

However, snooker balls are the smallest of the three types of cue games.įor a much more detailed look at how to play snooker, you can check out the World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association official rules. A full-sized snooker table is 12 feet x 6 feet, yet have much narrower pockets than pool tables. In general, snooker tables are much larger than billiard or pool tables. The largest differences between snooker and the other cue games is the scoring system that designates individual balls with different values, as well as the size of the table.

Players usually play a fixed number of frames to determine the overall winner. The frame is over once all the red balls sunk, or if one player earned an overwhelming number of points preventing the opponent from catching up. If a player falls to sink a ball, he loses his turn.Īll red balls remain in the pockets, but all non-red balls are replaced on the table. Players must alternate pocketing a red ball and then a different color ball. The yellow ball is worth two points, the green ball is three points, the brown is four, five points for the blue one, six for pink, and sinking the black ball gives the player seven points.Īfter the first player breaks, players take turns trying to pocket the balls to earn points. Then there are six other uniquely colored balls worth a varying number of points: There are fifteen red balls, each of which are worth a single point each. Snooker uses a single white cue ball and 21 colored balls. Players earn points by pocketing balls of differing values. SnookerĭerHexer, Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe objective of snooker is to score the most points by the end of each game, called frames. Let’s take a closer look at each of these cue games to see how they are the same and different from one another. Over time, the older cue games evolved into newer cue sports including snooker, pocket, and pocket-less billiards.īut when pocket billiards hopped the pond to the US, Americans re-branded the game as “pool”, and people really started to become confused. The cause for the confusion among modern cue games is, as is so often the case, due to time and place. Of course, those original games such as The Royal Game of Fortifications are long since forgotten and bear little resemblance to any current cue game. Skill games using sticks to move balls on a table have a long tradition stretching back to at least the 14th century.įrustrated that they were unable to play popular outdoor croquet-type lawn games throughout the year, nobles began to move these games indoors and play miniature versions on specially designed tables. While snooker, pool, and billiards are all considered cue games and share a common history, they are very different from one another. Snooker vs Pool vs Billiards Why All the Misunderstanding? Popular games include 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool, cutthroat, and many more.A standard set of pool balls includes 15 balls, numbered 1 – 15, and a cue ball.Common pool table sizes are 9 feet (regulation size), 8 feet (typical home table), and 7 feet (common bar size).Pool, also known as pocket billiards, describes an entire category of cue sports popularized in America.A regulation carom billiards table is 10 x 5 feet.The objective is to strike the two object balls with your cue ball, in any order, as well as the cushion three times (also known as three cushion billiards) to gain points (aka counts).In a classic game of carom billiards, only three balls are used: white cue ball, yellow cue ball and red target ball.A traditional billiards table does not have pockets.The pockets are narrower, and the balls are smaller.The table is longer than a standard pool or billiards table (12 feet x 6 feet).Matches are made up of several games, called frames.Uses a scoring system based on 15 red balls (worth 1 point each), a yellow ball (2 points), green ball (3 points), the brown ball (4 points), blue ball (5 points), pink ball (6 points), and the black ball (7 points).What the difference between snooker, billiards and pool? Snooker This article aims to clear up the most common misconceptions about these games and to provide a broad overview of each one in order to give you a clearer understanding of how they differ.įirst, here’s a quick summary of the key differences. This means that they not only have their own set of rules but also use entirely different equipment for play. Snooker, pool, and billiards are distinctive onto themselves. Snooker, pool, and billiards are just different names for the same game, right?Īlthough many people believe all three of these games are the same, or at least just slight variations, of the same game, they are not.
