How to play pool: a beginner's guide

Start with 8-ball. It's the game on almost every bar and pool hall table, in both American pool and English pool. One player takes one group of balls (solids or stripes, or reds or yellows), the other takes the second group, and the first to pot their group and then the black wins. Once you're comfortable, try 9-ball, which teaches you to control the cue ball.

• A cue. House cues are fine to start. Pick one that's straight (roll it on the table and look for a wobble), with a tip that isn't flat or hard. Most adults are comfortable with a cue of about 18 to 20 oz (510 to 570 g).
• Chalk. Chalk the tip every shot or two, with light brushing strokes. A bare tip slips off the ball and causes a miscue.
• A table. Any bar table will do. A 7 ft table is easier to learn on than a 9 ft one.

Hold the cue with your back hand loosely, mostly with your thumb and first two fingers, as if holding a bird. A tight grip makes the cue twist and the tip rise as you hit. Place your hand roughly where your forearm hangs straight down when the tip is just behind the cue ball. For most people that's a few inches behind the cue's balance point.

Your stance gives you a stable, repeatable base. For a right-handed player:

• Stand behind the shot, looking along the line you want the cue ball to travel.
• Step forward with your left foot, angled slightly towards the shot. Keep your right foot on the shot line, pointing out at about 45 degrees.
• Bend forward from the hips so your chin sits a few inches above the cue, directly over it.
• Keep your weight balanced. You should be able to hold the position without moving when you stroke.

The bridge is the hand that guides the cue. A steady bridge matters more than almost anything else.

• Open bridge: place your hand flat on the cloth, raise your knuckles, and press your thumb against the base of your index finger to make a V. Rest the cue in the V. It's the easiest bridge to learn.
• Closed bridge: curl your index finger over the cue to make a loop, with the cue resting on your thumb and middle finger. It holds the cue firmly for power shots.
• Rail bridge: when the cue ball is near the cushion, rest your hand on the rail and guide the cue between your fingers.
• The rest (mechanical bridge): for shots you can't reach. Hold the cue level and close to your body, and use a short stroke.

Keep your bridge hand about 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) behind the cue ball for normal shots. Too long a bridge makes the cue wander.

A good stroke is a smooth pendulum from the elbow. Only your forearm moves; your shoulder, head and body stay still.

1. Take a few slow practice strokes, stopping the tip just short of the cue ball.
2. Pause briefly at the back of the last backswing.
3. Accelerate smoothly through the ball. Don't jab.
4. Follow through a few inches past where the cue ball was, and stay down until the ball has gone.

Most missed shots come from moving the head or body during the stroke, not from bad aim.

To pot a ball, the cue ball has to hit the object ball on the point directly opposite the pocket. The simplest way to find it is the ghost ball method: picture a second cue ball touching the object ball, exactly on the line to the pocket. Then aim the centre of your cue ball at the centre of that imaginary ball.

Start with straight shots, then gradually try wider angles. Your brain soon learns the angles, and you'll stop needing to picture the ghost ball.

Where you hit the cue ball decides what it does after it hits the object ball. Learn these three first:

• Stop shot (stun): hit the centre of the cue ball, or just below it. On a straight shot, the cue ball stops dead where the object ball was.
• Follow (top spin): hit above centre. The cue ball rolls on after the object ball.
• Draw (screw, back spin): hit below centre with a smooth, full follow-through. The cue ball spins back towards you.

Side spin (called "English" in the US, "side" in the UK) changes the angle the cue ball takes off a cushion. Leave it until you can play stop, follow and draw reliably.

1. Rack the 15 balls in a triangle with the black in the middle of the third row.
2. Break from behind the head string (the "kitchen" or baulk line), aiming at the front ball. Hit firmly but keep control.
3. Take a group. The table is open after the break. The first player to legally pot a ball takes that group.
4. Keep playing while you pot your own balls. Miss, or foul, and your opponent comes to the table.
5. Finish on the black once your group is cleared. Pot it before your group is gone, or foul while potting it, and you lose.

Common fouls are hitting your opponent's ball first, potting the cue ball, or not hitting a cushion after contact. The penalty depends on the rules you're playing. See the full American 8-ball rules or English pool rules.

• Hitting too hard. Most shots need far less power than you think, and soft shots are more accurate.
• Lifting your head to watch the ball before you've finished the stroke.
• Gripping the cue tightly. Relax the back hand.
• A wobbly bridge. Press your bridge hand firmly into the cloth.
• Not planning the next shot. Before you shoot, think about where the cue ball will stop.

• The straight line: put the cue ball on the head spot and shoot it straight up the table to bounce off the far cushion and come back over the same spot. It shows at once whether your stroke is straight.
• Straight-in stop shots: set an object ball one diamond from a corner pocket, the cue ball 30 cm (1 ft) behind it in a straight line, and pot it so the cue ball stops dead. Move the cue ball back a little after each success.
• The line-up: place a few balls in a line down the middle of the table and pot them one by one, in any order, without hitting the others.

Twenty minutes of focused practice does more than an hour of random games.

Before your first night out, read our quick guide to pool etiquette.