• Cue Sports
    Commonly used cue sport slangs and phrases

    Every sport has a language, cue sport is no different. Whether you play billiard, pool or snooker there may have been instances when you spoke in a tongue that zapped your non player buddy. If you are the one who used it, read on to refresh your memory! If you are the zapped buddy, let us help you with some commonly used phrases, slang and one liners used while playing pool especially in Florida.

    If you happened to pass by mysteriously huddled up people talking about “actionâ€� being round the clock at the pool room and wondered what action this really could be? Well, they had been referring to gambling! Pool games are the ones where people frequently put their bets on a player and winning and loosing money alludes to this “actionâ€�. Another way of talking above gambling could be ‘sweating the action’. ‘Sweating the action’ broadly refers to betting on the game. So the next time you over hear someone say “People were sweating the action all over the roomâ€�, you know what they mean.

    Another commonly used word that goes around pool halls is speed. People may compare two player’s speed or say that a player has top speed.  By speed they do not mean the players being fast or slow. What speed actually means is how well a player plays the game. ‘Top speed’, therefore, refers to the best a player can play. Next on the list is what they call (to) shark. Used majorly as “he sharked meâ€�, this phrase is used to mean distract someone who is in the act of shooting. Up next we have something called “has the n*tsâ€� or ‘the stone cold n*ts’ or the ‘Brazilians’. The player who has the n*ts or any of the previously mentioned things is usually heavily favored to win. They all mean that his winning is a sure thing. ‘The t*t’ is another frequently used phrase between the matches. The ball ran straight into the t*ts is a phrase that refers to the ball hitting the corner of the side pocket. To mean that a player is deliberately playing below ones speed/ability players use an expression called ‘to lemonade’ or go ‘lemon’.

    Since cue sports are loved globally, there are other slang and phrases that people from different regions use. The English, for instance are known to play on the word b*lls quite a lot. Some common phrases related to billiards are; b*lls to the wall, b*lls up, behind the eight b*lls, by the b*lls, bust the b*lls and the like.
    Cue Sport phrases also vary  the way the game progresses. There are different ways to address strokes during the game and while a player is winning or losing. The next time you drop by at a pool hall in Florida, make sure you use the lingo or at least some of the words above and play it cool!

  • Cue Sports
    Is cue sport merely a game or really a sport?

    Sports by definition is anything that is amusing or entertaining. The word sport itself in old French means leisure. In the recent times, however, sports has been radically associated with competitive physical activity and appropriate attitude. When one talks of cue games as sports, there is a lingering apprehension about the activity being qualified enough to call sports at all. Since cue sports are table-based activities that you engage in with your pals for a few pennies, discourse on the true nature and intent of cue games has been making the rounds. The bigger debate is whether cue sports are actually sport activities or nothing more than mere fun and games.

    The biggest reason for such a speculation to arise has been probably the casualness and informality formerly surrounding the game. Since taking a drag and sipping a pint during the course of the match was no biggie, these images for long stayed etched in people’s psyche. Since the game became supremely popular, it exposed itself to stern public eye and garnered a lot of negative attention! This however has changed in recent times.

    Since sportsperson are expected to maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle and be appropriate in their mannerisms, cue sport players incorporated some changes and ditched their ‘pub-like’ behavior. The British were the first to make the alteration and the rest of the world swiftly followed. Another reason for undermining cue sports as actual sports is the seaming dearth of physical prowess required in qualified sports. This may not essentially be true if you ask a professional billiard player, but the allowance of frequent breaks and casual joking is a part and parcel of the fun.

    Despite being professionally taught and played at sport clubs/academies and tournaments respectively, cue sports haven’t really made it to the Olympics. Despite a former bid for the sports to launch at Tokyo, cue sports couldn’t get to the 2020 Olympics. This may be a strong leverage against cue sports that the ones discounting the sport for a game may dwell on. The truth, however, lies in the fact that cue sports just like universally recognized sports, employ great skill and dexterity in addition to being lots of fun! Cue sports are not merely just about leaning on a table and sliding a ball across, they are activities that celebrate the actual spirit of sports. They provide entertainment to both the player and the spectator and keeps either party actively engaged. To consider these sports anyway inferior to tennis, football, cricket or rugby would fairly be very unfair!

  • Cue Sports
    Popular types of cue sports played across the globe

    Do you have any clue what cue sports are? Let me give you a cue. They are played with cue sticks! Cue games is an umbrella term for games played with a cue stick used to strike a ball across a table. Popular all across the globe, cue sports enjoy great fandom and have many enthusiasts. Read on to find three basic types of cue sports played around the world.

    Pool
    Pool or pocket billiards is a game mostly payed on 6 pocket tables. The world’s most widely played amateur pool is with eight balls. If you play professionally then the most dominant style is to play the same sport with nine balls. Something called straight pool, was the most common style that the professionals formerly played with ten balls. Later they ditched it and began playing the same game with a total of  nine balls.

    Billiards
    Carom Billiards or carambole is played on tables that are typically ten feet in length. The most distinguishing factor about Carom billiard is that it is played on pocket-less tables. At times, the game is played on heated slate. The slate bed is typically heated to about 5 degrees above normal temperature. Heating helps to drive out moisture from the table top and helps roll balls and the game faster. Carom Billiard too is divided according to the balls and the rules incorporated while playing it. Typically played with three ball, players score points by rebounding their cue ball off both the object ball and the opponent’s cue ball all in one single shot! Carom to the modern pool player may seem absolutely foreign, however, it has been the oldest cue sport around. Some common known games of carom billiard include Straight Rail,The champion’s game, Balkaline, Cushion Caroms, Three-cushion billiards and Artistic or fantasy billiards.

    Snooker
    Snooker is the third kind of cue sport that is played with a total of 22 balls. The snooker table has six pockets but is larger than a standard pool table. Snooker players use a strategy called “snookerâ€� to make their opponent’s task difficult. When you snooker an opponent, they are unable to hit their ball in an easy straight line. A mean spirited game, snooker is a sport that is on the rise.

    Cue sports strangely, most often than not, are played in bars as the overarching idea is to have serious fun! Be it pool, snooker or billiard whenever a game is on you are sure to find passionate players and enthusiastic onlookers hovering around the table.