It doesn't. There is no "mat" related to the game of English Billiards or Pocket Billiards.
This depends upon which billiards game - English Billiards is most popular in the UK. Pocket Billiards is most popular in the US.
There are generally two terms used for billiards - English billiards or pocket billiards. Pocket billiards is also called pool. Billiards is a popular bar game that has a number of different names that it has been called over the years but the most notable and popular is simply that of pool.
Jean Balukas has written: 'Pocket Billiards' 'Jean Balukas's pocket billiards ; a young pool champion's story with instructions on how to play the game' -- subject(s): Billiard players, Biography, Pool (Game)
There is no record of the first indoor billiards game. However, it is known that in 1429 billiards was played indoors on a billiard table in France.
For pocket billiards, 9 ball is often won in 1 shot. Both 8 ball and 9 ball can be won on the break,
Pocket billiards is generally agreed to have morphed from an outdoor game played on grass, with mallets very similar to croquet. It was moved indoors, and rails and pockets added as the game evolved. Perhaps the single most important revolution to the game was the addition of leather tips, which added a great deal of control to the "strike". One key point is that I have described pocket billiards, which is...billiards with pockets. Billiards refers to any game where one has balls that strike each other.
The game is about 800 years old, and 600 years old in its present form. The first record of an indoor billiards table is from 1429. However, the location and dates that billiards became an indoor game is unknown. The game was enhanced about 1820 to become the billiards game known today.
Pocket billiards is very often called pool. The reason is simple...back in the day, circa turn of the century, rooms for betting on the horses were extremely prevalent. The horse betting pools were such that these rooms were called pool rooms for short. Because pocket billiards became so popular with men of the day, pocket billiards tables were installed in most of these "horse betting pool" rooms. Rapidly.."pool room" became known as a room with pocket billiard tables in it, and the pocket billiard game itself took on the misnomer.."pool".
George Washington played a game of billiards known as "French pool" in 1748. French pool was a popular variation of billiards during that time, played on a table with smaller pockets and different rules compared to the standard game of billiards.
Eddie Robin has written: 'Winning One-Pocket...As Taught by the Game's Greatest Players' 'Position play in three cushion billiards' -- subject(s): Billiards
In straight pool, it is easy to get a score of 128 on the pocket billiards table.