Tournaments between professional players are generally arranged with the utmost exactness as to the smallest details of play. In many cases this niceness extends even to a definite require ment as to the temperature of the room in which the contest is to take place. This, because mois ture or low temperatures affect the elasticity of the ivory of which the balls are made; there fore the articles of agreement often require that the room shall be kept at a temperature of not less than 80°.
The following are some of the remarkable scores made in recent times, under the modern highly scientific developments: Straight rail— highest run for match play (3 balls, on regula tion 5 X 10 table) 1531 points, Maurice Vignaux, Paris, 1880. Highest average for match play, 333?, by .Jacob Schaefer, Chicago, 1879. Cush ion caroms—highest run for tournament play, 85 points, Frank C. Ives, Boston, 1896. Highest average for tournament play, 10 (in 200 points), Jacob Schaefer, Chicago, 1887. Fourteen-inch balk-line—highest run (with 'anchor nurse' bar red). 359 points, Frank C. Ives, Chicago, 1894. Highest average (with 'anchor nurse' allowed), 100, Jacob Schaefer, New York, 1893, and Frank C. lees, Chicago, 1894. Highest average ( with `anchor nurse' barred), 63 2-10, Frank C. Ives. New York, 1894. 18-ineh balk-line—highest run for tc,urnament play, 290 points (with 5 shots allowed in 'anchor' spaces), Frank C. Ives, New York, 1896: 140 (with the 'anchor nurse' barred), Frank C. Ives, New York, 1897. 'Highest average for tournament play, 50 (with 5 shots allowed in 'anchor' spaces), Frank C. Ives, New York. 1896; 40 (with 'anchor nurse'
barred), Jacob Schaefer, Chicago, 1898.
Pool is played with billiard-tables with fifteen numbered balls and one white unnumbered ball. This is the eue-ball. The balls are placed on the centre of the table in the form of a triangle, the apex pointed toward the head of the table. The player's object is to pocket as many num bered balls as lie can. the number on each ball he pockets being scored to his credit. Pyramids is also played with fifteen red balls and one white one, the eue-ball. The balls are placed on the centre of the table in the form of a triangle, and the first player must strike them with the cue ball with sufficient force to eause two or more object-balls to strike a cushion, or one at least to go into a pocket. The following player must distinctly call the number of the ball be intends to pocket, but be need not designate the par ticular pocket he intends to put it in. In Chi eago pool. the fifteen balls are placed at inter vals around the cushions. Other pool games, either obsolete or of less importance, are pin pool, two-pin pool, little corporal. red. white and blue, bouchon pool, Parisian pool. higl number pool. and pool for 31 points. For the American game, consult: Modern Billiards. published by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company (New York. 1891) ; Cady. Billiards (New York, 1896); Thateher, Championship Billiards, Old and :Veto (Chicago, 1898)1 for the English game, Broad foot, Billiards (London. 1896) ; Roberts. The Gone of Billiards ( London, 1807): for the French game, Vignattx, Le billard (Paris, 18SO)•