The Best Billiard Pool Tables for Every Kind of Home (Including Small Apartments)

Pool, often also referred to as billiards, has long had something of a seedy reputation. Smoke-filled rooms and low-value gambling have long been associated with the game, leading billiard brawls to be frequently featured in movies ranging from Rush Hour to Mean Streets. But there’s nothing uncouth about the game itself — it’s a game of geometry and strategy, making it as interesting to math teachers as it to seasoned players.

If you’re looking to step up your game for the next time you set foot in a pool hall (or you’re looking to avoid pool halls altogether), it can be worth investing in a pool table for your home or game room. A good pool table should be the cornerstone of any serious game room, because pool is the kind of rewarding (and challenging) game that you can always improve upon.

Technically, there is a difference between billiards and pool, and that difference actually impacts the type of table the games are played on. Billiard tables don’t have pockets, and the object is to hit the other player’s balls by bouncing off the sides of the walls. But since traditional Billiards is far less commonly played than pool, it’s not uncommon to hear the two used interchangeably by casual players.

We’ve rounded up some of the best billiard pool tables, including premium, high-quality tables, and some convenient options for small spaces.