Guide
Pool Table Felt: What to Buy and When to Replace It
It is not felt, it is cloth, and the difference between the two types you can buy changes how the table plays more than most people expect.
How these picks were made: from published manufacturer specifications, governing-body standards and the room arithmetic - not from first-hand use. We have not played on these tables. Read the method.
Billiard cloth is not felt. Felt is matted; billiard cloth is woven, and the weave is the whole story. There are two kinds and they are not interchangeable.
Worsted vs woolen
Worsted cloth is spun from long, combed fibers and woven tightly, so the surface is smooth with no raised nap. A ball on worsted rolls in the direction you hit it, travels further for the same stroke, and behaves identically in both directions along the table. It is what tournaments use.
Woolen cloth is a blend with shorter fibers and a raised nap. The nap has a direction - run your hand along the table and you can feel it - and a ball rolling against the nap behaves slightly differently from one rolling with it. The table is slower and more forgiving, which for a family table is arguably a feature.
| Worsted | Woolen blend | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Smooth, no nap | Raised nap with a direction |
| Table speed | Fast | Slower |
| Directional roll | None | Slight, along the nap |
| Lifespan under the same use | Longer | Shorter - pills and naps up |
| Cost | Several times higher | Entry level |
| Best for | Practice, league, serious play | Family tables, garages, kids |
What the numbers mean
Cloth is sold by weight, usually in ounces per square yard, and the figure in a product name often refers to it. Lighter cloth is generally faster and thinner; heavier cloth is more durable. On a home table the difference between adjacent weights is far smaller than the difference between worsted and woolen, so do not agonize over it - choose the type first.
Color: the one practical consideration
Traditional green exists because it gives the best contrast against every ball color under warm light, and that has not stopped being true. Blue is the common tournament alternative and works well. Dark colors - black, burgundy, deep gray - look excellent in a room and make the dark-numbered balls genuinely harder to pick out, especially under the warm lighting most game rooms use.
If you are set on a dark cloth, pair it with a light fixture in the 3500 to 4000 K range rather than something warmer, or the table will be tiring to play on at night.
Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simonis 760 Billiard Cloth | A table you play seriously on | Worsted, no nap | |
| 2 |  Championship Invitational Pool Table Felt | A family table | Woolen blend, treated | |
| 3 | Pool Table Brush and Rail Cleaning Kit | Making cloth last | Brush + rail cloth |
What to buy
#1 · A table you play seriously on
Simonis 760 Billiard Cloth
Worsted cloth: a tight-woven surface with no nap, so the ball rolls straighter and the cloth lasts. The standard recloth upgrade.
Worsted cloth is tightly woven with no nap, so the ball rolls straighter, travels further and the cloth does not pill. It is the standard upgrade for anyone who cares how the table plays.
- What works
- No nap, so no directional roll
- Lasts longer than woolen under the same use
- Faster, more predictable table
- What does not
- Costs several times a woolen cloth
- Shows chalk marks more readily
#2 · A family table
Championship Invitational Pool Table Felt
A woolen-blend cloth with a stain treatment. Cheaper than worsted, naps up faster, perfectly sensible on a family table.
A woolen blend with a stain treatment. It naps up over time and plays slower, which on a family table nobody minds, and it costs a fraction of worsted.
- What works
- Much cheaper
- Stain treatment helps in a room with drinks in it
- Slower table is more forgiving
- What does not
- Develops nap, which introduces directional roll
- Pills faster under heavy use
#3 · Making cloth last
Pool Table Brush and Rail Cleaning Kit
Brush along the nap, not across it. A two-minute habit that adds years to a woolen cloth.
Brushing along the nap after each session is the single thing that extends cloth life. It takes two minutes and it is the cheapest maintenance on this site.
- What works
- Extends cloth life substantially
- Takes two minutes
- What does not
- Only works if you actually do it
When to recloth, and what it involves
A family table's woolen cloth typically needs replacing in five to ten years - sooner if the room is damp, if the table doubles as a workbench, or if drinks live on the rails. Signs it is time: visible shine along the shot lines, pilling in the break area, a burn or tear, or a noticeable change in how far the ball runs.
A recloth on a slate table means removing the rails, stripping the old cloth, stretching the new bed cloth and re-covering the rail cushions. It is a skilled job and it is where most people call a mechanic. On a composite table the bed cloth is often stapled or glued directly and a careful owner can do it, but a badly stretched cloth plays worse than a worn one.
Budget roughly a third more for an 8-foot table than a 7, in both material and labor.
