The Origin of Pool

Following centuries of Billiards dominated by England and France, during the 19th century a third country became obsessed with the sport of cues and balls. The oldest Billiards games played in the USA were One-Pocket and Four-Ball Billiards but the sport rapidly evolved with a variety of different games being played on Pool tables, some with balls numbered 1 - 15 . The word "pool" means a collective bet and became a term for the game when it began to be played in 19th century "pool rooms" which were then places for betting on horses.

Eight-ball pool was invented in America shortly after 1900 as just one of a number of American Pool games.  The balls are split into two types, spots and stripes.  The black eight-ball, although nominally of the spot type is counted as a separate entity and the first person to pot all the balls of their nominated type and then finish with the black wins.

In England, Eight Ball was arguably the most popular pub game of the 1980's and 1990's. Regulars know the game simply as Pool but it should not be confused with the older English version of Pool. So popular is this version of pool that many modern tables in England feature 7 balls of 2 colours (often red and yellow), instead of the more traditional numbered balls with which other versions of pool can be played. In 1960 there were no Pool tables in Britain but by 1986 there were estimated to be around 45,000 tables in pubs and clubs, the advantage being that the smaller tables required less space than the more traditional 12' x 6' Snooker/Billiards table.

You can learn more about the history of Billiards, Snooker and Pool from The Online Guide to Traditional Games.