Familiarizing Yourself With Pool Equipment

The Balls that are used on the table are divided into three groups. First group is solids, the second group is stripes, and the last group is just one ball named the cue ball. The stripes have colored stripes on them and the solid ball has similar colors to the stripes only they are each a solid color. The cue ball is just a simple white ball. Every number has the numbers one through fifteen on them, except for the cue ball. The balls with numbers one through eight are solids. The balls with numbers nine through fifteen are stripes. The only ball that you can directly control in this game is the cue ball. You control the cue ball with a cue stick. You should never hit any of the balls directly with the stick just the cue ball. The cue ball will bounce into other balls on the table and eventually knock them into the holes on the table. The cue stick is a long a pointy stick and should not be used as a conductor wand. The Cue Stick can be put into three essential parts. The tip, the shaft and the butt. The tip is a small white piece that is just an half inch long. It is found at the skinniest side of the stick. The Shaft is what connects the tip and the butt. It is a smooth, long and narrow stick. The butt is the thickest part of the cue stick. The end normally has some kind of a rubber bumper on the end. This allows you to place the stick on the floor. The cue sticks normal length is fifty eight inches long. With practice you will learn how to control the cue stick well. In order to play Pool you need a Pool Table. Pool tables are about four feet wide and nine feet in length. You are usually covered in green surface made of polyester and wool. A table has six pockets on them. The table has three hole located on its longest sides and two on its shortest side. Four of the balls are located in corners. The pool table also has rails which keep the balls in play until they bounce into a hole, known as a pocket. The rail is used to balance your non-dominant hand to make shots. Another basic item that is always found on or near a pool table is a rack. The rack is very important in order to be able to play pool. Although there various kinds of racks, the one that every pool table has is in the shape of a triangle. When you start the game you will fill all the balls in a rack, this is called racking. To rack you need to pack all of the balls into it. The balls do not have to be in any particular order. Push all the balls into one corner and make sure there are no balls missing. The rack should be completely filled. A good ball rack should not leave any gaps between ANY of the balls. If you have this problem you should buy a new rack.