Billiards on a snooker table?

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
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https://youtu.be/hNy3zZg5h34

Has anyone played this?

Looks fun, hard to keep score, and frustrating.

Barrys videos are so great, I hope he keeps
them coming for a long time.
I first played English billiards about 1966. It was on a 10-foot table but I had a British ex-pat to play with so the scoring was not so hard (for me:smile:).

I used to practice all the standard in-offs. That is, of course, essential position play knowledge at all games, including pool.

I had the pleasure of playing a game with the former World Champion Robby Foldvari, and I was nearly competitive until he ran 100+.

You should search YouTube for videos of Walter Lindrum. He may have been the best cue sportsman who ever lived and few pool players know who he was or what he did. There is a very good biography of him by Andrew Ricketts:

CropperCapture[308].png
 

skip100

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I first played English billiards about 1966. It was on a 10-foot table but I had a British ex-pat to play with so the scoring was not so hard (for me:smile:).

I used to practice all the standard in-offs. That is, of course, essential position play knowledge at all games, including pool.

I had the pleasure of playing a game with the former World Champion Robby Foldvari, and I was nearly competitive until he ran 100+.

You should search YouTube for videos of Walter Lindrum. He may have been the best cue sportsman who ever lived and few pool players know who he was or what he did. There is a very good biography of him by Andrew Ricketts:
What's an "in off" shot?
 

couldnthinkof01

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
At pool it would be called a scratch. It get you points at English billiards.

Those Brittish cant do anything right.
Billiards on a pocket table.
Pool tables with round corners.
They cant even use English properly.
Side? In off? Double?
Have you seen how they spell color?

God help those poor folks.
 

SlickRick_PCS

Pool, Snooker, Carom
Silver Member
I first played English billiards about 1966. It was on a 10-foot table but I had a British ex-pat to play with so the scoring was not so hard (for me:smile:).

I used to practice all the standard in-offs. That is, of course, essential position play knowledge at all games, including pool.

I had the pleasure of playing a game with the former World Champion Robby Foldvari, and I was nearly competitive until he ran 100+.

You should search YouTube for videos of Walter Lindrum. He may have been the best cue sportsman who ever lived and few pool players know who he was or what he did. There is a very good biography of him by Andrew Ricketts:

View attachment 520568

Bob, I want to give you as many greens just for this comment and photo, alone!

People have NO IDEA how important Walter Lindrum is to billiards. I can fully concur that Lindrum was the best billiard player to ever hold a cue!
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
I first played English billiards about 1966. It was on a 10-foot table but I had a British ex-pat to play with so the scoring was not so hard (for me:smile:).

I used to practice all the standard in-offs. That is, of course, essential position play knowledge at all games, including pool.

I had the pleasure of playing a game with the former World Champion Robby Foldvari, and I was nearly competitive until he ran 100+.

You should search YouTube for videos of Walter Lindrum. He may have been the best cue sportsman who ever lived and few pool players know who he was or what he did. There is a very good biography of him by Andrew Ricketts:

View attachment 520568

Robby Foldvari, when I first knew him, held the high amateur billiard run in Australia..
....600 and change....Robby also has 147s at snooker
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member

thanks for this, i have never seen it, very kool to see lindrum running some in the rail nurse


i used to think no billiard ref had a harder job than a balkline ref, have to do more work than the shooter
calling out acheval, entre, dedans, entre achecval, entre dedans, while calling out the correct score and remaining amount

looks like a great english billiard player will need a very fit ref lol
 
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K2Kraze

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Great videos and book pics to put up, guys! Thanks for giving us easy access to them here on AZB.

English Billiards played on a pool table with carom balls is real joy. Once you get the in-off angles and speed down to keep balls near pockets and rails, all of your games will play easier

~ K.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 

SlickRick_PCS

Pool, Snooker, Carom
Silver Member
Great videos and book pics to put up, guys! Thanks for giving us easy access to them here on AZB.

English Billiards played on a pool table with carom balls is real joy. Once you get the in-off angles and speed down to keep balls near pockets and rails, all of your games will play easier

~ K.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

... or just play "Cowboy"
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Just to update this thread, here is Lindrum giving a basic lesson...
 

Greg M

Active member
I used to watch a bit of billiards when I got bored of snooker and pool for the day. Fascinating game. And the fact that it can basically be played on any pool table to a smaller degree means you don't have to buy a snooker table to play.

A fun fact is that a snooker table's baulk line has no real purpose in the sport, other than a lag line during specialty events. It's more of a traditional holdover that was kept from English billiards when snooker superseded it.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I just ran across this video about Lindrum from ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) from about 40 years ago.


An anecdote from the comments on the video:
Paul Banks 1 year ago
Years ago when I used to frequent the halls there was a joke doing the rounds. Our very own Joe Davis had gone across to Australia to either play in a billiards match against Walter or take part in an exhibition. Joe arrived somewhat late at the venue and could hear loud cheering and applause. 'What has happened?'' ''It's Walter'' ''Has he just finished a big break?'' ''No he is still at the table'' ''So why are they cheering?'' ''Oh, he has just taken the second cube of chalk, he has finished the first one.''
 
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