Do I really NEED a $10k table?

M

mrpiper

Registered
We have moved and the distance made transport of my 24 year old cheap furniture table more than it was worth so I am in the market for an 8ft table for my new space. Of course I would LOVE to get a top tier brand, but it's double or more the cost of the lower end "Billiard Store" tables. I am not and will never be a pro level player. Fargo just over 400. Love the game and league play, but want a good value for a home table that mostly only I ever touch.

Thoughts? Thanks for the honest recommendations.
 
I look at it like this.
If you have the space to own a table long term, and pool is something you plan on doing til you die, will you regret spending more on a table that you won't ever have a complaint about? I doubt it. If you're serious about pool, even if you're not amazing, it might be worth spoiling yourself, if you can afford it of course.

I've got friends with furniture tables and older beat up tables, and they're fine, you can play on them I guess, but they leave a lot to be desired. If I had one of those in my house, I wouldn't play on it much.

You also can get some realllllyyyy good tables for not a lot of guap. I've seen GC3s and 4s go for 1.5-2k. Buy one of those and stick a couple more thousand into re-felt and rubber and you'll never regret that.
 
8 Ft Diamond, resale value will be close to what you paid for it, unless you can fit in a 9 footer. If you can afford it without issues that is.
And having a table just for you is selfish, invite friends over, buy them beer and ribs. I recently lowered by pool buddy rental rates to $1,000 on call 10 times a year to come play with you.
 
It depends lol how serious are you about the game I guess. I know a lot of pool players who have a table and never play at home.. I play at home every day for about 2 hours unless I have leagues or a tournament so my diamond and the money I invested in my garage converting it was worth every penny.
 
commercial gives you a table that will better stay level, bank consistently, and pockets that aren’t wonky… as long as it’s set up by a good mechanic.

Every furniture table I’ve ever played on, after about 45 minutes the fun is pretty much gone on the session. Every rail and pocket played different. Not a lot, but noticeable. After a year, they start rolling off.

It’s almost like comparing a Land Cruiser to an Xterra.
 
There was a thread up recently about someone who found a good, used table and a lot of good stuff in there, IMO. I suppose it all depends on where you live and how far you are willing to go/pay someone to move for a quality used table. They are out there - then you need to have someone you trust potentially evaluate it and/or install and setup up for you. Sounds like you want a nice 8 foot home table, nothing wrong with that. I'd guess the table we first got when I was around 12/13 wouldn't pass muster around here for a good pool table, and would get laughed at (the rails attached via screws that were countersunk and went in from the top and round plastic inserts over them for markers that weren't flush), but it was a reliable 8 foot table and stayed level and was going strong many, many years later when it stayed in the home my parents left for a different home with an older Brunswick Anniversary in the basement, which has been my table for many years - so I got lucky, lol, but played 100s and 100s of hours on the original table and enjoyed it.

Nothing wrong with high standards, but I do believe there are a ton of pretty accomplished players on here and experienced players and I think that skews the advice a bit in terms of what would work for someone looking for something that they can afford and would enjoy at home.

I have no experience with Brunswick Black Wolf tables - are they a GC? No. Are they the same quality materials throughout the frame and so forth? No. Would you likely get years of good play on it for as long as you live? I'd bet you would - I'd guess people enjoy them.

There's a world of tables out there that aren't "furniture" but aren't Diamond Pro Ams or GCs.

I'd still advocate finding the highest quality used table you can find consistent with your budget and you may be really surprised how nice of an old and high quality table you can find (would't doubt you'd find one for $5k or less, or a good used Diamond someone needs to unload that won't be commanding near original price), but if the budget allows a next level "down" commercial or near commercial grade table that's brand spanking new, why not?
 
RidgeRaider said:
I look at it like this.
If you have the space to own a table long term, and pool is something you plan on doing til you die, will you regret spending more on a table that you won't ever have a complaint about? I doubt it. If you're serious about pool, even if you're not amazing, it might be worth spoiling yourself, if you can afford it of course.

I've got friends with furniture tables and older beat up tables, and they're fine, you can play on them I guess, but they leave a lot to be desired. If I had one of those in my house, I wouldn't play on it much.

You also can get some realllllyyyy good tables for not a lot of guap. I've seen GC3s and 4s go for 1.5-2k. Buy one of those and stick a couple more thousand into re-felt and rubber and you'll never regret that.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your thoughts. As I have not bought a table in 24 years, where are better places to search for used?
 
hang-the-9 said:
8 Ft Diamond, resale value will be close to what you paid for it, unless you can fit in a 9 footer. If you can afford it without issues that is.
And having a table just for you is selfish, invite friends over, buy them beer and ribs. I recently lowered by pool buddy rental rates to $1,000 on call 10 times a year to come play with you.
Click to expand...
This ^

I bought an 8 foot diamond Pro Am 5 years ago and could easily sell it for what I paid. Nowhere near $10K and it will outlive all of us with proper maintenance. You can call Diamond directly and they can refer you to an authorized dealer in your area.

-dj
 
hang-the-9 said:
8 Ft Diamond, resale value will be close to what you paid for it, unless you can fit in a 9 footer. If you can afford it without issues that is.
And having a table just for you is selfish, invite friends over, buy them beer and ribs. I recently lowered by pool buddy rental rates to $1,000 on call 10 times a year to come play with you.
Click to expand...
I don't know why anyone would bother with an 8 foot table. If you almost always play on barbox diamonds, get a 7 foot diamond. If you have room and like the challenge or want to be serious about the game get a 9 foot. If a 9 foot won't fit, get a 7 foot. You're almost never going to see an 8 foot outside of your home.

Brunswick used to have mid size gold crowns. They were half way between an 8 foot and a 9 foot.
 
When the NUMB SKILLS decide to buy Diamond for our Pool Room, they sold off the GC II's & III's for $250.00 EACH.

I am sure those who got one of those GC's were HAPPY.
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
When the NUMB SKILLS decide to buy Diamond for our Pool Room, they sold off the GC II's & III's for $250.00 EACH.

I am sure those who got one of those GC's were HAPPY.
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Don't know that I've seen them that cheap, but $500 was common with pool halls "upgrading" to diamonds. Instead of spending 75K to "upgrade" they should've just paid Ernesto to come setup the GC's right. edit: IMO.
 
Jaden said:
I don't know why anyone would bother with an 8 foot table. If you almost always play on barbox diamonds, get a 7 foot diamond. If you have room and like the challenge or want to be serious about the game get a 9 foot. If a 9 foot won't fit, get a 7 foot. You're almost never going to see an 8 foot outside of your home.

Brunswick used to have mid size gold crowns. They were half way between an 8 foot and a 9 foot.
Click to expand...

Far and away the most common size for home tables when I was growing up - you don't have to have a 9 foot table to be "serious" about the game - they're popular because of fit and price and people with home tables weren't going to pool halls, if they even still had one, they were playing . . . . at home.

My Anniversary is the 8 foot "pro" or oversized - love it, but I wouldn't hesitate to get an 8 foot table if it was needed for fit. Even when I played on bar tables, if I had a choice I wasn't playing on 7 foot tables otherwise - but sure, if someone plays a lot of league pool on a 7 footer and that's about it, no doubt that is a great option.
 
you can find an olhausen table fairly cheaply which fit well in any house. plus are good quality and play like a real pool room table with top rails and construction. they do rattle balls and many dont recommend them because of that.
 
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