Pool Table Room Size Calculator

The pool table room size calculator does precisely what the name promises: it lets you calculate how big of a room for the pool table you need.

You grew up playing pool in a bar, pub, pool hall, or your local bowling alley, and now finally, you have the space to bring this joy to your home. You can't wait to impress your friends with your pool skills and trick shots you learned on the weekday evenings. But you're not sure: what size is a pool table? What pool table sizes are there even? And which type of pool table to get? English or American? 6, 7, 8, or even 9 ft? Don't worry, the pool table room size calculator will give you an overview of the most popular pool games and tables, and tells you how big of a room you need for a pool table.

The World Pool-Billiard Association describes numerous pool games, but by far the most popular ones are 8-ball and 9-ball. These games are played by millions worldwide in bars and pubs, pool halls, and private homes, applying the physics rules of impulse and conversation of momentum to impress their friends and maybe catch the attention of their person of desire. Let's take a closer look at how these games work:

• 8-ball is played with 15 balls, arranged in a triangle shape, with the triangle's tip pointing towards the cue ball. In the UK, the game is usually played with seven red and seven yellow balls, while in the rest of the world, the American version of spots and stripes is more common. Both methods include a black ball. The aim of the game is to pot all the balls of one color and then the black ball to win the game. Further information and the full set of rules can be found via the World Eightball Pool Federation. Blackball is an 8-ball variation with slight changes in rules.

• 9-ball is a pool version played with nine balls, labeled with the numbers 1 to 9. Usually, the spots and stripes balls are used for this game. The balls are placed in a diamond. The aim of the game is to run balls through from 1 to 9 in numerical order, and the player who pots the 9-ball wins.

• Further variations include 10-ball, a game similar to 9-ball, but with ten balls, and 14.1, also called continuous, racked, or straight pool. This pool game is played with the spots and stripes balls numbered from 1 to 15. Each potted ball equals 1 point, and as soon as only one ball is left on the table, the other 14 are returned and racked again, and the game continued until one player reaches the winning number of 100 points.

In general, every pool game can be played on every pool table. Nevertheless, there are differences between pool table sizes and types, which might make your own private pool experience even better. So what size is a pool table?

As an informational upfront: most of the measures in this article will be given in feet and inches. If you are unfamiliar with those, you can transform the values into the metric system with the length converter. So let's get started.

There are two types of pool tables: the English one is predominantly in use in the UK, while the American one is played everywhere else in the world:

• English: pool on this table is played with a 1 7/8 inch, 96 gram cue ball and 2 inch, 118 gram object balls. Pool is either played with reds and yellows or spots and stripes. The pocket jaws are curved. The table cloth is woolen and a bit slower compared to the American table. And what size is an English pool table? The room dimensions needed for the pool table varies with the table size and depends on the location:

• 6 ft tables are the standard size pool tables used in pubs that do not have much space. It is a slightly smaller alternative, which provides the same amount of joy. Dimensions are 6' x 3'.
• 7 ft is the standard pool table size for tournaments (7' x 3.5'). It is also the most common size in pubs and bars.
• 8 ft pool tables (8' x 4') were introduced for TV tournament finals only because the visibility is better for viewers.

• American: the American pool balls, almost always spots and stripes, are all 2 1/4 inches in size and 169 grams in weight, and thereby significantly bigger and heavier than the English ones. The table's pockets have straight and slightly angled jaws. Simonis cloth is used, which provides a faster and smoother game than on the English table. Concerning the pool table room dimensions, as almost always, American means a bit bigger than the rest of the world:

• 7 ft pool tables are often used in places where the room dimensions do not allow for a bigger one, for example in bars in the US and the rest of the world, or in American pool places in the UK, e.g., bowling alleys. 7 foot pool table dimensions are 7' x 3.5'.
• 8 ft is a prevalent measure, in bars and at home, for those locations with enough space.
• 9 ft is the standard pool table size for official tournaments (9' x 4.5'). Outside this setting, they can barely be found.

The UK game room retailer Home Leisure Direct has a beautiful video outlining the differences between English and American pool tables and the required room dimensions.

Since balls and pockets size will always stay the same for all table sizes for either English or American tables, the game generally becomes slightly easier with a smaller table. But this doesn't mean that the game won't still be challenging and fun on a 6 or 7 ft table.

The pool table is only one element that defines how big of a room you need for a pool table. Now that we know what size a pool table is, we can take a look at the second element defining the room size needed: the cue.

The cue is your most crucial billiard equipment. It connects you as the player to the balls on the table. Therefore, you will want to choose the perfect cue to allow you to bring your A-game to the table. English cues are traditionally made from ash wood and have a 9 mm tip, narrower than the American 13 mm tip cues made from maple wood.

Surprisingly, although there are numerous table sizes for both English and American pool tables, the standard cue length is 58 inches for all models. This measure accommodates the needs of the average adult. But there are a few alternative cue lengths on offer:

• 36 inches: size for young kids. Consider that they might not reach a regular height pool table, though.
• 48 inches: a perfect compromise size, playable for adults as well as older children. Also an interesting alternative for tight spaces.
• 52 inches: a shorter pool cue length, recommended for adults under 5 ft or home use, if the standard size exceeds the available space.
• 58 inches: standard English and American pool cue length. Best performance for average-height adults.
• 61 inches: oversized cue for adults over 6' 2".

Now we know the size of the pool table and the size of the cue. But how do we know how big the room has to be to play billiard in it comfortably, without knocking over grandma's valuable inherited vase on the sideboard in the corner? After all, this should be the central question asked in a pool table room size calculator.

There is a relatively simple rule on how to calculate the needed space for a specific pool table. As shown in the picture above, the table has to be approachable with the cue from every side and angle. And as a rule of thumb, a cue should have five additional inches of space to operate it correctly, even if the cue ball sits right at the rail:

room_length = table_length + 2 * cue_length + 2 * 5 inches

room_width = table_width + 2 * cue_length + 2 * 5 inches

These are, of course, the minimum dimensions your room has to have to accommodate this table. A bigger room in any dimension is always better and more comfortable.

We learned a lot about the different pool games, English vs. American tables, and pool cues lengths. So let's finally calculate how much space we need for our pool table.

For example, let us assume that we go to the pub with our friends every week and play 8-ball on a 7-foot English table with 58-inch cues. We decided that we want to turn the old cellar into a little party room and use this opportunity to put a pool table in there to practice some shots in the evenings. But how much space do we need for this?

1. Choose the type of pool table from the drop-down menu. In our case, that's an English 7-foot pool table with the dimensions 7' x 3.5'.
2. Choose your preferred cue. We choose a 58-inch one.
3. The calculator gives the result that the pool table's room has to be at least 17.5' long and 14' wide.

And there you have it! That's how you calculate the space you need for the pool table of your dreams with the pool table room size calculator.