Billiards

Welcome to Billiards!

About Billiards

Billiards is played using a red object ball and two white cue balls, one of which is plain and the other spotted (this can be swapped for a solid or spotted yellow ball). At the begining of the game one of the white balls is assigned to each player. You can gain points by potting (a “Winning hazard”), going in-off (a “Losing hazard”), or making a cannon (aiming your cue ball so that it strikes both the red ball and the cue ball of your opponent (in any order) in a single stroke. A points target is set at the beginning of the game and the first player to reach that number wins.

Setting Up

The red ball is placed on the billiard (black in snooker) spot and the player chosen to break off places their cue ball in the D.

The scoring system for billiards is as follows:

A cannon (two points): Aiming your cue ball so that it strikes both the red and the cue ball of your opponent (in any order) in a single stroke.
A pot (three points for the red and two for your opponent’s ball): The cue ball of your opponent or the red ball can both be legitimately potted. The red ball is returned to it’s spot when potted, your opponents ball remains off the table until your turn is finished.
In-off (three points for going off the red and two for the opponent’s ball): Striking your cue ball, hitting another ball and then your cue ball goes into a pocket.
To maximize your score total, shoot as many as you can in a single shot.

How to play billiards

Each player shoots their cue ball up and down the entire length of the table; the player who lands closest to the baulk cushion gets to select who plays first. This is known as lagging or stringing.
The red ball is placed on the billiard (black) spot and the chosen player places their cue ball in the D. The player strikes the cue ball into the red ball trying to pot the red, go in-off or leave the table safe.
Each player goes back to their seat and waits for their next turn if they are unable to score any points.

The game of billiards has destroyed my naturally sweet disposition.

Mark Twain
– Speech, April 24, 1906

Some of the greats

Dive into the world of billiards legends and get inspired by their timeless prowess.
Gain inspiration from the stories and accomplishments of these cue sports icons to fuel your passion for the game.
Explore the extraordinary skills of billiards legends like Joe Davis, Walter Lindrum, and Melbourne Inman.

*Click on any image to view the player profile, the first, (Melbourne Inman is automatically opened).

Joe Davis OBE

Joe Davis was both a master of billiards and snooker. He dominated for almost 30 years!
He has inspired may players including the 7 time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Melbourne Inman

This 6 times world billiard champion also played in the inaugural world snooker championship of 1916 where he reached the second round.

Thelma Carpenter

Thelma, like Joe Davis played billiards and snooker. She won the Women’s Professional Billiards Championship three times, and for good measure she took a snooker crown as well!

Walter Lindrum OBE

Walter is one of the greatest Australian athletes of all time. Being called the greatest billiards player ever by many is no suprise, a few of his records still stand today.
Yes, that is his gravestone.

Fred Davis OBE

Not to be outshone by his brother Joe, Fred showed exceptional talent in both billiards and snooker. He is one of only a few players to have won both billiards and snooker world titles.

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*Pro. tip: always use regulation equiptment!

On Billiards

I wonder why a man should prefer a good billiard-table to a poor one; and why he should prefer straight cues to crooked ones; and why he should prefer round balls to chipped ones; and why he should prefer a level table to one that slants; and why he should prefer responsive cushions to the dull and unresponsive kind.

I wonder at these things, because when we examine the matter we find that the essentials involved in billiards are as competently and exhaustively furnished by a bad billiard outfit as they are by the best one. One of the essentials is amusement. Very well, if there is any more amusement to be gotten out of the one outfit than out of the other, the facts are in favor of the bad outfit. The bad outfit will always furnish thirty percent. more fun for the players and for the spectators than will the good outfit. Another essential of the game is that the outfit shall give the players full opportunity to exercise their best skill, and display it in a way to compel the admiration of the spectators.

Mark Twain playing billiards Very well, the bad outfit is nothing behind the good one in this regard. It is a difficult matter to estimate correctly the eccentricities of chipped balls and a slanting table, and make the right allowance for them and secure a count; the finest kind of skill is required to accomplish the satisfactory result. Another essential of the game is that it shall add to the interest of the game by furnishing opportunities to bet. Very well, in this regard no good outfit can claim any advantage over a bad one. I know, by experience, that a bad outfit is as valuable as the best one; that an outfit that couldn’t be sold at auction for seven dollars is just as valuable for all the essentials of the game as an outfit that is worth a thousand. … Last winter, here in New York, I saw Hoppe and Schaefer and Sutton and the three or four other billiard champions of world-wide fame contend against each other, and certainly the art and science displayed were a wonder to see; yet I saw nothing there in the way of science and art that was more wonderful than shots which I had seen Texas Tom make on the wavy surface of that poor old wreck in the perishing saloon at Jackass Gulch forty years before.
– Mark Twain’s Autobiography, Volume 2 (2013)