Regent Snooker Lounge

by The Library of Congress

Billiards, what a wonderful game it is. But billiards is also a very skillful game. It takes practice, the ability to laugh at oneself, and did I say practice? When you decide that you want to learn to play billiards it helps if you know what type of game you want to play. There is 8-ball, 9-ball, Snooker and several more. Several publications can be bought from your favorite store. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pool and Billiards”, 2nd Edition by Ewa Mataya Laurance and Thomas C. Shaw, is one such book. Another might be “Byrne’s Complete Book of Pool Shots: 350 Moves Every Player Should Know” by Robert Byrne. There are many available and should be the first place you turn when you have a desire to play billiards well.

The next thing that you will need is a “pool cue” or “billiard stick”. You will want one that is straight, balanced well and is the weight that feels the best for you. Pool Cues come in weights from 14oz – 22oz. You can order pool cues from dealers at the weight you want. Expect to pay any where from .00 at your local Wal-Mart to ,000.00 plus at a reputable dealer who will give you almost any thing you can think of. Color, wrap, farrel and pool cue tips can be custom ordered for a price. Having a decent pool cue can make all the difference in how well you play.

You will also need good pool cue chalk. “Masters” or “Silver Cup” are the only two of the brands of chalk available. These chalks come in boxes of twelve and any hue of color you might like. Chalk is used to put on the tip of your pool cue so when the ball and cue come in contact they don’t slip. While we are talking about chalk you can also get chalk holders that are useful in making your chalk distinguishable from others. These also come in all sorts of fun assortments.

Some players use baby powder on their cue. There is debate about whether your cue likes that powder or not. Many choose to loose the powder and use a glove. The glove helps your hand to slide easily on the cue stick. And since you are not using powder for this, they keep your cue free from sticky build up. Gloves can be worn on the right hand or left and come in many colors. Specialized pool training tools are available such as laser cues, training balls and other electronic training devices. All of these items can be purchase at a billiard store or some of the better sports shops. They come in different varieties and at a cost to fit almost every need.

If you decide to make billiards your game, try out a few of these items. Having these items can help understand the fundamentals to pool a little better. And of course besides owning these helpful billiard supplies, always practice, practice, and did I forget to mention practice?

by Museum of Hartlepool

There are a whole lot of how to guides on how to play billiards nowadays. You can really often occasions find these being marketed possibly in billiards magazines or on the net. Also, there are even Tv exhibits these days that give ideas on how to boost your billiards knowledge. Whether you want to play pro billiards, play eight ball pool, just learn billiards trick shots, or just play for fun, you can uncover wonderful information to help you enhance your games.

However, here is a thing to retain in head: some of this info is valuable, and some isn’t really. Here is some data to help you to enhance you to learn to play pool, and also how to discover the finest pool info to just take your game to the subsequent stage.

First of all, you most likely ought to begin out by doing a fast web search for billiards ideas, and soak up all the free of charge information which is accessible. There will no doubt be a lot of content created on the matters, and many of them by some quite honest billiards suggestions.

This is undoubtedly a fantastic way to get a head start off on the opposition. Keep in mind, 99% of your opponents will never ever just take the time to find out how to play greater, and will simply do so by trial and error. When you make investments in your training, no matter whether by reading through or viewing Television shows on the matter of billiards playing, you will immensely improve your game-even if you’ve never picked up a cue stick in your life!

One of the most crucial suggestions to getting to be an successful billiards table player is precision. Very basically, devoid of this key element, you can kiss your chances at succeeding in pool good bye. For this, you require to feel about each and every shot prior to you hit it.

Very simply, program out not only wherever you want to hit your up coming shot, but also where you want the cue ball to conclude up so that it leaves you in great position for your following shot. This is 1 of the keys to every specialist billiards gamers good results, and something that nearly no amateur does.

When you are more than your shot, make confident to loosen up and envision the billiards stick as just being aspect of your physique. This will also help you to turn out to be much more exact with your shot. This is a single of the most crucial suggestions for how to play billiards, and with out it you will in no way attain your likely.

