Backspin – A ball rotating in the direction opposite to its travel.

Bank Shot – A shot in which the striking of a cushion is instrumental in pocketing the object ball.

Bed of Table – The playing surface inside the cushions.

Break Shot – The first shot of a game.

Bridge – The support for the cue shaft as it slides back and forth during aim and execution.

·         Call Shot – A game rule requiring the shooter to indicate the ball to be pocketed, the pocket it is to be made in, and all cushions in-between.

Chalk – Applied to the cue tip to keep it from slipping off the cue ball.

Clean the Table – Pocket all the balls that remain on the table.

Cue Ball – The white ball that is struck with the cue stick.

Curve Shot – A shot in which the cue ball is made to curve as a result of being struck downward and to one side.

Cushion – A triangular strip of rubber attached to the rail and covered with cloth. Generally used interchangeably with “rail”.

Diamonds – Inlays (diamond or circular shaped) on the rails that serve as reference points. They divide the end rails into four equal parts and the side rails into eight equal parts. Also referred to as “sights”.

Foot Spot – A marked spot in the center of the table two diamonds from the end rail. The foot spot is used as a reference in racking the balls.

Frozen Ball – A ball that is in contact with another ball.

Head Spot – An imaginary spot in the middle of the table two diamonds from the head rail.

Hug the Rail – A ball rolled along the edge of the rail.

Jump Shot – A shot in which the cue ball is deliberately made to leave the table surface.

Leave – A term used to express the difficulty of the shot that is left for one’s opponent. Usually used qualitatively; for example, “good leave” means that the cue ball was left in a difficult position for the opponent’s first shot.

Open Table – A situation in which neither player has a designated group of balls.

Rack – A device used to help position the balls for the opening shot.

Courtesy of The Dart Store www.darting.com 

Run the Table – Pocketing all of one’s remaining balls.

Scratch – Cue ball accidentally goes into a pocket.

Shaft – The front (narrow) end of a cue stick.

Sharking – The use of devious tactics to psych-out an opponent.

Sights – See “diamonds”.

Slate – A fine-grained metamorphic rock that can be machined to a smooth flat surface. Slate is used for the bed of a table; thickness generally ranges from 3/4″ to 2″.

Snooker – A game played with 21 object balls. A regulation snooker table is larger than a regulation pool table.

Solids – Balls numbered one through seven.

Stripes – Balls numbered nine through fifteen.

action:  As in,  “At the Pool Room,  there’s action around the

               clock”.  Action is another word for gambling.

around the world:  A common way to keep track of games won when

               playing for small money is to use a coin that is placed

               under the rail next to the diamonds on the rail.  The

               center diamond at the head of the table is taken as zero,

               and each diamond from that is considered to be one game.

               To go ‘around the world’ is to beat your opponent so

               badly that the coin travels all the way around the

               diamonds on the table.

bad hit:  To fail to make a legal shot.

ball in hand:  A rule that when one player commits a foul or scratch,

               his opponent can place the cueball anywhere on the table,

               and start shooting from that point.

barrels:  As in,  “I have ten barrels at $20 a game”.  A barrel is

               how much money per game a player is betting. 

firing/shooting air barrels:  As in,  “That s.o.b. can’t pay up,  he

               was shooting air barrels the whole time”.  Refers to

               a person gambling when he has no money.

clean:  As in,  “Shots on the eight must go clean”.  This means that

               when shooting the eight,  it has to go into the pocket without

               contacting any other balls.  This is a common bar rule, but not

               included in any official rule set.

(to) clock: To carefully note the abilities or betting inclinations

               of other players for future reference.

a dime:  As in,  “We were betting a dime a set.”.  One thousand dollars.

dog the nine:  In nineball,  to have a simple shot on the nine,  but to

               miss it due to the pressure.  Can apply to missing any shot,

               as in “Joe dogged it”.

even up:  As in,  “Let’s even up”.  To pay whatever money is owed to

               the winner before continuing.

freeze up the money:  Same as ‘money in the rack’.

front runner:  As in,  “Joe is a strong front runner”.  Refers to

               a player’s ability to win a race when he is already ahead

               by a few games

frozen:  For a ball to be touching the rail or another ball.

get in gear:  To play at one’s highest level.  Sometimes heard in the

               form ‘high gear’.

