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A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used
in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter,
color,
and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball
properties
such as hardness, friction
coefficient and resilience are
important to accuracy.
</thead
#
Name
1
yellow
2
blue
3
red
4
purple
(pink in TV ball sets, see below for the reason)
5
orange
6
green
7
brown or maroon
(tan in TV ball sets)
8
black
9
yellow and white
10
blue and white
11
red and white
12
purple and white
(pink and white in TV ball sets)
13
orange and white
14
green and white
15
brown, or maroon, and white
(tan and white in TV ball sets)
•
cue ball,
white
(sometimes with one or more spots)
Several brands of practice balls exist, which have systems of spots, stripes, differently colored halves and/or
targeting rings.
For example, Saluc markets several practice ball systems, including the Jim Rempe Training Ball, a cue ballmarked with rings
and
targets on the surface of the ball so that the practicing player can better judge the effects of very particular
amounts of sidespin, topspin, backspin and other forms
of
cue ball control, and learn better control of cuestroke.[16] Various competing
products, such as several other Saluc models[16] and Elephant
Practice
Balls,[17] use a similar
aiming
system. Some such sets consist of just a special cue ball and manual, while others also include an object ball
marked for aiming practice.
Various drills can also be used to rate and track improvement of players.
Accu-Stats TPA
How does Accu-Stats’ player rating system work?
The Tournament Performance Average (TPA) can be used to measure a Player Ratings or player’s performance in a match or tournament. It is a single number (like a batting average) based on the following formula:
TPA = (# of Balls Made) / (# of Balls Made + # of Errors)
Errors are any of the following:
missing a shot
getting out of position
missing a kick
scratching on the break
failing to execute a safety successfully
For example, if you make 100 balls in a match and commit 25 errors, your TPA would be 0.8 or 80% (100/125). A perfect score, with no errors, would be 1.0 or 100%.
How do you interpret the letter player ratings (A-D) sometimes used to refer to player ability?
Interpretations of the A-D ratings can vary in different regions and among different league/tournament systems. Also, sometimes different labels are used (e.g., “AAA, AA, A, B, C” or “Masters, AA, A, B, C, D” or “Open A B C D” or “A+, A, A-, B+, … , D” instead of “A B C D”). The 9-ball rating drill and other “playing the ghost” rating drills can be used to assess a player’s offensive ability. These drills assigns the letter designation (A-D) based on performance.
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of important pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems, including the A-D system. Here’s an image of the ratings comparison table:
Here’s a simple interpretation of the A-D scale from the online glossary:
A: a good player capable of running most racks and/or playing lock-up safeties.
B: a decent player capable of running racks and playing effective safeties periodically.
C: an average player who doesn’t run racks very often and doesn’t have much of a safety game.
D: a novice player who makes many mistakes, can’t run even an easy rack, and never even considers playing safe.
Here’s an alternative and more-detailed interpretation of the A-D scale from Capelle’s “Play Your Best Pool” (p.386):
D: A beginner or someone who plays so infrequently that their game remains in the beginner category.
C-: A below average player – this denotes a player with some recognizable skills who has definitely risen from the ranks of beginners. This is the first major milestone.
C: An average player – describes a large section of pool enthusiasts with experience whose games perhaps have leveled off, or that only play occasionally.
C+: Above average player – this group plays a very acceptable game of pool. They tend to dominate their level of competition.
B-: This is perhaps the biggest hurdle, as a good number of players peak at the C+ level. A B- is a good player who is quite capable of running a rack of Eight Ball or Nine Ball. However, they usually lack consistency.
B: A solid, advanced player – these players can run out fairly regularly, but lack a little consistency.
B+: Players at this level are often mistaken for lower level A players when they are playing well because they play a very tough, well-rounded game. They can run out from nearly anywhere at anytime.
A-: Another big jump is required to break through to the “A” level. This group of players could be classified as semi-pros or top amateurs. They are very skilled in nearly all facets of the game. They run out easily and very often.
