Pool, Billiards, or Snooker?

Pool, Billiards, or Snooker?

And what is the diff you may ask.

šŸŽ± Cue Sports Family Tree

  • Billiards

    • The umbrella term for all cue sports.
    • Includes carom billiards (no pockets), English billiards, snooker, and pool.

  • Pool (Pocket Billiards)

    • Played on a 7ā€“9 ft table with six pockets.
    • Uses 16 balls (cue ball + 15 object balls).
    • Popular formats: 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool.

  • Snooker

    • Played on a much larger 12 ft table with six pockets.
    • Uses 22 balls (cue ball, 15 reds, 6 colored balls).
    • Scoring is based on points per ball, not just pocketing a set group.
    • Hugely popular in the UK, China, and parts of Europe, with televised tournaments like the World Snooker Championship.

āš–ļø Comparison Table

Feature Billiards (Carom) Pool Snooker
Table 10ā€“12 ft, no pockets 7ā€“9 ft, 6 pockets 12 ft, 6 pockets
Balls 3 (red, white, yellow) 16 (cue + 15 object) 22 (cue + 15 reds + 6 colors)
Objective Score by caroms/cannons Pocket balls in groups/orders Score points by pocketing reds + colors
Popular Regions Europe, Asia Worldwide, especially US UK, China, Europe
Style Precision, angles Fast-paced, casual & competitive Strategic, long matches

šŸ”‘ Takeaway

  • Billiards is the parent category.
  • Pool is the most common modern form (pocket billiards).
  • Snooker is another branch, more strategic and internationally televised.


Back to blog