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How Billiards Tables Work

Billiards, commonly known as pool, is an indoor sport that is played throughout the world. Many restaurants, bars and pubs have billiard tables, and the popularity of billiard tables in private homes is increasing.

Even if you haven't played billiards, you've probably seen most of the commonly used equipment, including the billiard table. In this article, you will learn about the tables used in billiards. You will discover how they are put together and learn about slate. You will also learn about the components of a table such as rails, pockets and the felt cloth that covers the table. And you will find out about the various games and how they differ from each other.

Basic Equipment

Billiards defines any game played on a table with a cue and balls. Billiards is a game that relies on the fundamentals of physics and geometry, and becoming an expert in billiards requires skillful mastery of the game's equipment. This equipment includes:

Balls - Although each variation of billiards has different rules, the goal is always to strike the a ball and move it in some fashion.
Cue - A long, tapered rod that has a cushioned tip on the narrow end for striking the balls.
Table - The playing surface that the balls travel on. Depending on the game it is designed for, the table may or may not have pockets (holes) for the balls to fall into.

Games played on tables with pockets are often referred to as pool or snooker, while the most common pocketless table game is called carom.

Did You Know?
The origin of billiards is lost in history, but we do know that King Louis XIV had a table in the 15th century and that in 1600, William Shakespeare mentioned it in "Antony and Cleopatra" and Charles Cotton described the game in his book, "The Compleat Gamester," published in 1674. (Many game historians believe that billiards evolved from the outdoor game croquet.)

Billiards Tables

A billiards table or billiard table is a table on which carom billiards games are played such as three cushion billiards, straight rail (carambole) and balkline. Regulation billiards tables are perfect rectangles, with the bed of the table (the playing surface) measuring ten feet by five feet. Although not common in the U.S., smaller size Billiards tables are occasionally seen, typically used for the Korean game of "four ball."

Pocket Billiards tables, sometimes called pool tables, are specific to the various pool games such as eight ball, nine ball, straight pool and one pocket. As the name implies, pocket billiards tables have pockets; normally six of them--one at each corner of the table ("corner pockets") and one at the midpoint of each of the longer sides ("side pockets").

The regulation size of a Pocket Billiards table's playing surface is four and one-half feet by nine feet. Non-regulation size tables come standard at four by eight feet, three and one-half by seven feet, and three feet by six feet.

Whilst most tables are perfect rectangles, there are other tables which are round, hexagonal and even zig-zag shaped. The latter, however, are all far less popular than the rectangular tables ubiquitous in many social halls, from Gentlemen's Clubs to bars.

On the sides of all varieties of billiard table are "rails" (or "cushions"), which are made from elastic materials such as synthetic or vulcanized rubber. The cushion's purpose is to rebound balls without letting them lose too much kinetic energy. The playing surface (the "Bed") on all quality tables is made of slate, typically imported from Italy.

Both the rails and slate beds are covered with billiard cloth which is most often green in color and consists of either a woven wool or wool/nylon blend called Baize Most bar tables, which get lots of play, use this slower, thicker cloth because it can stand up to heavy usage. By contrast, high quality pool cloth is usually made of a napless weave such as worsted wool. Snooker table cloth traditionally has a directional nap, upon which the balls behave differently when rolling against the direction of the nap.

Common pool table sizes for the USA are:

3.5' × 7' (1.06 m × 2.13 m) — Bar
4' × 8' (1.22 m × 2.44 m) — Home
4.25' × 8.5' (1.30 m × 2.60 m) — Commercial
4.5' × 9' (1.37 m × 2.74 m) — Tournament

4.5' × 9' pool table play area measuring twice as long as it is wide (+1/8) from the cloth covered nose of the cushion rubber to the opposite cushion rubber. A play area of 50" x 100" is the recognized size for professional billiards tournament playing.

Table Bed Height

Pocket opening are measured from tip to tip of the opposing cushion noses where direction changes into the pocket. This is called the mouth.

Corner Pocket Mouth ... 4 7/8" minimum to 5 1/8" maximum
Side Pocket Mouth .... 5 3/8" minimum to 5 5/8" maximum

The angles at the corner pocket entrance on each side of the pocket is 142" (+1 degrees).
The angle at the side pocket entrance on each side of the pocket is 103" (+ 2 degrees).

Vertical Pocket Angle:  12 " minimum to 15" maximum

Shelf: The shelf is measured from the center of the imaginary line that goes from one side of the mouth to the other where the nose of the cushion changes direction to the center of the vertical; cut of the slate pocket raduis.

Corner Pocket  1 5/8" minimum to 1 7'8  maximum
Side Pocket  0" minimum to 3/8" maximum

Drop Point Slate Radius: The pocket radius measured from the vertical cut of the slate to the playing surface.

Drop Point Slate Radius  1/8" radius minimum to 1/4" radius maximum

Playing Bed

The playing bed surface must be capable, either by its own or a combination of its strength and that of the table base frame, of maintaining an overall flattened within + .020" lengthwise and +.010" across the width. Further, this surface should have an additionally deflection not to exceed .030" when loaded with a concentrated static force of 200 pounds at its center. All slate joints must be in the sane plane within .005" after leveling and shimming. The bed must be covered with billiards fabric, the major portion of which is made of wood, with proper tension to avoid unwanted ball roll off.  It's recommended that professional tournament size tables have a three piece set of slate with a minimum thickness of 1" and a wooden frame of at least of a leaste3/4" attached to slate. BCA will section tournament play on home and coin operated table s with one piece slate providing the play Area requirement are met. All playing surface must be solidly secured to base frame with screws or bolts.

Pool Ball Specifications:

Molded and finished d in a perfect sphere in the following weight and diameter:
Pocket Billiards Balls
Weight: 5 1/2 to 6 ox.  Diameter 2 1/4'
Diameter tolerance + .005

Pool Cue Specifications:

Player may bring a maximum of 3 cue sticks to the match.
Width of top: No minimum 14 maximum
Weight of Tip: No minimum 25oz. maximum
Length: 40 inches minimum no maximum
The cue tip may not be of a material that can scratch or damage the addresses ball. The cue tip on any stick must be composed of a piece of specially processed leather or other fibrous or pliable material that extends the natural line of the shaft end of the cue and contracts the cue ball when the shot is executed.

The ferrule, if of a metal material, may not be more than 1 inch in length.

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