How do you feel about owning a pool table?

November 28, 2008 6:04 PM

Tell me about your pool table...

I'm considering purchasing a pool table in the next year for a new basement I'm finishing. The room isn't huge - 14.5' x 25', but I'm hoping to acomodate a seating area for a TV and a pool table as well, ideally an 8 footer. I'm curious if owners of tables out there feel like it was a good purchase over time, or regrettable. I've got two kids, and would like to teach them something and have fun as well. I've enjoyed the game ever since med school and the crappy tilted mess in our basement way back when, so its always sort of been a dream of mine to have one.

posted by docpops to sports, hobbies, & recreation (15 comments total)

I don't own a pool table, though I wish I did. Several friends of mine do, though, and my observation is that it takes a surprisingly large space to be able to play comfortably. Playing on the tables where you can't take certain shots because the bookcase is too close, or where you have to use special short cues, and so on, really isn't fun once the novelty value wears off. We play sometimes on the one table that has enough room around it; as far as I know, by now the other tables only get used for kids screwing around, or to hold skis all summer.

So I'd suggest chalking out the table's external dimensions on the floor (or better yet, building something with plywood or cardboard on sawhorses), and making sure that you can use the table for real playing, once the other furniture, TV, etc are in the room. Check all the angles, assuming a vigorous back-swing. (And think carefully about TV location -- some people are really good at making the cue ball go flying.)

And if you do this, you get huge cool points for hanging the right kind of lamp over the table -- it's much nicer to have the correct lamp, than to play under regular basement lamps.
posted by Forktine at 6:17 PM on November 28, 2008

We had a pool table for two years in the room in the house that we used for entertaining. Did we use it very much? No. Did it make us look awesome? Yes.

Kids will most likely use it more than the adults, even if you think you'll be using it every night. They will also make up new games using the pool table including the "How Hard Can I Hit My Sibling In The Head With The Pool Ball" game.
posted by thebrokenmuse at 6:31 PM on November 28, 2008

There's currently one sitting in my basement and it hasn't been used since I was in middle school. It is very quick to become something that just ends up collecting more crap on top of it.

You'll need a lot of space around the table, which is a problem in the basement. (There's 2 bookcases, a door, and a fireplace. And a support pole.)
posted by sperose at 6:56 PM on November 28, 2008

We used to have a pool table. The kids played on it all the time. I don't recall anyone ever playing an actual game, though. We should've just gotten a regular table- that's what it ended up being used for.

If you're convinced that you and other adults will use the pool table often enough to make up for all that space lost, then go for it. Otherwise, hold off. Don't buy something like a pool table in the hopes that your kids will use it- teach them to play, see if they really do enjoy it, then get the table.
posted by Baethan at 7:33 PM on November 28, 2008

We got a nice pool table years ago from some friends who were retiring and downsizing. We've never regretted it; it's just a touch too big for the room, but we got some shorter cues and they work fine (and most people don't even notice they're shorter). It's great for parties - there's always something to do if people come over and get a little goofy. My favorite part, though, is that there's a ping pong table that goes on top; I LOVE ping pong! And it's never hard to convince guests to try a friendly game. So yes, I'd definitely reccomend owning a pool table.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 7:40 PM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Space can really be a deciding factor.

When I was 11, my buddies and I would drop by the community centre after school everyday to play a couple rounds and generally goof off around the pool table.

One friend's parents apparently noticed this and bought a table for the basement.

That friend's house and his parents were pure awesome for about 2 weeks. Then we went back to the community centre.

While there was just enough room for all but a couple of angles, there wasn't room for enough benches or chairs.
posted by thisisnotbruce at 7:50 PM on November 28, 2008

My grandparents gave us a pool table when I was about 12. Kids love pool tables, but instead of regulation billiards or 8-ball, they all seem to know a universal game that involves standing at opposite ends of the table and rolling the balls as fast as possible. Each side grabs for loose balls until someone's finger gets smashed between an incoming ball and the bumper. The first team to cry loses.

I played a few regulation games as I grew older, but mostly the pool table dominated our basement and served as a target for spilled Cokes.
posted by Andy's Gross Wart at 8:30 PM on November 28, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

My parents bought a pool table when my brother and I were in college and high school, respectively, and my sister was already married and out of the house and such.

When I was at home, whether it be alone, with my girlfriend, or friends, the pool table was a great piece of entertainment, and yes it does take a lot of space.

However, after a few years, and as my brother was already out of college, and I was at college, it quickly became just a piece of furniture - not to store things on (though flat surface disease is easily contracted by a pool table), not to sit on, just, a thing in the house.

I imagine my parents have had the table for close to 10 years now, and I kinda think they regret buying it.

But ya know, I'm really glad I had it to play on, and I appreciate they went through the trouble of buying one to allow us to have.