A: A professional quality player who can compete with and occasionally beat all but the best players. Very skilled, solid, and consistent. Runs multiple racks quite often. Tough to beat.
A+: Touring Pro – the best. Skilled in every area of the game. Breaks and runs out multiple racks regularly. Definitely in a class by themselves.
from Tom_In_Cincy:
9-Ball Tournament race to 7
(paraphrased from Dec.1997 “All About Pool” magazine article by Bob Cambell)
Handicap rankings
D-Player
will not run a rack
average run is about 3 balls
with ball in hand, will get out from the 7, one out of 3 times
rarely plays a successful safe
C-Player
will probably run one rack, but usually not more than one rack in a typical race to 7
avg. run is 3 to 5 balls
with ball in hand, will get out from the 7, two out of 3 times
mixed results when playing safe
inning ends due to botched position, missed shot or attempting a safe.
B-Player
Able to run 1 to 3 racks
avg. run is 5-7 balls
with ball in hand will get out form the 5, 2 out of 3 times
most of the time a “B” player will play a “safety” which maybe hit easily 2 out of 3 times
a typical inning will end with a missed shot, a fair safety, or a won game
A-Player
will string 2 to 3 racks
avg. ball run, 7-9
with ball in hand, will be out from the 3 ball, 2 out of 3 times
typical inning will end with a well executed safety or a win.
OPEN-Player
average 8+ balls
string racks together more than once in a match
is a threat to run out from every ball, from every position, every inning
typical inning will end in excellent safety or win
Mr. Cambell continues this article with a handicap chart for the 4 levels of each type of player. The chart would look like this;
Lowest handicap is D4, then D3, then D2 and so on until the highest would be OPEN 1
D players are bangers, they dont stand right, dont shoot right. Making a ball is usually more luck than skill.
C players are figuring out how to stand and the importance of a good stroke. Theyre trying to play and can make a couple of balls here and there. If the balls are laying good they might get lucky and run out once in a blue moon
B players are a little more serious students of the game. Their fundamentals are usually consistent and their pocketing is better. Position play varies from rudimentary to knowing some of the safer routes to use. If the balls lay good they are a threat to run out 50% of those racks. A tough out takes some luck to get out of.
A players are gaining consistency. Their pocketing is good, their position play is good. They are expected to get out of an easy run most of the time, and the hard outs are getting consistently better but they lack the consistency of better players.
Short stops are players capable of pro speed play, but cant hit their gear at will. The short stop is usually the best A player in the area and is the shortstop based on consistency.
Pro level players have the knowledge and the skill set to get out most racks that are runnable, and are smart enough to know when not to push it. They have learned how to hit their top gear pretty much at will and are usually separated by consistency of hitting that gear. The top guys are “on” almost all the time, and when they are off the difference is usually only one or two shots a match.
from Jude Rosenstock:
D – Will appear as though they are stumbling through the rack. Their occasional run-outs will either consist of very easy layouts (which they will nearly mess-up), a few lucky shots and/or unintentional position.
C – Greater sense of cue control and much more of a deliberate appearance than a D. They will undoubtedly run out with BIH with 3 or 4 left and will make it look routine but are suspect beyond that.
B – Really the beginning of the run out player. If they make a ball on the break and get position on the 1 ball, they should have a reasonable expectation to get out. Any cluster or unusual position play will diminish their chances significantly. Usually, B players possess unusual strength in either pocketing, strategy or position play. Rarely two of three, never all three. Their creativity is usually limited at this level but you may begin to see glimpses of what’s to come.
A – Definitely categorized as a run out player. They are supposed to capitalize on most mistakes. Greater attention is paid to more subtle details. Expect a consistent and strong break and strength in multiple attributes (pocketing, defense, position play, creativity). Most noticeable among players at this level and above is an aura of confidence.
