Looking for a fun filled family sport for when the world re-opens?
Alliance Billiards has just the game-or games for you.
There’s a lot to learn at a billiards hall – for the whole family. There is math for keeping score, geometry and physics during each play, team work at times and lots of patience!
Even better – playing pool encourages sportsmanship at a young age, and the game itself is a match between the player and the balls, not player against player. A unique lesson to learn!
Many families have found great fun and good food while playing pool or billiards.
Actually Alliance has youth leagues as well. Being part of a team at any stage of life is a great experience and loads of fun!
Fun Facts:
Pool is the most popular in the USA.
Snooker is the game of choice and most popular in the United Kingdom.
Lastly, Pocket Billiards is most played in Canada, Australia, China, Taiwan and Ireland.
A pool table is 3’5” x 7’ at least with 9-15 balls in play.
A billiard table is 5’ x 10’ at least with 3 balls in play.
The word “billiard” originated from the French word “billiard” which means “mace”. The mace was an object that was used to play the game before the advent of the modern day pool cue.
Billiards is played on a table with no pockets and 3 balls. There is a red ball, a white ball with a dot on it and a white ball without a dot. The cloth on a billiard table is designed to let the ball travel quickly.
A pool table has 6 pockets and 9-15 balls along with a white cue ball.
Snooker is played on a table with 6 pockets as well; however the pockets are larger than that of a pool table. There are 15 pink numberless balls, 6 numbered balls and 1 cue ball. The cloth on a snooker table is designed to make the balls travel slower.
Alternative Games of Pool:
One Pocket Pool
Place all the balls randomly in the rack. The player breaking chooses 1 pocket that they will use for the rest of the game. Opponents choose their alternative pockets and operate in the same manner.
The players earn 1 point per ball potted correctly with the winner the first person to reach 8 points.
A slight variant to the game is having a player lose a point with a foul; with 3 fouls a player immediately loses the game.
The first time there was a tournament game of One Pocket Pool was in 1961.
Cut Throat Pool
3 players compete during each game. The aim of the game is to be the last player with a ball on the table. There are 15 balls divided into 3 sets. 1-5, 6-10, 11-15.
Each player is assigned one set of balls. Each player takes a turn to pot a ball continuously until he misses. It may be appropriate to pot one of their own to better their position – this is known as “cutting your own throat”. If the cue ball is potted, each opponent is allowed to bring one of their balls back up to the table. A player who has no balls on the table at any given point is forced to miss his turn, although if a cue ball is potted they may return to the game.
Straight Pool
Straight pool was first known to be invented in 1910. This game makes use of a scoring system with the winner the first one to reach 100 points.
All fouls lead to a 1 point penalty with the exception of a cue ball penalty which is a loss of 2 points. If a player fouls on 3 successive shots they receive a 15 point penalty. Crucially, players must nominate their target ball and pocket before playing each shot. Players score 1 point each time the nominated ball is potted into the specified pocket. Constant re-racking is required to reach 100 points to win.
Bumper Pool
Bumper pool can be a hilariously fun game to watch. The fun comes from a series of objects that are placed on the table to make it harder for each player to pot the balls. The obstacles are known as bumpers. Only 10 balls are used; 5 red and 5 white. Each set has a single marked ball. The object is to have each player pot their 5 balls into a pocket at the far end of the table. The marked ball must be potted first. In this game there is no cue ball involved with the players hitting each ball directly.
"Play together-Stay together"
If you are a family that understands “Play together – Stay together”, then Alliance Billiards opens lots of opportunities. Make it a date when the world re-opens!
Order a great family meal while you enjoy teaching or learning a new game!
In the meantime – Georgia has an incredible array of single and family sized meals available to you. There’s some great Greek choices as well as all the regular pub fare. You can order through Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, or call directly and Alliance will deliver!
Billiards Anyone?
Written By: Jane Laker
Photo Credit: Veronika Kovecses
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