If you are new to pool, you must be confused with all these new terms and definitions. For starters, let's learn about the differences between pool, billiard and snooker, the origin of the term "pool game" and a little about the games that fit into this category.

Pool Game - Definition

Pool game is every billiard game played on a table with 6 pockets, cue and balls. The most popular pool game in the world is 8 ball, followed by 9 ball, straight pool, one pocket and a list of more than 100 different pool games.

Pool Game and Billiards

From the pool game definition you can conclude that billiards is the main category and pool is the sub category. Billiards, or cue sports, also include games played on a table with no pockets (known as carom billiard games), and the snooker game.

Pool Game and Snooker

Snooker is a UK based billiard game played on a table with 6 pockets. The regularized snooker table is larger than the pool table (12 ft vs. 9 ft), the snooker table pockets are narrower and the set of balls contains 15 red balls and 6 colored balls (as opposed to 15 colored and numbered balls in pool). Pool games and snooker also differ in their rules and associations. Therefore, snooker game is not a pool game, but it resides in a separated billiards subcategory.

Pool Game – Origin of the Name

The term "pool" is actually the informal name of the game, which formally referred to as "pocket billiards". The reason is historic. The first time the pool game has been played in America, it was played for money in pool room, which used to host horse race betting.
To change the reputation of the pool game, it began to be known as pocket billiards to disassociate it with gambling. Since the term pool game was pretty sticky, and sounds whole lot better than pocket billiards, it was settled for pool-billiards.

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