Running the Table: An AI for Computer Billiards

Abstract

Billiards is a game of both strategy and physical skill. To succeed, a player must be able to select strong shots, and then execute them accurately and consistently. Several robotic bil-liards players have recently been developed. These systems address the task of executing shots on a physical table, but so far have incorporated little strategic reasoning. They require AI to select the ‘best ’ shot taking into account the accuracy of the robotics, the noise inherent in the domain, the continu-ous nature of the search space, the difficulty of the shot, and the goal of maximizing the chances of winning. This paper develops and compares several approaches to establishing a strong AI for billiards. The resulting program, PickPocket, won the first international computer billiards competition.