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March 25, 2022

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10 mins read

Billiards vs Pool vs Snooker: Understand the 4 key differences

Key Takeaways

  • What are Billiards, Pool, and Snooker?
  • 4 key differences between Billiards vs Pool vs Snooker

 

 

Billiards vs Pool vs Snooker

What is Billiards?

Billiards, sometimes called carom billiards, is among one of the cue sports which refer to games played with cue sticks on tables without pockets. Popularly, billiards just use 3 balls: one red ball, white one with spot, and white without spot.

What is Billiards

What is Pool?

Pool is a group of cue sports that are played with cue sticks but on a table with six pockets along the rails where balls are dropped. Pool is normally played with one black ball, seven yellow balls, seven red balls, and a white cue ball, however, the number of balls used depends on the game.

What is Pool

What is Snooker?

Snooker is also one of the cue sports that is played with cues on a six-pocket table. Snooker is normally played using fifteen red balls, six colored balls, and one cue ball, all of which are significantly larger than pool balls.

Snooker is different from billiards and pool because three balls can be used as a striker to hit other balls whereas you can only hit the white cue ball in the former.

What is Snooker

FAQs

Billiards vs Pool: how to distinguish?

These 2 terms sometimes are used mistakenly because they all refer to cue sport using the cue sticks. However, you can easily differentiate them by looking at the table and the ball’s numbers. Billiards uses tables without pockets with 3 balls while Pool uses tables with 6 pockets and 8 balls. Sometimes, people call Pool pocket Billiards.

Can you play snooker on a pool table?

Yes, but with some preparation. They are different in rules, ball numbers, and especially, the table used. However, it is interesting that you can definitely play Snooker on a Pool table. You’ll need to sketch the snooker ‘D’ form at one end of the table with extreme caution. Some players will purchase spot stickers and use them to mark out where the colored balls should go.

Dave Pearson

Dave Pearson, the world's leading pool entertainer, is renowned globally as the ultimate exhibition player.
Boasting 20 world records endorsed by the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records, Dave established a legendary history in the sport industry.

Dave Pearson

Dave Pearson, the world's leading pool entertainer, is renowned globally as the ultimate exhibition player.
Boasting 20 world records endorsed by the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records, Dave established a legendary history in the sport industry.

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