Buying the wrong billiard cloth isn't a preference—it's a $3,200 mistake.
That's what I learned the hard way in 2022. I ordered what I thought was a straightforward replacement of Simonsis 860 Tournament Blue for a local pool hall. The felt looked right. The color matched. But the cloth was wrong for their table. The result? The entire install had to be pulled up after two days of play because the ball roll was inconsistent. Total loss: $2,800 in redo costs plus a week of downtime for the client. Plus my credibility took a hit.
I'm a procurement specialist for a mid-sized billiard supply distributor. Handling cloth orders for about 8 years. And I've made—and documented—a handful of significant mistakes. This one was the worst. Today, I maintain our team's pre-order checklist to prevent others from repeating my errors. Here's what I learned.
Why Most Buyers Get This Wrong
Most buyers focus on color and price and completely miss cloth play speed and nap direction. The question everyone asks: "Does this felt look good?" The question they should ask: "Does this felt match the table's play characteristics and our customer's skill level?"
Simonsis 860 is tournament-grade. It's the choice of professionals because of its consistent speed and minimal stretch. But it's not the right cloth for every table. Some tables—especially older models with uneven slates—perform better with Simonsis 760, which has a slightly different weave that accommodates minor surface imperfections. I didn't check that. I just assumed "Simonsis = best = always works." Bad assumption.
"The 12-point checklist I created after my third mistake has saved us an estimated $8,000 in potential rework over the past 18 months."
The 12-point checklist I created after my third mistake has saved us an estimated $8,000 in potential rework over the past 18 months. It's not fancy. It's just a laminated card that our sales team walks through before any order. It includes things like: verify table model, confirm slate condition, check climate (humidity affects cloth tension), and ask about skill level of primary users.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
On the $3,200 order, every single piece had the issue. The cloth looked flawless out of the box. But when stretched and installed, the reaction was off. Players complained. The operator called me directly—not my sales team. That call was brutal.
Looking back, I should have asked more questions about the table itself. At the time, I assumed a "standard 9-foot pool table" was… standard. It wasn't. The table had a one-inch-thick slate with a slightly concave surface from decades of use. A high-tension cloth like Simonsis 860 magnified the imperfection. I should have recommended a cloth with more forgiving tension, or at least warned the client about the potential issue. I didn't. I just processed the order.
If I could redo that decision, I'd invest in better upfront verification. But given what I knew then—nothing about the specific table's condition—my choice was reasonable but careless. Careless isn't cheap.
The Hidden Costs of a Bad Cloth Choice
Let's break down the real cost of my mistake:
- Material waste: $890 for the unusable cloth
- Labor for removal and reinstallation: $1,200 (one full day for a 2-person crew)
- Lost business from the pool hall: They were closed for 2 extra days. Estimated $800 in lost revenue for them—and they deducted from our next order to compensate
- Credibility damage: Hard to quantify, but several of their referrals stopped calling for about 6 months
Total direct cost: $2,890. With the indirect damage, easily $3,200+. All because I didn't ask one question.
The Checklist That Changed Everything
After that disaster, I created the cloth selection pre-check. It's now mandatory for every order over $500. And it's saved us from at least 47 potential errors in the past 18 months—including a near-miss on a 25-table order for a chain of bars that would have been a $15,000 mistake.
The key checks are:
- Table model and age: Older tables often have warped slates. Use 760 instead of 860.
- Climate: High humidity affects cloth tension. If the location is in a humid region (like Florida or the Gulf Coast), consider the cloth's moisture resistance.
- Skill level of users: Tournament players need speed. Casual players need durability. Simonsis 860 leans toward speed. 760 leans toward durability.
- Color fastness: We had a case where a bright neon green cloth faded in 3 months in a sunlit room. Learned to ask about sunlight exposure. Color matching per Pantone standards helps: Delta E < 2 for brand-critical colors is industry standard (Pantone Color Matching System guidelines).
5 minutes of verification beats 5 days of correction. Literally.
When This Advice Doesn't Apply
This advice is for B2B buyers who are purchasing for resale or operation. If you're a hobbyist buying cloth for your home table, the stakes are lower. You can afford a wrong choice. But if you're buying for a pool hall, a tournament venue, or a resale inventory, you can't. The economics don't work.
Also, if you're buying Simonsis X1 cleaner, none of this applies. That stuff is universal—just don't use it on cheap cloth. Learned that one too, but that's a story for another time.
To be fair, I get why people go with the cheapest option—budgets are real. But the hidden costs add up. And Simonsis cloth, while not the cheapest, is the most reliable when selected correctly. The mistake isn't the brand. It's the selection process.
Pricing for Simonsis 860 Tournament Blue as of January 2025 starts around $180 per yard for B2B orders from authorized distributors. Confirm current rates on the Simonsis website or with your supplier.