Kevin Zhang is a passionate table tennis coach and the founder of RecRoomPick.com, a site dedicated to helping players and enthusiasts discover the best in indoor games. With years of competitive ping pong experience, Kevin shares expert tips, equipment reviews, and guides on table tennis, foosball, pool, pickleball, darts, and more. His mission is to make indoor recreation fun, accessible, and competitive for everyone.
Last updated: November 14, 2026Last updated: November 14, 2026. Table and ball specifications were checked against the WPA equipment specifications and published references for snooker and carom billiards. Recroompick earns a commission on qualifying purchases through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you.
Quick answer: Billiards is the umbrella name for cue sports; pool and snooker are two games within it. Pool is played on a 7 to 9 ft table with six pockets and 16 balls of 2-1/4 inches (57.15 mm), per the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). Snooker uses a 12 x 6 ft table with six pockets and 22 smaller balls of 2-1/16 inches (52.5 mm): 15 reds, six colours and a white. Carom billiards, which many people mean by “billiards” in the strict sense, has no pockets and just three balls on a 10 x 5 ft table. The word “pool” for the game dates back to at least 1797, according to Wikipedia’s history of the sport. In our editorial view, a pool table is the right choice for most American homes; snooker needs a much bigger room. Compare tables in our best pool tables guide.
“Billiards”, “pool” and “snooker” get used as if they mean the same thing, and in everyday American speech a “billiards table” usually means a pool table. Strictly speaking, though, they describe different games, tables and balls, and the differences matter if you are buying equipment.
This guide compares the three side by side: table size, pockets, balls, scoring and governing bodies. It is based on the WPA equipment specifications for pool and on published references for snooker and carom billiards, and it ends with what to buy for a home game room.
Pool uses 15 numbered object balls and a white cue ball, racked in a triangle. Photo by Ab Pixels on Pexels.
| Pool | Snooker | Carom billiards | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Table size | 7, 8 or 9 ft; 9 ft playing surface 100 x 50 in | 12 x 6 ft; playing area 11 ft 8.5 in x 5 ft 10 in | 10 x 5 ft (3.0 x 1.5 m) |
| Pockets | 6 | 6 | None |
| Balls | 16: cue ball + 15 numbered | 22: 15 reds, 6 colours, 1 white | 3: white, yellow, red |
| Ball size | 2-1/4 in (57.15 mm) | 2-1/16 in (52.5 mm) | 61 to 61.5 mm (2.40 to 2.42 in) |
| How you score | Pocket your group, then the 8-ball (eight-ball) | Red = 1 point, colours 2 to 7 points | Hit both other balls with your cue ball |
| Governing body | WPA | WPBSA (professional) | UMB |
Sources: WPA Recommended Equipment Specifications (pool table and balls); Wikipedia’s articles on pool, snooker and carom billiards (full list in the Sources section).
Billiards is the broad name for games played with a cue and balls on a cloth-covered table, and pool is one of those games. Wikipedia defines pool as “a group of cue sports played on a billiard table” with six pockets along the rails. So every pool game is billiards, but not every billiards game is pool.
In the strict sense, “billiards” often means carom billiards, which has no pockets at all. In everyday American use, “billiards” and “pool” are used interchangeably for the six-pocket game, which is why stores sell “billiard tables” that are pool tables.
Pool is played on a table with six pockets, four in the corners and two in the middle of the long rails. The WPA specifies a 9 ft table with a 100 x 50-inch playing surface and an 8 ft table with 92 x 46 inches; home tables are commonly 7 or 8 ft, as our pool table sizes and room size chart explains.
A pool ball set has one white cue ball and 15 numbered object balls, each 2-1/4 inches (57.15 mm) and 5.5 to 6 oz, per the WPA. Eight-ball is the most played pool game and is often treated as a synonym for pool; nine-ball and straight pool are the other main games, according to Wikipedia. In eight-ball, players pocket their group (solids or stripes in the US) and then the black 8-ball.
Snooker is a pocket game too, but on a much larger table: 12 x 6 ft (365.8 x 182.9 cm), with a playing area of 11 ft 8.5 in x 5 ft 10 in. It uses 22 unnumbered balls of 2-1/16 inches (52.5 mm): 15 reds, six colours (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black) and a white cue ball.
