No, and it is not really the same thing either. First a little history of both sports and then we will look at some similarities and differences. Snooker started out from billiard tables which were originally played as an out door past time, like croquet. It is hard to get clear information on its origins, apparently there were games similar to this as far back and 400BC. Eventually the sport was brought indoors and a table was designed from wood, with a raised border to prevent the balls from falling to the floor.

It wasn’t until 1875 that the name snooker was born, from a British officer names Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, who was stationed in India. The name was what first year cadets were called, as well as inexperienced players. Many different changes have been made over the years to improve player’s experiences.

Pool is pretty much the same as English billiards, and eventually changed to pool when the sport transferred to America. It is played on the same standard tables, with the development of cues to hit the ball with, pockets to catch the balls, etc. However, there are many differences between pool and snooker. The first being that a standard Snooker table is twice as long as a pool table and wider.

Snooker is played from old age tradition, you would dress up to play Snooker, and hit the balls gently with the passage across the table being done in a series of ball positioning to get them into the holes. While both are played with cues, pool cues hit the balls with force and shot are often set up differently.

Snooker is played at a slow leisurely pace; an average time between players could take up to an hour. Pool is fast paced with players taking little time to set up and complete shots. The pockets are larger, and therefore require less precision than a Snooker table. The cloth covering on a pool table is far coarser than with Snooker.

There are many other differences between the two of them. You can dress anyway you like when you are playing pool, and pool tables are often found in bars and pubs, where you are most likely to find a Snooker table in some old mansion or castle. Snooker is old school, while pool is new school.

However, pool has been far more recognized as a professional sport, and tournaments are held both privately and publicly all the time. There are many different ways to play pool, nine ball, straight, as well as others. It is a sport that is often heavily bet upon, and there are many people called hustlers, that play in clubs and take unsuspecting people’s money. This is something you would never see Snooker players doing.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,