Pool vs Snooker
There are many different cue sports played on a rectangular wooden table covered with a green cloth such as billiards, snooker, pool, carom billiards, etc. The generic term for the games played on this green table is billiards with different cue sports evolving from this basic table game of billiards. There are many people who remain confused between snooker and pool because of their similarities. Despite looking the same to an observer, there are differences between snooker and pool that will be highlighted in this article.
Snooker
It is a table game played on the green baize with long sticks. The game evolved in India with army officers of the British Empire playing this game to overcome their boredom. From India, the game of snooker spread to the other commonwealth countries and later to all parts of the world. There are pockets in all four corners of the table with two middle pockets on the two longer sides of the table. There are 22 balls in total with one being the cue ball and 15 red balls of 1 point each, and 6 colored balls of different points with yellow having 2 points and black having maximum 7 points. Players have to use the cue ball to hit and pocket other balls to score points and the player who scores more points than his opponents wins the individual game called frame in snooker. There are several frames in a match. A player wins the match when he has won certain number of frames. A player can concede the frame anytime if he thinks that the value of the balls remaining on the table is not sufficient to win him the frame.
The reason why the game of snooker got evolved is because billiards had far too many rules and people yearned for a simple game with the same table and balls. The need for simplicity gave birth to the game of snooker from the sport of billiards.
Pool
Pool is a cue sport that evolved from the sport of billiards. It consists of a family of many different games such as 8 ball, 9 ball, 10 ball, single pocket pool, straight pool, and so on. This variation of billiards was originally called pocket billiards, but the name changed to pool because of the pooling of the money contributed by the players to be given to the winner of the game. Because of money involved and the element of gambling, pool has become very popular, and pool tables can be seen in game parlors in cities around the world.
Pool vs Snooker
• Table size is smaller in pool than in snooker.
• Larger table makes it harder to pocket balls in snooker.
• There are 15 red balls and 6 colored balls in snooker while there are 8, 9, or 10 balls in pool depending upon the variation being played with each ball differently colored and numbered.
• Pool is fast paced while snooker is the old school game.
• Snooker is older of the two having evolved in India among the British Army officers.
• Snooker has to be played in whites, whereas pool is a casual game that can be played in any dress.