Bar Billiards

English or UK Bar billiards is a type of billiards that may be based off of bagatelle. The current version of bar billiards was started in the UK in the 1930s and the tables were made by the Jelkes company of Holloway Road in London and sold to many pubs. Bar Billiards is played mostly in southern England and the Channel Islands, and the county with most leagues is Sussex, with a total of ten.

UK or English Bar Billiards

English Bar billiards is played on a special table that is absent of side pockets and corner pockets, but that contains nine holes in the playing surface which are assigned certain point values ranging from 10 to 200. There are eight balls for play; seven white and one red. Pocketing the red ball in any hole scores double points for the shooting player. There are also three pegs placed on the playing surface. Two white pegs are placed just behind the two "50" pockets, and one black peg is placed in front of the 200 pocket. If a white peg is knocked over, the shooting player's turn is over and all score acquired during that turn is forfeited. Knocking down the black peg ends the players turn and all points are lost. In the case where a white and a black peg are both knocked over, then only the first peg to be knocked over is utilized.

Table play for UK bar billiards is time limited, as a coin will generally acquire 16-17 minutes of playing time. After this time a bar drops in the table which prevents any pocketed balls from returning and begins the steady decrease in the number of balls in play.

Access to all sides of the table is not necessary, as all shots are played from one end of the table. A white ball is placed on a starting spot, then another ball, usually the red ball if available, is placed on a spot a few inches in front of the initial starting point. The player usually aims to get one ball in each of the "50" holes. This can only be done a maximum of three times and if both balls fall down the 50 holes for a fourth time then all points from that turn are lost. As a result of this, the player generally tries to keep one ball up on the table. This type of shot is referred to as the "one up shot." The player then tries to pocket this ball, and if both balls are pocketed, then two balls are put back on the spots.

If the player fails to pocket a ball then their inning ends and the second player takes their turn. The second player begins by placing another ball on the first spot. If all balls are in play, then the closet ball to the "D" which is the semi-circle around the first spot] is removed and put on the spot. If a player fails to hit a ball, their turn ends and all points earned in that turn are lost. The last ball can only be pocketed by shooting it into the 100 or 200 point hole after bouncing off of one cushion.

Title: Bar Billiards
Author: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)
Published: 10/13/2006 2:43:13 AM
Last Updated: 10/13/2006 2:45:19 AM
Last Updated By: billiardsforum

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