Best Pool Balls Reviews 2023

The game of billiards was first played in the French regions and gained momentum in America and England when gamblers in betting parlors needed entertainment to keep them occupied in between horse races. Whether you’re playing for the fun of it or for money, you’ll likely agree that billiards is in a class of its own with its solid requirement of precision, strategy, and calculation having kept all sorts of individuals enthralled with its competition for centuries.

Like any other game, however, there are some things that need to be perfect before you can enjoy it at its fullest. For pool, you must have a pool table covered with a felt cloth, a cue stick picked carefully from your pool cue rack and most importantly, the balls. Before we delve into specific factors to keep in mind while shopping for pool balls, did you know that pool balls are classified according to the style of the game being played? These types of balls include:

• American-Style Pool Balls - The balls measure 2.25 inches in diameter. The full ball set contains a white cue ball, seven solids, seven stripes, and one solid black 8-ball, which stands alone due to its significance in American styled billiards
• Snooker Balls - These balls measure 2.13 inches in diameter and contain a cue ball, fifteen red balls, and six additional balls of different colors
• Carom Billiard Balls - The balls measure 2.44 inches and consists of red, yellow, and white balls. It is among the oldest forms of pool games
• English Blackball - This is also known as British-Style balls. They measure 2.13 inches in diameter and contain one black ball, seven red balls, and seven yellow balls. The balls are usually unnumbered save for the black 8-ball

For a rewarding game, the pool balls must provide just the right size, weight, roundness, gloss, and resilience. There’s also the matter of material which plays a key role in how the pool ball performs. The first pool balls were made from ivory from elephant tusks but, seeing as elephants were classified as endangered species, it became necessary to look elsewhere for materials, usually consisting of some variation involving wood, plastic, clay, cement, polymer, or resin.

The quality and durability of the pool ball cannot be over emphasized. You wouldn’t want a ball that keeps bouncing around the table like it has a mind of its own nor one that scratches or chips easily, making it unusable, therefore it is entirely necessary to have some knowledge about what to look for in a pool ball to ensure the right choice.