Glossary of cue sports terms#english

Also the 3. The {{gli|object ball}} numbered 3; in American-style pool ball sets, it is {{gli|solids|solid}} red. In some American snooker ball sets, the {{gli|green ball}} is numbered 3, its point value.

Also the 4. The {{gli|object ball}} numbered 4; in American-style pool ball sets, it is {{gli|solids|solid}} purple or rarely pink. In some American snooker ball sets, the {{gli|brown ball}} is numbered 4, its point value.

Also the 6. The {{gli|object ball}} numbered 6; in American-style pool ball sets, it is {{gli|solids|solid}} green. The 6 is the {{gli|money ball}} (or {{gli|game ball}}) in a game of six-ball. It is the last ball that must be pocketed, after the remaining five 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 6. In other games, such as eight-ball, the 6 is simply one of the regular object balls. In some American snooker ball sets, the {{gli|pink ball}} is numbered 6, its point value.

Also the 7. The {{gli|object ball}} numbered 7; in American-style pool ball sets, it is {{gli|solids|solid}} maroon, brown, or rarely tan. Some variants, for the seven-ball game, are brown with a black or white stripe. The 7 is the {{gli|money ball}} (or {{gli|game ball}}) in a game of seven-ball. It is the last ball that must be pocketed, after the remaining six 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 7. In other games, such as eight-ball, the 7 is simply one of the regular object balls. In some American snooker ball sets, the {{gli|black ball}} is numbered 7, its point value.

{{ghat|See the Eight-ball and Eight-ball pool (British variation) main articles for the games.}}

Also the 8. The {{gli|object ball}} numbered 8; in both American- and British-style pool ball sets, it is {{gli|solids|solid}} black, though some of the latter use an unnumbered {{gli|black ball}}. The 8 is the {{gli|money ball}} (or {{gli|game ball}}) in a game of eight-ball and related games. It is the last ball that must be {{gli|pocket|pocketed}}, after the {{gli|suit}} of seven {{gli|object ball|object balls}} belonging to the player who is shooting for the 8. (Pocketing the 8 early is a loss of game—unless done on the {{gli|break shot}}, in most rules variants.) In other games, such as nine-ball and straight pool, the 8 is simply another object ball. Due to its striking colouration and regular use as a money ball, it is commonly used as a symbol in popular culture.

Also the 9. The {{gli|object ball}} numbered 9; in American-style pool ball sets, it is {{gli|stripes|striped}} yellow. The 9 is the {{gli|money ball}} (or {{gli|game 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.

Also the 10. The {{gli|object ball}} numbered 10; in American-style pool ball sets, it is {{gli|stripes|striped}} blue. The 10 is the {{gli|money ball}} (or {{gli|game ball}}) in a game of ten-ball. It is the last ball that must be pocketed, after the remaining nine 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 10, and the 10 ball and pocket are {{gli|call shot|called}}. In other games, such as eight-ball, the 10 is simply one of the regular object balls.

A {{gli|match}} format in which a player has to establish a lead of an agreed number of {{gli|frame|frames}} ({{gli|game|games}}) in order to win (e.g. in a ten-ahead race, a player wins when she/he has won ten more {{gli|rack (noun)|racks}} than the opponent). Contrast {{gli|race|race [to]}}.

The ball placed at the front of a group of {{gli|rack|racked}} {{gli|object ball|object balls}} (i.e., toward the {{gli|break|breaker}} and furthest from the racker), and in most games situated over the table's {{gli|foot spot}}.

{{ghat|Also backspin, back-spin, backward spin.}}

Same as {{gli|draw}}. See illustration at {{gli|spin}}.

Contrast {{gli|top spin}}.

A coarse woolen cloth used to cover billiard tables, usually green in colour. Sometimes called felt, based on a similarity in appearance, though very different in makeup.

1.  An area defined on a billiard table by one or more {{gli|balkline|balklines}}. In the eponymous game of balkline billiards, there are eight balks defined by perpendicular balklines, in which only a set number of {{gli|carom|caroms}} may be scored before at least one ball must leave the area.{{harvp|Shamos|1993|p=15}}. 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 {{gli|baulk}}, but see second definition.

1.  A line drawn horizontally from a point on a billiard table's {{gli|rail}} to the corresponding point on the opposite rail, thus defining a region (a {{gli|balk}}). In the eponymous balkline billiards there are four balklines, drawn parallel to and typically 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 {{gli|baulk line}}, though the concepts and etymologies are related. See {{gli|balk}}, second definition.

The option of placing the {{gli|cue ball}} anywhere on the table prior to shooting, in a game of pool. Usually only available to a player when the opposing player has committed some type of {{gli|foul}} under a particular game's rules{{sfnp|BCA Rules Committee|1992|pp=32, 36}} (cf. the free throw in basketball by way of comparison). See also {{gli|in-hand}} for the snooker definition. A common variation, used in games such as straight pool and often in {{gli|bar pool}}, is ball-in-hand "behind the head string", also "behind the line" or "from the kitchen", meaning the ball-in-hand option is restricted to placement anywhere behind the {{gli|head string}}, i.e., in the area of the table known as the {{gli|kitchen}}.

Any legally strikeable ball on the table in snooker and generally British terminology.{{sfnp|BCA Rules Committee|1992|p=5}} For example, in blackball, if a player is playing {{gli|yellow ball|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 {{gli|pot|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 {{gli|red ball}} can be the ball-on. Compare {{gli|object ball}}.

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 {{gli|bar pool}}, {{gli|bar table}}.

Pool, almost always a variant of eight-ball, that is played by {{gli|bar player|bar players}} on a {{gli|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. Wise players thus ensure understanding of and agreement to the rules before engaging in a {{gli|money game}} under bar rules. Typical differences between bar pool and tournament eight-ball are the lack of {{gli|ball-in-hand}} after a {{gli|foul}}, the elimination of a number of fouls, and (with numbered ball sets) the requirement that most aspects of a shot be {{gli|call shot|called}} (including {{gli|cushion|cushions}} and other {{gli|object ball|object balls}} to be contacted) not just the {{gli|target ball}} and {{gli|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". Not to be confused with the game of bar billiards.

A distinctive size of pool table found in bars, pubs, or taverns as well as venues such as family entertainment centers, arcades and bowling alleys. These are smaller than the full-size tables found in pool halls. While typical professional and competition tables are {{convert|9|x|4+1/2|ft|m|abbr=on}}, bar tables are typically {{convert|7|x|3+1/2|ft|m|abbr=on}}. In bars they are almost always coin-operated. Another distinguishing factor is the cue ball; these tables capture pocketed {{gli|object balls}} to remove them from play, but selectively return a {{gli|scratch|scratched}} cue ball. The cue balls historically were differently sized or of different density so they could be mechanically separated. Because this changes the mechanics of the cue ball, these cue balls do not play as competition cue balls, and they are therefore deprecated by aficionados. However, modern bar tables typically make use of a magnetic layer inside a regulation size and weight cue ball paired with a magnet mechanism within the table's {{gli|ball return}} system that separates out the cue ball without requiring cue ball characteristics that affect play.{{cite book |last=Givens |first=R. [Randi] |date=2004 |title=The Eight Ball Bible: A Guide to Bar Table Play |edition=illustrated |publisher=Eight Ball Press |isbn=0974727377}} Systems that use optical sensors to distinguish the cue ball have also been introduced. Pool hall players complain also that the {{gli|cloth}} used on bar tables is often greatly inferior (in particular that it is "slow" and that {{gli|english|{{Not a typo|english}}}} does not "take" enough), and often find that the {{gli|cushion|cushions}} are not as responsive as they are used to.

In snooker, English billiards, and blackball, the area of the {{gli|bottom}} of the table that is between the {{gli|baulk line}} and the {{gli|baulk cushion}}, which houses {{gli|the D|the "D"}} and is somewhat analogous to the {{gli|kitchen}} in American-style pool.{{harvp|BCA Rules Committee|1992|p=33}}.

A straight line drawn 29 inches (73.66 cm) from the face of the {{gli|baulk cushion}} on a standard 6 × 12 foot snooker table. 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 {{gli|the D|the "D"}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zy9tqfr |title=Snooker jargon to get you through the World Championship |work=BBC Bitesize |date=April 2023 |access-date=1 April 2025 |archive-date=2 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502173006/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zy9tqfr |url-status=live }} The baulk line's position is always determined by measurement from the baulk cushion, in contrast to the similar but different {{gli|head string}}, the position of which is determined by the {{gli|diamond|diamonds}}. Not to be confused with {{gli|balkline}}.

In eight-ball, to be shooting the striped {{gli|suit}} ({{gli|group}}) of balls (9 through 15); "you're big, remember", "you're big balls" or "I've got the big ones". Compare {{gli|stripes}}, {{gli|yellow ball|yellows}}, {{gli|high}}, {{gli|overs}}; contrast {{gli|little}}. Not to be confused with the carom billiards concept of a {{gli|big ball}}.

Not to be confused with the eight-ball term "the big balls", referring to the higher-numbered striped balls. In older British usage the concept was referred to as "large ball". See also "{{gli|big pocket}}".

1.  Any shot in which the {{gli|cue ball}} is {{gli|carom|caromed}} off an {{gli|object ball}} to strike another object ball (with or without contacting cushions in the interim).

Also pool spectacles, snooker specs, etc.

Eyeglasses specially made for cue sports, with tall lenses, set unusually high, so that when the head is lowered over the cue stick for aiming, with the nose pointing downward, the eyes can still look through the lenses instead of over them. They are especially popular among snooker players (notably, 1985 World Champion Dennis Taylor).

1.  In snooker, the highest-value {{gli|colour ball}} on the table, being worth seven points. It is placed on the {{gli|black spot}}.{{harvp|WPBSA|2011|p=9}} In some snooker ball sets, it is numbered "7" on its surface.

1.  In snooker, the {{gli|colour ball}} worth five points, placed on the {{gli|blue spot}} in the centre of the table. In some ball sets, it is numbered "5" on its surface.

The bottle used in various games to hold numbered {{gli|pea|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).{{sfnp|BCA Rules Committee|1992|p=6}}

Chiefly American: In pool games, when a player {{gli|break|breaks}} the {{gli|rack|racked}} {{gli|object ball|object balls}}, {{gli|pocket|pockets}} at least one ball on the break, and commences to {{gli|run out}} the remaining object balls without the opponent getting a {{gli|visit}} at the table. Hyphenated when used as an adjective or compound noun instead of a verbal phrase. See also {{gli|run the table}}, {{gli|rack and run}}.

In European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) nine-ball, the break box is a zone in the "{{gli|kitchen}}" of the {{gli|head}} (British: {{gli|bottom}}) of the table, from which the {{gli|break|break shot}} must be taken with the {{gli|cue ball}}.{{BDMag |first=Bob |last=Jewett |date=February 2008 |title=Killing Me Softly?: The Outbreak of the Soft Break Threatens the Game of 9-ball |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=34–35}}{{BDMag |first=Mike |last=Panozzo |date=February 2008 |title=Long Live the Cup! |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=34–35}} The break box consists of the middle 50% of the kitchen area, delimited latitudinally by the {{gli|head rail}} (British: {{gli|bottom rail}}) and {{gli|head string}} (not the {{gli|baulk line}}), and longitudinally by two parallel lines drawn (on the cloth, or more often imaginarily) from the head rail {{gli|diamond|diamonds}} that are closest to the {{gli|head}} {{gli|corner pocket|corner pockets}}, out to the head string (see illustration to the right) on either side. This departure from WPA World Standardised Rules defeats the common break-from-the-side-rail technique for pocketing the 9 ball to win the game on the break; while 9 ball breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult under this rule. This EPBF Euro-Tour requirement was added in 2008 to the Europe vs. US all-star team event, the Mosconi Cup, but has not otherwise been seen much by non-Europeans {{as of|lc=y|2011|post=.}}

In snooker, the highest-value {{gli|baulk colour}}, worth four points.{{harvp|Shamos|1999|p=38}}. It is placed on the {{gli|brown spot}}. In some (especially American) snooker ball sets, it is numbered "4" on its surface.

Applies specifically to games that enforce "{{gli|call-pocket}}/call-safe" rules, which require the player to either call the ball and pocket, or call a {{gli|safety}} on every shot. After a legal shot, where a called ball is not pocketed as designated, the incoming player has the option to pass the shot back to the player who missed the called shot. If a player calls "safe", then after a legal shot, the incoming player must accept the next shot, and may not pass the shot back to the player who called "safe".{{cite web |last=Tucker |first=Joseph E. |title=Rulebook: Guidelines for American Rotation (AR) |date=2014 |publisher=American Billiard Club |url= http://AmericanBilliardClub.com/play/rulebook/|work=AmericanBilliardClub.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141006172622/http://www.americanbilliardclub.com/play/rulebook/ |archive-date=October 6, 2014}} A call-shot/call-safe nine-ball example: Player A calls the {{gli|ball-on}}, the 3 ball in this case, in the corner pocket but misses the shot. The {{gli|cue ball}} rolls down table and comes to rest behind the 5 ball leaving no clear path to the 3 ball for the incoming player B. Since player A did not call "safe", incoming player B may elect to pass the shot back to player A (who must shoot).