Also, be confident to exercising persistence when enjoying pool. This just might be the most important skill you can have for billiards. As soon as you grow to be frustrated and impatient, you eliminate your capability to focus, and your body also tenses up.
This makes it considerably much more hard to hit an successful shot. When you remain patient and relaxed, even if things will not look to be going your way right now, if you keep calm, the tide will soon turn in your favor.

Finally, the most crucial part is to apply. Naturally, as with any individual, apply is the essential to success you can acquire all the how to substance in the entire world, but until finally you really get out their in the game and do it, you will not boost. Also, try to picture your self taking part in a great game just before each game starts.

Simply visualize oneself succeeding, and you will play much better. Michael Jordan utilized this strategy before every single game he played in, and it worked out pretty effectively for him. Hopefully this data on how to play billiards a lot more efficiently will support you drastically improve your game and enjoy a life span of exciting and success with pool.

Question by Welsh Jedi 2009: If you watched the UK Snooker Tournament this afternoon can you please help?
I was watching the Snooker this afternoon and when they were introducing Neil Robertson to the game against Stephen Hendry, the bloke said now the Thunder from down under Neil Robertson, as he came on there was this song playing, do you know it is about thunder lol but I don’t know the title, if you know what it is can you answer? 10 points will be awarded to the first best answer and also 5 stars too

Best answer:

Answer by snafu
i didn’t see today’s game but in previous games he has often walked on to the song – Thunderstruck by AC/DC

Add your own answer in the comments!

Article by Steve McRea

The snooker cue is a well crafted and polished piece of wood, but in reality it is the person behind the snooker cue, the player not the cue that makes the difference. It doesn’t need to be hand made, John Spencer had a machine made cue with a nail for extra weight and won the world championship with it. Indeed the potting machine Stephen Hendry used a standard cue to win several competitions. However the hand made cues do look good!When picking a snooker cue, find one you like the look of and practice with it as often as you can, until you get the feel of the cue. Cues can be 17 oz up to 19oz, how heavy, is your preference, with the average cue being in the 18 oz bracket. Average cue size is 57 in which should be ok for just about everybody allowing for the fact you are not an American basketball player or a circus dwarf.Check to see your cue is not bent by looking down the shaft whilst turning it. Any warping will be immediately noticeable. The roll it on the table technique is not the best way as the butt end can cause the cue to wobble making a cue look warped when it isn’t, or the taper on the shaft may be stepped.

For Snooker, the popular choice of cue is a three quarter split for attaching the various bits and pieces you can get for the cues now so they can use their own cue for those awkward long shots and don’t have to use the long tackle that comes with the table.

Pool cues are very much the same as snooker cues in the UK and the tip sizes are usually the same for both games although some of the pool players prefer an 8 mm tip. Also the wood used for pool cues is often maple (especially for American pool) but snooker cues are usually made from the wood of the ash tree. There is nothing to choose between maple and ash, either will do nicely. As for the game in the US, they have heavier cues and tip size is 11-13 mm.So what makes some snooker cues so expensive? The answer is the type of wood used, some are very expensive, and how long it takes to make. The cues most expensive parts are at the butt end, or the thick end, and this is where the cue makers can differentiate themselves. Butts are made by splicing the different types of wood together to give a decorative effect. These are spliced together to give different coloured patterns and can produce delightful results. It is also where the craftsmanship comes into making the cue and determines the good makers from the bad.

So there you have it, whatever cue you choose, be sure you treasure it: no leaning it on the side of the table, as this can lead to warping and keep it clean. Have you noticed how the pros are always wiping down their cues, this is to keep them clean so they have a smooth action when drawing the cue over the hand when making a shot. Clean hands are also essential so you don’t transfer the dirt to the cue. Another tip is to keep the tip in top condition and change it as often as necessary, they are cheap enough. The old cliché is true, treat your cue well and it will treat you well.

About the Author

Author Steve McRea. To see some snooker cues for sale goto his website at www.snookerbilliardspool.co.uk