The Many Types of Billiards Tables

The origin of the billiard table was in the Royal Court of Louis XI of France in 1461 when a strip of lawn was cut from the ground and placed on an elevated table to play table versions of many lawn games. Since then, many billiard games had come into existence with pool being the most popularly known billiard game. Today, there are two types of billiards tables known as Carom tables and Pool (Pocket Billiards) tables.

Before the game of pool became popular, games such as straight-rail, three cushion billiards, balkline, artistic billiards and cushion caroms were played without any pockets to sink the balls into. The game of cushion caroms gave Carom billiards tables their name. In the 1800s, Queen Victoria began the practice of heating the tables to prevent the ivory balls from warping, but this process also sped up the flow of the table as it allowed the balls to glide with less resistance.

Carom billiards tables have no pockets, and the surface of regulation tables must be heated 5 degrees Celsius above room temperature. The bed is made of 45 millimeter thick slate and is covered with cloth that is made of wool or a blend of wool and nylon that is referred to as baize. Carom billiards tables use the same vulcanized rubber material in the cushions as found in pocket billiards tables, but are cut at a sharper angle than found in the rails on a pocket billiards table. The playing surface is 2.84 meters in length by 1.42 meters wide and the table is 75 to 80 centimeters off of the ground.

Traditional pool tables, which are also referred to as pocket billiards tables, have six pockets located on the table; normally one for each corner and two pockets on middle of each side rail. Many well known pool games include eight-ball, nine-ball, straight pool, and one pocket. The goal of pool revolves around sinking balls into the pockets; usually by numerical order or whether or not the ball is a solid color or contains a stripe.

Pool tables come in three dimensions, but only two of the three are recognized to be regulation tables by the World Pool-Billiard Association. The 9 foot table and the 8 foot table both contain a length to width ratio of 2:1, which means that the playing surface of a 9 foot table would be 100 inches by 50 inches (254 cm × 127 cm). The playing surface for an 8 foot table is 92 inches by 46 inches (233.68 cm × 116.84 cm) and the regulation height of the bed from the ground for both tables is between 29.5 inches and 31 inches off the ground (74.295 cm and 78.74 cm).

Regulation pool tables have a bed made out of slate at least one inch thick and are covered by the same cloth material as Carom tables. The rails, or cushions, are made out of vulcanized rubber as well, but are cut at a different angle. Pool tables also have markings along each rail to help players aim banks shots. Each long rail contains six markings while the short rails contain three of these markings. These markers are also used to determine the head and foot spots of the table.

Many non-regulation tables are also sold to satisfy the billiards lovers who wish to fit their tables into areas that are more confined so that they can still play unrestrained by the size of the room. However, to the avid pool player, the dimensions of any table are a perfect fit.