Carom Billiards League
at Slate Street Billiards
in Rio Rancho, NM

Contents:

  1. Introduction.
  2. Games that can be played for a match.
  3. League Matches.  (None Yet)
  4. League Stats.  (None Yet)

Introduction

Starting sometime in 2025 this Carom Billiards league is for:

  1. Playing and learning the various carom games.  (Yes, there's more than Straight Rail and 3-Cushion.)
  2. Working on the skills required to play the various Carom games.  (Then perhaps discover how those may be useful in pocket billiards.)
  3. Providing new players a way to improve by playing better players and still have a reasonable chance of winning.

  The competition is individual instead of team, and the format does not require that all the matches be played the same night.  It runs from mid-January to mid-November.

Handicaps will be adjusted every month or two (haven't decided on an interval yet).

Score sheets won't be needed.  Just reporting (by email) each player's points and innings will be enough to manage the handicaps.

If any stats are wanted those numbers would need to be reported when the points and innings are.  For example: if high runs stats are wanted (all players) would need to report those numbers along with their points and innings for each match.

People may play as many (or as few) games as they'd like.  Unlike the 14.1 league, there won't be any rounds or assigned matches.

Available Games

Any of the following games can be played for a match.  It will be left to the two contestants of a match which game will be played for that match.

  1. Straight Rail (Libre).
    Local rules .

    Equal innings and inning limited.

    Straight Rail matches from a BAC ladder (2007-2018).

  2. One Cushion (Bande).
    Played like Straight Rail except that the shooter's cue ball must contact at least one cushion before contacting the second ball for the point to count.

    Equal innings and inning limited.

  3. Two Cushion (Dos Bandas).
    Played like One Cushion except that the shooter's cue ball must contact at least two cushions before contacting the second ball for the point to count.

    Equal innings and inning limited.

  4. Three Cushion (Tres Bandas).
    Local rules.

    Here are two videos of spectacular runs. Roland Forthomme's run of 28, and a run of 30 by Rui Edgar Franco at the Sporting Club de Portugal billiard room.

    Inning limited.

  5. 18.2 Balkline (Cadre).
    Local rules.

    18.2 Balkline Exhibition from Sang Lee's 1996 3‑Cushion tournament.

    Inning limited.

    18.2 Balkline matches from a BAC ladder (2001).

  6. English Billiards   (Requires a Snooker table).
    Local rules.

    Agreed upon number of points.

  7. Cowboy Billiards   (Played on a Pocket table).
    Local rules.

    A game with three distinct segments.  The first allows pocketing and/or caroms to score points.  The second requires all scoring to be caroms only.  The winning shot is scratching the cue ball off the one (with restrictions).

    Agreed upon number of points for segments one and two.  May also be inning limited in non-completed segments.  Four player limit.

  8. Four-Ball Carom.
    Rules (with variations).

    Agreed upon number of points, and inning limited.

    In the desitkovy karambol (Czech 'tenfold carom') variation we will keep with the white ball as the cue ball (to avoid marring a red ball) — as mis-cues can leave rather nasty pits and scratches on a ball.  It will also make things much more natural for us.  The object ball colors used (BLUE, YELLOW, & RED) can be found in the nine ball set used for Korean 9-ball Carom.)

    The starting position of the balls in desitkovy karambol can be seen around the 7:20 mark in this instructional video.  {REMEMBER that we are NOT USING the RED as A CUE BALL.}

  9. Korean 9-Ball Carom.
    Local rules.

    Agreed upon number of games. Six player limit.

  10. Five-pin billiards.
    Rules.

    Video explaining the main rules of 5 Pin (text inside video is the commentary).

    5 Pin Euro Championships – 2022 (commentary in English).

    Agreed upon number of points.

    Don't have the pins for this, and the table is not marked for positioning the pins.

  11. Goriziana (Nine-pin billiards).
    Rules.

    Romeo Gaetano VS Cavalli Alessandro – 44° Gran Premio (match starts around the 3:25 mark).

    Agreed upon number of points.

    Don't have the pins for this, and the table is not marked for positioning the pins.

If interested please call Ray.
(8/5)
If there's no answer please leave a voice-mail message.

Matches

2025 — LD : Ray.

NONE YET.

Stats

2025 — LD : Ray.

NONE YET.