Ever fancied bringing a bit of pub entertainment home? With a pool table at home you can host pool tournaments and create memorable social events. Friends gather, drinks circulate and friendly banter flows during these perfect evenings at home. Here’s everything we can think of to help you get your Home Pool Tournament Derby (HPTD) Series off the ground.
Space Considerations
Your pool table needs room. The table requires sufficient space for strokes on all sides of its perimeter. A standard, 7ft UK pool table needs 15 ft by 12 ft (4.5m x 3.5m) of floor space. If space is limited, you can choose from a smaller table or shorter cues.
Lighting matters too. You don’t want to be squinting across the felt!. A hanging light at 80cm above the table surface creates the perfect illumination. The lighting fixture should extend its beam across the entire pool playing surface.
Choosing Your Table
Pool tables come in various sizes. British players typically select 6ft or 7ft pool tables for their homes instead of the larger American 8ft or 9ft options. You’ll have some options within those:
Convertible pool dining tables serve as an excellent space-saving solution for tight areas. The table operates as a regular dining surface that can converting into a pool playing area. The playing surface is just as good as a regular pool table, the main difference is the slimmer body (to fit your legs under) and the included matching hardwood tops.
Slate bed tables with proper construction represent the ultimate standard in pool tables. The weight and permanence of these tables come with an unmatched playing experience. Quality pool tables will cost you more than £1000. At Home Pool Tables our indoor tables are all slate bed.
Quality cloth makes a difference. Nylon-wool blends deliver acceptable playing performance while maintaining affordable pricing. They’re also a bit more resistant to damage which might be a factor if you have some unruly friends.
Equipment Checklist
Start with decent cues. A budget of £30 to £50 will secure you reliable cues that work well for home games. Have at least four available. Purchase additional cue tips together with chalk and a proper triangle rack. A wall-mounted cue rack both organizes equipment and adds an elegant touch to the room. Of course, you might not want to mount to the wall. We have a range of free-standing cue stands that come in many styles. Our favourite are the 8 Ball stands – they inject some fun and come in a number of different colours.
Regular cleaning of balls helps prevent damage to the cloth surface. Special ball cleaners exist but you can clean balls effectively with a soft cloth and warm soapy water – just be careful to thoroughly dry them.
Tournament Structure
A tournament with 4+ players functions effectively for home events. You could run:
Knockout format: Single elimination. An 8-man knockout tournament follows four preliminary matches before advancing to two semifinal rounds and concluding with a final match. The tournament moves fast but it ends early for half of your participants. A double elimination bracket where each player gets to lose twice can help with this – and can add some drama with someone making a deep run from the loser’s side of the bracket.
Round robin format: Each player to compete against all others. This structure is very inclusive but can run quite long when there are more than six participants. With 8 people that would mean each player plays 7 games for a total of 28 games. Winner is decided by standings which can remove some excitement if there’s a wide disparity in skill.
Now you can see why a round robin can run so long; at 28 games compared to 7 in a single elimination bracket. It can be a little tricky to plan but it’s worth looking at a Swiss-system tournament if you have more than 6 players. It finds a balance between round robin and elimination brackets that keeps the tension of an elimination bracket and the inclusivity of the round robin without running too long.
Food and Drink
Position all drink tables at a distance from the pool table area. The combination of spilled pints and pool tables leads to disastrous results.
Finger food works best. Things you can eat with one hand between shots:
- Sausage rolls
- Mini pizzas
- Cheese board
- Crisps and dips
Technical Tips
Levelness matters enormously. Adjust your table feet using a spirit level until you achieve perfect levelness. When you buy a pool table from us our expert fitters will ensure a perfectly level playing surface when they install it for you.
The expansion and contraction of slate and cloth due to radiators and sunlight exposure causes tables to develop uneven playing surfaces so try not to subject them to prolonged exposure.
A small brush should always be available to maintain the cloth. Regular surface brushing right after each frame helps maintain optimal playing conditions.
Making It Special
Trophies add a memorable touch. A simple joke trophy from a pound shop will create enough competition for players to strive for victory.
Design a music playlist which provides the perfect mix of ambiance and bangers without interrupting players during their breaks.
Introduce special ‘house rules’ that will make your tournament stand out from others. Maybe the losing team purchase drinks for the next round while the winning team gets to establish a new rule for the upcoming match.
Starting Traditions
Home pool tournaments transform into recurring events that players look forward to. A traveling trophy serves as the permanent prize which stays with the winner until the following tournament begins.
Take photos of winners and create a Wall of Champions to display in your games room.
Pool tournaments bring people together. The perfect moments of friendly competition and skill building and shared experiences that we remember long after the final black ball is sunk. Give it a go. Transform your home into the top weekend hangout spot for your friends.
