Billiards Games, Snooker & Carom

This Learn Sportsbetting lesson is about billiards games to include these versions: billiards, snooker, 8-Ball, 9-Ball and Carom.
History, rules and terms you should know are also taught.

History:
Billiards – What does it mean?  Many believe that the word has been taken from the French dictionary where ‘bille’ means ball and ‘art’ refers to the art of playing the game. Others believe that it referred to the game of Port and King Billiards which is played with the hoop and skittle.
In England, it is still believed that this game was originally played with 2 white and 1 red ball and was referred to as English Billiards.

Historians believe that billiards games existed in the year 1470 within the limits of King Louis XI of France where they used a game board.
Further, these games were played by all classes of people in the ancient times, from kings to commoners. In the beginning, the game was played with 2 balls each belonging to one of the two players. The playground was a table with six pockets and the goal was to hit the opponent’s ball with the player’s ball so that the opponent’s ball moved through the target. The rules varied as time went by until standardization was established.

Billiards Games: Rules
The equipment required for a game is a table that measures 12 feet by 6 feet with 6 pockets. It is played with one red ball and two white cue balls; one would have a small black spot whereas the other one will not have one. The tapered sticks are used to strike the cue balls with a tip that is called cues. The cues are chalked every now and then to prevent any slippery contact with the cue ball.
There are other accessories called rest, a full-butt and a half-butt that can be used to rest the cue to extend the playing lengths or used to hit long shots.

A singles game is usually played rather than doubles. Each turn that a player gets is called a break and can be followed by a series of strikes of the cue ball that would end either by a foul or a scoreless shot. When the cue ball knocks another ball into a pocket it is known as potted. When a cue ball strikes the first ball and this in turn strikes the other ball that can be potted or not is called a cannon. Another technical term that is used, in off means when a player pots a ball after having hit another ball. Kissed means to be struck or touched with the cue ball.

There are several versions of Billiards games.

Billiards Games: 8-Ball
One of them is 8-Ball that is played with a cue ball and fifteen object balls, which are numbered from one to fifteen.
The object of the game is that one player should pocket balls numbered 1 through 7 that would be in solid colors whereas; the other player pocket balls from 9 through 15 that would be in stripes.
The player pocketing his share of balls is allowed to legally pocket the 8-Ball and thus, win the game.

Billiards Games: 9-Ball
Another form of the game is 9-Ball that is played with 9 object balls numbered from one to nine and of course the cue ball. The first contact made should always be lowest numbered ball on the table and it won’t matter which ball is potted. After the first player misses, the second player would take over from the position where the first player left off. The game is won by pocketing the 9-Ball.

Snooker:
Snooker is another version of this sports game and is played on a rectangular shaped table with 6 pockets. In snooker, the cue ball is used to strike and pocket the object balls in one of the 6 pockets. There would be six different colored balls each assigned with points. Example: yellow=2 points. Each ball should be potted in a sequence and points are awarded accordingly. The player with the most points wins the frame. The player who has the maximum frame wins out of 19 frames is declared the winner of the match.

Carom:
French or Carom is played with two white and one red ball on a table without pockets. Yes, this version does not have any pockets. The objective of this game is to drive one of the white balls (cue ball) into both the other balls and by doing so the player earns one point. The three balls used in this game are white, red and white with a spot.
When one player fails to score any point, the play is passed to another player, who plays the game as it is left.
The game continues until one player reaches an agreed number of points that is often 50.
One of the rules is if a player hits the wrong cue ball, then it is considered a penalty of one point and the player loses their turn.

Billiards Games is followed by Darts
OR
Return to Learn Sportsbetting Program

Gambling Teachers Home

GT is attentive about getting the word out about our free programs, lessons and add-ons offered, however, we ask your assistance and consideration in promoting us.
Click link below that reads, "Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how..." to add a link to your site, blog or personal page.