Buying a Billiards Table

Your billiards table will most likely be the single largest investment in your personal billiards parlor. There are many options to choose from and a number of factors you need to consider, as you will be installing your billiards table in your home and not the local billiards hall. Just like buying a car, you need to consider the purpose, environment, form, and function of your billiards table.

The first thing you will need to determine is what size billiards table you are going to buy. How large is the room you will be putting the table in? And, more importantly: will it fit? The distance between the billiards table and the surrounding walls ought to be at least as long as your billiard cue or greater. The last thing you want to have happen during a billiards game is to have to hold your cue at a 45-degree angle to make a downward shot.

Will your billiards table be in a dedicated room, or will it be multi-functional, such as doubling as a dining room table? If you will install it in a general living space you will want a billiards table with an optional conversion top. If your billiards parlor will be a dedicated room, you will still want to purchase an inexpensive table cover to keep the dust off when you are not playing.

If you have limited space in your room, how will you know what size billiards table you can have? The typical billiard cue can range from 48 inches to 58 inches. The actual billiards table can range from 7-feet to a regulation 9-foot billiards table. Based on your table size and cue length, you can calculate the minimum size of your billiards parlor with the following table:
 

The next question, and the one that will make the greatest difference in price, is what type of cabinetry you want to have. Cabinetry makes the greatest difference in whether you are spending $1,200 or $15,000 to lay the foundation of your billiards parlor.

Billiards tables are available in a great variety of materials, styles, and colors. On the low end you can select formica or laminate exteriors, or you can choose a traditional hardwood that can be finished in a variety of colors from light birch to dark mahogany.  You may also be looking for an outdoor billiards table that will need to survive the elements, or you will look into a contemporary or exotic design that may have a lot of stainless steel to match your home decor instead of wood. In terms of playability, the most important component of your billiards table is the playing surface.

Once you factor out the slate, the felt, and the bumpers on your billiards table, everything else is for decoration: Your game will be no better or worse if you are playing on a $1,700 laminate billiards table or a $15,000 handcrafted cherry billiards table with mother-of-pearl inlays if they have the same quality playing surface.

The final character trait of your billiards table will be the selection you make in your cloth cover, which you can of course select one of the shades of from traditional green, or go to a modern blue, or a whole host of colors. You can even have a billiards table cloth printed with a custom design such as a sports team, beer logo, or a photo-quality cityscape.

Where you purchase your billiards table will be important as well. Via the internet, you can purchase your billiards table from an online retailer or on eBay, or you can visit your local sports and recreation or billiards store. Keep in mind that if you purchase your billiards table online, you should still enlist the help of a professional installer. Installing a billiards table is not like assembling an outdoor grill or your kid's bicycle at Christmas, and is worth every penny if you want years of enjoyment out of playing pool in your own billiards parlor.