Best Pool Table Felt Color

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A pool table felt color may not matter when you first hear it. However, it does have a purpose. There’s a reason why major pool tournaments use certain colors for the pool table felt. In this article, you will learn what’s the best pool table felt color for each scenario. 

Best Pool Table Felt Color

The color of the pool table felt can affect how much focus you can put into your shots. Some colors are too distracting to your eyes that it makes your shots inaccurate. That’s why most pool tables use green color in their table felt.

Most experienced pool players will tell you that a green pool table felt feels the best to play on. Green feels the easiest on a pool player’s eyes. So it will be a lot easier for them to focus on the pool balls.

Player in the middle of a pool game

However, some pool tournaments have also begun using electric blue. It’s been known that the color blue is the least straining color to your eyes compared to any other color. 

Use Green Cloth

Green has always been the most popular color. It’s been traditionally used in almost all pool tables. Green is also a color that your eyes can get easily accustomed to. That’s not to say that green was the color from the start. 

Certain colors pop up in popularity every now and then. In the 70s, the popular ones were:

  • Avocado green
  • Gold
  • Rust

In the early 2000s, the olive cloth was a hit. Camel and Euro Blue gained sudden popularity in 2010. However, most people would still prefer playing in a green pool table felt color. 

Avoid Black or Dark Colors

A general rule of thumb in pool is that, the darker the color, the harder it is on your eyes. It will make it harder for you to pick up the color of the ball. Black may feel sleek and cool. However, it won’t help you with your game. 

Black felt isn’t good because:

  • It creates super dark shadows.
  • It matches with the 8-ball so it will be harder to spot it. 
  • The pocket appears the same with the dark shadow making it harder to take a shot. 
  • It’s harder to see the rail line and the point of the cushion,

Avoid pool table felt colors like black, charcoal, and navy blue. They’re dark and it will just mess up with your game. Red is also hard for the eyes so avoid using it. 

Player aiming at a cue ball on a pool table with green felt color

Avoid Too Bright Felt Color

Most pool tables have a bright light shining over it. If you have a bright felt color, it will clash with the brightness of the light and make your eyes hurt. It might even give you a headache if there’s too much brightness. 

If you have a bright light at your pool table, you should select a pool table felt color that is more muted. It will balance out the brightness of the light and the color of the pool balls

Try Out Colors You Like

If you really don’t like green for your pool table felt, you can always pick whatever color you like. No one is stopping you from what you want to do with your pool table. 

There are just colors that you may want to avoid because it really does hurt your eyes or focus. Other colors are safe, so you can pick whatever you want. 

It’s just that the trend nowadays now are green and electric blue. If you’re planning to enter some tournaments or competing professionally, you should start using these colors so you get used to them. 

Match it with Your Home Design

If you’re more into aesthetics rather than improving gameplay, you should consider the interior design of the pool table room. Match the color to its theme. 

Also, match the color of your pool table felt with the lighting. Having a weird contrast may look awful and ruin the aesthetic. 

Go to a Showroom

Finally, showrooms allow you to look at pool table felt samples. They are available in different colors so you can actually test them out for yourself if you are comfortable playing in them. 

You can also mix it up with different lighting and different styles of both cheap and expensive pool tables. It’s great if you can observe the felt color yourself and see how it feels when you play.

Why You Should Get Your Own Felt

There are a number of reasons why you should get your own felt. Your current felt may be damaged that you need to replace it with a new one. In older pool tables, the pool table legs and felt usually are coming loose with time. 

Pool table with a blue felt color

Another reason for getting your own felt would be that you don’t like the current felt on your pool table. 

Can You Dye Pool Table Felt?

Most pool table felts consist of a blend of nylon and wool. You can dye them with some specific dyes. However, we strongly advise against changing the color of your pool table felt.

There’s no knowing how the water and dye will change the pool table surface. It may cause permanent damage so you will have to replace it with a new one. 

If you want to go for it even with the risks involved, here’s how you can do it:

  1. Scrub the felt with warm water and a mild detergent.
  2. Rinse thoroughly.
  3. With the felt still wet, apply the dye with a sponge onto the felt. Make sure the dye water is very hot. Make the dye water by mixing 1 package or ½ bottle with 1 or 2 gallons of water with at least 140° F in temperature. 
  4. Let it dry.
  5. Wipe with a clean damp cloth the excess surface dye.  

Does Pool Table Felt Color Affect Your Game?

Yes, as we have discussed in this article, the pool table felt color can affect your game’s performance. If it didn’t, we wouldn’t see mostly green and electric blue in all major pool tournaments. Green has been falling off lately and we see a lot more electric blue felt being used. 

It has got to do with how your eyes do in certain colors. That’s why pool tables use the color green and electric blue most of the time. 

Conclusion

Choosing the best pool table felt color may actually be useful than you might think. It’s not only for the look, it also affects the way you play the game. Preferences vary and you may want to go with a certain color. However, green is always the most popular one.