Best Cue Sport

English pool, governed by EPA rules, is a popular British variant of eight-ball played on smaller tables with red and yellow balls, fully standardized in the UK.

Chinese eight-ball is a regional cue sport originating in China. It combines elements of pocket billiards and snooker, utilizing a significantly larger table than standard pool games. The game’s distinctive features include enlarged pockets and the objective of legally pocketing balls while adhering...

The Russian pyramid is a complex billiards variant originating in Russia and other CIS countries. It’s notable for its extreme difficulty due to remarkably small pockets relative to the solid object balls. Players must precisely position shots to navigate around tight spaces and achieve specific com...

One-pocket is a highly strategic variation of pool played by two players. It’s notable for its focused gameplay centered around skillful shot placement into a specific corner pocket. Players compete to score all their balls within that designated area, demanding precision and tactical awareness. Thi...

Snooker is a precision cue sport played on a table with six coloured balls and fifteen red balls. Players aim to pot these balls in a specific sequence, accumulating points based on the difficulty of each shot. The World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association governs professional competitions....

Nine-ball is a cue sport played on a pool table using numbered balls. It’s notable for its straightforward rules and relatively quick gameplay compared to other billiards variations. The game centers around pocketing shots with the nine ball while legally eliminating other balls. Nine-ball is popula...

Balkline 71.2 is a specific discipline within the carom billiards family, played on a pocketless table that is typically 10 feet in length. The game uses balklines drawn 71.2 centimeters from the rails to divide the playing surface into distinct zones. The primary rule restricts players from scoring...

Bank pool is a competitive variation of pocket billiards emphasizing skillful bank shots. It requires players to legally sink balls after they’ve contacted the rail before entering the pocket. This game is notable for demanding precise control and strategic use of angles. Bank pool is primarily enjo...

Ten-ball is a variation of pool where players use ten numbered balls to score points by pocketing them into designated pockets. It’s notable for its increased strategic complexity compared to nine-ball and gained significant international recognition following the 2007 World Pool Championship. The g...

Moscow pyramid is a variation of Russian pyramid billiards played on a large 12-foot table with very narrow pockets. The game utilizes fifteen white object balls and a colored cue ball, and it is distinguished by its strict scoring rules where both pocketed object balls and a legally pocketed cue ba...

Korean four-ball billiards, also known as sagu, is a popular carom cue sport variant heavily prominent in South Korea. It is played on a pocketless table using four balls—typically two red object balls and two white cue balls, with one white ball often marked with a dot. Players accumulate points by...

Straight pool is a traditional cue sport focusing on precise shot-making. It’s notable for its continuous play format where players can legally pot any ball during the game, aiming for a specific point total like 141 or 150. This game is popular among serious billiards enthusiasts and those seeking...

Blackball pool is a variant of eight-ball pool standard in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and several Commonwealth countries, governed by the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF). It is played on 7-foot tables with 2-inch balls and rounded pocket openings, distinguishing it from the American-style W...

Balkline 14.2 is a carom billiards discipline played on a table measuring 10 feet by 5 feet. The playing surface is marked with balklines drawn 14 cm from each rail, creating eight rectangular zones. Players score points by making caroms but are restricted from playing both object balls within the s...

Rotation is a pocket billiards game played with a cue ball and fifteen numbered object balls. On every legal shot, the cue ball must first contact the lowest-numbered ball remaining on the table, although any ball may be pocketed when that requirement is satisfied. Players score the numerical value...

The World Snooker Tour is the global professional circuit for the cue sport of snooker, managed by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). It comprises a season-long series of ranking tournaments where professional players accumulate prize money and ranking points. The tour...

A Latvian tabletop cue sport in which players use a short cue to propel wooden discs into corner pockets; recognized as Latvia's national sport, it is also played in Estonia and among diaspora communities.

Blackball is a popular variation of eight-ball pool primarily played in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and several Commonwealth nations. Governed internationally by the World Eightball Pool Federation, the game is typically played on 7-foot tables using seven red balls, seven yellow balls, and a black...

Dynamic pyramid is a regional variant of Russian pyramid billiards played on a large pool table with narrow pockets. The defining rule of the game is that any of the fifteen white balls can serve as the cue ball for a shot. After a stroke, the ball that was struck becomes the cue ball for the next t...

Eight-ball is a traditional American pocket billiards game played on a standard pool table with six pockets and fifteen object balls. One player must pocket the solid-colored balls numbered one through seven, while the opponent targets the striped balls numbered nine through fifteen. The primary obj...

Artistic carambole, also known as artistic billiards, is a competitive cue sport discipline where players execute challenging preset shots to earn points. Competitors perform on a carom billiards table, attempting to complete specific shot patterns that demonstrate technical precision and creative s...

One-cushion carom billiards is a cue sport played on a heated, pocketless table with three balls. The objective is for a player to score points by striking their cue ball into both object balls, but with a specific restriction. Before the cue ball contacts the second object ball, it must make contac...

Straight rail billiards, also called straight billiards or the free game, is a form of carom billiards played with three balls on a pocketless table. A player scores when the cue ball contacts both object balls during the same stroke, without the cushion requirements used in games such as three-cush...

The snooker shoot-out is a time-restricted, fast-paced variant of professional snooker governed by World Snooker. It features a unique set of rules, including a shot clock that requires players to strike the cue ball within strict time limits, and sudden-death mechanics for tied frames. Officially i...

Artistic pool is a competitive cue sport discipline in which players attempt a standardized set of difficult trick and skill shots, such as jump shots, massés, and staged combinations. Governed internationally alongside other billiards sports by the World Pool-Billiard Association, competitors recei...

English billiards is a traditional cue sport originating in England, played on a standard billiards table using only three balls: one red and two cue balls. Players accumulate points by executing specific shots, primarily cannons, winning hazards, and losing hazards. A cannon involves striking both...

Australian eight-ball is a regional variant of pocket billiards that is widely played in clubs and pubs across Australia. The game utilizes a standard set of sixteen balls, including a black 8-ball and a cue ball, but it is uniquely played on larger English billiards-style tables rather than smaller...

Brazilian snooker, locally known as sinuca brasileira, is a regional variant of traditional snooker that was officially standardized in Brazil. The game distinguishes itself from its British counterpart by using only one red ball on the table instead of the standard fifteen, along with the six color...

Balkline 47.2 is a carom billiards discipline played on a pocketless table divided by straight lines drawn 47 centimeters from each rail, creating eight rectangular balk spaces. The rules stipulate that at least one object ball must exit the current balk space after two consecutive caroms, preventin...