Pool vs. Snooker vs. Billiards — The Definitive Comparison

Why the Confusion Exists

“Billiards” is technically the umbrella term for all cue sports played on a cloth-covered table with a cue stick. In everyday speech, though, it is used to mean different things in different countries. Americans often say “billiards” when they mean pool. The British sometimes use it to mean English billiards (a three-ball game almost entirely separate from either pool or snooker). And internationally, “billiards” increasingly refers to carom billiards — games played on a table with no pockets at all.

This guide clarifies each discipline on its own terms.

Pool (American Pool)

What most people picture when they think of a pool table: a 7ft, 8ft, or 9ft table with six pockets, solid and striped balls, and formats like 8-ball and 9-ball.

• Table size: 7ft (bar), 8ft (home/club), 9ft (competition)
• Balls: 15 object balls + 1 cue ball, 57.15mm diameter
• Cloth: Napped (slower) or worsted (faster), usually green or blue
• Key formats: 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, straight pool (14.1)
• Governing body: World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA)

Browse profiles of top pool players in our Player Profiles section, including legends like Efren Reyes and Shane Van Boening.

Snooker

Snooker is played on a significantly larger table with 21 object balls plus the cue ball. The game is sequential — players pot reds and colours alternately to accumulate points. A maximum break (potting all 15 reds each followed by the black, then all colours) scores 147.

• Table size: 12ft x 6ft (standard full-size)
• Balls: 15 red balls + 6 coloured balls + cue ball, 52.5mm diameter
• Cloth: Fine worsted nap cloth, always green
• Key events: World Snooker Championship, The Masters, UK Championship
• Governing body: World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA)

Snooker is the dominant professional cue sport globally in terms of prize money, TV audience, and player base — particularly in the UK and China. Visit our snooker articles for more on the game’s history, rules, and major events.

English Billiards

A three-ball game (two cue balls and one red) played on a full-size snooker table. Points are scored by cannons (striking both other balls with the cue ball), in-offs (cue ball into a pocket after striking an object ball), and potting the red. The game was once the dominant cue sport in Britain but has declined sharply since snooker’s rise in the 1970s. It is still played at club level and has dedicated amateur and professional circuits.

Carom Billiards (Pocketless Billiards)

Carom tables have no pockets. Points are scored purely by making the cue ball contact other balls in specified ways. Formats include straight carom, 3-cushion billiards (the cue ball must contact at least three cushions before completing a scoring contact), and artistic billiards. The game is particularly popular in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of Asia and South America.

Players like Torbjorn Blomdahl and Dick Jaspers are legends of the 3-cushion discipline — see our player profiles for full career breakdowns.

Which Should You Try First?

For most newcomers: 8-ball pool. The table is accessible (most pubs and bars have one), the rules are straightforward, and the game can be picked up in a single session. Snooker rewards patience and positional play and takes considerably longer to become competent at — but is deeply satisfying once the fundamentals click. Carom billiards is the most technically demanding of all three, with almost no margin for error on a large pocketless table.

All three disciplines reward the same core skills — cue ball control, shot selection, and consistency under pressure. Explore our full range of technique and strategy articles to get started.