The game of English billiards is performed on a **paratively massive desk, normally 6 ft 1.5 inches by 12 feet (1.9 by 3.7 m); it is played with three balls as in carom-a plain white, a white with a spot, and a purple. The game is performed with three balls, two white and one red, with one of the white balls having a small purple dot, or spot, to distinguish it. In play, the thing is to stroke the cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom, or billiard, which counts one level. There are three ways of scoring: (1) the shedding hazard, or loser, is a stroke through which the striker_s cue ball is pocketed after **tact with another ball; (2) the profitable hazard, or pot, is a stroke during which a ball aside from the striker_s cue ball is pocketed after **tact with one other ball; (3) the **non, or carom, is a scoring seque**hrough which the striker_s cue ball **tacts the 2 different balls successively or **currently. The other principal video games are performed on tables that have six pockets, one at every corner and one in every of the lengthy sides; these video games include English billiards, performed with three balls; snooker, played with 21 balls and a cue ball; and pocket billiards, or pool, performed with 15 balls and a cue ball.

The sport of pocket billiards, or pool, which uses six giant pocket openings, is primarily the game performed on the Ameri** **ti**s and, lately, has been performed in Japan. Finally, the six coloured balls have to be pocketed within the order of their values. The player must first pocket a red ball and then try to pocket any colour he might choose, scoring the value of the ball that he has pocketed. Each crimson ball when pocketed stays in the pocket, whereas the colours when pocketed, as long as any reds remain on the table, are positioned on their respective spots. The billiard balls, formerly fabricated from ivory or Belgian clay, are actually usually plastic; they every measure from about 21/four to 23/8 inches (5.7 to 6 cm) in diameter, the bigger balls being utilized in carom billiards. The cue is a tapered rod of polished wood or synthetic material, ranging in size from about 40 to 60 inches (100 to a hundred and fifty cm).

The normal mahogany billiards table is still in use, however tables are now usually product of different woods and synthetic supplies. Angled rails of hardened rubber or synthetic rubber, often called cushions, rim the interior edge of the desk. Snooker is played on the identical desk and with the identical measurement balls used for English billiards. The sport of snooker is primarily British and is played to a small degree in the Americas. The small end of the cue, with which the ball is struck, is fitted with a plastic, fibre, or ivory re**rcement to which is cemented a leather-based cue tip. Chalk in small cubes is applied uniformly to the cue tip permitting the gamers to strike the cue ball off **tre on objective with the i**ion to impart a spinning movement, referred to as "side" in Great Britain and "English" within the United States. The sport of carom billiards **tinues to be played primarily in France and other European nations and to a lesser diploma within the United States and has many players in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea and in **tral America, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

There are numerous varieties of each sport-notably of carom and pocket billiards. The table and the cushioned rail bordering the table are topped with a feltlike tight-fitting cloth. Play **tinues till only the six colours stay on the desk. The sport is performed with 22 balls, made up of 1 white ball (the cue ball), 15 red balls, and six numbered colored balls including one yellow 2, one green 3, one brown 4, one blue 5, one pink 6, and one black (valued at 7 factors). It may be inferred that it developed from a wide range of video games by which propelling a ball was a predominant function. In a variety of the sport known as three-cushion billiards, the cue ball should also touch a cushion or cushions three or extra occasions to finish a carom. When the last ball is pocketed, the game is ended. Different forms of the game tend to be performed in sure teams of international locations or areas of the world, though most of the video games cross many nationwide boundaries.