The Billiard Table and Its Details

The billiard table is one of most important billiard equipment apart from pool cues and pool balls. A billiard table is to billiards what a golf field is to golf. A billiard is a bounded table on which the game is played.

Many different billiard games are played on a variety of tables. There is a lot of difference between a home billiard and a professional table. Some manufacturers also design ‘made to order’ fancy tables which are more used as a décor than for playing billiards and pool. tables comprises of bed, pockets, cloth, markings etc. Not only the game but even the billiard is considered a fashion accessory by many.

In terms of classifications, different types of billiard tables differ as per the below factors.

Sizes and Dimensions

Billiard tables which are professionally used in competitions and other contests have a certain standard size. A professional billiard has to accurately fit the dimensions. Apart from the standard rectangular tables, the game has also seen popularity of hexagonal and even zigzag tables.

Cloth and Material

What makes a pool table special is the feel. The cloth is of special type which is used to cover the playing area of a billiard table. The cloth can be of many colors but green is the most popular color. Many sports historians have an opinion that tables have green color cloth to represent the green color of outdoor lawn games. Blue cloth on billiard table is also gaining popularity. There are many manufacturers who make cloth and finest billiard fabrics. Table cloth affects the run of balls tremendously. Pool cues are known to produce marks and stains on cloth if used incorrectly.

Pockets and Pool Balls

A normal billiard has 6 pockets, one at each corner and 2 at mid points of the table. The pockets have a standard size of approximately 70 cm but many popular tournaments have smaller pockets to test the skills of players. British balls are generally coded as red by yellow or blue by yellow as compared to the stripes and spots combination used in the American version of pool.

Apart from these features, billiard are also classified on the base of table markings and other smaller factors. In addition, specific games like Russian pyramid and Asian four balls have specially designed tables. Other billiard and pool accessories work in tandem so that the players can enjoy the game.