Billiards Vault

Definition of Quick release

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

24 Random Essential Billiards Terms

A combination shot, where hitting the first ball rubs it against the center connecting line of two frozen object balls throwing the second out.
Describes a player who needs only one more game win to be victorious in the match.
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.
Chiefly British: Short for side spin. In Canadian usage, the term is sometimes used as a verb, "to side".
The way in which a player holds the butt end of the cue stick.
The wrap of the cuestick where the hand is placed, also known as the "grip area."
The Equalizer Handicap System is the handicap system developed by the American Poolplayers Association. It makes it feasible for a beginner to have a nearly equal chance in a match against a more highly skilled player.
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).
Also known as joint caps. Plugs that screw into/onto the threads of a joint when a two-piece cue is broken down to keep foreign objects and moisture from contacting the joint mechanism.
Principally British: In snooker, if a player wins a match without the need for the final session to be played (for example, if a player wins a best-of-25-frames match split into three sessions - two sessions of eight frames and one of nine - by a margin of say, 13 frames to 3), then they are said to have won the match "with a session to spare".
This is to direct the cue ball by barely contacting an object ball.
Pocket openings that are significantly wider than are typical and thus allow shots hit with a poor degree of accuracy to be made that would not be pocketed on a table with more exacting pocket dimensions.
Any system for banking or kicking balls multiple rails which uses table diamonds as aiming references.
Used when describing perfect cue ball position play.
The normal phenomenon where the object ball is pushed in a direction very slightly off the pure contact angle between the two balls. Caused by the friction imparted by the first ball sliding past or rotating against the other ball.
When the object ball lies behind another ball which makes it impossible to be struck by the cue with a direct hit.
A shot that only a novice or fool would take. Usually because it is a guaranteed scratch or other foul, or because it has a low percentage of being pocketed and is likely to leave the opponent in good position.
Also lady's aid or girly stick. A denigrating term for the mechanical bridge.
A very thin cut shot in which the cue ball just brushes the edge of an object ball. "Feather" by itself can be both noun and verb (e.g. "feathering the ball").
In snooker, where the cue ball is resting in contact with another ball. If this ball is a ball that may legally be hit, then it is allowable to simply hit away from it and it counts as having hit it in the shot. If the ball moves, then a push shot must have occurred, in which case it is a foul.
This term refers to a low percentage one pocket shot.
A game of pool played on a table shaped like a rectangle, with or without pockets.
Toward the head of the table. This is the playing area on the table above the middle pockets. The idea in an up table game is that shots are more difficult and further from the pockets in one pocket pool.
This is a shot in one pocket pool where you simple aim at a cluster of balls near your opponents pocket to attempt to make something good happen out of desperation because other shots are not feasible.
This is a ball that is left in a position that allows an easy shot, while time is spent working with other balls to better your position in the game.