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Billiard Table

A billiard table is the most important part of a game of pool. It is the playing surface for a wide variety of billiard games. The ancestors of billiards were played outdoors on grass, and involved a much larger playing field and bigger wooden clubs similar to croquet. The more affluent people of the time wanted to keep playing their games all winter long, so smaller, indoor, table versions of those games were adapted.

At first each table was as different as the person who created it. Early billiard tables were much larger than today, and almost never had pockets. The ideal surface, even in the early 1400’s, was flat and smooth rock, commonly slate, with a layer of green felt on top to simulate grass. Banks were built around the edges to keep the balls from rolling off.

By the mid-1800’s the modern billiard table had been developed. A ratio of 2-1 for the length and width had been agreed upon making each table similar, and slate was widely available. The invention of vulcanized rubber allowed the wooden banks to be replaced with quieter, bouncier rubber. Six pockets come standard on tables, one in each corner, two in the center of the long side. The billiard table has been built this way now for 150 years with little change.

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