Pool has its own vocabulary, and most of it is never explained — it is absorbed by standing near a table and guessing. Here are the forty terms that actually come up, grouped by where you meet them: the table, the balls, the shots, the spin, the rulebook, and the strategy words.
01
The table and the kit
Rail and cushion. The rail is the wooden edge you lean on; the cushion is the rubber strip on its inside face that balls rebound off. “Off two rails” means two cushion contacts.
The kitchen. The quarter of the table behind the head string, where the cue ball starts. You break from inside it, and a ball shot from it must cross that line before hitting anything.
Jaws. The two points of cushion either side of a pocket mouth. A ball that rattles between them and stays up has “jawed”, usually from being hit too hard.
Miscue. The tip slipping off the cue ball instead of gripping it: a loud click and a shot nowhere near your aim. It happens when you strike too far from centre, and chalk exists to prevent it.
02
The balls and the rack
Cue ball. The white. The only ball you may strike with the cue, and the one that decides your next shot as well as this one.
Object ball. Whichever ball the cue ball is meant to hit. Not necessarily one of yours — on a carom it may be anything on the table.
Solids and stripes. The two groups in 8-ball: 1 to 7 are solids, 9 to 15 are stripes, the 8 neither. In British eight-ball the same split is reds and yellows.
Rack. Both the triangle used to set the balls and the formation it makes. It also means one complete game, as in “first to four racks”.
Head ball. The ball at the front point of the rack. Hitting it dead full transfers the most energy.
Break. The opening shot that scatters the rack. Most rulesets require four object balls to reach a cushion, or a ball pocketed, to make it legal.
03
Shot types
Cut shot. Any shot where the cue ball strikes the object ball off-centre, sending it away at an angle. Almost every shot is one.
Full and thin hits. How much of the object ball you cover. A full hit is nearly straight on and transfers most of your speed; a thin hit clips the edge and sends the white a long way.
Stop shot. A centre-ball hit that leaves the cue ball dead where it made contact. It works only while the white is still sliding, which is why the same stroke rolls forward from distance.
Draw. Backspin: strike below centre and the cue ball comes back towards you. Also called screw.
Follow. Topspin: strike above centre and the cue ball carries forward through the contact. The natural state of a rolling ball, so the easiest spin to produce.
Bank shot. The object ball goes into a cushion first and comes off into the pocket. Found by mirroring the pocket through the rail and aiming at the reflection.
Kick shot. The cue ball goes into a cushion first and comes off into the object ball. Usually an escape from a snooker rather than a scoring attempt.
Combination. Hitting one object ball into another, which goes to the pocket. Low percentage, because every extra contact multiplies the error.
Carom. The cue ball glancing off one ball and on into another. Useful when a ball you may not hit first is in the way.
Jump shot. Elevating the cue and striking downward so the cue ball leaves the cloth and clears an obstruction. Legal only if you hit down rather than scoop under it, and banned in many house rules.
04
What the cue ball does next
English. Side spin, from striking left or right of centre. It changes the angle the cue ball takes off a cushion and opens position routes centre-ball cannot reach.
Squirt. Also called deflection: strike off centre and the cue ball initially travels slightly away from the side you hit. It is a property of the cue, not a flaw in your stroke.
Swerve. The curved path a spinning cue ball takes when the cue is even slightly elevated. Squirt pushes you one way and swerve bends you back, which is why side spin is hard to learn.
Throw. Friction at contact dragging the object ball a little off its geometric line. Cut shots throw it towards the cut direction, and side spin throws it the opposite way to the spin.
Tangent line. The direction the cue ball travels immediately after a cut: perpendicular to the line between the two ball centres. See it and you can predict where the white goes.
Skid. Also called cling: chalk or dust between the balls grabs and the object ball comes off much straighter than it should. You cannot prevent it, only recognise it afterwards.
Tangent line, throw, and squirt stop being trivia the moment you start missing shots you thought you had aimed correctly. If you learn three entries on this page, learn those.
05
Rules and fouls
Ball in hand. Permission to place the cue ball anywhere on the table before your next shot. What you get when your opponent fouls, and the biggest single advantage available.
