British Pool Tables

English pool tables come in 6ft and 7ft sizes, with the tournament size being 7ft. All these tables are slate pool tables with slate bed thickness from 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 inches. English pool grew out of the introduction of small pool tables into pubs and clubs during the 60's to attract customers into those establishments. These pub pool tables have grown enormously in popularity and spawned a tournament sport in its own right, with professional players. Not as big as snooker tournaments yet, but growing all the time. It is also more popular with women, haven't you heard of Alison Fisher? She is a superstar on both sides of the Atlantic.

The most common game in the UK is eight ball pool, with a white cue ball and fifteen object balls - consisting of:-

"Colours" being a group of seven red balls (or balls numbered 1-7) and a group of seven yellow balls (or balls numbered 9-15). The Eight-Ball - being a black ball marked with a number 8.

The object of the game is to pocket all the balls of one colour, and then the eight ball to win the game.

The game is regulated by the EPA (English Pool Association) which organise regional and national tournaments in the UK.

Sky TV is televising the games these days, and I'm sure before long we will have household names for English pool as well as Snooker.