Slosh (also known asRussian billiards,Indian pool,Indian billiards, andtoad-in-the-hole) is acue sport played on asnooker table. The game features seven balls, coloured white (for thecue ball), yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black, with points being scored forpocketing or playingcaroms andcannons offobject balls. The game is played to a score of 100 points, or a length of 30 minutes. First played in the early 1900s, not much is known about the game's origins.
Not much is known about the origins of slosh, other than the alternative name, Russian billiards, is unlikely to have come from Russian descent.[1] Slosh is likely to have been founded around the early 20th century, being derived with the cue sport ofsnooker from the game ofblack pool,[2] played with the same balls and table.[3][4][5] The game is sometimes known as Indian billiards or Indian pool.[6][7] These names are sometimes misappropriated to a tablecarrom game.[8] Other names for the game include toad-in-the-hole (not to be confused withToad in the hole or thefood of the same name)[9] and Russian pool,[9][10][11] although it is unknown why these names are used.[12][13]
The game is played with seven balls. These are a whitecue ball, and sixobject balls in different colours: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black.[14][15] A game for two to four players; the first shot must be played towards the black ball, with points being scored for either pocketing the object ball, or playingcarom shots, pocketing the cue ball. Points may only be scored by pocketing into certain pockets for each individual coloured ball.[1][16]
Slosh is played to a total of 100 points. A player can continue to stroke after completing any legalpot or carom. Points are awarded for each ball differently, with two points for a pot on the yellow, three for the green, four for the brown, five for the blue, six for the pink and seven for the black. Playing acannon (hitting two object balls) is worth two points. To win, the player must finish on exactly 100 points, or be on the highest number of points after 30 minutes of play. If the shooter exceeds 100, the score is reduced to 50, but the player can continue theirinning.[17][18]
Foul shots, such as potting a ball in the incorrect pocket, or playing anin-off results in points being either deducted from the player's points, or awarded to their opponent.[17][19]
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