How do Billiards, Snooker, and Pool Differ?

To the untrained eye, billiards, pool, and snooker may seem identical where in each, the game is played by trying to hit a ball into a table pocket through a strike against a cue ball. Highly similar as they may seem to be to each other, the three games differ in various ways.

Balls – Their balls differ in size. In pool, the standard size is 2 ¼ inches, while ball sizes in snooker vary according to country. Americans use larger, 2 1/8-inch balls, while the British use smaller, 2 1/16-inch ones. Billiard ball size also vary by geography and design, but in general, billiard balls are larger than both pool and snooker balls.

Rules – Snooker uses 21 balls, with 15 of them colored red and without numbers, and the remaining ones in different colors with numbers. Such balls are called “object balls³”. Snooker players aim to score more points than their opponents by pocketing red and object balls.

Pool is easily identified by the triangular rack which is used to position the balls. A player then strikes the arranged balls and attempts to pocket as many as possible in one strike. If he fails to pocket one, the opponent gets a crack. Both players aim to pocket balls in numerical order.

Billiards resembles snooker more, as its main aim is to score points. However, there is a predetermined amount (either 25, 50, or as high as 1000). The goal is to score more before the opponent does, with a single shot earning one point.