It's a great thing to play with your kids, and if they can become reasonably good at pool, it's a perfect skill to have when they get in college, whether it be to win money off of strangers, their friends, or impress a date.
posted by mrhaydel at 8:50 PM on November 28, 2008

Thanks very much for the input and stories. Good to digest.
posted by docpops at 10:13 PM on November 28, 2008

Byrne's Standard Book of Pool & Billiards is hands down the best place to start with anything to do with pool. There's a few sections in there on choosing a good table & cue that are certainly worth the $15 if you're considering dropping the few grand a table is likely to be.

Others pointed out how frequently people underestimate the space you need to play unimpeded, which makes all the difference in the world to the pleasure of the experience. For a 8' table I think you want 20' x 16' of space to play in, so your room is workable but I wouldn't expect to have a sitting area & TV and all in there too.

As for the long-term satisfaction with the purchase, it's going to be directly proportional to how much pool you play over the next few years and inversely proportional to how often you wind up moving in the next few years. The best bet for the first item is going to be to have stable friends in the area who enjoy the game, or consider joining a league. You probably know your own style as well - do you really get into dropping lots of time into what is ultimately, well, a pass-time? If you've ever pursued another game / sport / musical instrument seriously, then you likely know what this realm of your personality looks like.

Your kids may turn out to really enjoy the game, but it's probably long odds - I couldn't condone anyone going to great lengths to direct a child down that path unless it just turned out to be something they fell in love with.

Anyway - personally, I bought a pool table at the exact right point in my life, in a workable room, while having a few friends who were just really into it. We played the shit out of that thing and it certainly approaches the best money I've ever spent on anything ever. I wound up becoming acquaintances with the guy who sold it to me, as he also ran a hall and promoted tournaments and things from time to time. He didn't make much of a secret of it after the fact that 90+% of the pool tables he sold wound up being covered over and used as a clumsy stand-in for a table table. So realize that whatever you buy is centuries-old technology competing with $200 XBoxes in 2008. And that earlier thing about never moving, that's totally true too.
posted by Bokononist at 12:52 AM on November 29, 2008

I have a very crappy pool table downstairs. My (young) children love it. It's also an excellent way to get a party started. If you have friends who are not particularly outgoing it's pretty easy to get them playing a game (whether they are good at it or not) and so you can avoid the dullard at the dinner table syndrome by giving them something to do. Yes, you need to have a space that will enable you to actually make a game possible, but it doesn't have to be professional quality. You can find games to play on your table such as kelly pool which will make it lots of fun for everyone. If you've got the space for one I'd recommend it.
posted by h00py at 4:54 AM on November 29, 2008

I have a 7-footer in my basement, with short-ish cues for the shots where the back wall is just a smidge too close. We use it frequently when Mrs Vertayne and I are having a few drinks after the kiddies are in bed. Also when entertaining. My kids are also of the age where they just love to roll the balls and smash them into their fingers too. I've had it for 7 or 8 years now, and don't regret it for a second.

As for size/space requirements, there's a handy chart here.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 6:40 AM on November 29, 2008

Just wanted to mention also that as a kid, I saw the wonderful cartoon Donald in Mathmagic Land, and this part had nerdy little me intrigued by pool even before I got a chance to try it. So maybe you can show it to your kids to pique their interest.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 9:56 AM on November 29, 2008

We've had a pool table for about 30 years. The amount of time it's been used as a craft table vastly outstrips the time spent used as a pool table. I think the cues were used more for lightsaber fights than poking balls. And we had 6 kids in the house. Now it's used as storage space. Other uses over the years include kids Thanksgiving dinner table (once, see stains near the corner pocket.) Hotwheels high speed raceway, Dungeons and Dragons, using it as a foundation for a castle, and A Large Flat Surface That You're Not Allowed To Do Anything On Because You'll Ruin The Felt. (Note that this last designation lasted only about the first 6 months.)

Before its current role it was in a rather large room with at least 5 feet of space around it in every direction. There are still marks on all of the walls and the ceiling (!!!) from the back ends of the cues, and a few blue marks from the front ends. In fact we had to replace the ceiling light cover a few times. I still claim to not know how that happened.

I wouldn't put a TV within 12 feet of it. It's amazing how far a pool ball can travel beyond the table. And what it can do to glass before it comes to a rest. (I am happy to report that the fish survived.)

Oh, and they have virtually no resale value. They're impossibly big and heavy to move and as noted by all the other commentors, there is no shortage of unwanted pool tables out there.

But if you've got the money and a largish room that you don't intend to use much ever again, go for it!
posted by Ookseer at 1:57 PM on November 29, 2008

We had a pool table in my basement when I was a kid, and my Dad and I played every night. Then we moved to a house with a significantly smaller basement. The angles were terrible, and it made it no fun to play. We used it as a laundry table for several years before giving it away to some friends with a bigger space.

If you have the space, I say totally go for it. Some of my fondest childhood memories are my nightly pool games with Pops. If you try to cram too much into the room though, you'll probably regret it.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 2:53 PM on November 29, 2008