Who hasn’t wanted a sanctuary at some time? Somewhere to escape from the fray to enjoy a few minutes, or even an hour or two, to oneself or with your mates. For some it’s a shed at the bottom of the garden or another kind of man-cave – but by far the most fun and sociable option is to create your perfect games room, of course the best owners of a games room are well off and own a luxurious property with plenty of space to have a wide variety of games to keep them entertained.
The difference between Snooker, Pool and Billiards
In the olden days, and for those fortunate enough to live in mansions, the snooker room was an essential part of after dinner entertainment. But not many of us have the space for a full size table any more, let alone a floor strong enough to support one. But a billiards table is the perfect alternative to a full size snooker table, it’s smaller, cheaper to buy and also more fun for more people to play on over the evening due to the simplistic nature of the game. The key difference is that a billiards table has no pockets, pool table and snooker tables have pockets on them. Also, billiards generally uses 3 object balls while snooker uses 21 balls with in a slightly larger table and tighter pockets. Pool is seen as the most common game and utilises a six-pocketed table with anywhere between 8 to 16 balls.
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Of course, in a well-equipped games room you’re also going to have some other entertainment too like a darts board, a ping pong table, table football and maybe even a retro arcade game or two but here we’re going to concentrate on the billiards table and how to choose the ideal one for your needs.
One aspect of having a billiards table in your games room is that, with a little ingenuity, it can also be converted into a table for other games too – for example some table owners have been known to accommodate a game of craps. Having the opportunity to gamble with friends while using an official poker/blackjack table is a distant dream for many. But if you are privileged enough to have the space and money required then you can turn your hand to a bit of gambling when you are tired of potting – but before you challenge your mates to a game of blackjack it could be well worth getting in a little practice and where better to start than at 888casino, the market leading online gaming company provide a fantastic facility to play online blackjack. After all, it may be a games room but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also be playing to win.
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Selecting the right Billiards table for you
The first thing to consider is your budget because this is the main element that is going to dictate your choice. Costing around £350, the cheapest tables are reasonably lightweight – another important consideration if you’re not planning to have your games room on the ground floor – with an MDF base. While this is fine for occasional play this will tend to warp over time, especially if it’s not kept in completely dry conditions, for example if it’s your garage or shed that you’ve converted into a games room.
Mid-range tables have slate beds which make them more robust with a smoother and truer playing surface. These can cost anywhere between £600 and £1500 and are generally the type of table that you find in pubs and clubs. They also come in a range of wood finishes and you can even specify the colour of the cloth that you’d like – maybe to fit in with the overall décor of the room. So the key difference is the overall quality and price, MDF tables are chasing a price point, they tend to use slightly cheaper materials so you don't generally get quite as good a cushion response as you would get on a slate bed table, and also the cloth they use is slightly different.
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The difference between one piece slate tables and three piece slate tables
If you’re really planning to splash out on a table then a professional-style one will set you back £2,000 or above. These three piece slate tables are the only ones that can be made perfectly level, so that the balls roll dead straight. As well as a superb level of construction these will also offer you a huge range of finishes and cloth colours to choose from and will give many, many years of pleasure. The slate for these tables is mined out of the ground, cut into 3 pieces, sanded until it is flat and then backed on to a wooden frame. However, with a three piece slate bed table, you can't move the table around. They generally weigh around 250 kilograms. One piece slate bed tables are in most cases coin operated. These tables are durable, cheap to fix and easy to move. However, one piece slate tables are not totally flat.
But with an MDF table, expect this to be more of a fun table, it's got the advantage of being lightweight. It can be moved around. It could be packed down, but just watch out for the fact that you won't get quite the same play response as you would from a slate bed table you've played in the pubs.
