Best Pool Table Accessories: What You Actually Need on Day One
The genuine day one minimum for a new pool table is a ball set, four cues, chalk, a cloth brush, a fitted cover and a cue rack, about $221 if the table did not ship with a kit. Upgrading to a phenolic Aramith ball set and adding a short cue brings it to roughly $445, and the ball set is the single highest-return purchase on the list.
A table with no accessories is not a game, and the accessory bill is the part of a pool table budget people consistently forget. The good news is that it is small relative to the table and that almost all of it is a one-time purchase: chalk, a brush and a cover last years, and a cue rack lasts as long as the wall it is on. The whole day one list is about $445.
If your table shipped with a kit, as the Legacy Baylor II and the Empire Dakota do, skip the kit and go straight to the Aramith Crown ball set , which is the upgrade that changes how the table feels.
Accessories at three budgets
Barrington 24-Piece Pool Table Kit
Twenty four pieces: balls, triangle, chalk, brush, bridge, tip repair and gloves in one box. Buying these separately costs more and arrives in three deliveries. The ball set inside is the weak part, which is why the Aramith upgrade sits next to it.
- Pieces
- 24
- Includes
- Balls and cues
Best for: Day one, especially on a table that did not ship with a kit.
Aramith Crown Standard Ball Set
The cheapest phenolic ball set worth owning. Phenolic stays round and takes a polish; the polyester balls in a budget kit chip at the edges and go slightly oval, and out-of-round balls make a properly levelled table feel broken. If you buy one thing on this page, buy this.
- Material
- Phenolic
- Set
- Standard 16
Best for: Any table that is staying, which is every slate table.
Aramith Premium Billiard Ball Set
Tighter tolerance on weight and diameter across the set than the Crown, and a harder surface that holds its polish longer. The practical difference from the Crown in a home game is small and real, and it shows up over years rather than in the first evening.
- Material
- Phenolic
- Tier
- Premium
Best for: A finished room and a table that gets played several times a week.
GSE 58in Canadian Maple Cue 4-Pack
Four 58 in Canadian maple cues with proper ferrules and replaceable tips. House cues that do not embarrass a slate table, at a price where nobody panics when one gets leaned against a radiator.
- Length
- 58 in
- Count
- 4
Best for: A slate table where guests will be handling the cues.
GACCO Floor Cue Stand, 9 Cues
A floor stand holding nine cues, for a room where the walls already have a dartboard, a screen and a bar on them. It also moves, which a wall rack does not, and that matters if the table position is still settling.
- Capacity
- 9 cues
- Type
- Floor stand
Best for: A finished room with no spare wall.
Starrett 6in Machinists Level
A precision machinist level, which is what an installer uses and what a spirit level from a hardware store is not. Only worth buying if you intend to check and correct the table yourself, and if you do, nothing else gives you a reading you can trust across eight feet of slate.
- Length
- 6 in
- Use
- Slate levelling
Best for: Someone who owns a slate table long term and wants to maintain it properly.
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The complete day one list
| Item | What it does | Price | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington 24-Piece Pool Table Kit | Balls, rack, chalk, brush, bridge, tips | $52.99 | Essential |
| GARSEN Canadian Maple 58in Cue Set of 4 | Four house cues | $56.95 | Essential |
| Aramith Crown Standard Ball Set | Phenolic ball set, upgrade from a kit set | $129.00 | Strongly advised |
| Master Cue Chalk, 12 Cubes | Twelve cubes, years of chalk | $9.89 | Essential |
| AKLOT Billiard Cloth Brush Set | Cloth brush, used along the nap | $19.99 | Essential |
| BearCover Heavy Duty 8ft Table Cover | Fitted cover against dust and spills | $42.99 | Essential |
| Viper Solid Oak Wall Cue Rack, 8 Cues | Wall rack, stops cues warping | $37.78 | Essential |
| ASKA 52in Short Pool Cue | One short cue for the tight wall | $59.95 | Room dependent |
| MTLEE 65-Piece Pool Table Leveling Kit | Shims for the first heating season | $34.98 | Strongly advised |
| Complete day one list | $445 | ||
The three that actually matter
The ball set, and why phenolic
Balls are the accessory with the largest gap between what they cost and how much they change the game. Phenolic resin, which is what Aramith makes, stays round, resists chipping and holds a polish for decades. The polyester balls that come in budget kits develop small flats at the edges within a year or two of real use, and a ball that is not round rolls off line regardless of how well the table is levelled.
That is the whole argument. A hundred and thirty dollars of balls can rescue the feel of a two thousand dollar table, and a bad set can ruin it while everybody blames the cloth. Above the Crown, Aramith Premium tightens the tolerance across the set and Super Pro is what serious competition uses. The difference between Crown and Premium in a home game is real and small. The difference between polyester and phenolic is neither.
