Billiards Vault

Definition of Dead stroke

When a player is playing flawlessly, just "cannot miss" and the game seems effortless.

24 Random Essential Billiards Terms

Chiefly British: bank shot played up and down the longer length of the table off a short rail and into a corner pocket, as opposed to the more common bank across the short length into a center pocket or corner.
A pool room may refer to an establishment that is the same as a pool hall. A private residence may also have a pool room. That would be a room in a house or a recreation room in an apartment building, hotel or condominium complex that has a room that the main activity is dedicated to playing pool.
In snooker, the pocket nearest the yellow spot.
North American Poolshooters Association. Mission: To provide a competitive and fun amateur pool league competition with cash and prizes awarded to the players at the local level.
As a result of the opening break shot (the "snap"), usually said of winning by pocketing the money ball ("won on the snap", "got it on the snap", etc.) Employed most commonly in the game of nine-ball where pocketing the 9 ball at any time in the game on a legal stroke, including the break shot, garners a win.
Any game which uses a rack composed of less than 15 balls.
USA Pool League. A pool league structured exclusively around eight-ball match play.
The placement of player(s) automatically in a tournament where some have to qualify, or automatic placement in later rounds.
A game of pool played on a table shaped like a rectangle, with or without pockets.
This is to take all the money from a player or to have lost all of your own money.
To disguise the level of one's ability to play in various ways such as using a lemonade stroke; intentionally missing shots; making an uneven game appear "close"; purposefully losing early, inconsequential games. Sandbagging is a form of hustling, and in handicapped leagues, considered a form of cheating. See also dump and on the lemonade.
In blackball, a situation where the player cannot see any of the balls she/he wants to hit due to obstruction by other balls or the knuckle of a pocket. The player must call "total snooker" to the referee, which allows a dispensation to the player from having to hit a cushion after contacting the object ball, which is otherwise a foul.
Also shot to nothing. A British term for a shot in which a player attempts a difficult pot but with safety in mind, so that in the event of missing the pot it is likely that the opponent will not make a meaningful contribution, and will probably have to reply with a safety. The meaning refers to lack of risk, i.e. at no cost to the player ("for nothing" or coming "to nothing"). Compare two-way shot.
When the cue ball contacts three or more cushions in carom games.
Asian Pocket Billiard Union. The APBU is a member of the WPA.
A barrel is how much money per game a player is betting. As in, "I have ten barrels at $20 a game".
Exact opposite of fast, all senses.
These are fouls made in one turn and then on the next by the same player each time. Some games have a rule that a player will lose the rack or match with three succesive fouls.
This describes when a player is trapped behind a ball. (n.) - This is also the amount of money a player is down after betting.
This is when, after playing an opponent for a while you both break even as far as money exchange, and the only person to get paid is the house for use of their table.
A pocket; usually used in disgust when describing a scratch (e.g., "the cue ball's gone down the sewer").
This is a bank in which the object ball hit will cross the path of the cue ball on the way to its destination.
An agreement between two players in a tournament, one of whom will advance to a guaranteed money prize if the match is won, to give a certain percentage of that money to the loser of the match. Also known as a saver.
Means either push out or push shot, depending on the context.