Billiards is one of the most colorful indoor games. The emeraldtable with the colorful balls on it appears really eye-catching. Players also require Pool Cues to play this sport. The colorful balls are also known as ‘pool balls’; the logic being the pocket sport in USA is popularly termed as ‘pool’.

The balls come in sparkling hues like indigo, crimson, yellow, purple, orange, emerald, maroon and few very appealing blend of balls. The combinations of balls include white and indigo, white and orange, white and crimson, white and yellow and white and purple. The bright balls stand out really well on the green-colored table. The weights of the balls also differ. Each ball has a number. Self-hues balls are called ‘solids’ and the two-colored balls are called ‘stripes’. The numbering of the balls is done according to hues. The yellow balls are pointed as one, stripe balls having indigo and white combination with number ten whereas the combination of white and emerald balls has number fourteen. The balls have various names according to the hues. The name given to the white ball and the yellow ball or the white ball marked by a black dot is ‘cue ball’. The white ‘cue ball’ is used by the initial player while the yellow ball or the white dotted ball is used by the second player. The balls for trainee players are marked with target rings. The novice can examine the angle soundly where the ball or balls should be hit. This is not needed for the expert players as they can examine the weight of the balls and strike the balls at exact angles.

The balls are held in reserve in a ball rack when the sport is not being played. In carom sport the balls continue to remain on the table. While a competition of pocket goes on, the balls falling through the pockets are assembled through the duct to be played again. Previously, the balls were made from wood or clay and even ivory. But the ivory balls were not used by the common players as they were very costly. These days, best quality polyester and acrylic or Phenolin resin are used to makethe balls. The balls can bear hard shots and they do not break off or crack.

The most common game is the 8-ball game. It has gained such a high fame that to a novice a game signifies 8-ball game. In fact, it is one of the many games played. The games have two broad segments carom sport and pocket sport. The carom sport is played on pool tables without pockets. Three balls are required in this type of game. Here the player tries to steer his cue ball in such a way so that he could ‘carom off’ his adversary’s balls, as per demand of the game. Pocketgame is played on a six-pocketed table. In this game as per the rules of the game, the players aim to pocket the balls into the pockets of the pool table.

Cue pool games has quite a few varieties, like snooker, 8-ball pool- one pocket, 9-ball pool etc. The basic requirements are the same, but the rules, objectives and even the terminology of each is different. It is a highly fascinating and challenging indoor game and needs a lot of patience. Persons, who like to play indoor games, should certainly try out any one of the games.

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