The Hustler. The Color Of Money. Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. Smoky rooms, straight whiskey. The green felt, the low-hanging tiffany lamp, the clack of cue ball against solids and stripes . . . pool is a war of nerves, an obstacle course of geometery versus hand-eye coordination, and much more. Don’t you want all this in the comfort of your own home? Every great rec room, man bar, or basement bachelor pad needs a pool table. With so many vendors and choices out there, where do you start? Do you need a solid wood table with tournament slate? Or will a veneer-n-felt job do the trick? How much room do you need for a great table? Your burning questions will all be answered after the jump.

Buying a pool table isn’t as easy as it looks. For starters, you need room. It’s a simple question of real estate, and you’ll need to whip out the measuring tape. Measuring factors include:

• Size of the rec room
• Size of the table itself
• Length of the pool cue

There are a wide range of pool table sizes:

• 3 1/2 x 7
• 5 x 10
• 6 x 12

These aren’t the only sizes, but do represent average smallest, largest, and one decent in-between size. Your pool cue lengths range from the stubby 36-incher up to the long, tall 57-inch models. Bottom line, you need as much clearance as possible for a comfortable shot between your pool cue and the wall. Don’t buy a massive table for a tiny room unless you want to do all your shooting standing on the table popping the cue ball from the top.

What kind of construction should your pool table have? Some manufacturers pride themselves on making tables from solid woods. You can get away with a wood veneer if the table is constructed soundly, but most table makers advise against buying discount tables from China and elsewhere. Given China’s record on the lead paint issue, we tend to agree. Don’t forget that wood veneers tend to have a venting period where formaldahye gas from glues and varnishes will stink up your rec room. You may experience venting from a solid table, too–but we guess it won’t be as bad as those nasty cheapo jobs.

Slate is also very important.

• Italian slate is excellent.
• Brazilian slate is even better.
• Slate should be screwed to the table.
• Beware a table that goes on the cheap with the slate and uses wood to pad out the playing surface. Wood backing for slate is common in good tables, but lousy tables cheat you on the slate and use more wood to make up the difference.

You don’t need a lot of elaborate carving or fancy woodwork on the legs where nobody will see it anyway. Go for a simple style unless you want to spend a LOT more than you need to actually play the game at home.

Don’t skimp on delivery and install service– you should absolutely pay for an experienced pro to move your table and set it up. If the company has a delivery service, pay the money. It’s very important not to try to deal with one of these all by yourself as they can weigh nearly one thousand pounds. Don’t install one of these on a surface that isn’t sturdy enough to handle the weight. A nice concrete floor is best, but if your wood floors are solid and dependable, you should be fine. When in doubt, hire a contractor and get some expert advice. You’ll be glad you did.

The final word here–expect to pay between $2,000 and 10K for a quality table. Some sources say the actual cost will fall about dead in the middle of the two figures, but you might find a deal…you never know! Good luck, and when you get your table space tricked out, be sure to send us an image or two and let us know how your purchasing experience went!

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