Black pool was a form of pocket billiards (pool) mainly played in the 19th century. It was one of several pool games that were popular during this time. It was called this because gamblers pooled their bets at the start of play. This game had fifteen red balls that were racked in a triangle, as in snooker today but without the six colour balls. There was also a black ball that was either placed on the centre spot or what is now the black spot in snooker. Each player extracted winnings from their opponents for each ball they potted. Potting the black ball meant receiving additional winnings. Around 1875, black pool was merged with life pool to form the new game of snooker, today one of the most popular cue sports in the world.
Map of Blackpool, UK
References
Black pool Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA