The Difference in Billiards & Pool Tables

Both billiards and pool are cue sports---games played on cloth-covered tables using cues to move balls. While billiards and pool are used interchangeably, there are some major differences in the rules of each; in billiards, only 3 balls are used, while pool games are played with 1 to 15 balls. Balls are larger and heavier in billiards, but the biggest difference between the two games is the table.

Size

The size of the table can vary somewhat, but billiards tables are larger than pool tables. Billiards tables are 5 feet by 10 feet, while pool tables vary from 7 feet to 10 feet in length with half that distance as the width.

Cloth

Although most manufacturers of billiards and pool tables use the same cloth, a faster cloth is preferred for billiards and is still made by some companies. Extra fine threads are used to create a cloth that balls will move over more quickly than traditional felt and wool found on pool tables.

Pockets

A billiards table usually has no pockets, as the goal of the game is to hit the target balls and the rails. In pool players must shoot the balls into pockets, so a pool table has 6 pockets around the edges and corners of the table.