go off:  As in,  “Joe could go off at any time”.   To start playing for

               small money,  and after losing at that, to raise the stakes

               and keep losing until one is broke.

hanging in the pocket:  Describes a ball that is right in front of

               the pocket.

hold your man:  Refers to when a player in a ring game misses and

               leaves no shot for the next player.

hook(ed):  As in,  “Joe is known as Captain Hook”.  Whenever

               one of the players shoots and misses, but by luck or

               design leaves his opponent no shot.  Often used without the

               connotation of luck.

horse: A player who is playing for another’s bet, either by

               mutual agreement or as the result of a calcutta.

house rules:  Many pool halls/bars have their own twists on the standard

               rules to the game.  Find out what they might be before you

               start to play.  The convention is that when you play in

               someone else’s pool room,  you are playing by their rules.

house win:  When two players break even,  and the only money to change

               hands is that given to pay for table time.

hustle:  As in, “Joe has a good hustle going”.   This means misleading

               others about your true ability and taking advantage of it

               by gambling with them and others.  Also refers to cheating

               in general. 

in jail: As in, “I put him in jail”.

               Without a shot; safe.

(to) jack up:  As in,  “When shooting over another ball,  you have to jack

               up your cue”.  Refers to elevating the butt of the cue

               higher than one normally does to shoot.

jawed: When the object ball bounces between the two tits of a pocket and

               fails to fall into the pocket–as in “Frank just got Jawed”.

kick shot:  Where one shoots the cue ball into one or more rails before

               it contacts the object ball.

last two:  A spot at nine ball in which

               the spottee wins if he pockets the ball before the nine ball.

               Different from “the wild eight” in that if the eight is sunk early,

               it is not special, and the seven is promoted.

(to) lemonade: To intentionally play below ones speed.  Also, to go on the lemon.

               See “stall”

liking it:  As in,  “Joe beat him out of $300,  and his opponent was

               liking it so much he wants to play Joe some more!”.

               To believe that one has real winning chances,  even when

               one is losing. 

(a) lock:  As in “this game is a lock for Joe”.  This means that

               he has no chance of losing.  The result is “a robbery.”

lock/handcuff artist:  Someone that will only gamble when he is

               sure he will win.

money ball:  The ball,  that when pocketed,  wins the game.

(put the) money in the rack:  When playing for a significant amount of

               money, having the players put the money on a table to 1)

               show that they have it, and 2) keep the loser from running

               out the door without paying.  Also, “to post the money.”

nit: Player or side-better not willing to bet high enough

               in the eyes of the accusor.  Often, anyone who is unwilling to

               take any chance with money.  “He’s such a nit, he wouldn’t

               bet that water’s wet.”

(the) nuts:  As in, “Joe has the nuts”.  The player who has ‘the nuts’

               is  heavily favored to win.  Sometimes heard as

               ‘the Brazilian nuts’,  ‘the Brazilians’,  or ‘the stone

               cold nuts’.  Basically means a sure thing.  If it is

               really bad,  you might hear ‘the stone cold Brazilian

               nuts’,  but that is overdoing it a bit.

On the hill:  A player is said to be ‘on the hill’ when he needs to

               win just one more game to win the set.   Sometimes

               expressed as ‘hill-hill’ or ‘double-hill’ if both players

               need just one more win to claim the set.   If you win

               the set you have managed to get ‘over the hill’.

on the side: As in,  “I will bet you $50 on the side”.  A bet made by a

               bystander with one of the players in a match.

put/turn on the heat/torch:  When a player begins to beat his opponent

               very badly.

race to:  As in,  “A race to seven games”,  or just “A race to

               seven”.  The first player to win seven games wins.  Means

               the same as “a match to seven games”.                

rat in:  As in,  “Joe rat in the nine-ball”. To make a ball by luck. 

               Typically said of shooting a ball for a given pocket, 

               and having it fall in some other pocket.  To ‘shit in’ a

               ball means the same thing.  Commonly said in nine-ball.

ring game:  A nineball game played by more than two players.  The

               players shoot in some fixed order,  with winner breaks.

               There is no playing safe in this game.  Always played for

               money.

road player:  As in, “Buddy Hall is the best road player ever”.

