This is also the proper name for the games of pool commonly played in America.
"Billiards" is usually understood to mean a game that is played on a table that does not have pockets, namely Three Cushion Billiards or Straight Billiards.
"Pocket billiards" refers to games played on a table with pockets, notably Eight Ball, Nine Ball, Straight Pool, Bank Pool, Snooker and One Pocket.
The BCA (Billiard Congress of America) publishes the standard rules for games that are commonly played with cue sticks and balls on tables.
In the midwest United States, where I am from, the euphamism for masturbation is more commonly called pocket pool.