Straight pool

Straight pool, also called 14.1 continuous or simply 14.1, is a pocket billiards game. It was the common sport of championship competition until it was overtaken by faster-playing games like nine-ball (and to a lesser extent eight-ball).

In straight pool, the shooter may attempt to shoot at any object ball on the table. The goal is to reach a set number of points determined by agreement before the game. One point is scored for each object ball pocketed where no foul is made. A typical game might require a player to score 100 points to win. In professional competition, straight pool is usually played to 125 points. Straight pool is a call-pocket game, meaning the player must indicate the intended object ball and pocket on every shot.

The game was the popular pool game in the United States, and immortalized in the 1961 film The Hustler. The game remains well known in the United States, Europe, Argentina and Japan, but is more obscure elsewhere. The first WPA-sanctioned World Straight Pool Championship was held in 2006 (the winner was Germany's Thorsten Hohmann, a player who also won the world nine-ball title three years earlier). Possibly as a consequence of this renewed professional competitive attention, public interest in the game has undergone a resurgence, as reflected in the amount of coverage 14.1 now receives in the billiards press.