The following standards apply to all equipment used in sanctioned and recognised World Pool-Billiard Association tournaments. These standards do not apply to commercially produced home tables. A pool/billiard table's design must be free of sharp edges or materials that may cause harm or damage to clothing.
Pool is a pocket billiards game played with one white cue ball and fifteen numbered object balls. It is a two-person game that may be played alone, in pairs, or in teams. Points are awarded for pocketing sure balls in specific pockets. The first person or group wins the game to achieve an agreed-upon amount of points.
The desk
A ‘9-foot' pool table is 2.54m long by 1.27m wide, whereas an ‘8-foot' pool table measures 2.34m long by 1.17m wide. A pool table's length is always double its breadth.
Billiard, snooker, and pool tables are covered with a fabric minimum of 85% mixed worsted wool and a maximum of 15% nylon. Competition colours include yellow-green, blue-green, and electric blue.
Snooker and pool tables have six pockets — two at the top end referred to as the ‘top' pockets, one in the centre of the longer sides referred to as the ‘centre' pockets, and two at the bottom end referred to as the ‘bottom' pockets.
Area around the table
2.5m is the recommended minimum distance around the table (the absolute minimum is 1.6m).
Equipment
Cue sticks used in competitions must be a minimum of 1.016m in length and a maximum of 708.75g in weight. The tip must not exceed 14mm in width.
Pool balls are comprised of one white cue ball and fifteen colour-coded numbered balls. The balls numbered 1–8 are solid colours, whereas the balls numbered 9–15 are white with a coloured centre band. 52.5mm in diameter, the balls are coloured and numbered as follows:
Yellow — 1–9 blue — 2–10 red — 3–11 purple — 4–12 orange — 5–13 green — 6–14 maroon — 7–15 black —
Lighting
The lights above a pool, snooker, or billiard table must be at least 520 lux and no lower than 1.016m above the table's bed. The lights must be distributed evenly around the table to avoid direct illumination of the players.
Snooker
Snooker is 15 red, six coloureds, and one white cue ball played on an English billiards table. Points are earned by pocketing balls and compelling an opponent to concede points via ‘snookers.' It may be played by two individuals, in pairs, or as a team.
The desk
A snooker table has a playing surface of 3.57m × 1.778m. The height of the table is between 88.1cm and 87.6cm from the floor to the top of the cushion. Both measurements are within a +/-13mm tolerance. Six pockets are included, identical to those on a pool table.
The length of the equipment cue must be at least 91.4cm.
Billiards
In Australia, English billiards is the most popular type of billiards. The table is identical to that used in the snooker. Carom is another kind of pool played on a cloth-covered table that is typically 1.5m × 3m or 1.4m x 2.7m in size. It lacks pockets and often incorporates heated slate. The aim of most carom games, in its simplest form, is to earn points or ‘counts' by caroming off both the opponent's cue ball and the object ball in a single shot.
Numerous carom billiards disciplines exist. Some of the most popular games are straight rail, cushion caroms, balkline, three-cushion billiards, and artistic billiards.
Billiards is a two-player or pair sport. In most carom billiards games, the three bare balls are a white cue ball, a second cue ball with a red or black dot (to assist in distinguishing the two cue balls), and a third red ball. The second cue ball in specific sets of balls is solid yellow.
