01Balls & Equipment

Cue ballJapanese: tedama

The white ball the player strikes with the cue. In every game, the cue ball is the only ball you may strike.

Object ballJapanese: matodama

The numbered balls (1 to 15) you hit with the cue ball, aiming to pocket them.

Group ballsSolids / stripes, low balls / high balls

8-Ball: in this game, the set of seven balls each player takes on. The single-colored balls 1 to 7 are called “solids,” and balls 9 to 15, white with a colored band, are called “stripes.” The NBA rules call them “low balls” and “high balls.”

8 ball (the number 8 ball)Eight ball / 🎱

The black ball numbered 8. It is also the name of the game decided by pocketing this 8 ball last. The 🎱 emoji is this very ball. For the rules of the game, see the 8-Ball page.

Pocket

The holes the balls drop into: six in all, at the four corners and at the middle of each long cushion.

Cue

The stick used to strike the ball. Its end carries a leather “tip,” which is chalked to keep it from slipping.

Rack

To arrange the object balls in a set shape before the break. The word can also mean the cluster of racked balls, the frame used to rack them (the triangle), or a single game. It is also a unit of counting, as in “Race to 5” (first to five racks).

Rack template

A thin sheet that holds the balls tightly together when racking. It is removed after the break, once the balls have stopped.

RestMechanical bridge

A tool that supports the cue when you play a ball you can’t reach by hand.

PoolPocket billiards

In English, the word for billiards played on a table with pockets. Besides pocket billiards, the world of billiards also includes carom and snooker.

02Table & Positions

Foot spot

The point where the front ball of the rack is placed: where the line across the table a quarter of the way in from the far (foot) end meets the table’s lengthwise center line. It is also used when returning balls to the table.

Head stringAlso: head line

The line across the table a quarter of its length from the short cushion at the breaking end (the head). The break is taken from behind this line.

Kitchen

The area between the head string and the head cushion. “Shooting from the kitchen” means placing the cue ball behind the head string and shooting from there.

Head spot / center spot

The head spot is where the head string crosses the lengthwise center line; the center spot is the middle of the table. In 14.1 and Rotation, they serve as places to re-spot balls.

Long string

The center line dividing the table lengthwise. When a ball cannot be placed on the foot spot, it goes on this line.

CushionRail

The rubber edge of the table. “Rail” refers to the whole edge of the table, cushion included.

PointsDiamonds

Markers set into the rails, dividing the long sides into eight equal parts and the short sides into four.

03Shots

BreakBreak shot

The first shot, which scatters the racked balls. It is taken from behind the head string.

Dry breakNo-in

A break on which no object ball is pocketed. The NBA rules call this a “no-in.”

Safety

A defensive shot: rather than trying to pocket a ball, you leave your opponent a difficult position. In call-shot games you declare “safety” before shooting (in 10-Ball, the June 2026 revision removed the need to declare it).

Kiss

Balls touching one another; in particular, a ball being struck by another it wasn’t aimed at, changing its path.

Combination

A shot in which the object ball struck by the cue ball goes on to hit another object ball, which is then pocketed.

CannonCarom

A shot in which the cue ball or an object ball glances off another ball, changing direction into a pocket.

BankBank shot

A shot that sends the object ball into a cushion before it reaches the pocket.

Jump shot

A shot that makes the cue ball leap over a ball in its way, played by elevating the cue and striking down on the ball.

Massé

A shot played with an elevated cue, putting heavy spin on the cue ball to bend its path sharply.

Scratch

The cue ball going into a pocket. It is a foul in every game.

Miscue

The tip sliding off the cue ball. You’ll know it by a sharp sound and a telltale change of color on the tip.

Fluke

A ball that goes in by luck rather than by design.

MasuwariBreak and run

When the breaker clears the rack to the end without ever giving the opponent a turn at the table.

High run

In 14.1 and similar games, the number of points scored consecutively in a single inning.

04Rules & Rulings

Ball in handAlso: free ball

Taking the cue ball in hand and placing it anywhere on the table before shooting. It is given to the opponent after a foul. Depending on the game or the situation, it may be limited to behind the head string (List of Fouls).

