English billiards - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

English billiards, called simply billiards in many former British colonies

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

and in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

where it originated, is a hybrid form of carom and pocket billiards

Pocket billiards

Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards , is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the , into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball...

played on a billiard table. Billiards is less well known as "the English game", "the all-in game" and "the common game".

The game is for two players or teams. Two s (originally both white and one marked e.g. with a black dot, but more recently one white, one yellow) and a red are used. Each player or team uses a different cue ball.

History

English billiards was originally called the winning and losing carambole game, folding in the names of three predecessor games, the winning game, the losing game and the carambole game (an early form of straight rail), that combined to form it.

Origins

The winning game was played with two white balls, and was a 12- contest. To start, the player who could strike a ball at one end of the table and get the ball to come to rest nearest the opposite cushion without lying against it earned the right to shoot for points first. This is the origin of the modern custom of "" (or ""). A player who pocketed the opponent's ball scored two points, as is still the case in modern billiards.

(or ): A player missing the opponent's ball added one point to his opponent's total; the shooter conceded two points if that player's own ball (then acting as the ) went into a pocket after striking the opponent's ball; and the player conceded three points if the cue ball was pocketed without even hitting the opponent's ball. These rules continued to exist in English billiards until 1983, when a standard two points for all fouls was introduced.

By contrast, in the losing game a player could only score (2 points) by pocketing the cue ball through a off the opponent's ball. "" and "" are terms still mentioned in the official rules for these two fundamental shot types, although "" and "" have become the colloquial terms for them in British English

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

.

The final element was the (or ) shot, which came from carom or carambole billiards, a three-ball variant popular in Continental Europe. The carambole game added a red to the two white cue balls, with the object being to carom off both the red and the opponent's ball on a single shot, earning 2 points.

The three ancestral games had their heyday in 1770s England, but had combined into English billiards, with a 16-point score total, by approximately 1800. The skill required in playing these games helped retire the mace in favour of the cue. Gradually, the French (who also adopted the cue) made their tables without pockets, while the English retained the pockets, causing the final bifurcation of English and Continental

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

billiards.

There are a number of pocket billiard games directly descended from English billiards, including bull dog, scratch pool, thirty-one pool and thirty-eight. The last of these gave rise to the more well-known game cowboy pool. English Billiards was virtually unknown in the United States until 1913, when Melbourn Inman visited the U.S. and played the game against Willie Hoppe

Willie Hoppe

William Frederick Hoppe , known predominantly as Willie Hoppe , was an internationally renowned American professional carom billiards champion, who was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1966.-Biography:Hoppe was born in Cornwall on Hudson, New York on...

. By 1915 the game had become rather popular, prompting billiard hall proprietors to increase the number of snooker tables in their establishments.

As a sport

The first governing body of the game, the English Billiards Association, was formed in the UK in 1885, a period that saw a number of sporting bodies founded across the British sporting world. By the mid-20th century, the principal sanctioning body was the Billiards Association and Control Council (later the Billiards and Snooker Control Council).

In the 19th century and up through the mid-1950s, a common way for championship titles to change hands was by a challenge match. A challenge was issued to a championship title holder accompanied by money ("acclamation") held by a third party. Up until the first organised professional tournament in 1870, all English billiards champions were decided by challenge.

The first champion was Jonathan Kentfield, who held the title from 1820–1849, losing it to John Roberts, Sr. after Kentfield refused his challenge. Roberts's reign began in 1849, but he lost to William Cook who beat him in 1870. That year also marks the time of first English billiards challenge match held in the United States.

From 1870 to 1983 the champions were: John Roberts, Jr.

John Roberts, Jr. (billiards)

John Roberts, Jr. was a dominant professional player of English billiards. He was also a notable manufacturer of billiards cues and tables, and promoter of the sport.-Early years:...

, (1870, 1871, 1875–77, 1885); Joseph Bennett, (1870, 1880–81); Charles Dawson, (1899–1900, 1901, 1903); H.W. Stevenson, (1901, 1909–11); Melbourne Inman

Melbourne Inman

Melbourne Sydney Inman, Sr. was the World Billiards Champion in 1908-1909, 1912-1914 and 1919. In 1914 he defeated Willie Hoppe.-Biography:...

, (1908–09, 1912–19); Willie Smith, (1920, 1923); Tom Newman

Tom Newman (billiards player)

Tom Newman was an English professional player of snooker and English billiards.He established himself as one of the best billiards players of the 1920s, appearing in every World Professional Billiards Championship final between 1921 and 1930, and winning the title six times.Newman was a great...

, (1921–22, 1924–27); Joe Davis

Joe Davis

Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....

, (1928–32); Walter Lindrum

Walter Lindrum

Walter Albert Lindrum, OBE , often known as Wally Lindrum, was an Australian professional player of English billiards who held the World Professional Billiards Championship from 1933 until his retirement in 1950. He was named Walter Albert to have the initials of the state where he was born - W.A....

, (1933–50); Clark McConachy

Clark McConachy

Clark McConachy, MBE was a New Zealand professional player of English billiards and snooker.His endurance and longevity as a sportsman was astonishing. He was the New Zealand professional billiards champion from 1914 until 1980...