Open & Above is very similar to what you see described in A only more refined. You will see advanced to expert break, pocketing, defense, position play and creativity. Low level opens might be advanced in all of these categories while world class professionals might be experts in most or all. All of these players are expected to run out with any routine opportunity. Any run-stopper situation (clusters, blocked position routes) is expected to be handled in such a way to still give the shooter an expectation of winning.
APA handicapping system
How does the APA Equalizer Handicapping system work for Player Ratings?
See the following official description from APA that doesn’t include much detail:
How do APA player ratings differ or compare to the A-D system?
Actual levels of ability corresponding to different player ratings can vary significantly among different leagues and different regions. There is no direct correlation between an APA rating and actual level of play. The ratings are relative only to other players in the league. However, in a competitive league with a wide range of abilities, the APA ratings will generally correlate with traditional A-D player ratings along the lines summarized by Koop below.
from Koop:
SL-3 or below: D+ Player or below
SL-4: D+ to C- Player
SL-5: C- to C Player
SL-6: C+ to B- Player
SL-7: B
SL-8: B+ to A-
SL-9: A to Open
Arizona 1-10 rating system
How does the 1-10 rating system developed in Arizona work and compare to other player ratings?
Here’s how the Arizona Ratings compare to the “National Scale:”
AZ Nat. Description
10-2 A+ Top professional. World class player. Capable of winning major professional tournaments. Almost always finishes in the money in any tournament entered.
10-1 A Professional, or player possessing professional skills. Capable of winning local open tournaments. Usually finishes in the money in regional tournaments.
10 A- Semi-pro, or player possessing professional skills. Capable of winning or placing high in the money in local open tournaments.
9 B+ Advanced. Very good position play, strategy and consistency. Top league player. Consistent competitor in local open tournaments.
8 B Advanced. Good position play, strategy and consistency. Good league player. Competitive in local open tournaments.
7 B- Intermediate. Fair amount of knowledge and experience, but inconsistent in execution. Average league player.
6 C+ Intermediate. Has learned quite a few shots, but has a lot to learn about position play and strategy. Inconsistent.
5 C Novice. Has a grasp of the fundamentals, but does not know much about the physics of the game. Lower-level league player.
4 C- Novice. Very basic knowledge of the fundamentals. Knows almost nothing about position play. Lowest-level tournament player.
3 D+ Novice. Knows little about the fundamentals, but might know a couple of shots. Average social player.
2 D Novice. May not know anything about the fundamentals or making shots. Non-competitive.
1 D- Novice. Knows nothing about the game except maybe a few rules of play.
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of important pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems, including the Arizona 1-10 system.
Billiard University (BU) playing-ability rating system
How does the Billiard University (BU) player ratings system work?
The two Billiard University (BU) playing ability exams (“Exam I – Fundamentals” and “Exam II – Skills”) provide an accurate assessment and rating of overall pool-playing ability. The following video provides an overview of the BU assessment and rating process:
The total score of the two exams indicates your player rating according to the BU ratings table, which also compares BU ratings to other traditional rating and handicapping systems. Here’s an image of the ratings comparison table:
Exam scores, ratings, and exam videos of official BU graduates can be found on the BU alumni page. Also, unofficial scores and videos for a wide range of AZB users can be found on the AZB BU thread.
Elo rating and handicapping system
What is the Elo rating and handicapping system, and how does it work?
The Elo rating and handicapping system is a statistics-based system for tracking player ability and for matching up people in fair matches. It was originally developed for the chess world for ranking players and grouping them accordingly in tournaments of different playing abilities. For more information, see the Wikipedia Elo page.
FargoRate rating and handicapping system
How does the FargoRate rating and handicapping system work?
