Snooker Table

The game Snooker was invented by some bored British officers who were stationed in India during the British Raj. Snooker is said to be developed from Russian Billiards. After the invention of the game it quickly gained popularity and now it is followed by England and many commonwealth nations. Before Snooker Billiards was a popular game but, one game of Billiards can last up to many hours so it was obvious that the short form of the game will exceed. This game is played on a table known as Snooker Table. The Billiard table designed for the game Snooker is known as Snooker Table.

The Snooker Table is approximately 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. Therefore it is huge to accommodate in a small place and you need good room to play freely. The Table consists of 6 pockets one in each corner and 2 middle pockets. The cushions in the Snooker Table are generally made up of vulcanized rubber. The bed i.e. the surface which is used to play Snooker on has a base layer of slate and is later covered with green baize or bested wool. The thickness of the cloth determines vital factors in the game like speed, accuracy, power, responsiveness of the table spin, etc. Thick cloths are more hard wearing but have drawbacks like slow speed, less accuracy, etc. The nap of the cloth on the table can affect the run on the balls, more accurately on the slower balls. The nap is smooth towards the black spot end but is comparatively rough during the baulk end.

The baulk area is marked with the help of a line 29 inches from the bottom end of the table. On this line a semicircle of radius 11.5 inches is drawn on the centre thus forming a semicircle. In this semicircle the cue ball must be paced while breaking or when the cue ball is potted or shot out of the table. The other vital part of the Snooker Table is the cushions. They provide bounce from the sides of the table. In professional tournaments these cushions are ironed after every match so that they do not affect the flow of the game. The slate which is used in the Snooker Table is divided into 4 to 5 parts which makes it easier to carry as this slate is very heavy. If the slate is transported into a single piece you would need a crane to set it up on the table.

The thickness of the slate also determines the weight of the Snooker Table. The weight of the table is approximately 1000 kg when all the pieces are assembled together. For this purpose the Snooker Table has eight legs so that the weight of the table is distributed evenly around all corners. Quite astonishingly this table can be placed on the normal floorboard as the entire load is distributed among the eight legs which is approximately equivalent to two average men per leg.

About the Author:

Aidan Mullens is the author of this article on Pool Tables. Find more information about Snooker tables here.