What to Know Before Buying a Pool Table

Before buying a pool table, measure your room for cue space as well as the table, allowing roughly 1.5m clear on every side. Then decide between English and American pool, choose slate over MDF if you'll play weekly, and check the table can get through your doors and up any stairs. Budget for delivery and installation too. You can compare sizes and styles across our range of home pool tables.

That's the short answer, so you can stop here if it's all you needed. For the detail behind each point, and the regrets owners describe, read on.

The checklist at a glance

Here are the eight decisions to settle before you order, with the mistake owners most often describe.

1. How much room do you need for a pool table?

More than the table itself. The measurement that really matters is the playing space around it, and that's where most buyers get caught out.

Picture a Friday evening: your friends are round, the game is close, and the cue ball stops an inch from the cushion beside the wall. In a cramped space, someone digs out a short cue and the game loses its rhythm. You avoid that by allowing about 1.5m of clear space on every side of the table. A tape measure's worth of spare floor isn't enough.

To put real numbers on it, our FMF Spirit Tournament measures 211 x 119cm in the 7ft size. For our 8ft SAM Royal Class American table, the manufacturer's chart recommends a room of 17ft 2in x 13ft 6in (about 5.2 x 4.1m) when you're using a standard 57-inch cue.

Owners are blunt about getting this wrong. In an AzBilliards thread started by a UK buyer planning a garden log cabin, several experienced players said short cues ruin the game. One warned that a table too big for its room usually ends up barely used.

Buy the largest table you can comfortably play from every side, and every shot stays playable long after the novelty has worn off. The guide to pool table room sizes has the measurements for each table size.

2. Should you choose English or American pool?

Choose the game you already play. English pool is played with reds and yellows, while American pool uses spots and stripes and usually a bigger table.

In our range, English tables come in 6ft and 7ft, and American tables run from 7ft up to 9ft. That matters in a real home. Our 8ft American table is 254 x 142cm, which is 43cm longer than a 7ft English table. If you're deciding between the larger sizes, see the guide to choosing an 8ft or 9ft pool table. If you play in a local league, matching the table you play on there will improve your game more than any upgrade. To see how a league table differs from one built for a games room, read about pub vs home pool tables.

3. Slate or MDF: which bed do you need?

Slate, if you'll play every week. MDF, a board made from compressed wood fibres, is lighter and cheaper but considerably less stable over the years. For prices and features, see the slate pool table buying guide.

Forum regulars generally steer buyers towards slate. On BilliardsForum, experienced players told a casual buyer he would regret a wood-top table when slate costs only a little more. On Whirlpool's forums, one member said that after a couple of years, his car club's board-top table was "like playing on the ocean".

The same Whirlpool thread also shows the other side of the argument. One owner used an inexpensive board-top table from 2007 to 2012, kept a cover on it, sold it for half what he paid and said he didn't regret it at all.

I'll be honest: we don't sell board-top tables, but that doesn't make them wrong for you. If your table is mainly for the children, or you rent and expect to move soon, a lighter, cheaper table may serve you perfectly well, and you can always upgrade to slate once you know you'll play regularly. If you're just starting out, see the guide to the best pool table for beginners.

4. How heavy is a pool table, and will your home cope?

Heavier than almost any other furniture you own. Tables in our range weigh from 212kg for a 6ft FMF Spirit Tournament to 350kg for a 9ft SAM Royal Class, so moving one is never a job for two friends and a van.

Access is usually where plans fall apart, so measure every door, staircase and tight corner between the van and your room. Some American tables, including the SAM Royal Class, use a one-piece slate bed. In a January 2026 AzBilliards thread, one buyer said an installer had warned him it would be difficult to find anyone able to carry that kind of table up to his first-floor room. Another member pointed out that three lighter slate sections are far easier to get upstairs than one enormous piece.

Check access first, and your table gets carried straight in rather than stuck at the bottom of the stairs.

5. What should delivery and installation include?

Ask before you order, and get the answer in writing. Free delivery to mainland England & Wales. Deliveries to Scotland, Northern Ireland and offshore areas are quoted separately.

The installation matters as much as the table. A slate bed has to be seated, levelled and joined properly, or the roll will never be true. In the same January 2026 thread, one owner explained that his original installer hadn't seated the slates properly, which caused problems until a later re-cloth sorted them out. Another member described finding a first-class installer as "the most important aspect" of the whole purchase.

So ask whether your table is carried in, fully assembled and levelled on site, and whether the installer checks your playing surface is true. A table that's set up properly on the first day will roll straight for years.

6. How much should you budget for a pool table?

Budget for the whole job, not just the price tag. As two reference points from our range, the 7ft FMF Spirit Tournament is £2,595.00 and the 8ft SAM Royal Class is £6,499.00. To see what drives those prices, read why pool tables cost so much.

The FMF Spirit Tournament includes an accessories pack of two cues, a set of balls, a triangle, a brush and chalk, so you can play on the first evening. Beyond that, think about lighting and a protective cover.

There's also a cost that rarely appears in buying guides, which is getting rid of a table later. On Pinside's games forum, one owner said there's almost no second-hand market for pool tables, and another said his friend paid more to move the table than he had charged for it. Treat it as something you'll keep, and you'll choose more carefully.

7. What cloth comes on the table?

Ask what's fitted, because cloth quality affects how your table plays and what it costs to maintain. Cloth, often called felt, wears with use and eventually needs replacing.

Our FMF Spirit Tournament can be fitted with several cloths, including Strachan 6811, Hainsworth and Simonis 860, so you choose at the ordering stage. Whichever table you buy, ask what a re-cloth costs on that particular model, because it's a cost you'll meet again if the table gets plenty of use.

8. Is a used pool table worth buying?

It can be, but only if you inspect it properly first. A used table can be excellent value for your budget, yet the price on the listing is rarely the full cost.

In the January 2026 AzBilliards thread, one experienced member warned that a used table "might be lightly used or be a nightmare under the cloth". Another suggested crawling underneath a table to check what the frame is really made of. It's also worth rolling balls into each of the cushions to check they rebound evenly. Then add dismantling, transport, reassembly and probably new cloth before you compare prices. A cheap table only stays cheap if it plays well. To judge the frame, bed and cushions, see the signs of a good quality pool table.

What do pool table owners regret most?

Buying a table that nobody plays. Plenty of guides describe a pool table as an investment, but owners tell a less flattering story.

Several members of that Pinside thread said their table gradually became a storage shelf, cleared for a game once or twice a year. Others said the opposite, that theirs gets the most use at every party. The difference usually comes down to honest planning: the right size, the right game and a room people genuinely want to spend time in.

So before you spend, be realistic about how often you'll play. If the honest answer is a few times a year, a smaller or cheaper table is the sensible choice.

FAQ

Should I get a 6ft or 7ft pool table?

Get the 7ft if your space allows full clearance on every side. Choose the 6ft if the 7ft would force short cues, because a smaller table you can play properly beats a bigger one you can't. For the room sizes behind that, see 6ft vs 7ft pool tables.

Can a pool table fit in a 10 x 10ft room?

Not if you want to use full-length cues. Even with short 48-inch cues, the chart for our 7ft SAM Royal Class recommends 14ft 10in x 11ft 7in, so a space that small suits a smaller table or a different game. For ideas, see the guide to pool table alternatives.

The verdict

Most pool table regrets come from four things you can check in an afternoon: room size, game type, bed material and access. Get those right, buy from someone who will deliver and level the table properly, and it becomes the place everyone gathers when friends come round.