How is billiards different from pool?

Billiards is played on a table without pockets. The game only has three balls, which are red, white (with a spot), and another white one (without a spot). Pool involves a table with six pockets. You need 15 balls, but some people play with just nine.

Why is it called pool instead of billiards?

The word "pool" means a collective bet, or ante. Many non-billiard games, such as poker, involve a pool but it was pocket billiards that the name became attached to.

What are the three types of billiards?

A "Billiards" category encompassing pool, snooker, and carom has been part of the World Games since 2001.

Is it 8-ball pool or billiards?

Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes or rarely highs and lows) is a discipline of pool played on a billiard table with six pockets, cue sticks, and sixteen billiard balls (a cue ball and fifteen object balls ).

Is a billiard table the same as a pool table?

The most significant difference comes down to size. Billiard tables tend to be slightly longer than pool tables, stretching between 10 to 12 feet long. By contrast, pool tables are between seven and nine feet long. The composition of the tables is also a little bit different.

The Difference Between Pool and Billiards

Do Americans say pool or billiards?

American pool is a term used in the United Kingdom, and sometimes more broadly outside North America, to refer to pool (pocket billiards) cue sports that make use of formerly American-style and now professionally world-standardised numbered billiard balls that have a standard diameter of 57 mm (21⁄4 in), as opposed to ...

What is the 3 point rule in billiards?

The 3-point break rule is in effect. For a break to be legal a player must drive 3 object balls past the head string, or a combination of 3 pocketed balls and balls above the head string. Failure to execute a legal break is not a foul.

What is the 3 foul rule in billiards?

6.14 Three Consecutive Fouls

If a player fouls three times without making an intervening legal shot, it is a serious foul. In games scored by the rack, such as nine ball, the fouls must be in a single rack. Some games such as eight ball do not include this rule.

What is a pool table without pockets called?

Carom billiard is played on a billiard table without pockets and with a set of 3 balls: one red and two white of which one is marked. The player must use the cue ball to make contact with the other two balls on the table in order to score 1 point.

What is the goal of billiards?

In play, the object is to stroke the cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom, or billiard, which counts one point. In a variety of the game called three-cushion billiards, the cue ball must also touch a cushion or cushions three or more times to complete a carom.

Is billiards an easy game?

Is billiards an easy or difficult game? It depends. It is easy to put balls, but it is very complicated to dominate the control of the white ball, win continuous matches, compete under pressure ... There is something about billiards that stand outs more than any other, the challenge of this sport.

Can you call pool billiards?

In its original use, billiards refers to any type of cue sport, including carom billiards, pool, and snooker. On the other hand, pool specifically refers to a game played on a pool table. Traditionally, billiards tables do not have pockets.

What are pool players called?

Most billiard players are called exactly that - “billiard players”, or sometimes “pool players” or even “players” when the context is understood. A really good pool player, however, is often referred to as a “pool shark”.

What is the American name for pool?

Although the terms 'billiards' and 'pool' are often used interchangeably, the two do not mean the same thing. 'Billiards' was originally a term to describe a game called 'carom billiards' exclusively, but has since evolved into a general term to describe a variety of games played on a table with balls and a cue stick.

Do you have to call every ball in billiards?

Any bank shot (object ball to rail), kick shot (rail(s) to object ball), or combinations (2 or more balls from either group) must be called to their designated pocket, or they are considered a miss.

Do you have to hit your own ball first in billiards?

(Defined) On all shots (except on the break and when the table is open), the shooter must hit one of his group of balls first and (1) pocket a numbered ball, or (2) cause the cue ball or any numbered ball to contact a rail.

How do you score in billiards?

Scoring is achieved by "potting" balls, by "cannons", and by going "in off". A ball is "potted" when the cue ball knocks it into a pocket. A "cannon" is when the cue ball strikes first one ball and then the other. A player's ball goes "in off" when it falls into a pocket having first "kissed" (struck) another ball.

What is dirty pool in billiards?

if the 8-ball is pocketed on the break, you win (unless you scratch, in which case you lose). if you hit one of your balls first and pocket one of your balls, you keep shooting (i.e., “slop” counts). safeties are considered “dirty pool.”

What is the kitchen rule in pool?

Kitchen Rule (3-point rule)

Pocketed balls are automatically deducted from the 3-point rule. So if one ball is pocketed, only two have to go into the kitchen. If two balls are pocketed, only one has to go into the kitchen. If three or more balls are pocketed, the Kitchen Rule is automatically fulfilled.

What is a scoring shot in billiards called?

English Billiards

With two cue balls and only one object ball, scoring in billiards is vastly different to pool and snooker. Known as a “cannon”, a player gains two points if he strikes his cue ball so that it hits (in any order), the red ball and the opponent's cue ball on the same shot.

Why is the white ball smaller in pool?

For a start, the cue ball is marginally smaller than the object balls, being only 1 ? inches as opposed to 2 inches. The reason for this difference isn't anything majorly important. It is mainly to allow coin operated tables to separate the cue ball from the rest of the object balls.

What is the white ball called in pool?

The name is a reference to how many balls need to be pocketed to win the game, but all 15 balls are used. All of the striped and colored balls are referred to as object balls, and the solid white ball is the cue ball.

What do British people call pool?

English billiards, called simply billiards in the United Kingdom and in many former British colonies, is a cue sport that combines the aspects of carom billiards and pool. Two cue balls (one white and one yellow) and a red object ball are used.