Is billiards declining in popularity?

[notquitekarpov]

@Asympotically_fat

I think billiards in the USA means cue sports in general usually, but in the UK billiards is a very specific cue sport that is played on a billiards table (which is what snooker is played on and signifcantly larger than a pool table) and has a reputation for being esoteric, antiquated and very hard. I think I may’ve seen a couple of guys playing billiards in the snooker hall once and in Turkey I saw a variation of billiards played on a pool table.

English billiards, called just billiards in the UK, dominated until snooker took over.

It is highly skilled of course but quite boring to watch as most points would be accumulated from cannons where the player held the three balls closely together without touching allowing them to score hundreds of consecutive cannons. I think the record break was north of 7,000 (at 2 points per cannon) until they changed the rules to require you to run into baulk every 200 points of a break. Still under those rules the highest break is 1,346.

It used to appear on TV - as it worked in black & white TV. Snooker required colour TV of course - per the famous Ted Low quote, “and for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green.”

He was also responsible for commenting that Fred Davis, who struggling to rest one leg on the edge of the table in order to reach a long shot, “is getting on a bit and is having trouble getting his leg over”.

[That_Don_Guy]

@Asympotically_fat

I think billiards in the USA means cue sports in general usually

In fact, pool is also (less commonly) known as “pocket billiards” in the USA, mainly because just “billiards” refers to carom (non-pocket) billiards.

However, “pool” as a game usually refers to “straight” pool, where the object is to pocket balls without regard to number or color. The “world pool championship” usually used a game called 14.1 Continuous, where you had to call every shot (the way you do with the non-reds in snooker, but called by number here), and once 14 of the balls were pocketed, they were re-racked, leaving the head spot open (hence “14.1”), and usually the first to 150 won. This is very rarely played nowadays, as “quick” games like eight-ball or nine-ball are usually the games of choice, but it’s still called a “pool table.”

[Doug_K]

@That_Don_Guy

In fact, pool is also (less commonly) known as “pocket billiards” in the USA, mainly because just “billiards” refers to carom (non-pocket) billiards.

However, “pool” as a game usually refers to “straight” pool, where the object is to pocket balls without regard to number or color. The “world pool championship” usually used a game called 14.1 Continuous, where you had to call every shot (the way you do with the non-reds in snooker, but called by number here), and once 14 of the balls were pocketed, they were re-racked, leaving the head spot open (hence “14.1”), and usually the first to 150 won. This is very rarely played nowadays, as “quick” games like eight-ball or nine-ball are usually the games of choice, but it’s still called a “pool table.”

In the US “pool” as a game nearly always refers to 8 ball. About the only time you’ll hear the terms “pocket billiards” or “straight pool” is on televised tournaments (that are generally aired late at night because no one seems to watch them).

If you asked someone to play “pocket billiards” in a bar you’d likely be asked to hand in your man card.

[Xema]

@bob_2

Pool is the game played in bars with a smaller table and comes in many varieties from three balls like billiards to nine balls, more like snooker.

Much the most common variant IME is 8-ball, played with 15 numbered balls* and the cue ball.

*Like the song says.