Snooker balls are unnumbered colours; the yellow, brown and green sit on the semicircle called the D. Photo by Qamar Rehman on Pexels.
Players alternate between potting a red (1 point) and a colour (2 points for yellow up to 7 for black). Potting all 15 reds with blacks and then all six colours gives the maximum break of 147. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) governs the professional game, and snooker is most popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and much of the Commonwealth.
Carom billiards is played on a pocketless table. The standard game uses three balls: a white cue ball for one player, a yellow cue ball for the other and a red object ball, each 61 to 61.5 mm (2.40 to 2.42 in), larger than pool or snooker balls. The regulation table is 10 x 5 ft (3.0 x 1.5 m). You score a point by making your cue ball hit both other balls on one shot.
If a listing says “billiard table”, check the pockets: six pockets means it is a pool table.
Because the sizes differ, a ball set made for one game is not meant for the others. For a home pool table, see our guide to the best pool ball sets.
The name most likely comes from betting: “pool” referred to collective stakes, from the French poule, and the earliest recorded use of the word for a billiards-type game is in a Virginia newspaper from 1797, according to Wikipedia’s article on pool. Wikipedia also notes that “pocket billiards” is a technical term that covers snooker as well, although snooker is not usually called pool.
Our take: for most American homes, buy a pool table. Pool balls, cues and accessories are easy to find in the US, eight-ball and nine-ball are the games most guests know, and a 7 or 8 ft table fits a typical game room. A snooker table’s 12 x 6 ft frame needs a far larger room, and carom tables have no pockets, which is not what most guests expect.
Start with the room: our pool table sizes and room size chart shows how much space each size needs. Then decide on the bed with our guide to whether a slate pool table is worth it, set a budget with our pool table cost guide, and compare specific tables in our best pool tables guide. Add a better pool cue once the table is in.
Not exactly. Billiards is the umbrella term for cue sports, and pool is one game within it, played on a table with six pockets and 16 balls. In the strict sense, billiards often means carom billiards, which has no pockets and uses three balls. In everyday American speech, though, people say billiards and pool for the same six-pocket game.
Size and number. Pool balls measure 2-1/4 inches (57.15 mm) and come as a cue ball plus 15 numbered balls, per the WPA. Carom billiard balls are larger, 61 to 61.5 mm (2.40 to 2.42 in), and a set is just three balls: white, yellow and red. Snooker balls are the smallest at 2-1/16 inches (52.5 mm).
Either is understood in the US. “Pool” is the precise name for the six-pocket game with 15 numbered balls, such as eight-ball and nine-ball. “Billiards” is the wider family name and, strictly, the name for pocketless carom games, but American stores and players commonly use it for pool tables and pool halls too.
Yes, much bigger. A snooker table measures 12 x 6 ft with a playing area of 11 ft 8.5 in x 5 ft 10 in. The largest regulation pool table, the 9 ft table, has a 100 x 50-inch playing surface per the WPA, and most home pool tables are 7 or 8 ft. A snooker table needs a far larger room.
Snooker uses 22 balls: 15 reds, six colours (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black) and a white cue ball. Pool uses 16: a white cue ball and 15 numbered object balls, split into solids and stripes for eight-ball. Carom billiards uses only three balls: white, yellow and red.
The name most likely comes from betting pools, the collective stakes players put up, from the French word poule. According to Wikipedia, the earliest recorded use of “pool” for a billiards-type game appeared in a Virginia newspaper in 1797. Today, pool is the name for the six-pocket game with 15 numbered balls.
The maximum break in snooker is 147. A player gets it by potting all 15 reds, each followed by the black (1 + 7 points each), and then all six colours in order from yellow (2 points) to black (7 points). Pool and carom billiards do not score by points in the same way.
Pool table and ball specifications come from the WPA Recommended Equipment Specifications. Snooker and carom billiards dimensions, ball sizes, scoring and governing bodies come from Wikipedia’s articles on snooker and carom billiards, and the history of the word “pool” from Wikipedia’s article on pool. Home table sizes and buying advice link to our own pool guides. Recommendations marked “Our take” or “in our editorial view” are our judgment based on these facts.
