Billiards FAQs

Billiards is a fast growing leisure sport played on a billiard table, with a stick known as cue stick, usually 58 inches in length, and weighing 18 to 21 ounces. The cue stick is used to hit the balls, moving around the table.

1. What are the benefits of playing billiards? Billiards is a game that increases eye-hand coordination, focus and concentration, and even practical application of physics and geometry.

2. What are the essential equipment required for billiards? Balls, rack, table, cues, mechanical bridge, scoreboard, mirror lights, dart boards, and chalk.

3. What is the standard size of a billiard table? Billiard tables are available in four basic sizes. They are 7 foot (39 inches by 78 inches), 8 foot (44 inches by 88 inches), oversized 8 foot (46 inches by 92 inches) and 9 foot tables (50 inches by 100 inches). These names refer to the interior playfield dimensions.

4. What are cue balls? In billiards, cue balls are the balls that a player strikes with the cue stick. These are made from ivory, wood, and various synthetic materials. Today, phenolic resin is also used for manufacturing these balls.

5. What is Billiards chalk? Billiards chalk is one of the most important accessories in billiards used to reduce the friction between the cue shaft and the bridge hand caused by perspiration.

6. What are the essentials needed to decorate the billiards room? Billiard clocks, posters, billiard signs, CD holders, movie stills, sports figurines, wall art, decorative furniture and cabinets, chalkboards, and pool table lights.

7. What is the difference between pool and billiards? In pool, there are 16 balls including one black, one white, seven red, and seven yellow. Billiards involves only three balls: one red, one black, and one white.

8. What is the Billiard Congress of America (BCA)? Billiard Congress of America is a national nonprofit organization located in Colorado. It is the governing body that controls the billiard industry.

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Famous Billiards Fans

Billiards, or commonly referred to as pool, is an indoor sport that has gained fanatics all over the world. As the trend of more and more home owners deciding to purchase a pool table and add it to their own home's entertainment corner or room shows, pool fans are drunk, extremely aggressive-looking fellows that are always ready to fight and have no sense of manners, or in any case, odor, is an image one can mainly attribute to movie scenes and real decadence-looking bars. But, as pool table fans are indeed increasing in numbers, the idea that these people probably have not been portrayed accurately generates a new interest in pool games and generates a chain reaction.

However, pool fans are not a recent phenomenon. Since this game's conception, thousands of individuals have experienced its thrills and were able to compete against each other during friendly or professional games. Some of the most famous pool fans are people known from history, politics, arts and science. Individuals like Mark Twain, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Antoinette, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, and Paul Newman, have embraced the game of pool and have contributed to its fame traveling around the globe over the centuries.

Abraham Lincoln, one of the first real American celebrities and an immensely important person in American history, owned a pool table and was admittedly a great pool gamer and fan. If one might think that critical issues of the American national interest, like slavery, the Civil War, and international relations, were probably discussed over a billiard game, perhaps is not far from the truth. As a billiard table has been brought in the White House and existed there for several administrations, many of the recent US Presidents have had the opportunity to play a couple of games with prestigious opponents, like Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, King Hussein, or Margaret Thatcher. Isn't it chilling for one to imagine that the world's fate might have been "played" over a billiards game?

In recent times, pool tables are produced in different sizes and for vastly different budgets. Much more affordable than their predecessors, pool tables now attract the attention of "simple" folks who wish to spend some quality time playing a great game. Thus, even if you are not yet an owner but would like to become one, there is no better time to attain your goal than today. Visit your local games department store, research over the Internet, participate at an auction or get to your neighbor's house sale. Perhaps a new talent is hidden under your sleve. Isn't time for you to discover it?

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Football, Recreation, and Games

Custom Pool Tables

Custom design brings flexibility and individual innovation. Custom pool tables can be produced with wide variety of woods, inlays, felts, and pocket styles. Custom pool tables are engineered and designed. Some custom pool tables are centuries old and still fine, sound and beautiful.

Custom pool tables are available in a variety of styles, in good finishes and different sizes. There are more than 30 felt colors, several fabrics, and more than 10 pocket styles and leg styles. Custom pool tables are guaranteed to be elegant, reliable and competitively priced. Custom pool tables can be created with smooth, tapered designs, computer generated artwork and custom airbrushed graphics, polished to a mirrored finish.

Mahogany, black or carbon and beech finished custom tables are also available. Each table frame is made from carefully selected wood. Inlays of these tables are cut from a variety of materials including veneer, mother-of-pearl and metals. You can buy 9 foot wave custom pool tables made of mahogany. 9 foot arch custom pool tables made of woods like Cherry and rosewood with pearl inlays are also available. Ovoid trestle custom pool tables are 8 foot long, made of Cocobolo, Maple, Cherry and silver oval inlays. Custom pool tables are available in solid fiberglass construction, carefully designed and custom painted beautifully with customers in mind. Sometimes sleek powder coated steel, precision-ground slates and championship billiard fabrics are used to create custom pool tables. These pool tables and accessories mostly appear in star hotels and celebrity homes.

Custom made quality pool tables are hand crafted with special attention to workmanship. Custom pool tables use only the highest standards of craftsmanship, quality and aesthetics. Most manufacturers of pool tables supply table cloth for custom pool tables with high definition patterns permanently laser printed. They are available in a variety of colors.

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