800 – A top world-class professional
700 – A top regional player in the US; a threat to cash in the Master’s Division at the BCA/VNEA Championships; a threat to run six in a row if the break is working
600 – Likely to cash in the BCA Open Division but probably won’t make it to the top 32; may get moved to Master’s Division and then flounder; has run three-in-a-row multiple times and maybe four-in-a row a time or two
500 – A good local league player; runs out first time at the table in about 10% of the games
400 – Runs out first time at the table in about 1% of the games (once or twice a league season)
300 – A beginner league player
200 – absolute beginner; may miscue frequently
Here’s how Fargo ratings roughly compare to those of other systems:
Starting in 2015, CSI started using FargoRate to track player ratings and assign handicaps in all league and tournament events. For more info, see the CSI press release.
The following webpage allows you to look up Fargo Ratings for different players and determine a probability for one player to beat another in given race: fairmatch.fargorate.com.
1. Rack all 15 balls. Any order, but the 1 must be at the top, and the 15 in the middle.
2. Break
3. Player can take as many ball in hands each rack until all balls have been made.
4. Player does NOT have to take ball in hand immediately after the break.
5. Player can use a ball in hand at any point during the rack.
6. Play a total of 10 racks.
7. Player’s score is determined by the total # of ball in hands taken after all 10 racks are completed.
8. Slop counts.
9. Player must continue shooting even if the 15 ball drops early.
Summary of what is a foul/BIH penalty:
– CB scratch (1 foul)
– OB off table (1 foul, and ball gets spotted)
– Missed shot (1 foul)
– Missed shot and then scratch (1 foul)
– Lowest ball not hit first (2 fouls)
– Lowest ball not hit first and then scratch (2 fouls)
– Make a ball and scratch (1 foul). If a legal hit is made, but the ball that dropped wasn’t the lowest ball, it gets spotted. If the lowest ball was made, it stays down.
I suggest the following for score-based player ratings:
0-20 Pro
21-35 A
36-50 B
51-65 C
66-80 D
81+ BANGER
Also, here are some additional rule clarifications:
– Each ball in hand (BIH) taken counts as a penalty point.
– All of the foul points listed above are penalty points.
– Balls made on the break stay down, even on a scratch (although, a scratch on the break results in a penalty point and BIH).
– You get BIH after a scratch, and this counts as only 1 penalty point.
– “Slop counts” means balls don’t need to be called and every pocketed ball stays down, unless there is a foul as described above.
– The score is the total number of penalty points resulting from BIHs and fouls.
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of important pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems.
Note – An interesting game based on 15-ball is called American Rotation. A brief description, detailed rules, score sheets, and more information can be found on the American Rotation resource page.
Daily practice session, play at least two hours just trying to run balls. After a miss, start each new run with a new break ball and new rack. Set up a realistic straight pool break shot, not a gimmick break that sends balls everywhere. This is the typical high run achieved almost every day of play with excellent table conditions:
Professional: 98 or 7 racks
A level player: 56 or 4 racks
B level player: 35 or about 2.5 racks
C level player: 28 or 2 racks
D level player: 14 or less
Of course there are gradations between levels.
I put B close to C because the hardest thing to do in straight pool is not running all 14 balls, but doing that and leaving a good break shot on the last ball. The C player won’t have much hope of getting on more than one break ball (other than the first one with ball in hand), but the B player will, albeit maybe not the best break shot, and so just a few more balls made in that rack (35 total).
If there is no opponent and I am just trying to get a high run for hours than I expect …
Based on many years and thousands of straight pool games …
Highest run for the day playing several games
Pro Level – 75+
A Level – 40+
B Level – 28+
C Level – 18+
D Level – 10+
D = 10-15 balls
I’ve seen some terrible players run 14 balls, make the break shot, but have no shot in the next rack, because they don’t know what they are doing.
C = 15-30 balls
I’ve also seen C players run 14, make the break shot and have no shape. If they make it through the second rack, they choke on the second break shot. But like they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut.
B = 30+ balls
Once you get into the next few racks, you will see where your 14.1 knowledge lies.
A = 80-100 balls+
I’ve seen A players run 60+ with ease.
