Definition of Weight

This is a shot that shows great control and positioning in where the cue will be when all the balls stop rolling.

This is the act of keeping your ball location advantages the way they are, and not allowing your opponent to even things out in the game of one pocket.

Actual wire or string with multiple beads strung (like an abacus) used for keeping score. Points "on the wire" are a type of handicap used, where a weaker player will be given a certain number of points before the start of the game.

This is a bank in one pocket pool that is sitting at an angle that makes it unsafe to play.

Chiefly American: Also known as side spin, english (which is usually not capitalized) is spin placed on the cue ball when hit with the cue tip to the left or right of the ball's center. English has a marked effect on cue ball rebound angle off cushions (though not off object balls), and is thus crucial for gaining shape; and can be used to "throw" an object ball slightly off its otherwise expected trajectory, to cheat the pocket, and for other effects. "English" is sometimes used more inclusively, to colloquially also refer to follow and draw. In combination one could say bottom-right english, or like the face of a clock (4 o'clock english). The British and Irish do not use this term, instead preferring "side".

A three cushion billiards shot in which the cue ball first strikes two cushions before hitting the first object ball then hits a third cushion before hitting the second object ball. So called because the shot opens up like an umbrella after hitting the third rail. Umbrella shots may be classified as inside or outside depending on which side of the first object ball the cue ball contacts.

When a player is on the receiving end of a devastating safety where it is very difficult or near impossible to make a legal hit on an object ball.

The United States Snooker Association (USSA) is the internationally recognized governing body of the sport of snooker in the United States. Founded in 1991 by the British-born Michael Collins, the USSA is a member of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF), the world governing body of non-professional English billiards and snooker, and is affiliated with the American CueSports Alliance (ACS).

A shot where the shooter was trying to make the shot but misses. However, the result of the missed shot ends up being a very good defensive play.

Describes a ball rolling along a rail in contact or near contact with it, or which makes multiple successive contacts with the rail.

Same as stripes, in New Zealand. Compare yellows, high, big ones; contrast unders.

Same as back spin.

A multi-game division of a match, as used in some league and tournament formats. For example, in a match between 2 teams of 5 players each, a 25-game match might be divided into 5 rounds of 5 games each, in which the roster of one team moves one line down at the beginning of each round, such that by the end of the match every player on team A has played every player on team B in round robin fashion.
A level of competition elimination in a tournament, such as the quarterfinal round, semifinal round and final round.

A type of spin imparted to the cue ball to make it rebound from a cushion at a shallower angle than it would if the spin had not been used.

This is a shot where the cue ball caroms off a number of balls in a pin ball, back and forth, fashion to achieve a shot.

A bank shot that follows a Z shaped pattern as it bounces off of two rails.

To contact the chosen object ball in such a way to make it bank off a rail before being pocketed.

To shoot without taking enough warm-up strokes to properly aim and feel out the stroke and speed to be applied. One-stroking is a common symptom of nervousness and a source of missed shots and failed position.

Derived from "sitting duck", usually referring to an object ball sitting close to a pocket or so positioned that is virtually impossible to miss. Same as hanger (US, colloquial), sitter (UK).

Playing an opponent for money who has no chance of winning based on disparity of skill levels. The term robbed is also sometimes used humorously in exclamations when a shot that looks like it would work did not, as in "Oh! You got robbed on that one!"

This is your pocket for sinking balls in a one pocket game.

This is when it is necessary to change a set handicap after play indicates it favors one player more than the other.

A joint type which makes it possible to screw and unscrew the butt and shaft very quickly; faster than standard threads.

In the UK, a long-distance shot played to pot a ball close to a pocket with heavy top spin, so that when the cue ball hits the cushion it bounces off but then stops due to the counteraction of the spin. It is not common in competitive play, being more of an exhibition shot.