0.1 Pool, 9-Ball, Snooker — pick your game
Same physics, three sports. Which one are you actually learning?
Why this chapter exists
You're here because you want to aim better, position better, miss less. Good — but: which cue sport?
Most readers fall into one of three buckets:
- 8-ball pool — the bar / league game. 9-ft table, 2¼" balls, fat pockets.
- 9-ball pool — the pro tour standard. Same table as 8-ball, but balls go in numerical order.
- Snooker — the British / international game. 12-ft table (almost twice the area), smaller balls, smaller pockets, six different ball values.
The mistake new players make: they read snooker advice and try to apply it on a bar table, or vice versa. The aim and spin physics are identical across all three — but the tactics differ wildly.
Skip this lesson if you're already sure which game you play. Otherwise, the next 6 minutes save you weeks.
8-Ball Pool — the default
What most English-speaking players mean by "pool". Two players, 15 numbered balls + cue ball, played on a 9-ft (or 7-ft "bar") table.
Object: pocket all your group (1-7 stripes or 9-15 solids), then the 8-ball.
Key feature for learners: the 8-ball game is the most forgiving. You pick which of seven balls to shoot first, you can re-route around clusters, and pockets are wide enough that being a degree or two off still drops the ball.
If you play in bars, leagues (APA / BCAPL), or with friends — start here. Chapters 1-4 of this app are your home base.
- Most forgiving format for beginners
- 9-ft tournament table; 7-ft bar table is even smaller
- WPA / APA / BCAPL all have slightly different rule books
9-Ball Pool — the professional standard
Same table, same balls, same physics — but only nine numbered balls (1 through 9), and you must contact the lowest ball first on every shot. Whoever legally pockets the 9-ball wins the rack.
Why it's harder: position play is forced. In 8-ball if you can't get on the 5, you shoot the 6. In 9-ball if you can't get on the 1, your inning's likely over. Pattern planning becomes everything.
9-ball is the format of the WPA Pro Tour, the World Pool Championship, and most US televised events. It's also where the unique "push-out" rule lives (covered in Chapter 5).
- Forced 1→9 sequence — pattern planning is critical
- Push-out rule is unique to 9-ball (and 10-ball)
- Chapter 5 is dedicated to 9-ball tactics.
Snooker — the geometry reset
Different table (12 ft × 6 ft, ~70% more area), different balls (52.5 mm vs 57.15 mm), different pockets (~89 mm with rounded jaws vs pool's ~115 mm with straight jaws).
Object: alternate between red balls (1 pt each) and colors (2-7 pts), build a "break" of points across the rack, then clear the colors in order.
Why it's harder: the pockets are tighter, the table is longer, and safety play is half the game. Most snooker frames are decided by who plays the better safety, not who pots the most balls.
The aim/spin/tangent physics from Chapters 1-4 still apply. But the tactical layer in Chapter 6 is its own world.
- 12-ft table is ~70% larger than a 9-ft pool table
- Smaller balls + tighter pockets = much smaller error margin
- Safety play is half the game — see Chapter 6
What's universal across all three
The good news: 80% of what you'll learn here applies regardless of which game you play.
- Aim methods — Ghost Ball, Contact Point, Fractional aim. Identical across pool and snooker.
- The 90° tangent rule — same on every cushion-bounded table.
- The 30° rule for rolling cue ball — same physics.
- Follow / draw / stun — same effects, different magnitudes (snooker tips are smaller).
- Throw, squirt, swerve — same equations, different cue stiffnesses give different magnitudes.
What's different:
- Bank shots — practical in pool, almost never in snooker (pockets too tight).
- Jump shots — legal in WPA / APA pool, illegal in snooker (foul).
- Tactics — pattern play (9-ball Ch 5) vs safety play (snooker Ch 6) are different sciences.
- Aim, spin, and tangent physics: identical across all three games
- Banking and jump shots: pool only
- Tactics: 9-ball forces pattern; snooker rewards safety