Hopkins Q Skill Challenge Ratings
How does the Hopkins Q Skill Challenge rating system work?
The Hopkins Q Skill Challenge is described in detail here. Here are the original ranking divisions for the different score ranges, along with an estimated correspondence with the traditional A-D lettering system:
Rank
# Per Inning
# in 10 Innings
# in 50 Innings
Traditional Designation
Recreational
0.0 – 3.0
0 – 30.0
0 – 150
recreational
Intermediate
3.1 – 6.0
30.1 – 60.0
151 – 300
D (beginner)
Advanced
6.1 – 9.0
60.1 – 90.0
301 – 450
C (intermediate)
Developing Pro
9.1 – 12.0
90.1 – 120.0
451 – 600
B (advanced)
Semi-Pro
12.1 – 16.0
121.1 – 160.0
601 – 800
A (expert)
Professional
16.1 – 18.0
160.1 – 180.0
801 – 900
AA (master)
Touring Pro
18.1 – 20.0
180.1 – 200.0
901 – 1000
AAA (pro)
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of important pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems.
National Pool League (NPL) rating system
How does the NPL rating system work?
This basic system was developed by Bob Jewett and is described here:
The Playing Ability Test (PAT) is a multi-level drill-based player rating examination developed in Europe. It is described here: www.pat-billiard.com
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of important pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems.
“playing the ghost” rating drills
Is there a drill that can be used to measure my level of play?
Many “playing the ghost” player rating drills have been developed and used over the years. The phrase “playing the ghost” implies that you are playing by yourself against a fictitious opponent (the “ghost”) who never misses. A ghost drill consists of racking a certain number of balls (e.g., 7, 9, 10, 15), breaking, taking ball in hand after the break, and attempting to run out. Alternatively, you can just randomly spread the balls on the table before taking ball in hand. If you run out, you have beaten the “ghost.” You can keep score by keeping track of your rack winning percentage or by totaling the total number of balls pocketed before missing in a given number of racks (e.g., 10).
“Playing the ghost” drills are useful to rate your level of play and track improvement over time. They also provide practice with offensive skills (shot making, position play, handling of clusters and problem balls, and breaking). Safety play, a very important part of the game, is not addressed in “playing the ghost” drills. Example “playing the ghost” drills and rating systems are the 9-ball rating drill (which provides a 1-10 and A-D rating) and the 10-ball version described below. The 15-ball-rotation rating drill provides a similar way to rate performance. The 10-ball-ghost version is the most recommended and seems to provide fairly accurate player ratings. Here’s a record-keeping spreadsheet created by “tashworth19191” (in AZB post) useful for tracking progress over time with the 9-ball rating drill. Videos of many people doing a race-to-seven and other “playing the ghost” challenges can be found in the AZB Ghost Challenge thread.
The “playing the ghost” drills do not test a complete range of pool skills, but they do a decent job at rating a person’s primary offensive skills. However, the scores can vary a lot from one session to the next, and there can be a fair amount of luck (both good and bad) involved concerning ball clustering and weird run-out patterns; but if you do a bunch of sessions and throw out the low and high scores, the median (middle) score provides a fairly accurate measure of one’s offensive ability.
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of important pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems.
As with all rating systems and drills, results can vary with table size. Generally, the rating systems are developed assuming the drills are done on a typical-difficulty-level, standard 9′ table. The Table Difficulty Factor (TDF) offers a way to compare difficulty levels of different tables to help put scores and ratings into proper perspective.
More rating drills can be found under drills here.
Pool Quotient (PQ) progressive-drill ability test
Is there a set of drills I can use to get a good measure of my overall ability?
The Pool Quotient (PQ) ability test, based on progressive practice drills is a good tool to measure ability and track improvement over time. Here it is: PQ Ability Test. Other self-assessment info can be found here.
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of important pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems.
simplified APA game-winning percentage handicapping system
Is there a simple handicapping system that can be used to run an APA-type league?