Describes 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", "{{gli|ball-and-pocket}} rules", etc., to distinguish it from the common North American {{gli|bar pool}} practice of requiring every aspect of shots to be called, such as {{gli|carom|caroms}}, {{gli|kick|kicks}}, and {{gli|cushion|cushions}} to be contacted (this is sometimes also ambiguously referred to as "call-shot", but more accurately termed "call-everything" or "call-it-all"). Commonly in bar rules terminology, call-shot indicates how the shot will be made as compared to call-pocket which means simply that the ball must go into that pocket, details unnecessary. Though games with called shots technically require all shots to be called, obvious shots are seldom actually called, though such implied called shots must still be made. See also {{gli|gentlemen's call}}.

1.  The red {{gli|object ball}} in carom billiards games. The term is thought to be derived from an orange-coloured, tropical Asian fruit, called a carambola in English, Spanish, and several other languages, in turn from {{lang|mr-Latn|karambal}} in the Marathi language of India.{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |date=2001 |title=Carom |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=carom |access-date=January 31, 2007}}

1.  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. In modern usage, the most general meaning of the word refers to any type of strike and rebound,Lexico Publishing Group, LLC (2006). [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/carom Carom – Dictionary.com]. Retrieved January 31, 2007. (a {{gli|carambole}}) off a cushion or especially a ball.

One of the main classes of cue sports, possibly the oldest, and certainly the dominant competitive form until well into the 20th century. It is played on a table without pockets, and scoring is generally done by driving a {{gli|cue ball}} into contact with one {{gli|object ball}}, then having the cue ball contact one or more {{gli|cushions}} before contacting another object ball; however, there are numerous variations, some of which involve additional objects, such as upright {{gli|pins}} as targets or {{gli|hazard}}s. Carom balls are usually larger than pool balls, and most often supplied in sets of three, though some games such as yotsudama require four. Historically the most popular carom games in the modern era were straight rail and cushion caroms, followed by balkline billiards, in turn supplanted by three-cushion billiards which remains a major competitive world sport and is the dominant cue sport in many countries. Some games, such as English billiards, are hybrids between carom and pocket billiards.

Carrom is a table-top game of India, sometimes played with a small cue stick though more often with the fingers, in which small disks are slid on a game board to knock other disks into pockets cut into the corners of the board. It is ancestral to several other games, including novuss, pichenotte, pitchnut, crokinole, and Chapayev. Its historical relationship to billiards games is unclear.

The spot (usually unmarked, except in snooker) at the geometric center of the {{gli|bed of table|bed}} of the table. It lies at the intersection of the {{gli|center string}} and {{gli|long string}}. In snooker, it is more commonly known as the {{gli|blue spot}} Uncommonly it is also called the {{gli|middle spot}}.

The (usually unmarked) line bisecting the centers of the two {{gli|long rail|long rails}} (and of the {{gli|side pocket|side [Brit.: centre] pockets}} if any) and the {{gli|center spot}}. It thus runs widthwise (i.e. the short way) across the center of the table. Its intersection with the {{gli|long string}}, running lengthwise down the middle of the table, defines the position of the center spot.

In the UK, one of the two {{gli|pocket|pockets}} one either side of a pool, snooker or English billiards table halfway up the {{gli|long rail|long rails}}. They are cut shallower than {{gli|corner pocket|corner pockets}} because they have a 180-degree aperture, instead of 90 degrees. Also sometimes called a middle pocket. These terms are not generally used in the US, where {{gli|side pocket}} prevails.

Also century break.

In snooker, English billiards and other British usage, a {{gli|break}} of 100 points or more, which requires {{gli|pot|potting}} at least 25 balls consecutively, in snooker, but can be earned via a combination of scoring techniques in English billiards, etc. A century also means scoring 100+ points in a single turn in straight pool. 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 {{gli|double century}}.

A situation where the {{gli|cue ball}} is directly in front of another ball in the line of the shot such that the player is {{gli|hampered}} by it, having to {{gli|bridge}} over it awkwardly with the likelihood of a {{gli|foul}} looming if the object ball is inadvertently touched.{{cite book |last=Green |first=Jonathon |title=Dictionary of Jargon |date=January 1987 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofjarg00jona/page/112 112] |isbn=9780710099198 |quote=Chinese snooker n |url= https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofjarg00jona |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |access-date=February 26, 2009}} The term is most common in the game of snooker but is also used in US parlance.

A type of {{gli|nurse}} used in carom billiards games. With one object ball {{gli|frozen}} (British: {{gli|tight}}) to a {{gli|cushion}} and the second object ball a few inches away from the cushion, 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 {{gli|Parker's box}}.{{sfnp|Shamos|1999|p=8}}{{cite web |last=Loy |first=Jim |title=The Chuck Nurse |date=2000 |work=Jim Loy's Billiards/Pool Page |url= http://www.jimloy.com/billiard/chuck.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070128002628/http://www.jimloy.com/billiard/chuck.htm |archive-date=January 28, 2007}} Provides an animated illustration of precisely how the chuck nurse works.

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.{{sfnp|Shamos|1993|pp=52–53}} Compare {{gli|open bridge|Open bridge}}.

{{ghat|Also coloured ball(s), colour(s); American spelling color sometimes also used.}}

1.  In snooker, any of the {{gli|object ball|object balls}} that are not {{gli|red ball|reds}}. A colour ball must be {{gli|pot|potted}} after each red in the continuation of a {{gli|break}}, and are {{gli|re-spot|re-spotted}} until the reds run out, after which the colours must be potted in their order:

• {{gli|yellow ball|yellow}} (2 points);
• {{gli|green ball|green}} (3 points);
• {{gli|brown ball|brown}} (4 points);
• {{gli|blue ball|blue}} (5 points);
• {{gli|pink ball|pink}} (6 points);
• {{gli|black ball|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").

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 {{gli|plant}}.

Same as {{gli|scoring rack}}.

Also cross rake or jigger. A type of {{gli|rest}}, with a straight {{gli|shaft}} and "x"-shaped head for resting the {{gli|cue}} upon.

