British billiards
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Print
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Also known as: life pool
Also called:
life pool
Related Topics:
billiards

pool, British billiards game in which each player uses a cue ball of a different colour and tries to pocket the ball of a particular opponent, thus taking a “life.” Players have three lives and pay into a betting pool at the start of the game. The last player with a life wins the pool. During play, a player who takes a life wins a stake from that opponent. There are also a number of other forfeits paid into the pool for such errors as pocketing one’s own ball or knocking a ball off the table. Pool was a forerunner of the game snooker.