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Billiards (Pool)

Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards, is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the rails, into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball.

English Snooker Balls are not Numbered

a row of snooker colored snooker balls white ball red ball orange ball green ball maroon ball blue ball pink ball black ball basic equipment for snooker ball

Similar to the game of billiards, the game is played using a cue and 22 snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and six balls of different color: yellow (2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6) and black (7). The red balls are initially placed in a triangular formation, and the other colored balls on marked positions on the table known as “spots”. Players execute shots by striking the cue ball with the cue, causing the cue ball to hit a red or colored ball. Points are scored by potting the red and colored balls (that is, knocking them into the pockets) in the correct sequence. A player receives additional points if the opponent commits a foul. A player wins a game of snooker by scoring more points than the opponent. A player wins a match when a predetermined number of frames have been won.

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American-style Pool

player setting up a shot billiards/pool standard equipment billiard balls

Billiard Congress of America – World Pool-Billiard Association publishes rules for American-style pool games such as Nine Ball, Eight Ball, Ten Ball, Black Ball and Continuous Pool. The specifications for the balls seem to be consistent among all the games, as long as you play by the American-style rules.

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