Chinese 8-Ball Table Size and Pocket Size: Heyball Table vs Pool Table
Table: a 9-foot table with a playing area of 2,540 × 1,260 mm (100 × 49.6 in), within ±9 mm, under the WPA Rules of Heyball. That is the same length as a 9-foot American pool table (2,540 × 1,270 mm) and 10 mm narrower.
Pockets: the rules do not set a pocket size. Joy's 9-foot heyball tables, the ones used on the Heyball Masters tour, are listed with an opening of about 85 mm (3.3 in), against 114–118 mm for a corner pocket on a WPA-spec pool table. With a 57.15 mm ball, that leaves about 14 mm of room either side instead of about 29 mm.
A Chinese 8-ball table, also called a heyball table, looks like a 9-foot pool table until you look at the pockets. The playing area is almost identical; the pockets are much smaller and shaped differently, and that is what makes heyball (the international name for Chinese 8-ball) so much harder than American 8-ball for players coming from pool. Here are the numbers, with their sources.
Table dimensions
| Heyball / Chinese 8-ball | 9 ft pool table | |
|---|---|---|
| Playing area | 2,540 × 1,260 mm (±9 mm) | 2,540 × 1,270 mm (±3 mm) |
| Foot spot | 635 mm from the top cushion | a quarter of the length from the foot cushion (635 mm) |
| Head string | 635 mm from the bottom cushion | a quarter of the length from the head cushion (635 mm) |
| Height | 800–850 mm from the floor to the top of the cushion | table bed 743–787 mm from the floor |
| Balls | 57.15 mm, 156–170 g | 57.15 mm |
Heyball column: WPA Rules of Heyball (effective 2025-08-16), Chapter II rule 3. Pool column: WPA Recommended Equipment Specifications. The two heights are measured to different points, so they are not directly comparable.
The outside size of the table depends on the maker and the rail width, so check the product sheet if you are fitting one into a room. An older heyball rulebook, the Rules of Chinese Pool (2017, updated 2019), used the same 2,540 × 1,260 mm playing area but put the head string 450 mm from the bottom cushion; the 2025 WPA rules moved it to 635 mm, the same as on a pool table.
Pocket size: the real difference
Neither the WPA Rules of Heyball nor the older Chinese rule sets specify a pocket size, so the number comes from the table makers. Joy's 9-foot heyball tables are listed by retailers with a pocket opening of 85 mm, and other heyball tables are in the same range (one maker lists 85 mm corners and 88 mm sides). For comparison, the WPA specification for pool tables is 114.3–117.5 mm for a corner pocket and 127–130 mm for a side pocket.
The shape matters as much as the width. Pool table pockets have angled facings that tend to funnel a ball into the pocket. Heyball pockets have rounded jaws cut more like a snooker table's, so a ball that catches the jaw usually stays out. A ball has to go into the middle of the pocket.
What the tighter pockets mean for aiming
Take a straight-in ball one metre from the pocket. With an 85 mm opening, the ball's centre can be about 14 mm off the centre line and still fit through, which is an aiming tolerance of about 0.8°. With a 116 mm corner pocket, the room is about 29 mm, or about 1.7°. Halving the margin for error is a big change: shots that are routine on a pool table become shots you have to concentrate on, and long pots and thin cuts get much harder.
This is a simplification, since the pocket's effective size also depends on the angle the ball comes in at, its speed and the cut of the jaws, but the ratio holds. How aiming errors grow with distance is worked out in how to aim in snooker (snooker pockets are similarly tight), and every cut angle is in the cut angle chart.
Players also adjust their game: they leave the cue ball closer to the next ball, avoid thin cuts into the corner pockets, and play more safeties. The rules of the game itself are covered in heyball rules.
Heyball table vs pool table vs snooker table
| Heyball | Pool (9 ft) | Snooker (12 ft) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playing area | 2,540 × 1,260 mm | 2,540 × 1,270 mm | 3,569 × 1,778 mm |
| Balls | 57.15 mm | 57.15 mm | 52.5 mm |
| Pockets | about 85 mm, rounded | 114–130 mm, angled facings | small and rounded; no size in the rules |
Snooker: WPBSA Official Rules, Section 1 (playing area and balls). The game rules for all three, and English pool, are compared in billiards vs pool vs snooker.
Room size
A rough guide is the playing area plus a cue length and a little backswing on every side. With a standard 147 cm (58 in) cue and about 10 cm of extra room, a heyball table needs a room of about 5.7 × 4.4 m (18.6 × 14.4 ft). A shorter cue lets you get away with less, and the rules allow cues down to 101.6 cm (40 in), but cramped walls change how you play shots near the cushions.
Can you play heyball on a pool table?
Yes. The balls are the same and the playing area is effectively the same, so you can play by heyball rules on any 9-foot pool table. It will feel easy, because the pockets are so much more forgiving. Going the other way, American 8-ball or 9-ball on a heyball table is a good, if humbling, way to sharpen your potting. Both games use the same 57.15 mm balls, but WPA events now play heyball with the WPA's UNITY ball set.
Practise potting into the middle of the pocket
AimGeometry is a free pool trainer in your browser. It shows the aim line and the ghost ball, and after every shot it tells you how many degrees thick or thin you were. The table is a 9-foot American table, so its pockets are wider than heyball pockets.
Try the straight-in drill →FAQ
What size is a Chinese 8-ball table?
A 9-foot table with a playing area of 2,540 × 1,260 mm (about 100 × 49.6 in) under the WPA Rules of Heyball, with the cushion tops 800 to 850 mm off the floor.
How big are heyball pockets?
The rules do not set a size. Joy 9-foot heyball tables are listed with an opening of about 85 mm (3.3 in), compared with 114.3 to 117.5 mm for a corner pocket on a WPA-spec pool table.
Is a heyball table the same as a pool table?
The playing area is nearly the same (2,540 × 1,260 mm against 2,540 × 1,270 mm) and the balls are the same size, but heyball pockets are much smaller and have rounded jaws like a snooker table.
Why is Chinese 8-ball harder than American pool?
Mainly the pockets. With an 85 mm opening and a 57.15 mm ball, a straight pot from one metre has about 0.8° of aiming tolerance, roughly half what a 116 mm pool corner pocket allows, and the rounded jaws reject balls that catch them.
How much room do you need for a Chinese 8-ball table?
About 5.7 × 4.4 m (18.6 × 14.4 ft) with a standard 147 cm cue: the 2,540 × 1,260 mm playing area plus a cue length and about 10 cm on every side.
Related reading: Heyball Rules: Chinese 8-Ball Rules Explained · Billiards vs Pool vs Snooker · Pool Cut Angle Chart · How to Aim in Snooker · English Pool vs American Pool · 8-Ball Rules
Sources: WPA Rules of Heyball, effective 2025-08-16, Chapter II rule 3 (table, balls, cues, spots); Rules of Chinese Pool, Rev. 2017 updated 2019 (older head string position); WPA Recommended Equipment Specifications (pool table playing surface, bed height and pocket openings); WPBSA Official Rules of Snooker, Section 1; pocket openings of Joy 9-foot heyball tables as listed by European retailers, and the listed corner and side openings of one other maker. Aiming tolerances are straight-line geometry and ignore pocket angle, speed and jaw cut. Room size assumes a 147 cm cue plus 10 cm on each side. This article contains no sponsored or affiliate links.