Why is billiards called snooker?

Question

How bout this,

wat IS snooker?

Answer 1

Ever wondered why the game of snooker is called snooker?

In the 1870s, billiards was a popular pastime amongst British army officers stationed in India. They invented different versions of the game by gradually adding more coloured balls to the table.

At the time, the term “snooker” was a slang name for a first year cadet or an inexperienced person. The story goes that in 1875 a colonel and a first year cadet were playing pool in Jabalpur in India. When the cadet missed his shot, the colonel called his opponent a “snooker”. As this was a newly invented game, many of the officers missed shots and were branded “snookers” – after a while the name snooker was adopted for the game they were playing.

The first official rules were introduced in 1900 by The Billiards Association.

Answer 2

Its NOT !!  simple enough ??

They are both cue sports but thats where it ends

I have a feeling this will recive a few more answers

                                                   Later Johnny

Answer 3

Why is a rectangle called a square?

Snooker is mainly a British thing, with a bunch of red balls and some colored ones, and it's based on points.  There are a bunch of red balls that start off in a triangle (like 8-ball) and then various colored balls on different spots on the table.  You make a red ball (one point) and then a colored ball (various points).  After you make a colored ball, if there are still red balls on the table, you spot the colored ball (I think there are seven of them, and they each have a designated spot on the table).  You always have to make a red ball before you make another colored ball.  Once all the red balls are gone, you run the others in numerical order.  If you foul, you lose seven points (I think, or maybe five?), so it's often a good idea to try to snooker your opponent by hiding the cue ball behind other balls.  Like eightbraker described below, the table is bigger (supposed to be 12 ft. I think, but in US we see 10 ft. or 11 ft.) and the pockets and balls smaller. The sides of the pockets are rounded and you have to pretty much hit the center of the pocket to make balls (except sometimes here they make the pockets a bit bigger-- not supposed to).  Anyway, those are the highlights, not meant to be a rulebook or anything. A lot of the pros who play pool here are former snooker champions from the UK.

Sorry about my smarta** answer; I thought you were being funny :)

Answer 4

that's like saying why is golf called fishing

Answer 5

Just the basics. Billiards is a game played on a ten foot table with 3 balls and no pockets. Billiards is also a term used to describe all cue sports. Snooker is a game played on a 12 foot table with 6 pockets and smaller balls and pockets than pool. Like I said thats just the basics. Check out the rules on the web for all the details. Good luck to ya!