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.

Billiards - You'd Be Surprised What You'll Find

Billiards. There was a time when if you looked up billiards on the Internet you'd find instruction on how to play the game and the different variations of billiards that there are but today, that is no longer true. Today, if you look up the word billiards on a search engine you will find mostly, the following:

Billiards and the chaos theory. You will be amazed at how many articles you will find on this science. Chaos theory, in a nutshell, is the study of unpredictable and complex dynamic systems that are highly sensitive to small changes in external conditions, at least according to Webster's definition. So what exactly does that mean and what does it have to do with billiards?

Chaos theory as it applies to billiards is basically the theory, and this is simplified of course, that when you strike the cue ball with the cue stick and it gets sent hurtling towards the rack of balls, once it hits those balls they will react in a random pattern rather than is a predictable one. There is something, of course, to be said for chaos theory as it applies to billiards. If you've played the game and are any good at it you are sure to notice that you can hit the first ball in the rack in the same place with the same force and yet it seems that each time you do so the balls in the rack react in a different way. Strong supporters of the angle of reflection equals angle of incidence theory will of course argue this, saying that we never can really hit the lead ball in the same place with the same force more than once because we are human and fallible. This argument is likely to go on for a long time.

The point however is you would be amazed at the number of articles about billiards and chaos theory.

The other main thing you will find when doing a search on billiards is billiards simulations. not just with actual games but web sites with vector designs and square shapes with coordinates that you can plug in and visually see the path of the billiard ball after it is struck by the cue stick. For those of you who are mathematically adept you can change a number of the factors in these simulations such as the number of sides on the table itself. You can have as few as 3, as in a triangle, and in some programs as many as 10 sides for your billiards table. Of course you can also plug in your standard 4 sided table.

Other variables you can change are x and y coordinate values, x and y vector values, the speed of the ball and the number of iterations, meaning how many times the ball will bounce around the table until you wish it to stop.

Then of course there are the actual billiard simulation games themselves which are very realistic these days. As to what theory they are programmed from, that is anybody's guess.

Yes, looking up billiards on the Internet will find you some strange stuff. Want to actually learn about the game and how to play it?

Just type in "billiards instruction" and ignore the results that somehow creep their way in from the other categories.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Billiards

Things To Consider When Buying A Pool Table Light

What should you look for when purchasing a pool table light? This article will give you all the information you need in order to purchase a billiard light. Pool table lights come in many shapes and sizes, colors and styles. Assuming you already have the pool table, next you will need to figure out what length of light you will need.

As a general rule of thumb you will need 5 inches of light for every foot of pool table. For example a 7 foot pool table will need a billiard light with a minimum of 35 inches in length preferably 40 inches or more. You do not want to choose a short billiard light that will leave darkness around the edges of the pool table.

Another thing to consider is how high is the ceiling in relation to the pool table? The higher the ceiling, the larger the area the pool table light will cover. How much chain will you need to hang the light? Does the light come hard wired or soft wired? Hardwired means you cut the light on with a wall switch and soft wired means the light must be plugged into a wall outlet and turned on via an inline switch.

Something else you will need to keep in mind is what style of light bulbs will you choose? Florescent or standard? Many pool table light manufacturers can build your billiard light with either or. So be sure to ask when purchasing your pool table light fixture.

If you really want to get creative with your billiard lighting you don?t have to use a traditional pool table light at all. You could use two or three pendant lights that have multiple light bulbs in each pendant to light the pool table adequately. When you think about it that way your lighting options are unlimited. Imagine 2, 3 or even 4 pendant lights hanging all in a row above your billiard table. Each can be wired to turn all of them on with the flip of a single switch or even multiple switches.

For more pool table lights and game room decorating ideas visit us on the web at http://www.BlueRidgeLighting.com