, (1951); Rex Williams

Rex Williams

Rex Williams , son of Minnie Roberts and William Williams, is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player.Williams was an excellent junior player in both snooker and billiards. His professional career began in 1951, during a period of decline in snooker...

, (1968–76, 1982–83); and Fred Davis, (1980).

Over the course of the 20th century, English billiards has been increasingly superseded as the favoured competitive spectator cue sport in the United Kingdom by the game of snooker

Snooker

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...

played on the same table. However, because of the "in-off" scoring option, ball control (including for snooker) can be enhanced after much solo practice. A common exercise is to hit the object ball from the "D", go in-off into the centre pocket while the object ball hits the top cushion and returns to the same position halfway down the table. A highly skilled player can repeat the shot over and over, except in competition where the sequence run is limited, because it constitutes a .

Balls and table

There are three balls. They are the same size as snooker balls (52.5 mm or in with a tolerance of 0.05 mm) and they must weigh the same to a tolerance of 0.5 g

Gram

The gram is a metric system unit of mass....

within a set.

The balls are designated as:

Red, an ;
White, the for player 1, and an object ball for player 2;
White with a spot, or yellow cue ball for player 2, and an object ball for player 1.

The billiard table used has the same dimensions as a snooker table, (and in many venues, both games are played on the same equipment). The playing area of a standard tournament table measures 11 feet 8 inches by 5 ft 10 in (3569 mm by 1778 mm) with a tolerance of inch in both directions, though smaller ones, down to half size, are often found in snooker halls, pubs

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

and home billiard room

Billiard room

A billiard room is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table...

Beginning the game

First the players to see who will be the starting player; this is done by both players simultaneously hitting a cue ball up the table hitting the top cushion and coming back into baulk (the first quarter length of the table). The player who gets their ball closest to the baulk cushion can now choose which cue ball he wants to use during the game and to break or let the opponent break.

The red ball is placed on the 'spot' (the black spot in snooker) and the first player begins by playing in-hand from the "D" behind the baulk line. The other cue ball remains off the table until the opponent's first turn, when he plays in hand from the "D".

The idea is to leave the balls safe by creating either a double baulk (both object balls in baulk), or the red in baulk with the cue-ball tight on the top side cushion.

Scoring

Points are awarded as follows:
– striking the cue ball so that it hits, in any order, the other cue ball and the red ball on the same shot): 2 points. on the red – striking the red ball with one's cue ball so that the red enters a pocket): 3 points; or a winning hazard on the white – striking the other cue ball with one's cue ball so that the other cue ball enters a pocket): 2 points. ( in snooker terms) – striking one's cue ball so that it hits another ball and then enters a pocket): 3 points if the red ball was hit first; 2 points if the other cue ball was hit first; 2 points if the red and the other cue ball are hit simultaneously.

Combinations of the above may all be scored on the same shot. The most that can be scored in a single shot is therefore 10 – the red and the other cue ball are both potted via a cannon (the red must be struck first), and the cue ball is also potted, making a losing hazard off the red.

Winning is achieved by a player reaching a fixed number of points, determined at the start of the game, e.g. first to 300 points or by a timed game.

Other rules

If the red is potted it is respotted on the 'spot'. After the red has been potted twice off the spot without a cannon or in-off, it is respotted on the middle spot. If the middle spot is occupied, it goes on the pyramid spot (the pink spot in snooker). If both the middle and pyramid spots are occupied, it goes back on the spot. When potted from the middle or pyramid spot it returns to the spot at the top of the table.

After an in-off, play continues from in-hand from the "D". When playing from in-hand, a striker must touch a ball or cushion out of baulk before striking a ball in baulk.

If playing in-hand and all balls on the table are in baulk, and contact is not made with any ball, this is a miss; 2 points are awarded to the opponent, who must play from where the balls have come to rest.

If an opponent's white is potted, it remains off the table until it is that opponent's turn to play, when it is returned to that player, who may play it in-hand from the "D". There is one exception to this rule: only 15 hazards in a row may be played, after which a cannon is needed to continue the break. If only the red ball is on the table at the start of the break (meaning a cannon cannot be made), then after 15 hazards the opponent's ball must be placed on the "brown spot". It becomes a "line ball" and may not be played directly from baulk.

If the cue ball is touching an object ball, then the balls must be respotted: red on its spot and opponent's ball in the centre spot, with the striker to play from in-hand.

Matches held under professional regulations include a rule forcing the player to execute a shot in a way to have his cue ball cross the baulk line, heading towards the baulk cushion, once between 80 and 99 points in every 100 in a running break.

Fouls

If a foul occurs, two points are awarded to the opposing player who has the choice of playing from where the balls lie or they can be respotted.

There are a few different ways a foul can occur by:

Playing the opponent's cue ball
Making any ball jump off the table
Failing to make contact between one's cue ball and at least one object ball
A double-hits or push shot
Jumping one's cue ball over an object ball
Playing a 16th consecutive hazard or 76th consecutive cannon
When in-hand, not hitting an object ball or cushion out of baulk before hitting a ball in baulk.

External links

IBSF official website
EnglishBilliards.org – general information, tutorials, etc.
English Billiards Statistics Project – player stats and Elo rating list

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.