Let’s to Billiards..... What’s in a name?

We generally use the word billiards more in a generic sense than to describe the games of the same name. We also do it for the word Pool. Maybe a quick run through of the names and games will help clear up any confusion for the uninitiated.

At this stage I think it necessary to mention that there are quite a few different games that are played on billiards tables. The word Billiards has a couple of meanings. It is used correctly to describe the table. All tables can be referred to as billiards tables, regardless of the game played. It also covers two varieties of games, Carom and English Billiards.

Carom Billiards is played on tables that have no pockets, using three balls, a red, a white and a yellow ball. Carom, means cannon; hence the game is played and scored by making cannons. This is where the three balls all make contact within the one shot. To add degrees of difficulty to the games you may have to have your cue ball also make contact with one, two or three cushions within the shot. The most popular form for Professional events is the Three Cushion game. To give an example, the player has to cause their cue ball to make contact with three different cushions at some point within the shot – cue ball to hit the red then three cushions then the opponent’s cue ball. If you own a table regardless of size or having pockets, just try it. The scoring is one point per cannon. A run of 4 or 5 points is regarded as very good. Having seen the game played, I can assure you the players are very clever. The tables are usually 10 foot by 5 foot for tournament play.