Straight Pool Terminology

Series Summary

The game of pool, or billiards, was developed, like other cue sports, from outdoor stick-and-ball lawn games similar to golf or croquet. Pool was originally played on tables without pockets. Holes were added later, used first as a hazard and later as a means of scoring. The term 'pool' was derived from 'poolrooms,' which were off-track betting facilities where gamblers would 'pool' their money to determine the odds on horse races. These facilities were often equipped with a few billiards tables, and the words 'pool' and 'billiards' soon became interchangeable.

In this free video series, our expert Richard Buccola will teach you how to play strait pool. He will teach you the terminology, the object of the game, and how to do the rack and lag. He'll also teach you how to break, re-rack, keep score, and jump the cue ball. He'll even tell you about illegal shots, fouls, and safety shots.

Video Transcript

"In this next clip, I want to talk a little bit about terminology in the game of pool. Before we even start to learn about straight pool, I want to talk a little bit about terminology. Terminology is things you might hear at the table, and what it's going to mean. This is the pool table. They also call it the bed of the table, or the slate. The rails, or the cushions are these bumper type things. The pockets are the holes where the balls go in. You have a rack which is used for breaking, and for racking the balls for breaking. You have the cue ball, which is your main ball. This is the neutral ball that you use to hit other balls. The other balls are called object balls, and they are numbered one through fifteen for straight pool, but on different games, you may not use all of the balls. There's different terminology regarding what you use. Your stick is called a cue. This is a cue ball; this is a cue stick. You have a leather tip on the cue stick. You have chalk. It's used to stop friction, so you don't have a miscue. A miscue is when you don't hit this ball properly, and the tip of the stick slides off of it; causing you to either jump, or not hit it properly; causing you to miscue, and not hit the ball the proper way. You might scratch on a ball. Scratch is when the cue ball either jumps off the table, or goes in a pocket. An illegal shot is when you call fourteen in the corner, and it jumps off the table. That's an illegal shot; it's a foul. A foul is when you don't make a legal shot. If it's an illegal shot, you get a foul. There's all different terminology as far as shooting the ball. You might hit a bank shot. A bank shot is when you hit the ball into a rail, and it banks and goes into a corner, or a side. You might have a combination shot. A combination shot is when you hit one ball, and that ball hits another ball, and it goes into the pocket. You might have a carom shot. A carom shot is when you hit the cushion first, and then hit the ball, and that ball goes into a pocket that you call. Another term is the head spot. The head spot is where the balls get racked, and the top ball in the rack is called the head ball. The head ball would go on the spot when racking them; something like this. That head ball goes on top of that head spot. You also have the head line; which is on the other side of the table. Head line is when you have this imaginary line that goes from this dot to this dot across, and everything behind it is neutral. Ball in hand is when you get to place the ball anywhere behind the head spot. In certain games, ball in hand means that you get to place the ball anywhere on the table. Those are most of the terms that you're going to hear around the pool hall. I hope that helps a little bit. Come back, as I show you the game of straight pool."