Pool Vocabulary

Any of the triangular strips of cloth-covered rubber that line the inside perimeter of a pool table.

A substance used in cube form to improve contact between the cue stick and the cue ball.

The practice of contorting one’s body while a shot is in play as if expecting the body movement to somehow influence the balls’ paths of travel.

To knock the cue ball into a pocket.

A shot made after the player verbally identifies the pocket s/he intends to propel a ball into.

A player’s hand or a separate device used to help guide the cue stick toward the cue ball during a shot.

A long wooden stick used to strike the cue ball.

The set of balls players attempt to pocket during the course of a game.

A shot in which the object ball is bounced off one or more cushions before being pocketed.

A shot during which a player strikes the cue ball at a downward angle, causing it to launch into the air.

Any of the boards that form the perimeter of a pool table.

Returning a ball to the table after it has been pocketed or has jumped off the table.

Balls numbered from 1 to 8, also called “lows.”

The location on the pool table surface where the rack is positioned before the break.

A white or off-white ball propelled into object balls using a cue stick.

The location on the pool table surface on or behind which the cue ball will normally be placed before the break.

The first shot of a game, in which the cue ball is propelled into the mass of object balls.

A version of pool in which players attempt to pocket balls in numerical order, with the winner being the first to pocket the 9-ball.

Any of 18 markings (three between each pair of pockets), also called “diamonds,” found on the pool table rails, and used by players to line up shots.

The reverse rotation of the cue ball, i.e., when it rotates in the direction opposite the direction in which it is traveling; usually the result of a below-center hit on the cue ball. Also called “bottom spin.”

A triangle-shaped device used to align object balls at the start of a game.

Any of the four imaginary lines on the pool table surface.

Balls numbered from 9 to 15, also called “highs.”

Any of six holes cut into the rails of a pool table.