English pool glossary
The words you'll hear at the table and in the Academy, explained in plain English.
- Baulk
- The area at one end of the table behind the baulk line. You break from here, and under some rules the cue ball is placed here after a foul.
- Baulk line
- The line across the table near the breaking end that marks the edge of the baulk area.
- Black ball
- The 8 ball. Pot it legally after clearing your colour to win the frame; pot it early or foul it and you usually lose.
- Blackball rules
- A widely played set of English pool rules. After a foul, your opponent takes the cue ball in hand and can place it anywhere on the table.
- Break
- The first shot of a frame, played from baulk into the racked balls.
- Break and dish
- Potting a ball on the break and then clearing the table in the same visit to win without your opponent taking a shot. Also called a break-and-clear.
- Bridge
- The hand that supports and guides the front of the cue. A stable bridge is the base of a consistent cue action.
- Clearance
- Potting all your remaining balls and the black in one visit.
- Cue action
- The movement of the cue arm through the shot: backswing, pause, delivery and follow-through.
- Cushion
- The rubber edge of the table that the balls rebound from.
- Deflection
- The way the cue ball pushes off line when you play with side spin.
- Double
- A pot played off a cushion so the object ball rebounds into a pocket.
- Draw (screw)
- Backspin on the cue ball, made by striking below centre, so it comes back towards you after contact.
- Foul
- A breach of the rules, such as potting the cue ball or hitting the wrong ball first. The penalty depends on the rules you play.
- Frame
- One game of pool, from the break to the black being potted.
- Free shot
- Under two-visit rules, the first shot after a foul, where you can usually play any ball without penalty.
- Ghost ball
- An aiming method: imagine where the cue ball must be at contact to send the object ball into the pocket.
- In-off
- Potting the cue ball, usually after it touches another ball. A foul.
- Kick
- An unexpected bounce caused by chalk or dirt between the balls at contact.
- Long pot
- A pot played the length of the table.
- Object ball
- The ball you are trying to hit with the cue ball.
- Plant
- A shot where the cue ball hits one object ball into another, which then goes in.
- Position
- Where the cue ball finishes after a shot. Good position makes the next shot easier.
- Race to
- The number of frames needed to win a match. "Race to 5" means first to five frames.
- Rack
- The triangle used to set up the balls, or the set-up itself.
- Rest
- A cue accessory used as a bridge for shots you can't reach comfortably.
- Safety
- A shot played to leave your opponent in a difficult position rather than to pot a ball.
- Side (side spin)
- Spin from striking the cue ball left or right of centre. It changes the angle off the cushion.
- Snooker
- A position where your opponent cannot hit their ball directly with the cue ball.
- Stun
- Striking the cue ball so it stops dead on a straight shot, or goes at a right angle on a cut.
- Top spin (follow)
- Spin from striking above centre so the cue ball follows on after contact.
- Two visits
- The traditional foul penalty, used under World Eightball and many pub rules: your opponent gets two turns in a row.
- Visit
- A player's turn at the table, lasting until they miss, foul or win the frame.
- World Eightball
- An international rule set for English pool. After a foul, your opponent gets two visits.