Pool Tables - Pool Arrives In The UK

Pool Tables Arrive in the UK

Millions of people play pool at home, in pubs and clubs up and down the country, but when and how did pool become so popular in the UK? Well, let's go back to the beginning. We know because we were there, and we have been involved in the selling and making of Pool Tables for both Home and Coin use since 1969

Despite its long-established presence in the USA, pool only started to gain significant traction in the UK towards the late 1960s. The game first made its way into Europe in the 1950s, thanks to American military bases. Interestingly, snooker was the dominant cue sport in the UK at the time.

In 1968, some enterprising coin machine operators saw an opportunity and started importing American coin-operated pool tables and installing them in pubs that had enough room. Famous names such as Brunswick, US Billiards, and Ebonite burst onto the scene and captured the imagination of the pub players.

The American coin-operated game is played with 2 1/4" object balls (i.e. spots and stripes numbered 1 to 15) and a slightly larger cue ball, 2 3/8", although some pool tables have the same size cue ball with magnets inserted to separate it and return it to the player after a foul shot rather than keeping it on the table like the object balls.

Home tables, of course, have cue balls of the same size as object balls, as all the balls are always available. The pockets are also much larger on American pool tables, and two balls can pass side by side into a pocket, making it an excellent potting game. The other feature of the USA pool tables was the cloth, which was a napless speed cloth for a high-speed game in the early days.

Interestingly, the American game, despite its popularity in pubs, faced two significant challenges. Firstly, the pool tables were large and couldn't fit into many smaller pubs. Secondly, the UK player, influenced by their exposure to snooker, desired a more tactical game, favouring strategy over pure potting.

At this juncture, a French company, Rene Pierre, introduced a smaller ball table with holes in the playing surface and a ring surround, similar to a bagatelle table. These tables were a hit, adding a new skill element. However, they weren't the complete solution. In 1973, the UK produced a pool table with a ball-to-pocket ratio of snooker and proper pockets, a style that has endured to this day and stands as a testament to the UK's unique approach to the game.

The new UK pool tables used a smaller ball than the American game and a different type of cloth. They were covered in wool-napped cloth, which gave the average player more control of the cue ball. This type of cloth still outsells the napless variety, although some players prefer the faster napless cloth (speed cloth).

The balls for the UK coin tables are 2-inch object balls with a 1 7/8" cue ball. This allows the cue ball to fall through a trap door and return to the player after a foul shot, although all balls are locked in at the end of the game when all fifteen object balls have been potted. The pockets are smaller and are only the width of one-and-a-half object balls, hence the extra skill required. A new breed of table was born, and to this day, it is the most famous pub game in the UK and Ireland. It is also very popular in France, Spain, Malta and Morocco.

Throughout the rest of the world, the American game still dominates, but whatever the size of the table or balls, the game goes from strength to strength. So there you have it. We are still here and going strong, so if you have any questions, we will do our best to answer them.