Perfect for any rec room or finished basement, adding a billiards table to your home is sure to bring your friends over regularly. An excellent way to hone your hand to eye coordination and fine motor skills, billiards is an excellent indoor activity.
An important thing to distinguish early is your price range. You can get a cheap pool table for $300 at Walmart, but professional grade tables start at $2,000. Like most things, you get what you pay for. Tables under $500 are usually plastic and the playing surface is either plastic or high-density wood. The balls typically never roll straight and a flat surface – pivotal in billiards – is never guaranteed. With more expensive models, the playing surface is made of slate – a hard stone made of quartz and other minerals – that is machined flat to within 1/100th of an inch. Slate guarantees a flat playing service for life, and is very resilient to wear. With the higher end models you can make a custom billiards table, picking the wood, design of the legs and color of the baize that covers the slate.
Billiard Tables for Sale
Obviously, the Internet is a great way to shop for deals on pool tables of all prices and styles. There are vendors all across the world with refurbished and factory-direct prices with really nice tables available in the neighborhood of $1,600. For those looking for a billiards table light on the frame and craftsmanship, there are art deco styles that still offer superior quality with stylized steel construction holding the slate and playing surface. Only trust sites that have accreditation for their banking transactions, like VeriSign. For those weary of identity theft and online scamming, purchasing your table at a physical store is the best option.
Billiards Accessories
A pool table is no good without some essential accessories. The pool cue, for example, is key. Professional two-piece cues can go for more than $300 and are made of carbon fiber or fiberglass for additional strength and lightness. You can find beginners' cues for under $20; typically one-pieced and made of a hard wood like hickory or ash.
A pool table is a great investment. Rather than go out to play billiards or darts, owning your own table lets you stay at home to entertain and saves you money on parking, cover charges and bar tabs. While a good pool table is a lot of money, the fun it can generate is worth the cost.