               A pool player that travels around and makes his living

               gambling at the game.  Same as a `road warrior’.

roll:  As in,  “Joe got a bad roll”.  Refers to when the player

               shooting has something unlucky happen to him. 

rolling the cheese:  To either another ball into the nine-ball,  or carom

               into the nine-ball,  in the hopes that it will find a

               pocket.  Also known as ‘riding the nine’.

run out:  To break and shoot in all the balls without giving your

               opponent a chance to shoot.

(make a) score:  To win a large amount of money.

(to) sell out:  To leave a good shot for the next player.

session:  A session consists of one or more sets.  Typically,  a

               session is over when someone is broke,  or when both players

               decide they need to get some sleep.  A session can last

               for a couple of days non-stop.   

set:  As in,  “They are playing a set for $300”.  A set consists

               of a predetermined number of games or race(s) that are played

               for a fixed amount of money. 

(to) shark:  As in,  “He sharked me!”.  To shark someone is to distract

               them while they are in the act of shooting.

shortstop: A second-rank player who will beat most or all of the

               local room players but who will need weight from a touring pro.

six-ahead:  Whoever wins six games more than the other player

               wins the set.  Also ‘Five-Ahead’, ‘Seven-ahead’,

               ‘Nine-ahead’,  etc…  If you are playing ‘six ahead’ for

               $30 it is the same as playing   for $5 a game and

               ‘locking in’ at least a 6 game swing before you pay.

speed:  As in, “Joe and Fred have the same speed”.  Refers to how

               well a person plays the game.  ‘Top speed’  refers to the

               best that person can play.

spot (noun and verb): A handicap or to give a handicap.

               In nine ball, the weaker player may need to win fewer games to win a

               set, or may win if he pockets the eight ball, or seven, etc.  More

               exotic spots include playing wrong-handed or one-handed.  See also:

               weight.

stake horse:  A person with money who backs a player who has

               no money or no willingness to bet his own money.  See “horse”

stall:  As in “Joe get off the stall, I know you’re a better player

               than this.”   The person is playing below his ability in

               order to obtain a more favorable match at a later time.  

               Hiding your true skill.

straight up:  As in,  “Let’s play straight up.”  To play a match where

               there is no handicap.

sweating the action:  As in,  “People were sweating the action all

               over the room”.  Refers to people other than the

               players betting on the game.

the table’s wet:  A table where the balls are moving slower than usual

               due to high humidity ( a Florida specialty ).

ten-game $500-freeze-out:  To play for $50 a game,  but to fix it so

               that one of the players has to lose $500. 

tip-tapper:  As in,  “It’s a tip-tapper!”.  Describes a shot where one

               has a chance to miscue.  Usually heard in reference to long

               draw shots.  Comes from the tool ( a tip tapper ) used to

               scuff the tip of a cue so that it will hold chalk.

the tit:  As in, “the ball ran straight into the tit”.   The ‘tit’

               is used to refer to the corner of the side pocket on pocket

               billiards tables.   Many shots meant for the side and even

               rail shots that have to pass by the side end up hitting

               the side ‘tittie’,  usually causing a miss.

tournament tough:  a player who during the course of a tournament  does

               not lose focus.  Typically said of those players that

               regularly make it to the finals of a tournament.

weight:  As in,  “You’re a champion.  To play you,  I need some

               weight”.  Basically, a mutually agreed upon modification

               to the game so that players of disparate skill levels can

               compete against each other in a meaningful way.  For

               example,  if you are playing someone much worse than you

               at nineball,  you can make it so that if they make the

               eight-ball,  they win.  One can either ‘give weight’ or

               ‘get weight’.

whitey: The cue ball.  Also, “the rock.”

wild: At nine ball, a “wild eight” is a handicap

               such that the weaker player wins if he pockets the eight

               ball at any time.  This is a large spot between weak

               players, but not much of a spot between champions.

               This spot can be extended to more or lower balls, such as

               the wild five and seven.

(on the) wire:  As in,  “Joe got two games on the wire in a race to nine”.

               A form of handicapping where the player getting games

               ‘on the wire’ has to win fewer games than his opponent.

        In the example cited,  Joe only needs to win seven games,

        while his opponent needs to win nine.  Sometimes referred

        to as “across the strings”,  from the markers on a string

        that are used to keep score.