What Running the Table Actually Means A break-and-run in 8-ball is exactly what it sounds like: you break, pocket a ball on the break, and then clear your entire group without giving your opponent a single shot, finishing on the 8-ball. It’s the standard that separates serious players from casual ones. Most recreational players treat…
What Is English and Why It Matters Side spin, known in American pool as english, is one of the most powerful tools in a pool player’s arsenal. When you strike the cue ball away from its center, you impart spin that alters its path both before and after contact with an object ball or cushion….
What Is the Draw Shot? The draw shot is one of the most satisfying strokes in pool. Strike the cue ball below centre, send it into the object ball, and watch it reverse direction and roll back toward you. That reverse roll is backspin, and when it’s timed correctly against the point of contact with…
What Is Topspin in Pool? Topspin, or follow in pool terminology, is forward rotation applied to the cue ball so that it continues rolling in the same direction after contact with an object ball, rather than stopping dead or rolling back. When you strike the cue ball above its centre with enough pace and the…
Why Aiming Systems Matter Every shot in pool starts with one question: where exactly do you hit the object ball to send it where you want it to go? That sounds simple, but the gap between knowing where you want the ball to go and actually translating that into a cue delivery is where most…
What Is Cut-Throat Pool? Cut-throat is one of the few pool games designed specifically for three players, and it solves the awkward problem of having an odd number at the table without splitting into teams. It runs on standard American pool equipment, a 9-foot or 7-foot table, a full rack of fifteen numbered object balls,…
What Is Bank Pool? Bank pool is one of the most demanding disciplines in American pool. Every single ball must be pocketed off at least one rail, no direct shots allowed. That constraint sounds simple, but it fundamentally changes how you think about the table. Where regular eight-ball rewards a player who can run balls…
What Is One-Pocket Pool? One-pocket is a pocket billiards game played on a standard 9-foot American pool table where each player is assigned one of the two corner pockets at the foot of the table, and that’s the only pocket they can legally score into. First player to pocket eight balls in their assigned pocket…
What Is Straight Pool? Straight pool, officially known as 14.1 continuous, is the game that serious American pool players point to when they want to talk about pure skill. Before 9-ball became the television format of choice, straight pool was the prestige game, the one Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, and Irving Crane played for money…
Two Games, One Table Walk into any pool hall in America and you’ll find both games running simultaneously. 8-ball on one table, 9-ball on another, and players who swear by one and dismiss the other. Both are played on the same equipment with the same cue ball, but they are fundamentally different games that reward…