The History of Pool, Billiards, English Billiards, Snooker

Pool

Pool Billiard is a variant of the billiard, which is to play with a white ball colored object balls according to certain rules in six pockets (einzulochen). The ball is played as the only ball using the cue. The players take turns each one shot. The recording is over if the player could not punch a ball properly in one shot.

History

In the 1840s, the billiard game in the US, tables were very expensive and often imported from Europe, played in so-called (public) “pool Parlors”. The word “pool” at the time referred to the game of chance, but was quickly used for the American form of pocket billiards. Today almost exclusively the short version “pool” is used in common usage.

Pool billiards was not very popular until the middle of the 20th century, until then it had been widely played with four balls of carambol. Pool evolved from English Billiards, the forerunner of the snooker. When a ball and bags were removed from the English Billiards, the number of balls at the pool was increased and the pockets kept. In order to simplify the tables for inexperienced players, the pocket enemas have been modified from the classic round variant of the English Billiards to the even, funnel-shaped variant that is still common today.

The first Pool Billiards Championship was won in 1878 by the Canadian Cyrill Dion (he was with his brother Joseph the inventor of the “American Series”). The game was called the “61 pool” because the sum of the numbers shown on the balls (1-15) is 120, so the win requires 61 points. This meant that in the ideal case you only had to sink 5 balls (11, 12, 13, 14 and 15), so only one third of the existing balls. It seemed more just that you have to sink eight balls to win, the most famous version of the pool today. This “8-ball” called version developed around 1900. In 1920 was then the first time “9-Ball”. In recent times, however, this game is largely replaced by the advanced “10-ball” to increase the level of difficulty.

Material

Table

The international standard for billiard tables is the nine foot billiard table. He has a standardized playing area of ​​2.54 x 1.27 m. It is kicked out of the head field, the first quarter of the area on which the head point is located, which is in the middle of the head line. Then comes the midline with the center. The base and the foot are in the lower quarter of the table. The diamonds, so-called because of their original shape, which divide each band into equal sections, are aids to the playing of the band.

Roll

Today’s balls are made of phenolic resin and have a diameter of 57.2 mm and a weight of 170 g.

Color Classification:

  • Game Ball: white or white with red dots
  • 1/9 = yellow
  • 2/10 = blue
  • 3/11 = red
  • 4/12 = purple or pink
  • 5/13 = orange
  • 6/14 = green
  • 7/15 = dark red or brown
  • 8 = black

There are differences between normal ball sets and the TV set, where the colors are slightly different from the original colors due to better visibility on television. Game balls with red dots give the spectators the used effect better.

Billiard cue and billiard chalk

As a queue, the game stick is called, with which the ball is bumped at billiards. best pool cue brands prevailed in the middle of the 18th century instead of the hitherto customary curved clubs. In the pool billiard, they usually consist of two parts, the upper and the lower part.

The majority of club players used in addition to Spielqueue a so-called kick-off or engl. Breakqueue, which is often in three parts. The lower part is divided again in the three-piece break- / Jumpqueue, so that it can be shortened if necessary by unscrewing the thick base to about 1 m to facilitate jumps over obstacle balls.

The billiard chalk is applied to the bitter orange at the tip of the cue. It ensures better adhesion between the beanpole and the ball, especially when playing with the effect.

General pool billiards rules

  • All pool billiards have in common that any ball after the collarbone a tie start or must be sunk.
  • As soon as a ball jumps off the table, there is a foul.
  • Piercing is not allowed. A puncture is when the tip of the cue hits the ball a second time or still touches the ball in contact with the object ball. This can happen, for example, if the ball is very close to an object ball.
  • An impact or a touch of the balls is not allowed, if still balls move. This includes rotating around its own axis without the ball changing its position.
  • It is still not allowed to push the balls with anything other than the tip of the cue.
  • foul is committed whenever you have made an incorrect kick. Depending on the discipline, a foul will be punished differently.

Disciplines

Pool Billiards are available in many disciplines. For all, the general rules for pool billiards apply. In detail, the games differ in the details, tactics and handling in fouls.

The disciplines of greatest importance (official league disciplines of the German Billiard Union) are:

  • 8-Ball
  • 9-Ball
  • 10-Ball
  • 14.1 endless (short: 14/1 or 14 / 1e, in English: Straight Pool)

There are many other disciplines such as 3-Ball, Artistic Pool, Bank Pool, Blackball, Cribbage Pool, High Run, Kelly Pool, One Pocket and Rotation.

8-Ball

The 8-ball is played with all fifteen object balls and a ball. The balls number one to seven are completely colored and are therefore called the full. In contrast, in balls nine to fifteen, only one strip at a time is colored and the rest white, so these are also called the halfs.

Both players must first try to punch their color group completely, in order to sink then the black eight, which leads with correct execution to the profit of the play. 8-Ball is an announcement game, ie you have to announce in case of doubt, which ball should fall into which bag. Exception is the break.

8-Ball is the most popular pool billiard variant in the amateur sector and is predominantly played in restaurants and billiard salons.

9-Ball

At the 9-ball the first nine of the numbered object balls and a ball are played. Before the break, they are arranged diamond-shaped. For every shot, the ball with the lowest number must be played first. The player wins the ball number 9 first correctly. However, it is permissible to punch a ball that is not yet in line, as long as you first played the ball with the lowest number (“combination”).

9-Ball is not an announcement game, so chance shots are allowed. There are no security announcements in the 9-ball, so players have to stay at the table even after a random strike. It is often played at tournaments because it is a fairly fast and spectacular game.

10-Ball

At the 10-ball, the first ten of the numbered balls and a ball are played. Similar to the 9-Ball the balls have to be played in ascending order, but in case of doubt it has to be announced before each shot which ball is played in which hole. This reduces the random component present in the 9-Ball.

The aim of the game is to sink the ball with the number 10 after announcement with a correct impact.

14 and 1 endless

At the 14 and 1 endless (short: 14/1 or 14 / 1e, in English: Straight Pool) is played with all fifteen object balls and a ball.

It is a point game, which is about to reach a certain score. You can sink every object ball and you always get one point, for a foul you get deducted 1 point. For three successive fouls there is a point deduction of 15 points. Negative points are possible.

The name 14 and 1 endlessly comes from sinking 14 object balls. One remains and the rack is rebuilt (the space on the foot remains free) and you can continue playing. This last object ball should lie so that you can sink this afterwards and at the same time solve the rack, in order to continue afterwards. Thus, it is possible to achieve the play goal in a single shot.

14 and 1 is an announcement game in which, unlike the 8-ball, there is no exception rule for the break. Therefore one sees in this discipline often safety impulses.

Pool billiards in the movie

Two of the most popular movies about pool billiards are The Great City Sharks of 1961 and The Color of the Money of 1986. Paul Newman plays the pool billiard player “Fast Eddie Felson” in both. Especially the first part is considered one of the best feature films ever. All billiards were executed by actors Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason himself; only a particularly complicated shock comes from Willie Mosconi, the fourteen-time world champion of the years 1941 to 1957. Among the newer movies, which are about pool billiards, include the movie “Poolhall Junkies” from 2002 by Mars Callahan and the German production Alles on sugar! with Henry Hübchen.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

13 − 4 =