Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which two competing players attempt to pocket as many object balls as possible without playing a foul.

[1] As players became skilled in scoring dozens of points in a single turn, they would often use defensive shots on the break to avoid their opponent pocketing the 15 balls on the table.

[1] In 1910, Jerome Keogh, who won numerous continuous pool tournaments, wanted to increase the attacking nature from the break-off shot, and make it more plausible to perform multi-rack runs.

He introduced the modern rule that the object balls are re-racked not when all have been pocketed but after 14 have been sunk and one remains on the table.

In addition, the opponent has the choice of either accepting the table in position or of having the balls re-racked and requiring the offending player to repeat the opening break.

[8][9] In straight pool, skilled players can pot all of the balls in a single rack and continue to do so for large runs.

It was finally beaten on May 27, 2019, when John Schmidt ran 626 balls in Monterey, California, which was the result of a sustained, months-long effort to break Mosconi's record.

[12] Critics have argued that Mosconi's record was made in competition while Schmidt simply set up break shots for himself, and that his video was never released.

Straight pool is governed by regional councils such as the European Pocket Billiard Federation, and at a worldwide level by the World Pool-Billiard Association.

[16][17] The U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship was sanctioned by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) from 1966 to 2000;[18] It was revived by CueSports International (CSI) for one year in 2007 and afterwards was held annually from 2016, until again ending in 2019.

[9] The Twilight Zone produced an episode titled "A Game of Pool" in 1961, and remade it in 1989, with a straight-pool player being revived from the afterlife to compete in one last match.