Billiard Accessories

So you have  a nice, good-looking, nifty billiard setup. What else do you need?  Like other sports, there are things you can't live without and things that are nice to have.  The thing about billiard is, there's quite a few of them.  So, here's a list of billiard accessories to complete your  setup. If you are interested in getting any of them or for pricing information purpose, click on the image.

Billiard Balls - No balls no billiard game as easy as that.  Presently, they are made up of very hard plastic material. But, you could still get ones made from ivory but they quite a bit expensive.  One popular brand is Elephant Balls.  Higher quality billiard balls have better density, balance, diameter tolerance, sphericity, color, surface polish and brilliance.  These are the factors on which production of billiard balls are based and pricing too.

Billiard Cue Chalk - This is a MUST billiard accessory to have.  It prevents miscuing or slipping of the billiard cue on the cue ball.  They come in different colors that would go perfectly with the color of the table felt. Matching your felt color will help to make your billiard table to look tidy.

Billiard Ball Rack - Another billiard accessory to have as it is used to properly rack the balls together in place at every beginning of a new game.  It's commonly triangular but you'll find diamond shape too and  they come in different materials like plastic, wood, metal to name a few.  There are number of billiard tricks that include a rack for a prop, which to that extent, it is not just for racking the balls after all.

Mechanical Bridge - A MUST billiard accessory to have.  This is a piece of metal or plastic with slot edges attached to a stick similar to a billiard cue.  It's used for those unreachable shots. The bridge has several slots on which the shaft of your billiard stick will glide.  Depending on the type of bridging that you need to make the shot (elevated or normal), you would switch between the longer and shorter side of the bridge. It comes in different shapes and colors.  But no matter which one you get, they all serve the purpose.  Like the rack, there are billiard tricks that use bridge as prop.

Billiard Cue Sander/Shaper - Overtime, as you play a lot of billiards, the cue tip loses its texture and symmetry which would result into miscuing and flying cue ball. This little billiard accessory will help to reshape and resurface the cue tip.  When you reshape your cue tip, make sure you apply a uniform circular motion to come with nicely even tip.

Billiard Table Brush - A MUST billiard accessory to have.  Small tiny dirt on the playing surface can dramatically alter the roll of the balls.  Since the cloth is made from wool material, those dirt will hard to pickup.   In this case, the table felt must be cleaned with a brush to maintain its smoothness.  Brush materials mostly include nylon and horse hair.

Pool Table Cleaner Solution - Uplifts the chalk accumulates on the felt for easy cleanup and good for stain too.

There are also billiard accessories that are only NICE to have like:

Talc - If you don't want to use finger gloves, you can use talc to reduce the friction between your bridge hand and shaft  for a smoother glide.  Whenever your hand becomes sweaty especially on your last winning shot, your hand will be a little tacky so you can't slide you shaft smoothly, which could result to miscuing. So using talc is the solution.  They come as a powder in container like the one in picture to the right or as a hardened cone that you put in a holder. 

Billiard Ball Tray - Taking a good of your billiard accessories will guarantee that you will get the most out of the money you spent for them.  A billiards ball tray is not only for housekeeping but also to help in maintaining the physical look of the billiard balls by keeping them apart when not in used.

Billiard Table Cover - Made from vinyl, leather, synthetic leather, could be anything. They also come with designs of your favorite sports teams, embroidered or printed.  Table cover will keep your billiard table nice and clean.  Cleaning solution and  brushing can be harmful to the cloth especially when it's done too often, so why not prevent it...cover it!

Billiard gloves- To prevent friction between the cue and the bridge hand. If you have some allergy to talc, this is a good alternative.  It's also for keeping your hands clean after playing.  Constant chalking can make your hands quite dirty.  Lady players are good advocators of using billiard gloves.

Bridge and Ball Rack Hook - So that you have a permanent place to hang your mechanical bridge and rack. 

Scoring - it's not that you don't trust each other.  Scoring keep track of your score so you could focus on the game much better, what a nice billiard accessory, isn't. Common scoring systems are chalk boards, tally balls and bottles, and game beads.

I wouldn't say these items as billiard accessories but rather supplies.

Billiard Table Spots - For faded spots and whenever replacing the felt on your billiard table.

Adhesive Glue - For repairing the ripped felt or whenever replacing the felt on your billiard table.

You don't have to but these things individually.  There are stores that sell them in kit. That way you can be sure that you have the essential billiard accessories, and save some money too.

Good Luck!