Home Page

Things About Pool

Fun Facts

What size is a "Regulation" pool table?

Fun Facts

Billiards was the first sport to have a world championship (1873).
Most chalk used today is comprised of fine abrasives and does not contain a speck of chalk.
Billiards evolved from a lawn game similar to croquet played sometime during the 15th century in Northern Europe (probably in France). That's why most tables are Green, to simula

Billiards was the first sport to have a world championship (1873).
Most chalk used today is comprised of fine abrasives and does not contain a speck of chalk.
Billiards evolved from a lawn game similar to croquet played sometime during the 15th century in Northern Europe (probably in France). That's why most tables are Green, to simulate grass.
Tables originally had flat vertical walls for rails and their only function was to keep the balls from falling off. They resembled riverbanks and even used to be called “banks.” Players discovered that balls could bounce off the rails and began deliberately aiming at them. Thus a “bank shot” is one in which a ball is made to rebound from a cushion as part of the shot.

Show Less

What size is a "Regulation" pool table?

Fun Facts

Pool; The long definition.

A game, played on a flat rock covered with the hair of a sheep, where large marbles are rolled around using a semi-straight tree branch that has a piece of tanned animal hide glued to the end with the intention of making the marbles disappear into holes always located too far away!

Pool; The short definition.

A lifetime of challenging entertainment!

What size is a "Regulation" pool table?

Pool tables come in many shapes and styles, but it's the size of the playing surface and height from the floor that makes them "Regulation" or not.

The Billiard Congress of America sets the standard for the USA.

TABLE SIZES: 3 ½’ x 7’, 4’ x 8’, and 4 ½’ x 9’ with the play area measuring twice as long as it is wide (± 1/8”) from the cloth

Pool tables come in many shapes and styles, but it's the size of the playing surface and height from the floor that makes them "Regulation" or not.

The Billiard Congress of America sets the standard for the USA.

TABLE SIZES: 3 ½’ x 7’, 4’ x 8’, and 4 ½’ x 9’ with the 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. 4 ½’ x 9’ tables with a Play Area of 50” x 100” is the recognized size for professional tournament play.

TABLE BED HEIGHT: The table bed playing surface, when measured from the bottom of the table leg, will be 29 ¼” minimum to 31” maximum.

There are many other specifications that go into a pool table and they can be viewed here.

Show Less

Click to view table specifications

Why is it called a "Cue" stick?

What size is a "Regulation" pool table?

The forerunner of the cue was the mace, an implement similar to a light-weight golf club, with a foot that was generally used to shove rather than strike the cue ball. When the ball was frozen against a rail cushion, use of the mace was difficult (the foot would not fit under the edge of the cushion to strike the ball squarely), and by 1670 experienced players often used the tail or butt end of the mace instead. The term "cue" comes from queue, the French word for "tail", in reference to this practice, a style of shooting that eventually led to the development of separate, footless cue sticks by about 1800, used initially as a supplement to the mace, which remained in use until well into the 19th century. In public billiard rooms only skilled players were allowed to use the cue, because the fragile cloth could be torn by novices

Show Less