Billiards History

Series Summary

Pocket billiards, billiards, or pool, is a game generally played on a table with six pockets. Pool is a game of technique, geometry, and finesse. Developing a mastery of billiards technique, and learning the rules and game play for billiards is paramount for beginner pool players. In this billiards video series, a pool expert will demonstrate cue stroke techniques. Learn about the history of billiards, the rules and objectives of the game, and general pool knowledge. Find out the proper way to hold a cue stick, and see how an aligned stance will aid in a smooth shot. Become a pool shark this these simple billiards tips.

Video Transcript

"Today, we're going to start learning how to play the game of pocket billiards, or really it's a game better known as pool. So before we get into that, let's discuss a little bit about the difference between the term billiards and pool. Where did it come from? Well, the game billiards was invented oh, roughly four or five hundred years ago supposedly in the country of France; therefore, it was given the name billiards, which is a French word. Billiards meaning that it's a round object like a pool ball or a billiard ball bouncing off of a surface, and then rebounding off of that surface like one ball off of another, or off of the cushions of the table. But really, technically billiards was a game that was designed to be played on a table with no pockets at all, using three balls, and the object of the game was to carom a cue ball off of the other two balls that are on the table, both of those balls, to score one point. So that game is really referred to as billiards these days, and the game that we play now with pockets is known as pool. The way pool got its name was when people first started playing and they would pool their money, and then play for that pool, that was the way the game was was played, so we've called it pool ever since."