Billiards and snooker are cue games that many may believe to be very similar because they use very similar equipment and are played in a similar way. Because of the way in which these games are played there are some similarities. For instance, both games are played on a special table, both are played with balls and a cue, and both require a steady hand and precision in order to play them successfully.
However, the two games are essentially 5 world snooker championship schedule different in both the way in which they are perceived and in terms of their rules. Billiards is a cue sport that is often called pool these days and this is a game that is far more fast paced than snooker, which is a far more thoughtful and strategically played cue sport. There are a number of differences between the two games, and three differences between billiards and snooker are outlined below:
Whilst billiards and snooker are both played on large tables with pockets and a felt covering the snooker table is larger than the billiards one and the pockets of the snooker table are smaller than those on the billiards table.
Both games use balls that have to be potted into the pockets as part of the game. However, snooker uses fifteen red balls plus another six coloured balls that are worth a specific number of points each depending on the colour. Billiards uses fewer colours and they are not worth points.
The rules of the two games are different even though they are played in a similar way. With snooker the players have to pot all of the reds and then focus on the colours in order of how many points they are worth. With billiards each player has to put all of a particular colour or type of ball (e.g. solids or stripes) and whoever pots all of their balls first wins.
Billiards is a game that is often played in a more casual environment such as a bar or special hall and is the type of game that people often play when they go out for an evening with friends. However, snooker is often considered more of a gentleman’s game where people dress up in suits and bowties when then play the game – probably the images that have been conjured up by seeing professional snooker players in tournaments and championships where they are dressed to the nines and play a very calm and sophisticated game.