I have put together a formula that can be done in two steps, fits the APA 2-7 system and is based off cold hard facts. I call it the game winning percentage formula:
S = (G + 40) ÷ 20
where:
S: skill level
G: individual game winning percentage
Example:
(0 + 40) ÷ 20 = 2 skill level
(100 + 40) ÷ 20 = 7 skill level
Everything in between can be rounded accordingly.
This is a great foundation for a league to be built upon. It is simple, yet it sheds light on what really decides pool talent, which is winning capability.
I love playing pool. The APA’s lack of transparent information regarding their formula is less than ideal, IMO. A league based off the game winning percentage formula would stop the eternal arguments about questionable skill levels because one can just look at the facts.
10-ball ghost player-rating drill:
The following drill offers a simple and fast way to obtain an approximate player rating (based on offensive skills). However, 10 racks of 10-ball is not enough to get a representative score. There is too much variability from one rack to the next, and there is a luck factor involved. A better approach is to do 30 racks and drop the 10 highest and 10 lowest scores. This would give a more representative score and rating.
A better system for determining and monitoring a player’s level of ability is the Billiard University (BU) rating system. It assesses a wide range of pool skills in a methodical, thorough, and consistent way. It also provides a numeric and descriptive rating. The BU rating comparison chart shows how the BU rating correlates to other commonly used rating and handicapping systems.
Scores and videos for a wide range of AZB users can be found on the AZB BU thread.
from Eric.:
Joe Tucker has a thing he uses that proves to be pretty accurate. It goes like this:
Rack up some 10 ball. Break from anywhere. After the break, take ball in hand and run out, in rotation (1, 2, 3, etc…) All balls made on the break count. Any balls made on a scratch are spotted. [Added by dr_dave: A scratch incurs a 2-point penalty.] Once you miss, the rack is over. You should shoot 10 racks and count the total balls made for each rack. After 10 racks, take your total and compare it to this chart:
[added by dr_dave: <30 D]
30-35 D+
36-40 C
41-45 C+
46-50 B
51-55 B+
56-60 A
61-65 A+
66-70 A++
71-up Pro
I’m not sure if it matters what size table. I like this rating system because it takes a lot into account as far as player ability i.e. shot making, position play, cluster breaking, break skill. It makes no difference if you play 10 ball or not, the results are very close to reality.
ACBilliards.com has launched a new, mobile friendly, website.
With this friendly update we have expanded our Viking Cues inventory and have plans to provide more for GW (Ginger Wizard) Cues and J.Pechauer Cues. Please keep an eye out for future updates as we continue to improve our site for all our clients and friends like you.
Traditionally, the World Wide Web has been accessed via fixed-line services on laptops and desktop computers. However, the Web is now more accessible by portable and wireless devices. An early 2010 ITU (International Telecommunication Union) report said that with current growth rates, web access by people on the go — via laptops and smart mobile devices — is likely to exceed web access from desktop computers within the next five years.[1] In January 2014 mobile Internet use exceeded desktop use in the United States.[2] The shift to mobile Web access has accelerated since 2007 with the rise of larger multitouch smartphones, and since 2010 with the rise of multitouch tablet computers. Both platforms provide better Internet access, screens, and mobile browsers, or application-based user Web experiences, than previous generations of mobile devices. Web designers may work separately on such pages, or pages may be automatically converted, as in Mobile Wikipedia. Faster speeds, smaller, feature-rich devices, and a multitude of applications continue to drive explosive growth for mobile Internet traffic. The 2017 Virtual Network Index (VNI) report produced by Cisco Systems forecasts that by 2021, there will be 5.5 billion global mobile users (up from 4.9 billion in 2016).[3] Additionally, the same 2017 VNI report forecasts that average access speeds will increase by roughly 3 times from 6.8 Mbit/s to 20 Mbit/s in that same time span with video comprising the bulk of the traffic (78%).
