Billiards - Learning How to Play

The game of billiards is not difficult to understand and with practice, you can win your first match within a few hours. There are different types of billiards games; however, there are simple ways to learn each one so you can join in while you are at the billiards hall. You need advance training if you want to play like a pro player and once you have all the skills, you will be able to win a billiards championship.

Reading a how-to book is a simple way to learn the game of billiards. Bookstores have many types of these books; however, some authors may write the steps in a way that is tough for beginners to understand. If you want to read through a billiards help book without being confused, you have to choose the right one. To find the right type of book, you have to research before you go to the bookstore and the best way to do this is to ask some billiard players for their options.

A billiards forum is a great place to get options. Just get a username and start a topic that asks everyone about the best billiards beginner's self-help books. After you have posted your message, you should get plenty of responses; after you read their suggestions, research the book titles in a search engine and choose the one you prefer. You can also visit a billiards hall to ask some of the players about books they read as well.

There is another way to learn the game of billiards without actually reading a book. Besides, some of the techniques you read in a book may not be clear unless you see someone actually doing them. To get a better understanding of the different types of billiards techniques, you should watch a billiards how-to video. A video is an excellent guide and you should buy one along with a book if you want to really increase your billiards knowledge. If you don't prefer reading how-to books, that's ok, you will still get some good advice watching the videos.

If you want to be a pro player, you need to hire a qualified BCA trainer to teach you. An instructor will tell you exactly how to stand, how to hit the ball and how to improve your skill level. If you are not a fast learner and you don't want to give the instructor a hard time during your training, you should practice beforehand. You can ask a friend from a local billiards hall to visit your home and show you the basics if you own a billiards table in your house.

If a BCA instructor has trained your friend, you will know exactly what to expect when your personal trainer arrives. This will make things much easier for you and your instructor, and you can finish your training a lot faster. If you do not want to hire someone to teach you, you can always go to the billiards hall and watch other people play and take notes. If you keep returning with a pen and paper, someone will notice you are trying to learn the game and might offer to teach you.

Billiards can be learned in a few ways; you can buy a book or video that other players recommend, hire an instructor, or watch a few games and take note at the billiard hall.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Billiards

Discount Billiards Supplies

You want to buy a pool table and pool supplies of your own. You have a new game room space and want the billiard table to be the focal point. The problem is, your budget is limited. You need to find discount billiard supplies that are still high quality so you can enjoy your new game room without spending too much money.

Well the first step in searching for discount billiards supplies is to make a list as to what you need. If you want to outfit a game room with a new billiards set up, you will need a billiards table, sticks, balls, chalk, and other accessories. Go to your favorite pool hall and make a note of everything they have so you can be sure you didn't miss anything. Make sure you have extra sticks. If you have a party, you'll want at least six pool sticks so your friends can play on teams.

After you have your list, you can begin comparison shopping. Look for discount billiards supply shops in your area. Ask the manager at your favorite pool hall where they get their supplies. You can also shop online. Just understand that if you buy the table online, you may need to put it together yourself, and if you need to return it, that isn't always easy. You can also shop for supplies in catalogs and from other sports suppliers. If you have a lot of choices, keep track of everything with a spreadsheet and make your purchases when you find the best prices.

After you find the discount billiards supplies that you need and you make a purchase, make sure you spend some time setting up your new game room. Don't just set up the table, create an atmosphere. Install lighting, play some music, paint the walls, etc. If you put your own personality into the room, your friends will respond to this.

Finding discount billiards supplies is simple as long as you know where to look. Take the time to research your supplies and where to get them. Then, set up your new game room to reflect your personal style. Now you have a room where you can entertain friends and have billiards parties!

Billiards provides detailed information on Billiards, History of Billiards, Rules of Billiards, Billiards Supplies and more. Billiards is affiliated with Pool Tables for Sale .

The History Of Billiards

The modern incarnation of billiards may look something like this: Walking through a smoke-filled bar to reach a room crammed with pool tables and filled with even denser smoke. The rather unsavory crowd barely acknowledges your presence, and you wonder once again why billiards has for so long been called the "noble game?"

Although your local billiards hall may not look like a gathering of royalty, the
billiards games of yesteryear did. As long ago as the 1600s there are records of billiards being played by British royalty, though the game barely resembled what is played today. Billiards, which moved from a popular lawn game to its final indoor model, was mentioned in William Shakespeare?s play Antony and Cleopatra.

