If you are at all serious about playing pool, there are a few pool and billiards accessories that you may want to have. Besides the cost of a pool table, none of them are really all that expensive. See this page for a more extensive listing of accessories than you will find here.

If you are just a casual pool player that visits the bars or pool halls to play, you don't have much need for billiards accessories at all. Just about all establishments will have tables, balls, and cue sticks.

What you may not find are tip chalk and hand chalk. Some will have tip chalk, but I've seen very few that have hand chalk. You may want to bring a container of baby powder or purpose-made hand chalk with you.

If you own your own cue stick, there are a few accessories that will come in handy. Of course you want a good cue case to protect your cue. I like the hard cases for the extra protection they afford. Get one big enough to fit in the following stuff.

Your cue tip will become slick and smooth after a lot of use. To keep it roughened up so it grabs better and holds more chalk, you can use some rough sandpaper or a tip pick as shown below left. As the tip becomes flattened out you can reshape it into the proper domed shape with one of the tip shapers, below right, that are available.

It's important that the shaft of your cue stick be super smooth and as frictionless as possible. Keep a clean rag handy to wipe the shaft down after use to remove moisture and dirt that accumulates. A shaft polisher, below left, will very lightly sand the shaft to remove any bumps or buildups.
A final item that should be in your cue case is joint protectors as shown above right. These screw onto the pin and into the matching threaded hole of your pool cue to protect the threads and prevent bending or breaking the pin. Very inexpensive insurance.

A heavy pool player will find that they need to change their cue tip occcasionally. There are cue tip repair kits available that have the necessary supplies to perform this maintenance chore. The kit is not something you would carry around, but it is nice to have it available when needed.

If you own a pool table, there are several other pool and billiards accessories that you will want to have to complete your setup. A triangle and diamond rack allow you to rack the balls for whatever game you want to play. The use of a pool table brush occasionally keeps the cloth clean and the balls rolling straight.

A mechanical bridge allows you to reach those long shots across the table. A couple extra sticks always come in handy for when guests come over to shoot some pool. A cue rack is a necessity to keep things neat and prevent your cues from falling on the floor or becoming bowed from leaning them up against the wall.

Hand chalk and tip chalk are some other items to keep in your pool room. And finally, don't forget to get yourself a good table cover to put on your table after the games are over. This will keep dust and dirt from building up on your cloth, and protect it from those heartless family members who insist on leaving things on top of the pool table.

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