Pocket billiards or pool refers to a game played on a six pocket billiard table. It mainly consisit of 15 object balls and a cue ball. Snooker on the other hand is played on a billiard table with 21 object balls and a cue ball. Carom billiards to a game played with 3 balls on a table and no pockets.

Basic skills are required or almost the same for playing either snooker, pool or billiards, or carom billiards.The most noticeable smilarities are the way the player hold the billiard cue, the stance and the movements of the arms.

Despite all these smilarities in playing billiards, snooker and carom billiards, there are of course differences that distinguish itself from one another. In billiards, the player is suppose to pocket the 15 balls with a cue ball as quickly as possible, while the carom billiards must keep 3 balls in the game.

Anyone interested in billiards must have played a game of pool at any one time.Or maybe it all started because your friend invited you to have a game of pool. And after observing for a while, you become fascinated by the technique and the way the game has to be strategized in order to beat the opponent. Soon you picked up a billiard cue, aim at the cue ball and the object ball, and started playing. Maybe not for too long, you bought a two-piece billiardcue for the pride of ownership. And all the bullshit about how you started playing billiards or pool are history, you are a frequent player at a pool hall near you.

It is not an accident that pool ranks among the top sports in American, while the english version, snooker ranks number one in Britain, not soccer. And billiards has been playing all around the world as a leisure sport or favorite past time. It is mainly because pool halls are everywhere and to play the game, you don’t need to bring or buy loads of equipment, mostly one billiard cue is all you need. The game not only challenge your opponents but also challenges yourself in attaining higher level skills as you go along.

Probably it will not take long for you to realize that the cue ball don’t respond to what you desire the cue ball to react. The cue ball may run too far or sometimes too near, maybe the cue ball bank at the wrong angle and rest on the wrong spot, or worst you miss a cue. These are beginner’s mistakes, but never let this mistakes ruin your pleasure in billiards or pool or don’t make it a habit. Mistakes are normal as part of the learning process. But mistakes are only beneficial when you try to learn from them.

Pocket billiards is a game that everyone can learn to play. If you practice it, you will soon discover that the game requires planning, strategy, concentration and intuition. Very soon you will instill an intuition of strategizing the game against your opponents 5 steps ahead of them. Billiards or pool is not a game of chance, it is but a game of physics, it relates to the build of billiardcue to the strength you exert on the cue ball. Read some of the articles on banks
shots, follow shots, follow shots, straight shots or break shots. After reading them, practice them, and soon you can feel the game.

Another tip to know is that, whenever you are planning for a practice session, practice it with an experienced billiards player. If you are playing billiards or pool, play with an expert or a more advance billiards player. Only by playing with them, then he can spot your mistakes, like the way you hold your billiard cue, your stroke or he may impart some useful tips to you. Never be embarrased to ask a more experience billiards player, I believe they will be more than happy to help you.