Glossary of cue sports terms Glossary of cue sports terms The following is a glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: "carom (or carambole) billiards" referring to the various games played on a billiard table without ; "pool (pocket billiards)", which denotes a host of games played on a table with six pockets; and "snooker", played on a large pocket table, and which has a sport culture unto itself distinct from pool. There are also hybrid pocket/carom games such as English billiards. The term "" is sometimes used to refer to all of the cue sports, to a specific
Billiard table with baize cloth, traditionally green, though many other colors are now available. The thickness of this cloth determines the table's (lack of friction) and responsiveness to , thicker cloths being longer lasting but slower and less responsive. The nap of the cloth can affect the run of the balls, especially on slower shots and shots played with applied to the . A snooker table traditionally has the nap running from the baulk to the top end and is brushed and ironed in this direction. Other types of billiard tables are used for specific games, such as Russian pyramid which uses