Scratch. Pocketing the cue ball. Always a foul, and on the 8-ball it loses the game in most rulesets.
Foul. Any illegal shot: scratching, hitting the wrong ball first, failing to drive a ball to a cushion, touching a ball, or shooting before everything has stopped. The penalty is ball in hand.
Open table. The state after the break when neither player owns a group. You may shoot at either, and groups are assigned once someone legally pockets a ball.
Called shot. Nominating the ball and the pocket before you shoot. In call-shot rules a ball that drops anywhere else does not count and your turn ends.
Snooker. A position where no straight path exists from the cue ball to any ball you may hit, forcing a kick or a jump. It is a result, not a shot — the shot that creates it is a safety.
Three-foul rule. Three consecutive fouls by the same player loses the game. Your opponent generally must warn you before the third, and a legal shot resets the count.
Stalemate. Neither player can make progress without conceding, both keep repeating the same safety, and the players agree to re-rack. Nobody wins.
06
Position and strategy
Position play, or shape. Controlling where the cue ball stops so your next shot is easy. “Good shape on the 5” means the white arrived where the 5 is straightforward.
Leave. The table you hand your opponent when your turn ends. A safety is judged by its leave, not by how it looked.
Safety. A shot played on purpose without trying to pot, to leave your opponent nothing. Still legal: your ball first, then a pocket or a cushion.
Cluster and breakout. A cluster is two or more of your balls jammed together so neither can be potted. The breakout separates them, ideally with the white arriving from a pot you were making anyway.
Run out. Clearing your remaining balls and the 8 in a single turn. Doing it from the break, with your opponent never shooting, is a break and run.
Two-way shot. A shot picked so a miss still leaves your opponent in trouble. You are not choosing between attack and defence but declining to choose. Long cuts down a rail are the classic example.
07
How to make the words stick
Naming a thing makes you notice it: players who learn “throw” start seeing their object balls drift. But reading a glossary once does very little. What works is attaching each term to a position you have seen — set up a thin cut, watch the cue ball leave along the tangent line, then play the same shot with a touch of side and watch the object ball throw off line. The hard part on a real table is replacing the balls exactly, which is the one thing a simulator with deterministic physics does for free: Duel steps its simulation at a fixed rate, so the same contact and speed produce the same result every time.
08
Common questions
What is the kitchen in pool?
The kitchen is the area behind the head string, the imaginary line across the quarter of the table where the cue ball starts. You break from inside it, and after certain fouls your opponent may be restricted to placing the cue ball there. Shooting from the kitchen means the cue ball must cross that line before it contacts an object ball.
What does ball in hand mean in pool?
Ball in hand means you may pick up the cue ball and place it anywhere on the table before your shot. It is what you receive after your opponent fouls, and it is the single biggest advantage in the game. Place it for the shot after the one you are about to take, not just for the easiest pot in front of you.
What is the difference between a bank shot and a kick shot?
In a bank shot the object ball hits a cushion before it reaches the pocket. In a kick shot the cue ball hits a cushion before it reaches the object ball. Banks are an aiming choice, while kicks are usually an escape from a snooker, and both are found the same way by mirroring your target through the rail.
What does it mean to scratch in pool?
A scratch is pocketing the cue ball, and it is always a foul. Your turn ends and your opponent takes ball in hand, so a scratch hands over the strongest position in the game. Scratching on the 8-ball loses the rack outright in most rulesets, which is why the final shot deserves more care than it usually gets.
What is english in pool?
English is side spin, put on the cue ball by striking it left or right of centre. It changes how the cue ball comes off a cushion and lets you widen or tighten your position route. It also introduces squirt and swerve, which push your aim off line, so most players are better served by draw and follow until their stroke is reliable.
What does safety mean in pool?
A safety is a shot played deliberately without trying to pot, aiming instead to leave your opponent with nothing. It must still be legal: your own ball first, then a pocket or a cushion. A good safety ends with the cue ball hidden behind a blocker or a full table length from anything your opponent is allowed to hit.