8-Ball: The People's Game
If you have played pool in a bar or a friend's basement, you have almost certainly played 8-ball. Two players (or teams) split the fifteen object balls into two groups — solids (1–7) and stripes (9–15) — and race to clear their group before legally pocketing the 8-ball. It is the most popular cue game in the world precisely because the goal is so easy to grasp, yet good 8-ball demands real planning: you must clear a path to the 8 while leaving your opponent blocked.
Because it is so widely played, 8-ball also has the most rule variations. League and tournament play generally follow a standardized rule set, while casual “house rules” vary from room to room. When in doubt, agree on the rules before you break.
9-Ball: The Sport's Showcase
9-ball is the game you are most likely to see on television. Only nine balls are used, and they must be struck in numerical order — but you win by pocketing the 9, which can happen early with a lucky combination or a well-planned run. That blend of skill and swing makes it fast, dramatic, and ideal for spectators. We cover it in depth on the 9-ball page.
Straight Pool: The Purist's Choice
Straight pool, also called 14.1 continuous, was the championship game for much of the twentieth century. Any ball may be shot at any time, and each counts for a point, so a skilled player can run rack after rack in a single unbroken sequence. It rewards patience and pattern recognition above flash, and remains the connoisseur's favorite. Our straight pool page explains the format and its storied records.
One-Pocket: Chess on Felt
In one-pocket, each player may only score into one specific corner pocket. That single constraint turns the game into a slow, strategic duel of traps and safeties, where a single point can take many innings to earn. It is widely considered the most cerebral pocket game — often described as chess played on green felt.
Bank Pool and Rotation Games
Other disciplines round out the family. Bank pool requires every scoring shot to be banked off a cushion first, rewarding players who can read rails and angles. Rotation and 10-ball are called-shot cousins of 9-ball that reduce the role of luck. Each game trains a different instinct, which is why serious players sample them all.
Carom and Snooker: The Wider World
Beyond pocket billiards lie two great cousins. Carom billiards is played on a pocketless table, scoring points by caroming the cue ball off two object balls; it is especially popular in Europe, East Asia, and South America. Snooker, dominant in the United Kingdom and much of the Commonwealth, uses a larger table, smaller balls, and a scoring system built around reds and colors. The World Pool-Billiard Association governs pocket billiards internationally and publishes the standardized rules for most of the games above.
A Shared International Programme
At the 2026 Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships in Ahmedabad, the WPA's 12 October report counted 144 athletes from 42 Commonwealth nations across English Billiards, Snooker, Heyball, 10-Ball Pool, and Blackball. Its programme announcement listed five disciplines and 10 medal events.
In Blackball, the WPA's 3 January 2025 joint statement with the International Blackball Federation says Blackball International's regional members voted unanimously in November 2024 to invite the WPA to assume responsibility for the discipline. The WPA became Blackball's governing body on 1 January 2025, ending Blackball International's governance role.
Which Game Should You Learn First?
For most newcomers, 8-ball is the natural entry point because partners are easy to find and the objective is intuitive. From there, 9-ball sharpens your position play, and straight pool teaches you to think in long sequences. There is no wrong order — and the fundamentals you build in our technique section carry across every one of them.