Playing Pool Billiards Guide

by Earth Mother, Apr 2, 2008

(contd.)

Page 2 of 2 | «Prev 12 Next

John W. Hyatt, a chemist, discovered celluloid in 1868. Celluloid is a plastic that lasts a long time and could replace the ivory used in the past to make billiard balls. Ivory at first, though undependable, was very expensive. Because of the high cost only the elite played with ivory balls. They were a shiny and pretty luxury. Most people would play with the more affordable wooden balls. But eventually, the cost dropped and in the nineteenth century ivory was the only thing used to make balls. A lot of elephants were slaughtered, until celluloid plastic came along.

A tight rack is crucial to a good break. The rack or triangle is defined as the “…frame used to group the object balls at the beginning of pocket billiard games…”(Mizerak and Panozza, 1990, page 190) The rack is a small piece of equipment in size, but is a large piece of equipment when it comes to being important. A triangle for pool holds fifteen balls. The triangle is normally made of wood or plastic. (see Attachment No.3) “There are maple, oak, pine, cherry, walnut, white ash, bakelite, rubber, and even celluloid triangles.”(Stellinga, 2003, page 78) Celluloid is meant to represent Ivory. Along time ago racks often had sharp points at their corners. We choose a milder, rounded edge now. Mechanical gadgets have also been designed to make a more accurate rack, though are unnecessary.

In my opinion, the cue stick is the most important piece of equipment (see attachment No. 3) Without a good stick, you can not shoot at the balls accurately, no matter how good your eye is. It has changed more than any other piece of equipment used to play pool. In the early 1600's people began using a mace with a flat faced wooden head to push balls around on the table, acting as the cue ball. A long stick protruded from the curved heel of the wooden block. In the middle of that century, a more straight stick version arrived. The new stick included a smaller head piece. Eventually, in the seventeenth century, the two were disconnected and a cue ball was a separate thing from the cue stick. The mace didn't get thrown away though; it was used for a while as a sort-of bridge to aid in hard shots. The leather tip is the biggest invention and most important change to the cue stick. Leather helps to get the ball to spin significantly better. It was discovered by a jailed French infantry captain named Mingaud in the 1800's. Chalk, which added to the tips power over the cue ball was in wide us by the 1820's.(Mizerak and Panozzo, 1990, pg 30)

The pool stick (see attachment No. 9) is made up of two sections, the cue shaft and the cue but. The shaft is normally mad out of hard rock maple wood. The shaft's tip normally has a fiber pad and a metal ring called a ferrule. The area where the shaft and but join are often aligned with decorative rings. Decorative rings can be made of plastic, wood or metal. An insert and joint collar are metal joints used where the sections meet. The insert holds the threaded metal joint screw used to connect the shaft to the but. The but is made of wood, and is normally more than one piece fastened together. Metal weight and balance pins are drilled through the but, then glued and are covered by a piece of linen cloth. The wrap is pulled tightly around the but and glued on. Typically made of any colored Irish linen, the wrap is often used for grip also. However, like decorative rings some decorations are purely for looks. Different color wood or paint is often used for flair, even “including diamonds on a few”.(Powell, 1997) At the very end of the butt is the rubber bumper. Under the piece of rubber is a hole where a weight screw goes. You can change the weight to any weight you want. A lot goes into making a cue stick.

As I look through “Inside Pool”, a popular magazine dedicated to the game, I am bombarded by advertisements. They are mostly for equipment you would expect, like a pool stick, a custom made stick bag, or a pool table. “250,000 league players can't be wrong!” is written at the top of a full page advertisement for Valley Tiger pool tables.(see attachment 4) Like any sport, talented players get paid to sponsor and help sell equipment.(see attachments 4-7) It's normally a pretty good deal for any popular player because they get paid and normally get free equipment.

Playing pool for money is a lot like gambling at cards or a casino. You have to invest money in order to make any money of the game. Friends sometimes play for who will buy the next round of drinks at the bar. Serious players invest a whole lot of time and money into profiting off the game. It is a gamble and like card games, “sharks” often bluff or throw a game. By loosing on purpose the shark player tricks his opponent to into believing he is the better player. Most the time this incises them to continue playing for more money. Really good players do not have to search for games in pool halls or bars. They can enter tournaments and win a lot of money quickly. (see attachment No. 8)

Pool is a fun leisure activity you can play casually or take very serious. No matter what level player you are, a game is always better with high quality equipment. Now that we both know a little more about the game…want to go shoot the stick around?