How to test billiard table

Pool table is expensive and the most important part of the pool so its purchase should be taken very carefully in order to buy good quality pool table. And to find out what pool table to buy it’s enough to test several of its components, and then you will be 100% sure that you choose  pool table which deserves to be bought.

1. Check the geometry of the pockets.

The ball must be put right up to the board and with simple shoot  to send him to the nearest pocket. If you are not a professional player, the ball does not fall into the pocket, which means that the selected table passed this test. Deviation from the norm is to hit the ball into the pocket, which constitutes a violation of the geometry of pockets.

2. Check the railings.

Make the test, not the very strong kick, sending the ball so that it paralleled the board. In similar way to check all sides. If the board quality, the ball should roll parallel to the board, without altering its trajectory and, when struck on the opposite side, go back, also parallel to the board. If the ball returning change the path or when it strikes the side jumps, this is evidence of abnormalities that may be caused by poor quality rubber, the unevenness of the table, properly glued rubber hammer or irregular shape.

3. Checking the quality of rubber.

This test is carried out by strong blow from the long side of the table along its length.

The norm is, if the ball is able to "walk" along the entire length of the field, in the course of committing 3.5 - 5.5 hit the board (for a billiard table size 12 feet). If the ball makes less than 3.5 blow, hence, understate the rubber content of natural rubber, but if more than 5.5 strokes, respectively, of rubber in the rubber contains more than the norm.

4. Check the tension of billiard table cloth.

It is necessary to hold hand on the table, pushing on billiard cloth.

With the right (average) tension - the fingers on the cloth form a small wave, consisting of thin folds. In the case of the formation of large folds (wave) - cloth stretched slightly, and if the folds are very small or absent – the cloth is too stretched.

5. Check the frame of table.

Ask the seller about the material and construction of the frame, and if you can, then measure the height and thickness.

Quality frame of billiard tables are made from wood. The frame should be at least 40 mm for the tables of  12.9 feet size  and height - 200 mm for the 12-foot tables. At lower rates frame construction won’t have the necessary rigidity.

In addition, it is worth checking samples of cloth and stone. If the table is firm, you must provide documents proving the quality of these materials.

How to choose billiard cue?!

A good billiard cue - the key to success. So selection of billiard cue is very important and don’t be negligent in this process, of course, if you choose it is not just for "furniture" or "because it’s needed".

In general, the choice of billiard cue is intimate and highly personal process, and it’s better to do by yourself and not to ask somebody to do it. And there are general recommendations, which should be considered to help you to choose really good cue. So, let's begin.

Recommendation 1. Pay attention to the parameters of billiard cue:

a). The length of the billiard cue

There are some standards of billiard cue length: 135-150 cm for carom, 144-146 cm - for pool and 160-165 cm - for Russian pyramid.

It’s time to choose billiard balls!!!

How to choose pool table and billiard table cloth I told in my previous posts. Now I want to talk about the selection of billiard balls. By the way, who is interested in their story and how they appeared can read the article "The Evolution of billiard ball, from ivory to phenol formaldehyde."

Today the billiard balls are mostly produced of phenol resins, polyesters, and polymers.

Polymer and polyester billiard balls are low cost and appropriate quality. However they look like their more expensive analogues of phenol formaldehyde. However, phenol formaldehyde balls have longer life and therefore lead the market of billiard balls.

How to choose billiard cloth for your table

The choice of billiard table cloth - is very responsible, time consuming process which also requires money. Only good billiard table cloth won’t break contacting with the cue, there won’t be any strips, grooves, etc". High-quality billiard cloth is elastic, not slipping and doesn’t stretch over a long period of time, and, ensures strength and durability of the billiard table.

To choose the good billiard table cloth, I advise you to follow some simple rules.

Rule 1. Only the well-known manufacturer.

The most popular is the manufacturer of billiard cloth from Belgium - Iwan Simonis. But this brand is one of the most expensive, so in this case, we pay more for name than for quality. In the segment of "price-quality" Czech manufacturer TOOL Billiard leads with its brands EUROSPRINT and EUROSPEED.

How to choose billiard table

I propose to consider some important tips when choosing billiard table. First, you should choose the table that just enters the room. Second, it is necessary to provide the correct distance from the wall to the playing field, 165-170cm - for Russian and 150-155cm - for pool, cue length for Russian-160cm with a 5-10cm on the backswing. Further attention should be paid to the floor - it must support the weight of 1300kg for the 12 feet table, 900kg for 10 feet table, 400 kg for 9 feet table.

Now let’s speak more about the table. The main thing - it's the slate, and better, if it is ARDESIA, since its quality is recognized around the world. It is stone-slate, produced in many countries around the world, but the core is - Italy and China. Also, there are marble slates from iron with lower quality. Slate lies on table, and more stable and stronger it is, the more stable will be the table. The stability of the table depends on the material and construction. Preferably this will be solid wood, and don’t forget about the exterior.

As for billiard tablecloth, in many for billiard table Ivan Simonis is used, which is distinguished by numbers, and the Czech billiard cloth EUROSPRINT 45 RUS PRO and Eurospeed - best option for Russian billiard balls from 68cm. Billiard cloth will last for several years at home and about a year in the billiard club in workload for 5-7 hours per day.

White points on billiard table cloth, is it good or bad?

I think that the owners of billiard clubs or tables know everything about tables, billiard table cloth, cues and balls which they use. And for them the appearance of white spots is not news. But at the same time, many owners of billiard tables and players are often surprised when they see how on the billiard cloth appear white spots. They believe that this is the defect or poor quality of the cloth, even if it is brands Eurospeed, Eurosprint, Simonis or Campionship.

Therefore, as man who knows something about the billiard table cloth, I'll tell you white spots on the billiard table cloth is good or bad thing.

What is the quality cloth and how to distinguish quality from fake



Anyone who reads this blog agree that quality billiard table cloth is the cloth, which the players like.

But the player and the club owner or the owner of table are also interested in different qualities of billiard cloth so everyone defines what is quality cloth in different ways. It’s very important for owner of the billiard table to know how long the cloth will serve and how long it will keep the characteristics necessary for good game, how fast it will erase, etc. For player, the elastic of cloth is important, how well the ball is moving on the table, what speed of the ball and if it provides torsion.

To answer the main question "What is quality billiard cloth" we need to know how cloth is made.