Let us set a scene for you: You’ve got brand-new pool table and you’ve got friends to play billiards with. One problem though… you have no idea how to set up the balls. Well set the drink down — but not on the pool table; we wouldn’t want to ruin the cloth — because we’ll let you in on how to rack a pool table correctly.

How to Rack a Standard 8-Ball Game

Basic rules: Eight ball is played with fifteen numbered object balls and the cue ball. The shooter’s group of seven balls (one through seven or nine through fifteen) must all be off the table before the attempt to pocket the eight ball to win. Shots are called.

1. Grab the rack and set it down on the pool table. It’s also called a triangle. (Because it’s in the shape of a triangle. Go figure.)
2. Get a ball and put it at the tip of the rack. Or the apex, if you want to get technical.
3. Make sure the 8-ball is in the center of the rack. Middle of the third row. It’s the first ball directly below the apex ball.
4. Put a stripe and a solid at the bottom corners. It doesn’t matter which goes where, as long as you’ve got one of both.
5. Place all the other balls at random. As long as you follow rules 3 and 4, all other balls can be in random fashion. Make sure not to put it in any intentional pattern.
6. The balls need to be racked as tightly as possible. It’ll break better this way.
7. The apex ball goes on the foot spot. It’s the spot on the pool table designated to guide the positioning of the rack.

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Selecting a pool table that’s ideal for your home requires planning and measuring. A table perfect for one person’s man cave may not look as great in your game room, and vice versa. If you have a family, there are specific qualities you have to think about, so you can pick out a product that will last through some roughhousing and beatings.

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It’s crucial to know how to measure your pool table when planning out the space you’ll need for the room it’ll be in or if you’re planning on purchasing a pool table cover. If you’re trying to re-felt your table, you’ll need to know how much material to buy, and if you’re using longer cues, you might need to allocate more space for your table.

To prevent you from accidentally measuring from the wrong end of the table, have GameTablesOnline guide you through your planning so you can get it right on your very first try.

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Pool slate provides the playing surface you need to fully enjoy a game of pool, but it’s a piece of the table you need to keep in mind to avoid constant damage and repair. The material warps when its weight eventually collapses on itself, but you can take precautions to prevent slate from warping.

While it’s inevitable cue balls will be dropped onto the table, slate in actuality can endure a lot, and re-leveling the table or consulting your local billiard shop can solve any warps.

7.5′ Reno Billiard Table with Play Pack

What is Pool Slate?

Pool table slate is a stone slab underneath the felt of a pool table. It is largely a waterproof material, and provides cue balls with a frictionless roll. Continue reading →

What is Pool Table Felt?

The special material that covers the playing area of a pool table is known as billiard cloth, or felt. Billiard cloth is typically green, to represent the grass of the lawns that billiards has evolved from, and made most often from woven wool or wool and nylon.

When installing a new pool table or re-felting the one in your game room, it’s important to know what type of cloth will be on the table. Keep in mind that while billiard cloth has many names besides pool table felt, such as a pool table cover or a green, they are all the same product.

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Why do You Chalk our Pool Cues?

If you’ve ever played or watched a game of pool, you might notice a small cube of blue chalk for your cues. You might rub the chalk onto the tip of your cue, but do you actually know how to use it or what it’s for? If not, let’s change that, and teach you how to chalk your cue stick properly.

What does chalk do?

Chalking your cue stick will increase friction between the tip and cue ball during impact. The tip of a cue stick is typically smooth, and so is the cue ball. During in non-center hits, chalking will help prevent and altogether avoid slipping between the cue tip and struck ball.

Billiard Accessory Kit – $199.00 with free shipping

READ: 3 Drills to Keep Your Cue Stick Level
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What is slate?

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. – via Wikipedia

Slate is a dense playfield material with a low water absorption index (0.4%) making it nearly waterproof. Moisture is important in the wear on a table overtime but it’s also important during the installation process. Slate can crack if it is too dry when tightening down screws.
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What’s the difference between 3 piece slate and a 1 piece slate pool table?
One piece slate tables are built using a single piece of slate while a three piece slate table is divided into three sections. Effectively, the one piece slate table doesn’t have any seams while the three piece slate table has two seams. When leveled properly by a professional installer, the more common 3 piece slate tables are better than their one piece counterparts.

One Piece Slate Tables

Brand new one piece slate tables don’t have any seams to create uneven surfaces that affect the playing surface. You don’t have to worry about the table getting jostled and the seams coming out of alignment.

While this is true, it is also very important to have durable slate because one piece slate can also become uneven due to warping or sag in the middle over time due to the weight. Natural high or low spots in one piece slate can be very hard to remove no matter how much shimming you do, especially on larger tables.

9′ Imperial Duke One Piece Slate Pool Table – $3570.00

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There are a few different types of pool (8 ball, 9 ball, etc.) 8 ball is the most common so we’ll stick that for this instructional. The game starts with a “break” and players try to hit all of their assigned balls into pockets using the cue ball (the white ball). All of the balls must be hit into the pockets before the 8 ball is hit into a pocket. The first person to do this is the winner!

GameTablesOnline.com is an Official Program Partner of the 2015 BEF Junior State Championships where we support youth learning to play pool at a young age. Check out their site if you’re interested in signing up! BilliardEducation.org

How to Play Pool for Beginners

Here’s the short version with details below:

1. Start by racking the balls
2. One person “breaks” the rack to start the game.
3. Each player tries to hit each of their balls into a pocket.
4. The person who sinks the 8 ball last is the winner.

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