Billiards Information

Billiards has been a popular indoor game throughout history. Over the years the equipment has improved so that those with a thorough understanding of physics and steady nerves can do very well. Our Pool Trick Shots section has information on various trick shots in pool.

Pool Posters and Art Prints

Check out these Pool Posters and Art Prints by Michael Harrison, Inka Zhang and other fine artists.

American Fifteen-Ball Pool otherwise known as Sixty-one Pool was played in the U.S. in the 1870s. American Fifteen-Ball Pool is the ancestor of modern Pool games. It is based on the the game of Pyramid from England, a precursor of Snooker. When a player was able to sink a ball he or she would receive the number of points equal to the number of the ball. The sum of the ball values in a rack is 120 or 15! or (15+1)*(15/2)=16*15/2=8*15=120. The first player who got more than half the total, or 61 , was the winner. Continuous Pool took the place of Fifteen-Ball Pool as the championship game when, in 1888, it was reasoned that it would be more fair to count all the balls equally as opposed to using their numeric value. thought more fair to count the number of balls pocketed by a player and not their numerical value . After 1900 Eight-Ball Pool was invented it is still widely played today.

Nine-Ball Pool took shape around 1920. The balls must be hit in sequntial order in Nine-Ball starting with the 1 ball. Once the object ball is hit first any ball that goes in lets the player continue play. The first player to sink the 9 ball with a valid shot wins the game. A valid 9 ball shot can be made via combination or after balls 1 through 8 have been sunk. In other words if balls 2 and 3 have been sunk then a player can win the game by hitting the 3 ball into the 9 ball into a pocket. A player can also win the game by sinking the 9 ball directly once balls 1 through 8 are out of the way.

I remember playing pool several times as a kid. When we lived in Pasadena, my parents had friends in San Marino who owned a pool table. I also have early memories of seeing Bobby Brady playing pool in the garage on the Brady Bunch. I think Bobby got pretty good and even won a bet or two.

As I got older billiards became a fun hobby for me. I enjoyed the competition of playing pool against my friends Perry, Junior and Art. We are all very competetive so we took the pook games seriously. We played 8 ball using different rules depending on the setting. Sometimes we ruled that scratches meant the other player had to start from behind the line. Other times we ruled that scratches meant that the next player had "ball in hand" such that he could put the cue ball anywhere on the table. I enjoyed many fine games with Art at the Fourth Dimension in Monrovia. We also played at Jake's, the Muse and Qs off of Colorado Street in Pasadena. Perry, Junior and I played at many of these same locations. Perry, Junior and I also played pool on our skiing trips in Lake Tahoe and other spots.

After college I played a lot of pool with my friends Matt and Tony. Matt and I played billiards at The House of Billiards on Wilshire near Santa Monica.

Eventually my friend Tyson bought a pool table and put it in the front room of his house. Having Tyson's pool table in his house took things to the next level. We no longer had to worry about playing by the hour or stopping the pool action at 2am. We played so much pool at Tyson's that eventually we started to try 9 ball. My brother and our friend John often played billiards with us at Tyson's. Nine Ball is a very different game from 8 ball and I believe it made us all better players because we were forced to not only make the current shot but plan the setup for future shots as well. This is not to say that you don't have to do this in 8 ball, but in 9 ball it is much more crucial. The placement of the cue ball after each and every shot becomes critical. We often played for drinks such that the loser had to take a shot of whatever the winner put together. No one wanted to take shots of unknown alcohol so we always concentrated when we played and did everything we could do get better.

English is a huge part of pool. After playing years and years we fine tuned the use of English to control both the cue ball and the target ball. I usually prefer to hit the bottom half of the cue ball and bring it back rather than hitting the top portion and following the target ball.

Billiards and Pool Posters and Art Prints

Game Room Posters and Prints Menu:
Poker Posters and Prints - This page shows posters of dogs playing poker as well as older poker cards that help show where the game came from.
Billiards Posters and Prints - The billiards posters contain everything from The Rat Pack to Dogs Playing Pool to Billiards Equipment.
Dogs Playing Pool Posters and Prints - The Dogs Playing Pool Section is dedicated to posters and prints of canines in action.
Jazz Posters and Prints - The Jazz Prints display work by Will Rafuse and other fine artists.
Las Vegas Posters and Prints - The bright lights in Las Vegas are captured nicely in the posters and prints in this gallery.

Racing Posters and Prints - The Racing Posters Section shows noteworty races featuring both automobiles and horses.
Horse Tracks Posters and Prints - The Horse Track Posters and Prints Section focuses on race horses and the men who ride them.
Boxing Posters and Prints - The great heavyweights like Ali, Frazier and Tyson are shown here in these memorable prints.
Rat Pack Posters and Prints - The rat pack used Las Vegas as their playground. Relive some of their moments in the posters and prints in this collection. Sinatra Posters and Prints - Frank Sinatra was known as a tremendous entertainer. Capture some of his moments in the posters and prints in this section.
College Posters and Prints | - Back to School is a great time of year for building up art prints and posters for dorm rooms.

Bar Decor Posters and Prints - Bar Decorations make any game room look better. We even have posters and art prints from the tv series, Cheers which took place in a Boston Bar.
Martinis Posters and Prints - Martinis are a classic bar drink. Many different vodkas can be used for martinis including Ketel and Belvy.
Scotch Posters and Prints - Aged Scotch is a classic drink and we have posters and prints showing this old time favorite.
Whiskey Posters and Prints - We have posters and prints showing all kinds of whiskey. Some makers like Jack Daniel's spell it as whiskey with an e between the k and the y while other makers like Johnnie Walker spell it as whisky with no e between the k and the y.
Cognac Posters and Prints We have many posters and prints paying tribute to cognac, another drink favorite.

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