Black and devil’s pool, snooker and “the race-horse game.”
Hamilton Spectator, Thursday 24 May 1894
Very little billiards is played —excepting on one table—but black and devil’s pool, snooker and “the race-horse game.” For instance at black pool they always play 2s 6d the first ball and 5s the black, and I have seen them play as high as 10s and £1; devil’s pool, generally 2s 6d and sometimes 5s per game; snooker I have never seen played under one shilling per ball, and as high as half-a-crown. I used to think a man could lose enough at 3d per ball. I saw a man, and a good player at that, lose £17 in three games the other night at single snooker. Of course, this is not gambling in the true sense of the word, as the games are games of skill, but it is the side-wagers that are constantly made that introduces the gambling element.