The phenomenon that ({{as of|lc=y|2019|post=)}} no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship has successfully defended the title the following year since it moved to the Crucible Theatre in 1977.

{{Main|Cue stick}}

The ball in almost any cue sport, typically white in colour, that a player strikes with a cue stick. Sometimes referred to as the "white ball", "whitey" or "the rock".MSG+ re-broadcast of the 2011 Mosconi Cup 9-Ball Championship, final (aired August 12, 2012, 1:00 p.m.). Shane Van Boening and Johnny Archer vs. Nick van den Berg and Niels Feijen. In-context commentary at 18 min. in by pro player and pool writer Jerry Forsyth: "He left the rock in a perfect line." In Russian pyramid, the cue ball is usually red, but any ball can be used as a cue ball, with the exception of the dynamic pyramid variant. For more information, see the billiard ball main article.

Same as {{gli|cue}}.

{{Main|Cue stick}}

A formed tip, usually made of leather, that is affixed to the end of the cue stick that comes into {{gli|contact}} with the cue ball.

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". They are also referred to as {{gli|sight|sights}}, especially in British English. (See also {{gli|diamond system}}.)

A particular shape of ball rack, in the form of a parallelogram ("diamond shape"), used for {{gli|rack|racking}} games of nine-ball and seven-ball, though the {{gli|triangle|triangle rack}} can also be used for the former, and hexagonal racks also exist for the latter. (See also {{gli|triangle}}.){{clear|left}}

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."SportsNet New York broadcast of 2006 US Open Nine-ball Championship (aired November 29, 2007). John Schmidt vs. Tyler Eddy. In-context commentary by pool pro Danny DiLiberto. "[John] Schmidt unbelievably dogs a straight in eight ball." See also {{gli|choke}}, {{gli|one-stroke}}.

In English billiards, a {{gli|break}} of 200–299 {{gli|point|points}} (i.e. double a {{gli|century}}).{{cite web |title=Geet Sethi crowned World Billiards Champion for the 8th Time! |date=2006 |work=TNQ.in |publisher=TNQ Sponsorship (India) Pvt. Ltd. |url= http://www.tnq.in/GS_newstory.html |access-date=November 30, 2007}} Establishes usage. 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.{{cite web |title=2007 World Professional Billiards Championship |at="Tournaments" section |date=2007 |work=EABAonline |publisher=English Amateur Billiards Association |url= http://www.eaba.co.uk/tournaments/2006-07/worldProfessional2007.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110928024131/http://www.eaba.co.uk/tournaments/2006-07/worldProfessional2007.html |archive-date=September 28, 2011}} {{As of|2007|post=,}} Peter Gilchrist holds the world record, with a tredecuple century of 1346 consecutive points.{{cite news |title=Sethi's world record billiards break surpassed by Gilchrist |date=September 18, 2017 |orig-date=October 6, 2007 |agency=PTI |work=Daily News and Analysis |url= https://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-sethi-s-world-record-billiards-break-surpassed-by-gilchrist-1125888}}

Also double elimination.

A tournament format in which a player must lose two {{gli|match|matches}} in order to be eliminated. Contrast {{gli|single-elimination}}.

• eight-ball, an originally American and now internationally standardized professional version, also subject to competitive team play in numerous leagues. It is the most-played form of competition pool in the world, though not for professionals, among whom nine-ball dominates. Uses a set of {{gli|stripes|striped}} and {{gli|solids|solid}} numbered balls. Ball-and-pocket are {{gli|call pocket|called}} for each shot, with {{gli|foul|fouls}} ({{gli|fault|faults}}) resulting in {{gli|ball-in-hand|cue ball in-hand}} for the opponent, anywhere on the table.
• blackball a.k.a. British-style eight-ball pool, an originally British variant, also favoured in many Commonwealth countries, and parts of Continental Europe, with amateur and professional leagues. The two names reflect slightly variant rulesets, which differ primarily in handling of {{gli|fault|faults}} ({{gli|foul|fouls}}). Shots are not {{gli|call shot|called}}. Uses a set of {{gli|yellows|yellow}} and {{gli|reds|red}} balls. {{gli|Pub pool}} usually consists of minor local variations on one of these two standardised rule sets.

Most forms of {{gli|bar pool}} are variants of eight-ball, although rules may vary from venue to venue even within the same city. These variants arose primarily to drag out the game on coin-operated tables ("{{gli|bar box|bar boxes}}"). In North America, many casual recreational players are unaware any other form of pool exists beyond bar pool.

Any mechanical aid that serves to extend the length of the player's cue, normally added to the end of the {{gli|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.

The facings of a {{gli|pocket}} are the portions of the rail {{gli|cushion}}s that line the {{gli|jaws}} of the pocket. Facings vary widely by game. Pool facings are flat and angled rather wide, on pockets notably larger than the balls, to act much like the backboard in basketball, in that a shot can be directed into the facing to cause it to angle off the facing into the pocket. They are reinforced with plastic shims between the cushion rubber and the {{gli|cloth}}, to reduce wear and tear. Snooker facings are curved and not angled, providing a smooth transition between the rails and the pockets, which are not much wider than the balls, thus preventing any backboard effect (snooker shots must be almost perfectly straight in). The facings in Russian billiards are even more challenging, being straight and angled inward rather than outward, which results in the {{gli|knuckles}} of the pocket, barely wide enough to accept a ball, rejecting any but the most accurate shots.

"{{gli|slow|Slow}}" is the direct opposite of "fast" in all of these usages.

A very thin {{gli|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").{{sfnp|Knuchell|1974|p=238}} See also {{gli|snick}}.

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 brings the loss of a game. In straight pool, a third successive foul results in a loss of 16 points (15 plus one for the foul).

Possible foul situations (non-exhaustive):

{{bulleted list|style=margin-left:0.5em

|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 {{gli|push out}} rules);

|The player pockets the cue ball (see {{gli|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 {{gli|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 {{gli|push shot}}).

}}

Also free shot.

A situation where a player has {{gli|foul|fouled}}, leaving the opponent {{gli|snooker|snookered}}. In UK eight-ball this would normally give the opponent the option of one of two plays: (1) {{gli|ball-in-hand}} with {{gli|two shots}}; (2) being allowed to contact, or even {{gli|pot}}, a ball other than one from their 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 one of the opposition's balls, on the first visit only, without the loss of a "free shot".

In snooker, it allows a player to call any ball as the ball they 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. The definition of snooker on this occasion means the opponent cannot strike both extreme edges of the {{gli|object ball}} (or a cluster of touching balls).

