Black pool

Black Pool was a cue sport mainly played in the 19th Century. It was one of several pool games that were made popular at this time. These pool games were so called as players were required to pool their bets at the start of play. This game had fifteen red balls that were layed out in a triangle shape, like in snooker today. There was also a black ball that was either placed on the middle spot or what is now the black spot in snooker. Each player extracted winnings from their opponents for each ball they potted. Potting the black ball meant receiving additional winnings. Around 1875, Black Pool was merged with Life Pool to form a new game which was eventually called snooker.

References

• Everton, Clive (1991). Snooker and Billiards: Techniques, Tactics and Training (Crowood Sports Guides). The Crowood Press. page 10. ISBN 1-85223-480-6