Which style of billiard table should a home collector choose, pool, snooker, or carom?

Three games, three very different tables

Pool, in its American form, is played with six pockets on tables that in homes typically run seven, eight, or nine feet long, with the nine-foot size regarded as the tournament standard. The pockets are cut with angled facings and relatively generous openings, the balls are the largest of the three games, and the cloth is usually a smooth worsted weave that plays fast. Snooker uses far more balls, all of them smaller, on a much larger table: a full-size snooker table is twelve feet by six, with rounded, tighter pockets and a directional napped cloth that rewards playing with the nap rather than against it. Ten-foot snooker tables are a common home compromise. Related: What slate thickness truly matters when buying a premium billiard table for home?

Carom billiards dispenses with pockets altogether. Three balls are played on a table that is typically ten feet long for the serious versions of the game, and scoring depends on driving the cue ball into both object balls, often after several cushions. Because the game lives and dies on the consistency of the rebound, carom tables frequently have heated slate, which keeps the cloth dry and the ball speed even, and their cushions are profiled differently from pool cushions. Each of these tables is a different instrument, and the choice should follow the game you actually want to play rather than the one that photographs best. Related: How do you select an heirloom pool table that lasts for several generations?

Keep reading: How do you select an heirloom pool table that lasts for several generations?, What slate thickness truly matters when buying a premium billiard table for home?, Which hardwoods age most gracefully in a fine heirloom quality billiard table?. See how Billiardr helps you a craftsman guide to heirloom pool and billiard tables.

Room, play, and who will use it

Begin with the room, because it makes the decision for many people. A full-size snooker table needs a large space with generous clearance on every side for a cue that is longer than a pool cue, and even a ten-foot version demands more room than most American game rooms provide. A nine-foot pool table is already a serious commitment of floor space; an eight-foot table fits far more homes gracefully. A regulation carom table sits between the two in footprint but shares snooker's appetite for cueing room, since long rail-first shots are the essence of the game. Related: Why does room size dictate the ideal billiard table dimensions for comfortable play?

Then consider who will stand at the table. Pool is the game most American guests already know, and an eight-ball rack invites a mixed group of skill levels in a way snooker does not. Snooker is a slow, contemplative game that rewards patience and punishes casual play, and it is a wonderful thing for a household that loves it and a lonely object for one that does not. Carom is the purist's choice, deeply satisfying to those who pursue it and almost impenetrable to the uninitiated. An heirloom table that nobody plays is still a beautiful piece of furniture, but it is a poorer heirloom for it.

Craft and availability in the US market

Practicalities favor pool in the United States, and it is worth being honest about that. The American market has the widest base of heirloom-quality pool table makers, from small regional shops to established names, with the broadest choice of styles, sizes, woods, and cloth. Table mechanics in nearly every metropolitan area know how to install, level, and recloth a pool table. Parts, cloth, and accessories are readily available, and resale is straightforward because the pool of potential buyers is large. Related: Which hardwoods age most gracefully in a fine heirloom quality billiard table?

Snooker tables are typically either imported from makers in countries where the game is dominant or built by a small number of specialist American shops, and their napped cloth requires a mechanic who understands how to fit and brush it. Carom tables are more specialized still, and heated slate introduces electrical requirements and another system to maintain. None of this should discourage a genuine devotee, but it does mean longer lead times, fewer choices, higher freight, and a smaller circle of technicians. For a table meant to serve a family for generations, the availability of skilled service is not a minor consideration.

Making the choice for an heirloom

For most American households, a pool table is the natural heirloom, and there is nothing lesser about that. Choose the largest size the room comfortably allows, with a nine-foot table if you have the space and eight if you do not, and invest the difference in construction and finish rather than novelty. The game is social, the makers are many, and your grandchildren are far more likely to grow up playing it than either alternative.

Choose snooker when you have a truly large room, a real affection for the game, and access to a mechanic who knows napped cloth. Choose carom when you are drawn to its precision and are prepared to seek out a specialist maker and service. If you are torn, a ten-foot pool table offers snooker-like proportions with pool's approachability, though it remains a rare and specialized request. Whichever you choose, let it be the table for the game you will play on a Tuesday evening, not the one you imagine playing on a special occasion.