Billards

There are many different types of billards, the most popular forms being carom billards and English billards. A carom table has no pockets. The scoring is achivied by striking two balls onto one another.

The Table

A billard table is made up of a raised flat slate bed that is covered with fine woollen cloth. The playing surface is surrounded by cushioned edges that are flush around the table for carom but have six pockets set within them for English billards.

The Balls

Both carom and English billards use just three balls: two cue balls (one white and one spotted white or yellow ball) and one red object ball. Each player is assigned his or her own cue ball and keeps it throughout the game.

The Rules

At the start of a game of carom billards the balls are placed on three spots on the table. The red ball on the foot spot, the opponent's cue ball on the head spot, and the breaker's cue ball no more than 15 cm (6in) from the centre spot on the head string. The only rule is that the breaker must hit the red ball first. Foul shots include striking the wrong cue ball and playing two safety shots in succession. These incur a penalty of missing a turn and losing any count that resulted from the foul stroke. 

Scoring

In carom, a count - point is scored when the player hits the object ball and the oppent's cue ball in one stroke.