an opening at the corner or on the side of a billiard table into which billiard balls are struck.

The side pockets are usually larger than the corner pockets, especially on larger tables; however, on many coin operated “bar boxes,” the opposite is often true. Pockets are also sometimes “shimmed” to make the openings smaller to make the table play “tougher.”

pocket billiards, a billiards game, most popular in the United States and Canada, played with a white cue ball and 15 consecutively numbered coloured balls on a rectangular table with six pockets (one at each corner and one at the midpoints of both longer sides).

carom billiards,, game played with three balls (two white and one red) on a table without pockets, in which the object is to drive one of the white balls (cue ball) into both of the other balls. Each carom thus completed counts one point.