Billiard table ivory balls from warping. The first use of electric heating was for an 18.2 balkline tournament held in December 1927 between Welker Cochran and Jacob Schaefer, Jr. The New York Times announced it with fanfare: "For the first time in the history of world's championship balkline billiards a heated table will be used..." A pool table, or pocket billiards table, has six – one at each corner of the table () and one at the midpoint of each of the longer sides ( or ). Pool tables come in different sizes, typically referred to as , , , or tables.
Billiard table midpoint between the bottom and top ; the or , located midway between the centre spot and the top cushion; and the or , located at the midpoint of the baulk line (and, thus of the "D"). Due to its obviousness, the brown spot is not always marked (neither are the unmistakable and , at the left and right intersections, respectively, of the baulk line and the "Ds curve. The exact placing of these markings are different on smaller tables, but proportional to the full-size model. The of a good quality snooker table has a of slate and is covered