Is Snooker Better Than Pool?

In Australia, playing a game of pool with friends, or even competitively, has always been an immensely popular pastime. When it comes to snooker, on the other hand, not nearly as many people play the game.

Is this because snooker is not as good as pool or less fun?

Let’s try and answer this question, as well as taking a look at some of the key differences between pool and snooker.

What Are the Main Differences Between Pool and Snooker?

A standard game of pool called 8 Ball is played with 15 coloured and numbered balls, plus the white cue ball. There are variations of the game, such as 9 Ball (where 9 balls plus the cue ball are used), but the most popular is 8 Ball. With snooker, 15 unnumbered red balls are used, along with 6 numbered object balls and the white cue ball. The balls used for playing pool are also bigger in diameter than snooker balls. In America, larger snooker balls are preferred.

What about the tables? Sizes can vary for both games, but snooker tables are traditionally quite a bit bigger than your standard pool table. The use of the bridge to make a shot in snooker is more common than in pool due to the extensive real estate of the table.

The sequence of pocketing balls is also different. In standard 8 Ball, once solids and stripes has been decided, you can pot your balls in any sequence until you’re on the black ball. In snooker, a red ball must first be pocketed before attempting to sink an object ball. Object balls must be sunk in sequence once all red balls are off the table.

While you can technically play both pool and snooker with pool cues, there are cue sticks made specifically for playing snooker. These cues come with much smaller tips than those used for playing pool. Snooker cues also tend to be longer than pool cues.

When it comes to the surfaces of pool tables and snooker tables, pool tables have a covering with more grip. Snooker tables have a smoother covering, which makes ball control even more critical.

Pockets on pool tables can vary. Americans like wide pockets on their tables where potting the ball is made easier. Pool tables with narrower pockets and sharper corners mean the shooter has to be more accurate to sink a ball. The cushions on snooker tables tend to flow into the pockets. Generally, it’s easier to pocket a ball on a snooker table than on a pool table.

Snooker Is More Challenging

While pocketing balls can prove to be a little more difficult on a British style of a pool table with tighter pockets, snooker offers more challenges as the game works on a scoring method. However, this also adds considerably more interest to the state of play. As mentioned earlier, ball control is very critical in a game of snooker, as precision cue ball positioning is required to make the next shot. With the smoother surface of a snooker table, balls also tend to roll further than the same strength shot on a pool table.

If you’re experienced at playing pool, you’ll already have the basic techniques in your repertoire to start playing snooker. It will then simply be a matter of learning the rules of the game of snooker and practising until you get the hang of it.

Most of all, whether you’re playing pool or snooker, both games are challenging, yet a lot of fun. Enjoying the game is the most important thing of all, so get out there and challenge yourself to some games of snooker, but don’t forget to have fun with it.

Where To Play Snooker In Sydney?

It’s true that there are not as many venues where you can play a game of snooker as compared to pool. If you want to try your hand at snooker in the Sydney area, to find somewhere you can play, go online and do a search for snooker in Sydney. Try terms like the following:

• Snooker club Sydney
• Billiards club Sydney
• Best places to play snooker in Sydney

You can even refine your search further by adding in a suburb, such as “snooker club Lidcombe” and so on.

In Conclusion

Both pool and snooker are great games, but with some distinct differences between the two. If you love playing pool but want an added challenge, try your hand at a game of snooker.