How to Play English Billiards

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

English Billiards is a cue sport played on a large cloth-covered table with six pockets, using three balls: a red and two white cue balls (one marked). Players score points through three types of scoring stroke: the cannon (striking both other balls with the cue ball), the pot (sending any ball into a pocket), and the in-off (potting your own cue ball off another ball). The mix of these three scoring methods gives the game its tactical depth.

It is most often found in snooker clubs, traditional pubs, and private members' clubs across the UK. Players value it for the way it rewards positional thinking as much as raw potting ability, and a well-constructed break can run to dozens of points before a player concedes the table.

A little history

English Billiards developed in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, though its precise origins are unclear. By the late eighteenth century it was the dominant form of billiards played in Britain, and formal rules were codified during the nineteenth century under bodies that eventually became the Billiards and Snooker Control Council (BSCC). The game was widely played in gentlemen's clubs and public houses throughout the Victorian era, and professional championships were held from the 1870s onwards. The rise of snooker during the twentieth century reduced its mass following, but English Billiards remains an officially governed sport with active amateur and professional competition.

Setting up

1. Ensure the table cloth is smooth and the cushions are in good condition.
2. Place the red ball on the spot (the centre spot in the upper half of the table, also called the billiard spot).
3. The non-striker's cue ball is placed on the centre spot or left off the table until that player's first visit; check your agreed local convention.
4. The striker begins with their cue ball in hand within the D (the semicircular area at the baulk end of the table).
5. Agree a target score before play begins. Common targets are 100, 200, or 300 up, though any number can be agreed.
6. Decide who breaks first by lot or by lagging (each player plays from baulk to the top cushion; nearest the baulk cushion on return wins the choice).

How to play

1. Players alternate visits (innings). On your visit you play your cue ball from wherever it lies, or from hand in the D if it was pocketed.
2. A scoring stroke keeps you at the table; a non-scoring stroke, or a foul, ends your visit and passes the turn.
3. CANNON: Strike your cue ball so it contacts both the red and the other white in one shot. Scores 2 points. The cannon is valid regardless of which ball is contacted first.
4. POT RED: Drive the red ball into any pocket with your cue ball. Scores 3 points. The red is re-spotted on the billiard spot after each pot (if the spot is occupied, it goes on the centre spot; if both are occupied, the top spot).
5. POT WHITE (losing hazard on white): Drive the opponent's cue ball into a pocket. Scores 2 points. The opponent's ball is replaced on its spot or brought into the D.
6. IN-OFF RED (winning hazard on red): Pot your own cue ball off the red ball. Scores 3 points. Your cue ball comes back to hand in the D.
7. IN-OFF WHITE: Pot your own cue ball off the opponent's cue ball. Scores 2 points. Your cue ball comes back to hand in the D.
8. Combination strokes are common and all applicable scores count in a single stroke. For example, a cannon that also pots the red scores 2 (cannon) + 3 (pot red) = 5 points.
9. Consecutive hazard rule: you may not score more than 15 consecutive hazards (pots and in-offs combined, not counting cannons). On the 15th consecutive hazard you must play a cannon on the next stroke or your visit ends. If you score a cannon before reaching 15, the hazard count resets to zero.
10. Consecutive cannon rule: you may not score more than 75 consecutive cannons. After 75 the visit ends.
11. When your cue ball is in hand you must play from within the D and the ball you first contacts must be out of the D. If the only ball(s) are in the D, they are moved to spots per standard spot conventions.
12. FOULS: Common fouls include failing to hit any ball, playing out of turn, touching a ball with anything other than the tip of the cue in a legal stroke, and making a jump shot. A foul ends the visit; no penalty points are deducted under standard pub rules, though match play may impose a one-point penalty or award points to the opponent. Agree the foul penalty before play.
13. The non-striker must remain still and out of the striker's eyeline during each shot.
14. Keep a running score; a marker board or scoreboard on the wall is standard in clubs.

Winning and scoring

The player who first reaches the agreed target score wins the frame. Common targets are 100 up for a short social game, 200 or 300 up for a serious club match. In timed play (common in pubs where table time is limited), the player with the higher score when time is called wins. If scores are level at the agreed finish, play continues until one player scores, breaking the tie.

The fine points

The most frequent dispute is whether a ball is on its spot or obstructing a spot when re-spotting is required. The rule is to place the ball on the highest available spot in the following order: billiard spot, centre spot, pyramid spot (top spot). If all three are occupied, the ball is placed as close to its own spot as possible on the centre line, on the top-cushion side of the obstructing ball. Never move a ball already on the table to accommodate a re-spot.

Ball in hand is another common source of confusion. If your cue ball is in hand and you strike a ball inside the D first, the stroke is a foul. Equally, when playing from the D, if you accidentally touch the cue ball before the stroke is officially played (cue tip contact with follow-through), that counts as the stroke. The golden rule is: once the cue tip has moved the cue ball, the stroke has been played. If a ball comes to rest over a pocket it is not pocketed until it drops; if it oscillates and falls in, it counts as pocketed.

How to win more often

• Always think one stroke ahead: the value of a shot is not just its immediate score but where all three balls end up. Leaving yourself an easy follow-up cannon or pot is worth more than a higher-scoring stroke that scatters the balls.
• Use nursery cannons carefully: keeping the two white balls close together and the red nearby lets you build long cannon sequences, but remember the 75-cannon limit. Mix in the occasional hazard to reset the cannon count and maintain control.
• When in hand from the D, position your cue ball on the side of the D that gives you the best natural angle onto your intended scoring ball rather than always playing from the centre.
• Control the red: the red is the highest-value ball in most strokes (3 points for pot or in-off). Keep it away from baulk and near the spots where you can repeatedly attack it.
• Defensive play is legitimate and often decisive. If you cannot build a break, leave your cue ball tight on a cushion in baulk with the red well up the table. Forcing your opponent to play difficult long pots from baulk is a valid scoring strategy in close matches.

Variations

Life Pool Billiards

An older multi-player variation in which each player has a set number of lives and loses one each time their cue ball is pocketed by an opponent. The last player with lives remaining wins. This format works well at social gatherings where more than two people want to play on the same table.

Volunteer Billiards

A time-limited pub format where players agree a fixed time rather than a target score. At the end of the agreed period the higher score wins. This suits venues where table time must be managed and removes the risk of a very one-sided game dragging on indefinitely.

Handicap Billiards

A stronger player starts with a negative score (points deficit) or the weaker player receives a head start. The size of the handicap is agreed between players based on relative ability. Widely used in club leagues to keep matches competitive across different skill levels.

Points Billiards (Short Game)

A simplified version often used to introduce newcomers to the game. Only potting scores are counted; cannons are removed from the scoring system. This reduces the complexity of break-building and lets beginners focus on the fundamental skills of potting and position before learning the cannon game.

English Billiards: frequently asked questions