Call shotCalled shot

A rule requiring you to declare, before shooting, which ball you will pocket and in which pocket. It is used in 10-Ball, 14.1 and Bowlliards, and is sometimes adopted in 8-Ball and Rotation too. If the called ball goes in, any other balls pocketed on the same shot also count.

No call

In a call-shot game, shooting without declaring. It is not a foul, but your turn passes to the opponent.

Gentleman’s call

An understanding that when the intended shot is obvious, it counts as called without being declared. Adopted at some events.

Push out

A special shot that may be used only once, right after the break. Once you declare it, you may send the cue ball anywhere you like without worrying about which ball to hit or the rail requirement. Your opponent then chooses whether to shoot or pass. It is a rule in 9-Ball, 10-Ball and Rotation.

Option

In 10-Ball, the choice given to the next player when, for example, a ball goes in other than as called: to shoot from there, or to have the opponent shoot again.

Three fouls

The same player fouling three times in a row. In 9-Ball and 10-Ball it loses the rack; in 14.1 it carries a heavy point penalty.

Breaking foul

Failing to meet the requirements of the break (pocketing at least one object ball, or driving at least four object balls, not counting the cue ball, to a cushion). Under the NBA rules, the opponent re-racks and chooses who breaks.

Illegal break

A break that fails 9-Ball’s three-point rule (the turn passes to the opponent). In 8-Ball under the World Standardized Rules (WPA), this is the name for a break that fails the break requirements, and it is not treated as a foul.

Three-point rule

A rule common in 9-Ball tournaments: on the break, the object balls pocketed plus those driven past the head string must total at least three.

Break ace (golden break)

Pocketing the game-winning ball (such as the 9 in 9-Ball) on the break and taking the rack right there.

Open table

In 8-Ball, the state in which neither player’s group has yet been decided.

Break ball

In 14.1, the last ball left on the table after 14 have been pocketed. You pocket it while sending the cue ball into the re-racked balls, and keep on shooting.

Spotting (returning a ball)

Placing a ball pocketed on a foul or the like back on the foot spot. If it can’t be placed there, it goes on the long string toward the foot rail, frozen to the ball in the way.

Cushion touchFrozen

A ball resting against a cushion or another ball. Whether it is touching can change how a foul is judged.

Lag

A way of deciding who breaks first. Both players shoot a ball at the same time from behind the head string, off the far cushion and back, and whoever stops closest to the near cushion wins.

Winner breaks / alternate break

The order of breaking from the second rack on. When the winner of the previous rack breaks, it’s winner breaks; when players take turns, it’s alternate break.

Random rack / pattern rack

Ways of racking in 9-Ball and 10-Ball. Placing all but the fixed balls at random is a random rack; also fixing the positions of other balls, such as those at the back, is a pattern rack.

9 on the foot spot

In 9-Ball, racking with the 9 ball on the foot spot. The World Standardized Rules (WPA) use this racking.

Sakidori (N-saki)Race to

“5-saki” means the first player to win five racks takes the match: the usual Japanese way of stating match length. In English this is written “Race to 5.”

HandicapRack handicap / point handicap

An adjustment that lets two players of different strength play a closer match, by giving each a different number of racks or points to reach.

Inning / frame

An inning is one turn at the table, from your first shot until a miss or a foul passes play. A frame is one rack’s worth of play in Bowlliards.

05Game

9-BallNine-Ball

A game in which balls 1 to 9 are hit in order, lowest number first, and whoever pockets the 9 wins. See the rules

10-BallTen-Ball

A call-shot game won by whoever pockets the 10. See the rules

8-BallEight-Ball

A game in which players split into solids and stripes; whoever clears their group and then pockets the 8 wins. See the rules

14-114.1 Continuous / Straight Pool

One point per ball; the first to reach the agreed score wins. After 14 balls are pocketed, they are re-racked and play continues. See the rules

Rotation

A game in which each pocketed ball’s number is its score. One rack totals 120 points. See the rules

BowlliardsJapanese: bōrādo / bourādo

A practice game of 10 frames, scored like bowling. A perfect score is 300. See the rules

06Frequently asked questions