The cover, which pays for itself once
Dust settles into the nap of billiard cloth and makes a table play slow and grabby, which people routinely blame on humidity. A fitted cover at forty three dollars prevents that, and in a room that also has a bar in it, it stands between one spilled drink and a $300 to $500 re-cloth. This is the least interesting item on the page and one of the two most valuable.
The cue rack, which is not about tidiness
Cues left leaning in a corner warp, and they warp faster in a basement where humidity swings. A wall rack at under forty dollars or a floor stand at sixty five is the difference between four straight cues and four bananas after two seasons. If the wall is already busy, the combined cue rack and dartboard cabinet solves cue storage and adds a second game to the same square foot.
Maintenance, which is three habits and about ten dollars a year
- Brush along the nap after each session. Head to foot, one direction, never in circles. Circular brushing drives chalk dust into the weave rather than lifting it out. Use a proper cloth brush , not a household brush with stiff bristles.
- Wipe the balls. A cloth and a few minutes every month or two. Chalk transfers from the balls into the cloth, so clean balls means cloth that lasts longer.
- Cover the table when it is not in use. Every time, not only when you remember.
Done consistently, those three roughly double the working life of the cloth, turning a re-cloth from a five year job into a ten year one. The full routine is in pool table maintenance.
What we would skip
- A branded cue chalk holder. Chalk lives on the rail. It has for a hundred years.
- A glove, unless you already know you want one. Some players find it transforms their stroke on a humid day and most never think about it. It is a personal item, not a household one, and it usually arrives free in a kit anyway.
- Ball polishing machines. A cloth and a few minutes does the same job for almost every home table. These earn their place in a bar with a coin-op table getting a hundred racks a week.
- A replacement cloth bought at the same time as the table, such as pre-cut 20 oz billiard cloth . Buy it when you need it, in five to ten years, because cloth stored in a garage for a decade is not the same cloth you paid for. The exception is choosing a different colour at first installation, which the installer should fit while the table is already apart rather than as a second visit.
Where to go from here
For the table itself, the pool table roundup. For cues in more detail, including the short cue question, see the cue roundup, and for balls specifically see the ball roundup. The mid-range buildout prices all of this alongside the table, the light and the room it goes in, with a total at the bottom.
Deciding on a specific model? We review the Simonis 860 pool table cloth review in full.
Frequently asked questions
What accessories do you need for a pool table?
The genuine minimum is a ball set, four cues, a triangle, chalk, a cloth brush, a fitted cover and a cue rack, which comes to about $221 if the table did not ship with a kit. Add a phenolic ball set and a short cue for a cramped wall and you are at roughly $445. Everything beyond that is optional, and most of it is genuinely optional rather than quietly essential.
Are Aramith balls worth the money?
Yes, and they are the highest-return upgrade available to a pool table. Phenolic resin stays round, resists chipping and holds a polish, while the polyester balls that come in budget kits develop small flats at the edges within a year or two. Out-of-round balls roll off line no matter how well the table is levelled, which means a hundred and thirty dollars of balls can rescue the feel of a two thousand dollar table, or ruin it.
Do I need a pool table cover?
Yes, and it is the cheapest protection in the room. Dust settles into the nap of the cloth and makes the table play slow and grabby, which people usually blame on humidity. In a room that also has a bar in it, the cover is what stands between one spilled drink and a $300 to $500 re-cloth. Forty dollars against that is not a close decision.
How often should I brush a pool table?
After each session if you can, and at minimum once a week on a table in regular use. Brush along the nap in one direction, from the head of the table toward the foot, never in circles: circular brushing works chalk dust down into the weave rather than lifting it out. Doing this roughly doubles the working life of the cloth, which turns a $300 to $500 re-cloth from a five year job into a ten year one.
What is the difference between cheap and expensive pool cues?
For house cues, mostly straightness and the ferrule. A twenty dollar cue is often not straight out of the box and its tip will mushroom quickly. A fifteen to twenty five dollar cue from a set of four is normally acceptable, which is why sets are better value than singles at this level. Past about eighty dollars a cue you are buying joint construction, balance and a shaft taper that a serious player will notice and a casual one will not, and anyone who cares that much brings their own cue anyway.
Do I need a machinist level for my pool table?
Only if you intend to check and correct the table yourself. A hardware store spirit level is not accurate enough to be useful across eight feet of slate, so if you are going to do the job you need the right tool, and if you are not, the installer already has one. The middle position, checking with a bad level and then worrying about the reading, is the worst of the three.
Measuring your own room before anything is delivered? The Game Room Layout Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.
How we work: we compare published manufacturer dimensions, the governing playing standards for each game, and reviews from owners who live with the equipment. We do not test games in person, and we say so on every page. Clearance figures here are researched guidance for planning a room, not professional advice: measure your own space, and have a slate table delivered, assembled and levelled by an installer rather than moving it yourself.