A type of {{gli|contact}} between two balls from which no or little angle is created between their paths; the contact required to {{gli|pot}} a straight shot. It is commonly used in reference to how much of an {{gli|object ball}} a player can see with the {{gli|cue ball}}: "Can you hit that full?".

An informal approach to the "call-everything" variation of {{gli|call-shot}}, common in {{gli|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. {{gli|bank shot|Bank shots}}, {{gli|kick|kicks}}, {{gli|carom|caroms}} and {{gli|combination shot|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.

Same as {{gli|swan}}.

In snooker, the {{gli|colour ball}} that is worth three points, being the second-least valuable colour behind the {{gli|yellow ball|yellow}}.{{harvp|Shamos|1999|p=116}}. It is one of the {{gli|baulk colour|baulk colours}}, and is placed on the {{gli|green spot}}. In some (especially American) snooker ball sets, it is numbered "3" on its surface.

A shot aimed so 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 {{gli|cling}} does not occur, the shot will impart post-contact momentum on the object ball in a direction 30° (which is $\backslash arcsin(1-x)$, where $x$ is the fraction of object ball eclipsed: {{frac|1|2}} 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 {{gli|contact point}}s.

Said of a ball, to come to rest partially over the edge of a {{gli|pocket}}'s {{gli|fall}} but still resting on the table {{gli|bed}}.{{harvp|Shamos|1999|p=121}}. Because of ball curvature, if the very bottom of the ball is not over the sharp rim or beveled slope (depending on table type) of the pocket's fall, the ball will not drop into the pocket. As much as approximately 49% of a ball's diameter can be hanging over the sharp drop of a standard snooker table fall, but considerably less on a typical pool table, with beveled falls. A ball hanging in the pocket – a "{{gli|hanger}}" – is nearly unmissable (though {{gli|foul|fouling}} by {{gli|scratch|scratching}} the {{gli|cue ball}} into the pocket right after the {{gli|object ball}} is a common mistake). Can be used in a transitive sense in reference to player action: "You hung that one right on the edge".

A series of successful shots (a {{gli|run}}) that is lengthy for the player's skill level. 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. Used congratulatorily, it may be phrased "good run", "great run", "nice run", etc. See also {{gli|high break}}.

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.ESPN Classic broadcast of 2002 BCA Open 9-ball Championship, final (May 16, 2002). Charlie Williams v. Tony Robles. In-context commentary on rack 8 by pool pro Mike Sigel. Rebroadcast and viewed March 27, 2009.

In snooker, a type of {{gli|mechanical bridge}} that has only since the 2010s 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 {{gli|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 {{gli|hampered}} on the {{gli|cue ball}} and in need of a {{gli|spider}} or {{gli|swan}} with {{gli|extension|extensions}}, which would have less control.

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 {{gli|sandbag}}, {{gli|on the lemonade}}, {{gli|lemonade stroke}}, {{gli|shark}}, {{gli|dump}}.

{{further|Irish linen}}

Any shot where the {{gli|cue ball}} is intentionally jumped into the air to clear an obstacle (usually an {{gli|object ball}}, even in games with non-ball objects, e.g. bottle pool). Jump shots must be performed by hitting the {{gli|cue ball}} into the table's surface so that it rebounds off the {{gli|cloth}}; scooping under the cue ball to fling it into the air is deemed a foul by all authoritative rules sources. A legal jump shot works by compressing the cue ball slightly against the {{gli|slate}} under the cloth, causing it to spring upward when the downward pressure of the cue is released. Some billiard halls and even entire leagues prohibit all jump (and usually also {{lang|fr|{{gli|massé}}}}) shots, out of fears of damage to the equipment, especially the cloth. Specialized {{gli|jump cue|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 (artistic pool and artistic billiards) competition.

A denigrating term for the {{gli|mechanical bridge}}.{{harvp|Shamos|1999|p=139}}.

To determine the order of play, players (representing only themselves, or sometimes teams) each near simultaneously shoot a ball from the {{gli|kitchen}} (or in British games, from the {{gli|baulk line}}) to the {{gli|end rail}} and back toward the {{gli|bottom rail}}. Whichever shooter's ball comes to rest closest to the bottom rail gets to choose who {{gli|break|breaks}}. It is permissible but not required for the lagged ball to touch or rebound off 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 {{gli|string-off}}.

A common rule in informal {{gli|bar pool}}, especially bar/pub eight-ball, in which the {{gli|money ball}} must be {{gli|pocket|pocketed}} ({{gli|pot|potted}}) in the same pocket as the shooter's last {{gli|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 {{gli|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 {{gli|cue ball}} {{gli|scratch|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 {{gli|position play}}, and frequently result in {{gli|bank shot|bank}} and {{gli|kick|kick shots}} with the 8 ball.

In eight-ball, to be shooting the solid {{gli|suit}} ({{gli|group}}) of balls (1 through 7); "you're little, remember", "you're the little balls" or "I've got the littles". Compare {{gli|small}}, {{gli|solids}}, {{gli|red ball|reds}}, {{gli|low}}, {{gli|spot|spots}}, {{gli|dots}}, {{gli|unders}}; contrast {{gli|big}}.

{{ghat|Main article: {{section link|Cue sports techniques|Massé shot}}}}

Also {{lang|fr|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 {{gli|spin}} imparted to the cue ball by a steeply elevated cue. Its invention is credited to François Mingaud. Compare {{gli|semi-massé|semi-{{lang|fr|massé|nocat=y}}}}.

1.  Chiefly British: Competitive play in {{gli|match|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.

Also simply maximum.

In snooker, the highest {{gli|break}} attainable with the balls that are {{gli|rack|racked}}; usually 147 points starting by {{gli|pot|potting}} fifteen {{gli|red ball|red}}s, in combination with {{gli|black ball|black}}s, and clearing the {{gli|colour ball|colour}}s. 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 {{gli|total clearance}}.

Leather of the cue {{gli|cue tip|tip}} overhanging the {{gli|ferrule}} because of compression from innumerable repeated impacts against the {{gli|cue ball}} without proper maintenance of the tip. It must be trimmed off, or it will cause {{gli|miscue|miscues}} and inaccuracies, as it is not backed by the solid ferrule and thus will compress much more than the tip should on impact.{{sfnp|Shamos|1999|p=159}} See also {{gli|burnish}}.

A sharp-bladed {{gli|tip tool}} used to trim the {{gli|mushroom|mushroomed}} portion off a {{gli|cue tip}} and restore it to its proper shape.

