the table. There are a variety of
billiard ball games.
In 8-ball games as well as straight pool, you
will use 16 balls where there is one white ball
or cue ball and 15 colored balls. The object
balls are numbered one to seven and in solid
color. Balls 9 to 15 are white with a colored
stripe, matching one solid ball each. Ball 9 has
a yellow stripe. Ball 10 has a blue stripe. Ball
8 is black.
If you pick an easy game in billiards, it is the
Three Cushion billiard game that is played on a
table without any pockets. This game needs three
balls – red yellow and white. The aim of the
game is to use the cue ball to hit the other two
balls on the table, together with three or more
rails.
Another game is the Straight Rail or Free Game
where the cue ball hits the other two balls to
score a point.
Balkline is similar to Straight Rail and played
on a table with 18 inch lines from each rail,
making up nine boxes on the table.
There are several others, but Three Cushions is
the most popular.
Online Billiard
These days, in addition to traditional
billiards, online billiards has become extremely
popular. The rules are the same and so are the
strategies and techniques. Obviously there are
differences, but online players find a lot of
advantages in playing online billiards. For one,
it is easy to learn in a realistic pool table
scenario. Online billiards is widely played for
money.
In online billiards, instead of a cue stick, you
use your mouse to aim and shoot. Apart from the
obvious convenience of playing from the comfort
of your own personal computer on your own time,
you get a huge choice of games with a lot of
flexibility.
Some Billiard Hotshots
Now that you have some idea of the game of
billiards, let’s look at some names from the
Billiard Hall of Fame. This was founded in 1966
to pay tribute to those remarkable billiard
players and outstanding contributors to the
game. There are fifty people in the Billiard
Hall of Fame.
-
Ralph Greenleaf was among the first to be
inducted into the Billiard Hall of Fame. He
was the World Pocket Billiard Champion over
twenty times and has a huge fan following.
-
William Frederick Hoppe or Willie Hoppe is
an American Balkline Billiards champoion who
has won more than 50 world titles. He began
to play at the tender age of 5, winning his
first Championship at the age of 18. He has
the credit for setting records that remain
unbroken to this day.
-
Willie Mosconi also called Mr Pocket
Billiards is considered among the best in
billiards history and a winner of 15 BCA
world championships. In his honor, the
Mosconi Cup competition takes place each
year between American and European players.
-
John Wesley Hyatt invented the composition
billiard balls walked into the Hall of fame
in 1972.
-
Steve Mizerak or The Miz was a world
champion and owns many billiards halls.
Inspired? As you can see, there’s no age bar to
begin playing billiards and becoming a Champion!
All you need to do is to shoot each shot
consistently and play in a relaxed manner, like
the Champs. It is important to choose your shots
wisely so that you have the right speed and have
an idea where the ball will come to rest. You
must then walk into your shot with confidence.
Stay focused and follow through with your shots.
Always show yourself as totally calm and
confident as it will determine how well you
play. A relaxed grip on your cue stick, a
comfortable stance and great aim let you play
naturally and enjoy the game.
What you saw so far is basically aimed at
getting you started with playing billiards as a
hobby. You can find more information and tips to
help you hone your billiards skills at the
following website. You can check out
instructional videos and some great books that
give you an in-depth knowledge of the game. See
professional players in action and learn their
techniques. There are also valuable links that
will tell you everything you want to know about
billiards. So just go ahead and have a great
time with this fun hobby.
more |
relaxing game.
More and more as good tables become less
expensive, many people are buying them to
host pool night at their houses. Shooting
pool requires skill and technique and is
constantly learned throughout ones life.
Below are many great articles and books from
professional for improving your billiards
techniques.
