Question about carom tables?

Question

I've been hearing a lot lately about heated carom tables. I'm a pool player at heart and I'm somewhat familiar with carom games. However, I'm not exactly sure what the objective is of having heated tables. Is room temperature not good enough for carom tables? I understand that in pool, temperature and humidity can affect the way a table plays. Is it simply a question of consistency? Furthermore, how exactly are the tables heated? M.D.-BCA Instructor/referee.

Answer 1

Heated slate

The slate bed of billiard tables are often heated to about 5 °C/9 °F above room temperature, which helps to keep moisture out of the cloth to aid the balls rolling and rebounding in a consistent manner, and generally makes a table play faster. A heated table is required under international carom rules and is an especially important requirement for the games of three-cushion billiards and artistic billiards. Heating table beds is an old practice. Queen Victoria of England (1819-1901) had a billard table that was heated using zinc tubes, although the aim at that time was chiefly to keep the then-used 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..

Answer 2

Hmm.

I'm not sure