The dominant professional pool game. It is a {{gli|rotation}} game, in which the lowest-numbered {{gli|object ball}} must be hit first (though balls may be pocketed in any order, such as with a {{gli|carom shot}} or {{gli|combination shot}}). The game ends when the {{gli|9 ball}} is legally pocketed, either as the last remaining object ball, or early as long as the lowest-numbered ball was struck first.

In carom billiards games, when all the balls are kept near each other and a cushion so that with very soft shots the balls can be "nursed" down a rail, allowing multiple successful shots that effectively replicate the same ball setup so that the nurse shots can be continued almost indefinitely, unless a limit is imposed by the rules.

Excessive use of nurse shots in straight rail by players skilled enough to set them up and pull them off repeatedly at will is what led to the development of the balkline and one-cushion game variations, and repetitive shot limitation rules in English billiards.{{cite book |last=Holt |first=Richard |title=Sport and the British: A Modern History |publisher=Clarendon Press |date=1990 |series=Oxford Studies in Social History |isbn=9780192852298 |page=191}}

1.  pool: See {{gli|having the cue ball on a string|Having the cue ball on a string}}.

Disguising the level of one's ability to play; also known as {{gli|sandbag|sandbagging}} or {{gli|hustle|hustling}} (though the latter has a broader meaning).{{cite web |title=Billiard, Pool, and Snooker terms and definitions: On the lemonade |date=2007 |work=BilliardsForum.info |url= http://www.billiardsforum.info/billiard-terms-definition/on-the-lemonade.asp |access-date=March 16, 2007}}{{cite magazine |last=Shaw |first=Thomas C. |title=The Legendary Weenie Beenie |date=May 1998 |magazine=Pool & Billiard Magazine |issn=1049-2852 |volume=16 |issue=5 |page=59 |quote=It was almost as if during his years of learning that he'd been laying down the lemon. They expected the speed of the old Beenie. 'But I had improved.'}} Compare {{gli|lemonade stroke}}.

One of the most challenging pool games, in which each player is designated a specific {{gli|corner pocket}} on the {{gli|foot rail}}, and can only score by {{gli|pocket}}ing the {{gli|object ball}}s into it. The game (played to a set number of points) typically involves a higher proportion of challenging shots than other games, especially {{gli|bank shot}}s and {{gli|kick}}s.

Small, round markers typically numbered 1 through 16, which are placed in a {{gli|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.

In snooker, the second-highest value {{gli|colour ball}}, being worth six points.{{harvp|Shamos|1999|pp=179–180}}. It is placed on the {{gli|pink spot}}. In some (especially American) snooker ball sets, it is numbered "6" on its surface.

Either a {{lang|fr|{{gli|massé}}}} shot with no {{gli|english|{{Not a typo|english}}}} ({{gli|sidespin}}), or a shot in which the cue stick is steeply angled, but not held quite as near-vertically as it is in full {{lang|fr|massé}}.{{sfnp|Shamos|1993|p=171}}

The area of the table on which the balls roll, i.e. the table surface exclusive of the {{gli|rail|rails}} and the tops of the {{gli|cushion|cushions}}. The playing surface is defined by the measurements lengthwise and widthwise between the cushion noses (though specifications may simply refer to the cushion {{gli|face|faces}} for short in that context). Artistic pool and other forms of trick shots sometimes call for shots to go beyond the bounds of the playing surface, e.g. a {{gli|jump|jump shot}} off the table into a boot on the floor, in Mike Massey's classic "boot shot". The playing surface is what is used, not the entire table, when describing the approximate size of billiard tables of all kinds (e.g. "an 8 × 4 foot pool table").

Billiards-style pockets also feature in some distantly related tabletop games like carrom, novuss, pichenotte, pitchnut, air hockey, and the historical bagatelle family of games. Historically related to the holes in golf, the basic concept of a ball-capturing target or hazard is a feature of many other games, including pinball, cornhole, skeeball, and (in an elevated fashion) basketball.

1.  Describes the propensity of {{gli|pocket|table 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 "{{gli|fast|faster}}" it is said to be.

"Are the 2 and 7 pointing at the corner? Okay, I'll use that duck to get position way over there."

Same as {{gli|billiards glasses}}.

The {{gli|long rail|long-rail}} side of a {{gli|corner pocket}}. To "aim for the profession side of the pocket" is to slightly {{gli|overcut}} a difficult corner-pocket {{gli|cut shot}}, to {{gli|cheat the pocket}}, rather than {{gli|undercut|undercutting}}, especially in nine-ball. Erring too much in this direction is "missing on the professional side of the pocket." It is 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, i.e. along the {{gli|short rail}} 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.ESPN broadcast of 2007 WPBA Great Lakes Classic, second semi-final. Helena Thornfeldt vs. Ga-Young Kim. In-context commentary on rack 10 by pool pro Dawn Hopkins.FSN New York broadcast of 2006 Mosconi Cup (August 21, 2007). Team USA members (Johnny Archer and Corey Deuel) vs. Team Europe members (Thomas Engert and David Alcaide). In-context commentary on rack 7 by pool pros Jim Wych and Jerry Forsyth: "You try and overcut it a little bit if you miss it...if you hit it thick you'll sell out...this is called missing it on the pro side."ESPN broadcast of 2007 Cuetec Cues 9-Ball Championship (aired on December 23, 2007), second semifinal: (Ga-Young Kim vs. Kelly Fisher). In context commentary by pool pro Ewa Mataya Laurance.

By contrast, in eight-ball, except when both players are shooting at the {{gli|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.

Short for {{gli|shot program}}.

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 {{gli|cushion}}, but not counting any pocketed ball as valid (other foul rules apply, such as {{gli|double hit|double hits}}, {{gli|scratch|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 {{gli|money ball}} on a push-out results in that ball being {{gli|spot (verb)|respotted}} (which can be used to strategic advantage in certain circumstances, such as when the break leaves no shot on the {{gli|ball-on}}, and failure to hit it would give the incoming player an instant-win {{gli|combination|combination shot}} on the money ball).{{Clarify|date=January 2009}}

See {{gli|double century}}.

See {{gli|double century}}.

1.  In snooker, any of the 15 balls worth one point each that can be potted in any order. During the course of a {{gli|break}} a player must first {{gli|pot}} a red followed by a {{gli|colour ball|colour}}, and then a red and colour, etc., until the reds run out and then the {{gli|re-spot|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. Red balls are never numbered "1" on their surface, even in (primarily American) sets in which the {{gli|colour ball|colours}} are numbered with their values.

