a
reference to the triangular starting formation of fifteen
colored balls used in the
game of pocket billiards (also called
pool). There are many versions of the
game; however, generally it is played with 15 consecutively numbered balls and a white
ball (called the
cue ball), the
object being to pocket more balls than one's opponent. One pocket is located at each
corner of the table with two in the middle of the two longer sides. The thick,
slate tabletop is covered with
green felt and has cushioned edges against which balls can
carom. Using a leather-tipped
cue stick (the
word billiard comes from the
word stick or wood), the
game is commenced by a player
striking the
cue ball, at one end of the table, into the numbered balls (placed tightly together in a
triangle) at the other end of the table. The resultant
impact (called the "
break") disperses the balls and driving balls into the pockets of the table from this initial
break takes considerable
skill. The
game is then continued by the players using the
cue stick to
strike the white
cue ball which in
turn strikes one of the numbered balls with the intent of hitting it into a pocket. When a player misses pocketing a numbered
ball he loses his
turn and the other player now gets a chance to
hit balls into the pockets.