Pool glossary
Head string
The line across the table you break from behind.
What it means
An imaginary line across the width of the table through the second diamond from the head rail. The break is taken from behind it, and in traditional bar rules a player with the cue ball in hand after a scratch must also place it there and shoot away from it.
Where the word comes from
From the days when a real string ran across the table. The "kitchen" is the slang name for the area behind it.
How it sounds at a table
"You're in the kitchen, you've got to shoot out."
What it means in a three-strikes night
Only matters at the break, in most houses. If you do play the traditional behind-the-line penalty after a scratch, state it up front — a player who expects ball in hand and gets the kitchen instead will be annoyed, and in a one-shot game it is the difference between a near-certain pot and a difficult one.
The mistake people make
Arguing about whether a ball is exactly on the line. Convention is that on the line counts as in front of it, so it is playable.
Terms that come up alongside it
Written out rather than linked only, because looking up one term usually means you are standing at a table and do not want four more taps.
- Break
- The opening shot that scatters the rack. The break is the first shot on a fresh rack.
- Scratch
- Pocketing the cue ball, or knocking it off the table. A scratch is the cue ball going down a pocket or leaving the table entirely.
- Ball in hand
- Permission to place the cue ball anywhere on the table. After a foul, the incoming player picks the cue ball up and puts it wherever they like.
- Spot
- The marked point a ball is returned to, and the act of returning it. The foot spot is the marked point where the apex ball of the rack sits.
Where it comes up
Head string matters most in three-strikes pool, where a single turn is one shot and the cost of getting something wrong is a life rather than a visit to the table. If you are learning the game, the guide to running a night puts most of this vocabulary in context, and the format pages show which games the term applies to and which it does not.