1.  In snooker, the abandonment of a {{gli|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 {{gli|containing safety|containing safeties}}, where there is no foreseeable change to the pattern of shots being played, so the frame could go on indefinitely.

1.  Same as {{gli|re-spotted black}}.

A chiefly British term for a set of {{gli|mechanical bridge|mechanical bridges}}. British-style rests differ from most American-style {{gli|rake}} bridges in shape, and take several forms: the {{gli|cross}}, the {{gli|spider}} and the {{gli|swan}} (or {{gli|goose neck}}), as well as the rarer and often unsanctioned {{gli|hook rest|hook}}. When used unqualified, the word usually refers to the cross. Rests are used in snooker, English billiards, and blackball.

Also score-board, score board.

A usually wall-mounted device for keeping {{gli|score}} between two or more players in {{gli|point}}-based games or in {{gli|race|races}}. The most common type, mostly used for snooker and straight pool, consists of two or more pointers sliding on board-mounted rails to indicate 1s and 10s marked on the board. Some carom billiards clubs provide digital scoreboards for each table. Other scoring methods include wall-mounted {{gli|scoring rack|scoring racks}}, in-rail {{gli|scoring wheels}}, and over-table {{gli|scoring string|scoring strings}}.

A wall-mounted, usually wooden rack with several numbered shelves to hold each player's pocketed balls, used for keeping {{gli|score}} between players of games in which points are awarded by the numerical values on the balls. Scoring racks remain common in places where rotation and related games are popular, e.g. Mexico, but are rare where these games have mostly died out. Also known as a {{gli|counter rack}}. Sometimes ambiguously called a {{gli|wall rack}} or {{gli|ball rack}}.

Same as {{gli|wire}}, sense 1.

Rotating wheels numbered 0–9 mounted into a {{gli|rail}} of the Billiard table, and used for keeping {{gli|score}} between two or more players in {{gli|point}}-based games or in {{gli|race|races}}. They are typically a pair of wheels, representing 10s and 1s, for at least two players. Such wheels are sometimes also used to create wall-mounted {{gli|scoreboard|scoreboards}}.

1.  (Of a player or referee) to place the balls (and other items, if applicable, such as {{gli|skittle|skittles}}) properly for the beginning of a game: "In eight-ball, properly setting up requires that the rear corners of the rack not have two stripes or two solids but one of each." For most games this is in a {{gli|rack|racked}} pattern, but the term is applicable more broadly than "rack", e.g. in carom billiards and in games like bottle pool. Contrast {{gli|layout}}.

A variation of nine-ball but played with only seven balls, and the {{gli|7 ball}} as the {{gli|game ball}} or "{{gli|money ball}}". An additional difference from nine-ball-style rules is that the 7 must be pocketed in a specific side of the table (each player being assigned one at the beginning of the game). Some custom 7 balls are manufactured for this game, using a black- or white-striped maroon ball instead of a solid maroon one. The game had notable professional play on ESPN's televised tournament series Sudden Death Seven-ball, 2000–2005.

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. Most league and tournament rules forbid blatant sharking, as a form of unsportsmanlike conduct, but it is very common in {{gli|bar pool}}.

A second-tier professional who is not (yet) ready for World Championship competition.{{cite news |title=Chicago Billiards Tourney |author= |work=The New York Times |date=January 16, 1898 |page=4 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1898/01/16/archives/chicago-billiard-tourney.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 15, 2008}} It can also be applied by extension to a player who is one of the best in a region but not quite good enough to consistently beat serious {{gli|road player|road players}} and tournament pros. The term was borrowed from baseball.

The use of the cue to perform or attempt to perform a particular motion of balls on the table, such as to {{gli|pocket}} ({{gli|pot}}) an {{gli|object ball}}, to achieve a successful {{gli|carom}} ({{gli|cannon}}), or to play a {{gli|safety}}.

The enumerated trick shots that must be performed in the fields of artistic billiards (70 pre-determined shots) and artistic pool (56 tricks in eight "{{gli|discipline|disciplines}}").{{cite web |publisher=Artistic Pool & Trick Shot Association |title=APTSA Rules |date=2008 |work=TrickShotProductions.com |location=Watertown, Massachusetts |url= http://www.thecuestick.com/artistic_pool_trick_shots/aptsa_rules.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110709031807/http://www.thecuestick.com/artistic_pool_trick_shots/aptsa_rules.html |archive-date=July 9, 2011}}

Also single elimination. A tournament format in which a player is out of the tournament after a single {{gli|match}} loss. Contrast {{gli|double-elimination}}.

In the final stages of a tournament, primarily snooker events, where other tables are removed, to use one single table for the final, or later rounds of the tournament.

Some events, such as the Snooker Shoot Out, are played throughout using a single table format.

A variation of nine-ball but played with only six balls, and the {{gli|6 ball}} as the {{gli|game ball}} or "{{gli|money ball}}". Six-ball has no notable professional competition.

Describes a {{gli|cue bal|cue ball}} sliding on the {{gli|cloth}} without any {{gli|top spin}} or {{gli|back spin}} on it.

"{{gli|fast|Fast}}" is the direct opposite of "slow" in all of these usages.

In eight-ball, to be shooting the solid {{gli|suit}} ({{gli|group}}) of balls (1 through 7); "you're the small one" or "I've got the smalls". Compare {{gli|little}}, {{gli|solids}}, {{gli|red ball|reds}}, {{gli|low}}, {{gli|spot|spots}}, {{gli|dots}}, {{gli|unders}}; contrast {{gli|big}}.

Same as {{gli|billiards glasses}}.

The non-striped ball {{gli|suit}} ({{gli|group}}) of a fifteen ball set that are numbered 1 through 7 and have a solid colour scheme (i.e., not including the 8 ball). As in, "I'm solid", or "you've got the solids". Compare {{gli|low|lows}}, {{gli|small|smalls}}, {{gli|little|littles}}, {{gli|red ball|reds}}, {{gli|the spots|spots}}, {{gli|dots}}, {{gli|unders}}; contrast {{gli|stripes}}.

Also spider rest. A type of {{gli|rest}}, similar to a common American-style {{gli|rake}} {{gli|mechanical bridge|bridge}} but with longer legs supporting the head so that the {{gli|cue}} is higher and can reach over and around an obstructing ball to reach the {{gli|cue ball}}. See also {{gli|swan}}.