After the industrial revolution provided better game equipment in the 1800s, billiards began to make its way into the USA. The term ?English? that is used in reference to the spin put on a ball was a term used by the Americans at the time who observed the way the English shot the ball and mastered the game. There are a few reports of the game being played in the USA long before the 1800s. Some reports indicate St. Augustine brought the game in 1580 and others state that George Washington won a game around 1748. However it was not until the 1800s that parlors opened with billiards being the central activity.

The popularity of billiards in the United States was perhaps enhanced most by Michael Phelan. He created a standardized set of rules, and through his long beloved newspaper column, he created the demand for the new sport. Phelan and his colleagues eventually formed the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company which controlled the form, design, and expansion of the game of billiards in the USA.

So, the next time you descend into your local pool hall or the latest billiards tournament in the local bowling alley, don?t forget to honor the noble history of billiards. Remember that the game you just won has added to the illustrious history of billiards, or that the game you just lost was similarly lost by much more accomplished people than you--in a different era. Kings and Presidents have similarly won and lost at billiards, though they probably were able to drown their sorrows with something better than cheap beer and mozzarella sticks. Have a swig in memory of the royal history of the "noble game."

William Jones contributes to several web magazines, on recreation and sport and home and garden issues.

Which pool table?

There are a few things to consider when purchasing a pool table that have an effect on the price and quality of your table and therefore, your game. Note that the term "pool tables" refers to the table used to play billiards, snooker, and all other cue-sports similar to this. The differences between these games are the rules and sets of balls used, not the table itself.

Pool tables are constructed in a wide variety of sizes and there can be great variation in the quality and construction methods used. The main reasons for the range in sizes in pool tables for sale are simply that an authentic full-size table is huge and a consideration of the various costs of a full-size table. Pool tables are invariably a perfect rectangle with the width being half the length. A standard full-size English Billiards table measures 12' long, and, therefore, 6' wide! These days it is not difficult to locate tables measuring nine, eight, and seven feet long respectively, which are more realistically suited for people's homes.

When buying a pool table it is important to consider the construction materials used. Of these the surface is by far the most important feature. If you're after a basic, cheap table, new discount pool tables which use a wooden surface with cloth overlay can be found for less than US$400. However, if you are after a more authentic table, which will ultimately give you a much better game, then there is no substitute for slate. Any serious cue-sports enthusiast will not settle for anything less than a slate table which will not flex or suffer the deformities that wooden-surfaced tables are subject to. Slate is a very hard, dense stone which is quarried and cut into single, solid slabs the full size of the table, machined to near-perfect flatness and covered with cloth to make the surface of the table. Unless subjected to absolutely brutal punishment it will not chip, dent, flex, or be affected by moisture. The slab used for tables will vary anywhere between a full 2 ?" thick for much older tables and, more recently, about one inch in thickness. Generally speaking the thicker your slab the better, however, the biggest drawback with slate tables is that they are truly monumental in weight, especially for larger, older tables. These can weigh as much as 1000 pounds! Along with such a large, heavy cut of solid stone come increased handling and construction costs.

Other things to consider when assessing the quality of a table include: The grade of cloth used - good tables use a woolen cloth; the sturdiness of the frame and type of wood used in the construction, particularly the legs; how well the pockets and netting are made, what the netting is made of, and whether they use real leather guards. Finally the quality, feel, and bounce of the bumpers running along the inside edge of the table. Brunswick pool tables are an example of a respected brand that performs well for all these tests of quality, with more than 150 years of experience to their name.

The cost of authentic, full-size slate tables reaches well into the thousands of dollars which, for most people, is not a realistic purchase, assuming you have room for it in the first place. However, if you're after cheap pool tables there are a few options open to you: For real discount pool tables you can go with the wooden-based tables mentioned earlier. Their surface may dent, warp, and may make for a less enjoyable game as time progresses but they're highly affordable. If you're unwilling to settle for lower quality, and you have a bit of ability with your hands, consider looking for cheap pool tables in the classified advertisements in your local paper or online that may be in a state of disrepair. If you're willing to put the work in, so long as you can find a table with a slab intact, you can more or less rebuild or restore the rest of the table from the ground up and re-cover it yourself. In this way, you can have a quality slate table for a fraction of the cost of a new one but every bit as good.

Fortunately ball sets are getting cheaper and cheaper these days, with little reduction in quality. The same cannot be said for cues, unfortunately, so you should always remember to look down the length of a cue to see if it has bowed before buying it. Finally, you don't want to be peering at your table in the dark. Consider purchasing a set of good overhead pool table lights to ensure you get the most from your table.Jeff King writes on many consumer topics. There's more about tables at Table Land