After a pool table, the most important thing you need to play a game of pool are balls! At a first glance, there’s an overwhelming amount of different choices to consider, possibly much more than you initially thought. This guide will tell you the difference between the different types of balls that you can get for each style of cue sport (Snooker, English pool and American pool).
Cue Sport Ball Basics: Standard Vs. Aramith
When it comes to cue sports, there are typically two primary types of balls that you can choose between: Standard balls, or Aramith balls. Here are the basic differences between each.
Standard Balls
Standard balls come as a standard with every pool table, and are a good set if you just need something to get you started. Standard balls tend to be mass produced in China with a hardened plastic outer shell, and as a result makes them fairly cheap to buy and easy to replace. This makes the standard balls ideal for commercial environments due to their cheaper nature, but this does bring with it some compromises in quality.
Firstly, whilst the plastic construction functions, the play response will not be as good as a higher quality Aramith ball. This plastic also generates more friction on a table’s cloth, leading to increased wear to the cloth over time.
Aramith Balls
If you’re looking for something that is of a professional quality, then Aramith balls are going to be what you want to look for. These balls are specially made in Belgium, and unlike the cheaper standard balls, Aramith balls tend to be made from a tougher phenolic resin. The entire ball is composed of this, meaning that if you were to slice an Aramith spots and Stripes ball down the centre, you would find colour continues all the way through the middle! The resin generally gives the balls a better response when playing, reduces the friction between the ball and the playing surface, and also gives the ball an impeccable shine and vivid colour.
The balls also go through a much more rigorous testing process than standard balls at the time of manufacture, ensuring that they conform to a much higher standard (such as how spherical the ball is for example). This quality is what have made Aramith balls the pool balls of choice for virtually every big cue sport tournament around the world, and the choice of home players looking for the best game possible.
Below illustrates just how different the two types of ball look against each other: Standard on the left and Aramith on the right. You will notice just how much more sharp the reflection and shine is on the Aramith ball.
In Summary
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Standard Balls
- Hardened plastic construction
- Cheaper
- Not as rich in colour or shine
- Higher friction on a pool table cloth
- Ideal for commercial locations
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Aramith Balls
- Phenolic resin construction
- More expensive
- A very rich colour and shine
- Lower friction on a pool table cloth - less wear
- Ideal for tournament/home situations where quality of play is important
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Each style of pool also has some further unique sets of balls. Let’s cover each game in turn.
English Pool
English pool is played with a set of 16 balls of four different colours. Traditionally, an English pool ball set is comprised of:
- 7x 2 inch red balls
- 7x 2 inch yellow balls
- 1x 2 inch black ball (sometimes an 8 ball depending on the set)
- 1x 1 7/8 inch white cue ball
You can get both standard English balls and Aramith English balls in varying different colours depending on your preference. For instance, you may prefer a set of blue and yellow balls instead of a set of reds and yellows (to better compliment your colour of cloth) or even a set of American style spots and stripes if you like the style.
If you want to go even further with your quality, then a set of Pro-Cup is the absolute top end when it comes to English pool balls. Again made by Aramith to exacting standards, but undergo an even more intensive testing and finishing process to make the play of these balls truly second to none. These balls are even shinier than normal Aramith balls, play with even higher consistency and as a result command an even higher price.
American Pool
American pool balls are instantly recognisable for their classic spots and stripes design of different colours. As expected, Standard and Aramith balls are available for American balls, which normally come with the following as standard:
- 8x 2 1/4 inch 'solid' balls numbered 1-9
- 7x 2 1/4 inch 'stripe' balls numbered 10-15
- 1x 2 1/4 inch white cue ball
Unlike English pool balls or snooker balls, American balls have many more options available than you would normally expect. Apart from the standard set and the Aramith set, some other sets do exist. The video covers each set in more detail, but some of these include manufacturer exclusive sets (such as the Brunswick Centennial set with their trademark arrowed ball marks and the ‘Cyclops’ set designed for use in the Diamond Smart Tables) and sets with varying colours and appearances. For example, the Aramith ‘TV’ set (which is used in many televised tournaments) switches the colours of certain balls to make them more visible and visually appealing on camera.
Snooker
Snooker balls are a little different to pool balls in that you can get snooker ball sets in two different sizes. A smaller 2 inch set which is ideal for playing on smaller English tables, and larger 2 1/16 inch ‘full size’ snooker balls for playing on a larger dedicated snooker tables. The cue ball in this case reains the same size as the object balls as well. Regardless of what size you get, you will get the following balls with each set:
- 10x red balls (2 inch sets) / 15x red balls (2 1/16 inch sets)
- 1x black ball
- 1x pink ball
- 1x blue ball
- 1x yellow ball
- 1x brown ball
- 1x green ball
- 1x white cue ball
Just like the English pool ball sets, you are able to get both standard and Aramith sets for Snooker balls in both sizes, as well as the more premium ‘Pro-Cup’ set in the full 2 1/16 inch size.
Other Sets and Summary
We’ve covered all the basic pool and snooker sets above, but there are even more unique sets that you can choose from to add further diversity to your pool table. If the standard colours just aren’t doing it for you, then why not look at a set of novelty pool balls to add that extra layer of distinction to your table? A fun example would be Aramith’s ‘granite’ set which gives the balls a stoney appearance, or even the eye-catching ‘Ultraviolet’ set.
Whatever game you want to play on your table, give some thought to what standard of play you’re hoping to get. We have most sets to hand in our Bristol showrooms so you can try and feel the difference of each set yourself. If you have any other questions, then give the team a call on 0800 622 6464 or 01454 413 636 to ask us anything.