Pool Rooms is the fullest pool and billiard halls directory on the web. Pool Rooms goal is to promote the best pool rooms in the USA and to expose billiard fans from around the world to the country's best places to play pool and billiard games.
Pool Rooms is designated for pool and billiard aficionados from around the world. Whether you are a resident of the United States or you intend to include pool playing in your next visit to the US, you are guaranteed to find the desired information in our extensive pool rooms directory.
History of Pool Room in the USA
The history of pool rooms in the USA goes back to mid 19th century. Though billiard games rules were already familiar to the Americans in the 18th century or earlier, the first establishment dedicated wholly to the billiard games was founded around 1830s. Until then, billiard tables were mostly placed in betting parlors meant to entertain the gamblers in between one horserace to another.
The most commonly played billiard game at the first US pool rooms was 4-ball billiards, the American variation of English Billiards, played on a 4-pockets 12 foot table with four balls. 8-ball and 9-ball pool games were developed throughout the beginning of the 20th century.
The term "billiard" is originated in France, the homeland of the game, where it either refers to the wooden stick – biliart in French – or to the balls used in the game – bille in French. In its original meaning, the term "pool" relates to the joining of all the bettor's money into one fund (from which the winners' money was allocated). Even though you are no longer to enter a horse betting parlor to play pool, public places that offer billiard tables for their customer's use remain known as pool rooms (or billiard rooms or pool halls or billiard halls).
