What’s the Difference between Billiards, Pool and Snooker?

The word billiards  is frequently used interchangeably with the word pool. However, although these two have similarities, other distinctive attributes separate them. Then there is the separate game of Snooker. All three games are a combination of cue sticks, tables and balls. How are these table sports different?

A Little History On Billiards

The earliest recorded playing of a recognizable form of billiards was in France in the 1340’s. Played as an outdoor lawn game similar to croquet, it eventually moved indoors and onto a wooden table with green cloth to resemble grass on which it had been previously played. Games like croquet were widely played but could not be played during poor weather. Thus, the early indoor cue sport began as an interactive tabletop variation on the outdoor game. Billiard tables are generally 10 feet long while pool tables come in three major sizes: 7 feet long for Barboxes and either 8 or 9 feet long for standard tables. Snooker tables are 12 feet long. While pool and snooker tables have six pockets, carom billiard tables have no pockets.

Billiard Rules

The game played on pocket-less billiards tables is usually the common game of three-cushion billiards. In this game the player must make his cue ball collide with the other two balls on the table and also must collide with three cushions prior to hitting the final ball.  One point is awarded to each successful effort. So Carom Billiards is easy to understand and to bet upon. It is almost as easy as winning on Real money online casinos. 

Billiard Balls

The three games use entirely different ball sets. Carom billiard only uses three balls. There is one object ball and two cue balls. Each player is assigned one of the two cue balls to use as his cue ball.  They are larger and heavier than either pool or snooker balls. Today all of the three sports use balls made of phenolic resin. In the past these were made of ivory but that has long been illegal due to the slaughter of the elephants that was required for ivory balls. Plus, the phenolic balls retain their shape and playability for many years where the ivory balls were problematic in this regard.

Snooker

A pocket table is used in the game of snooker. Snooker has 15 red balls, six object balls, and a cue ball.

Rules for Snooker

Snooker is a game with frames where players can win if the scorer has scored the most points.  A perfect game is 147 points.  You must first sink a red all, then one of the object balls. The object ball is repotted and play continues until that play ends his frame by missing a shot. 

Pool

Pool refers primarily to 8 and 9-ball games commonly played on pool tables. These games can also be played online for little to something sometimes; just like our $10 deposit casinos, where you’ll get the best casino experience for a miniature deposit. Many rules are mainly influenced by local customs and preferences. 

Pool Games

The most common pool games  are 9-Ball and 8-Ball. 9-Ball is a rotation game where the player pockets the balls in numerical order and wins when he pockets the 9 ball. In 8-Ball each player has either the solid balls to pocket or the striped balls. Whichever player first clears the table of his object balls and then pockets the 8 ball wins the game.