Bar billiards

Bar billiards is a form of billiards which developed from the French/Belgian game billiard russe, of Russian origin.

Bar billiards in its current form started in the UK in the 1930s when Englishman, David Gill, saw billiard russe being played in Belgium and persuaded the Jelkes company of Holloway Road in London to make a similar table. It is a traditional game played in leagues in Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Kent, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Norfolk and Northamptonshire. These counties comprise the All England Bar Billiards Association. There are also leagues in Guernsey and Jersey. Tables were also made by Sams, Riley, Burroughs & Watts and Clare. The standard "league" tables have a playing surface approximately 32 inches (81 cm) wide. Sams also made a narrower version with a 28-inch (71 cm) width playing surface.

How the game is played.

Bar billiards is played on a unique table with no side or corner pockets but with nine holes in the playing surface which are assigned various point values ranging from 10 to 200. There are eight balls in all, seven white and one red. Potting the red ball in any hole scores double points. On the playfield are normally placed three pegs or mushrooms. There are two white pegs one either side of the 100 hole with one black peg in front of the 200 hole. Earliest versions of the game used wooden mushrooms instead of pegs which have a thin curved stalk and a flattish rounded cap. These were normally placed in front of the 50 and 200 holes often with a fourth mushroom in front of the 100 hole. This version was often referred to as Russian billiards, probably named after the very similar French and Belgian game billard russe which has a longer history, neither are to be confused with the common billiards game in Russia. There are a couple of leagues that still play this version in East Anglia in the Norwich and Sudbury areas.

If a white peg is knocked over then the player's break is ended and all score acquired during that break is discarded. Knocking down the black peg ends the player's break and all points are lost. In the case that a white and a black peg are both knocked over, then the first peg to be knocked over is counted. All shots are played from the front end of the table so access to all sides is not required which is ideal in a smallish bar or pub. At the start of the game or when there are no balls remaining on the table a white ball is placed on the spot on the 'D' and the red ball is placed on the spot in front of that. This 'Break shot' may be done a maximum of three times if both balls are potted before one ball must remain on the table known as the '1-up', failing to leave this one ball up results in a foul and loss of break. The next shot attempted is the 'split shot' where the object ball is usually potted in the 50 hole and the cue ball is potted in the 100 hole. There are variants to this, sometimes it is necessary to pot the balls into the 50 an 10 holes for example. If successful the break shot can be used again and so on. Players take alternate turns or 'breaks' at the table playing from where their opponent has left off. If the player fails to pot a ball then the break has ended and the second player takes his break by placing another ball on the first spot. If all balls are in play, then the nearest ball to the 'D' is removed and put on the spot. If a player fails to hit a ball, then the break ends and all points earned in that break are lost.

The play is time-limited. A coin will usually give around 17 minutes of play dependent on region. After this time a bar drops inside the table stopping any potted balls from returning, leading to a steady decrease in the number of balls in play.

The last ball can only be potted into either the 100 or 200 hole having been played off either side cushion.

Bar Billiards World Championship

The Bar Billiards World Championship (called the British Isles Open up to 1999) is held every year in Jersey. This is a list of past winners and runners up:

Year	Winner	from	Runner-up	from
1981	Harry Siddal	Jersey	Derek Payne	Oxon
1982	Graham Bisson	Jersey	Clarrie Querrie	Jersey
1983	Tim Ringsdore	Jersey	Micky Daw	Jersey
1984	Peter Noel	Jersey	Don Cadec	Jersey
1985	Bernie McCluskey	Berkshire	Peter Webb	Guernsey
1986	Dave Harris	Berkshire	Peter Noel	Jersey
1987	Wayne Poingdestre	Jersey	Kevin Tunstall	Oxon
1988	Alan Le Blond	Jersey	Micky Daw	Jersey
1989	Trevor Gallienne	Guernsey	Bob Taylor	Kent
1990	Steve Ahier	Jersey	Terry Race	Sussex
1991	Steve Ahier	Jersey	Simon Tinto	Surrey
1992	Dennis Helleur	Jersey	Harry Barbet	Jersey
1993	Kevin Tunstall	Oxon	Graham Bisson	Jersey
1994	Kevin Tunstall	Oxon	Tony Walsh	Berkshire
1995	Tony Walsh	Berkshire	Mark Brewster	Kent
1996	Terry Oakley	Surrey	Don Cadec	Jersey
1997	Jim Millward	Sussex	Steve Ahier	Jersey
1998	Keith Sheard	Oxon	Nick Barnett	Jersey
1999	Peter Noel	Jersey	Terry Race	Sussex
2000	Bernie McCluskey	Berkshire	Bob King	Jersey
2001	Jim Millward	Sussex	Kevin Tunstall	Oxon
2002	Terry Race	Sussex	Nigel Ryall	Jersey
2003	Jim Millward	Sussex	Terry Race	Sussex
2004	Terry Race	Sussex	Nigel Ryall	Jersey
2005	Graeme Le Monnier	Jersey	Harry Barbet	Jersey
2006	Kevin Tunstall	Oxon	Jim Millward	Sussex
2007	Trevor Gallienne	Guernsey	Jim Millward	Sussex
2008	Trevor Gallienne	Guernsey	Kevin Tunstall	Sussex
2009	Phil Collins	Cholsey	Paul Sainsbury	Berkshire
2010	Jim Millward	Sussex	Graham Bisson	Jersey
2011	Kevin Tunstall	Sussex	Steven Sheard	Oxon
2012	Kevin Tunstall	Sussex	Paul Sainsbury	Reading
2013	Mark Trafford	Oxford	Nigel Senior	Sussex
2014	David Ingram	Sussex	Kevin Tunstall	Sussex

External links

• British Bar Billiards
• Bar Billiards entry at Online Guide to Traditional Games – also has information about the French and Italian versions