A full size uk pub table is 7ft by 4ft overall.

Firstly, price! Ok, Your going to get what you pay for! (usually)

If your looking for something cheap and cheerfull you have a choice. Either buy an ex pub table or a new cheap imported piece of rubbish, plenty of these available on ebay!

An ex pub table can be a good buy or a total pig in a poke. Things to look out for.

it must have a slate bed, it must have a sound cloth and it must have responsive cushions.

the best way is to buy from a reputable dealer, but beware knowledge comes from experience only! choose a supplier that knows his trade. i have been called to sort out hundreds of tables that wont play correctly and seen some horrors. ie. Cloth has been put on face down, usually looks more like a shag pile carpet than a pool cloth within a month! Cushions with fittings missing or totally loose rubbers etc giving you a dull thud instead of a nice rebound (can be caused by numerous other things too)

check with the seller and hope you can trust them when they tell you its all good. otherwise be prepared to compromise on how it will play or be prepared to call in a good fitter to sort it out at a cost. take into account a table takes a day to get right so be prepared to pay!

Chinese etc imports. Hmmm. try to find a good one! brand names are just that, trade names put onto imports. riley and bce are 2 you will find lots of on ebay. They are made of the cheapest materials, chipboard and mdf, quite often covered in paper to give the appearance of wood. Cheap knotty cloth and polyester ball set. Ok if its something for your 4 year old to smash balls together and throw away next year.

Will my new table fit my room?

When buying a Pool/Snooker table - or a football or air hockey table - it is important to check the size of the room to see if your intended table will fit. If a table is too large for the room you may not enjoy playing on it. A good idea is to draw a plan of the room and measure it at the nearest points to where your table is intended to stand. Do not measure into bay windows or to the recesses of a fireplace. All large furniture should be outside the measurements.

Positioning a table diagonally in a room is not a good option, as the corner pockets are brought closer to the walls. Below you will find a guide for the room sizes for different sized Pool/Snooker tables. The minimum room size measurements allow for normal shots to taken with a standard length cue. Awkward long shots, or shots hard against the cushion will require shorter cues. The preferred room size measurements allow room for the majority of shots using standard length cues.

Shorter cues can be supplied to accomodate rooms with awkward corners or where space is at a premium.

Please note: The table size refers to the external measurements of the table. The playing area is somewhat less.