Rotational motion applied to a ball, especially to the {{gli|cue ball}} by the {{gli|cue tip|tip}} of the cue, although if the cue ball is itself rotating it will impart (opposite) spin (in a lesser amount) to a contacted {{gli|object ball}}. Types of spin include {{gli|top spin}}, {{gli|bottom spin|bottom}} or {{gli|back spin}} (also known as {{gli|draw}} or {{gli|screw}}), and left and right {{gli|side spin}}, all with widely differing and vital effects. Collectively, they are often referred to in American English as "{{gli|english|{{Not a typo|english}}}}", though the term is often reserved for {{gli|side spin}} only. The popular introduction of controlled spin in billiards is credited to François Mingaud. See also {{lang|fr|{{gli|massé}}}}.{{clear|left}}

Same as {{gli|bar pool}}. Not to be confused with the games of straight pool or straight rail.

Same as {{gli|string}}, sense 4, and {{gli|lag}}.

The ball {{gli|suit}} ({{gli|group}}) of a fifteen ball set that are numbered 9 through 15 and have a wide coloured bar around the middle. Compare {{gli|big|bigs}}, {{gli|high|highs}}, {{gli|yellow ball|yellows}}, {{gli|overs}}; contrast {{gli|solids}}.

Also swan rest. A type of {{gli|rest}}, similar to a {{gli|spider}} in that the head is raised by longer supporting legs, but instead of a selection of grooves on the top for the {{gli|cue}} to rest in there is only one, on the end of an overhanging neck, so that a player can get to the {{gli|cue ball}} more easily if the path is blocked by two or more obstructing balls. Also known as the {{gli|goose neck}}.

White talcum powder placed on a player's {{gli|bridge hand}} to reduce moisture so that a cue's {{gli|shaft}} can slide more easily. Many establishments do not provide it as too many recreational players will use far more than is necessary and transfer it all over the table's surface, the floor, furniture, etc. Venues that do provide it usually do so in the form of compressed 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 {{gli|pool glove}}. Talc is frequently mistakenly referred to as "{{gli|hand chalk}}", despite not being made of chalk.

An outgrowth of nine-ball to make a more challenging game, it is a {{gli|rotation}} game played with ten {{gli|object balls}} and with the {{gli|10 ball}} as the {{gli|game ball}} or "{{gli|money ball}}". It is played by most of the same rules as nine-ball (especially that the lowest-numbered object ball remaining on the table must always be struck first by the {{gli|cue ball}}), but differs (in the WPA standardized rules) in that {{gli|call shot|shots must be called}}.

An amateur multi-player (and often gambling) game, played with three {{gli|object ball}}s, {{gli|rack}}ed either in a triangle or a straight line toward the {{gli|end rail}} from the {{gli|foot spot}}. The game is played by each player trying to {{gli|pocket}} all three balls (the same player remaining at the table until this is done) in as few shots as possible and without incurring any {{gli|foul}}s. Luck plays a more significant role in this game than usual, due to the possibility of pocketing two or even all three balls on the {{gli|break shot}}.

Any of a class of maintenance tools for {{gli|cue tip|cue tips}}, including {{gli|shaper|shapers}}, {{gli|scuffer|scuffers}}, {{gli|mushroom trimmer|mushroom trimmers}}, {{gli|tapper|tappers}}, {{gli|burnisher|burnishers}} and {{gli|tip clamp|tip clamps}}. Road, league and tournament players often carry an array of tip tools in their cases. The term is not applied to {{gli|chalk|cue chalk}}.

Same as {{gli|knuckle}}. By analogy to the human breast.

Same as {{gli|corner-hooked}}.

Same as {{gli|follow}}. Contrast {{gli|bottom spin}}, {{gli|back spin}}. See illustration at {{gli|spin}}.

In snooker, the situation in which the {{gli|cue ball}} is resting in contact with an {{gli|object ball}}. If the object 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 that ball moves, then a {{gli|push shot}} must have occurred, in which case it is a {{gli|foul}}. This rule is sometimes applied to British pool as well as snooker. In American-style pool, and in carom billiards, a less stringent definition of a push shot applies; see {{gli|frozen}}.

A thin sheet of rigid material in the size and shape of a physical ball rack (e.g. a {{gli|diamond}} for nine-ball), with holes drilled though it, which is used to make permanent {{gli|divot|divots}} in the cloth of the table, one at a time for each ball in the {{gli|rack|racking}} pattern, by placing the template on the table, and then a ball in one of the holes in the template by 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 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.{{BDMag|first=Nick|last=Varner|date=February 2008|title=Killing Me Softly?: The Outbreak of the Soft Break Threatens the Game of 9-ball|volume=30|issue=3|pages= 34–35}} See also {{gli|racking template}}, {{gli|pocket template}}.

1.  A rack in the form of an equilateral triangle. There are different sizes of triangles for {{gli|rack|racking}} different games (which use different ball sizes and numbers of balls), 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|Rack (billiards)}}

2.  The {{gli|object ball|object balls}} in triangular formation, before the {{gli|break|break shot}}, after being racked as above (i.e., same as {{gli|rack}}, definition 2). Principally British. (See also {{gli|pyramid}}.){{Clear}}

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. being placed on or around the table.

A British term for a type of {{gli|bank shot}} in which the {{gli|object ball}} is {{gli|pot|potted}} off two {{gli|cushion|cushions}}, especially by sending it twice across the table and into a {{gli|side pocket}}. Also called a two-cushion double.

See {{gli|double century}}.

1  To hit 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 {{gli|overcut|overcutting}} is preferable to undercutting because of the principle of the "{{gli|professional side of the pocket}}". May be used as a noun: "That was a bad undercut."

1.  Alternate name for the {{gli|cue ball}}.

{{gli|games on the wire|Points "on the wire"}} are a type of {{gli|handicapping|handicap}} used, where a weaker player will be given a certain number of points before the start of the game.

Same as {{gli|dead}} (and variants listed there).

A covering of leather, nylon string, {{gli|Irish linen}} or other material around the area of the butt of a cue where the cue is normally gripped.

1.  In snooker, the lowest-value {{gli|colour ball}}, being worth two points.{{harvp|Shamos|1999|p=278}}. It is one of the {{gli|baulk colour|baulk colours}}. In some (especially American) snooker ball sets, it is numbered "2" on its surface. It is placed on the {{gli|yellow spot}}.

Describes an extended period of functioning in {{gli|dead stroke}} ("she's in the zone"). Sometimes capitalized for humorous effect.