From the Lawn to the Table - Billiards

Billiards is a sport that requires skill and coordination to use a cue stick to hit balls and shoot them into the cloth-covered pool table’s pockets. The billiard balls usually come in different standard colors with numbers printed on them. The billiards table or pool table and accessories also come in standard sizes and designs. Billiards nowadays is played as a sport with several national and international competitions held all year round. Any professional cue master may compete in Carom billiards, pocket billiards or snooker, the three major subdivisions of billiards or cue sports. If you just discovered this sport and would like to train to be a pro, there are several billiard lessons given by professional players as well as websites that can give you lessons and tips.

Billiards is said to have evolved from lawn games such as croquet and golf that just moved indoors. The lawn game just moved onto a wooden table with a green cloth (replacing the grass on the lawn) and borders. However, instead of the cue sticks that are used today, wooden sticks called maces were used first. Maces are the same equipment used in hitting the balls when playing the croquet. It was only during the late 1600s that the cue stick was developed when billiard players had difficulty hitting the balls near the borders of the table.                                        

Billiard or pool tables back then did not have pockets but only borders that were called “banks” because they resembled river banks. Today’s pool tables and accessories come in different forms and styles. Options for pool tables include modern, traditional, antique, and those with curved or straight legs. Accessories, on the other hand, include cues, balls, racks, cases, ball rack, pool ball polish, and matching chalk, among many others.

If you are interested in playing billiards and you have the proper equipment then you are ready to learn the basics. Billiard lessons are usually offered in billiard halls or by retired professional cue masters. However, you can also get billiard lessons online whether you are a beginner or an advanced player. The basic lessons include the fundamentals (stance, grip, stroke, etc.), techniques and execution on aiming, basic shots (stop, draw, follow, cut, etc.), position play, and the rules of the game. The advanced lessons cover advanced shots, position plays, breaking, and the mental side of playing billiards.