lengthwise and across the width. Snooker and English billiards tables A table designed for the games snooker and English billiards is usually called a snooker table or a plane. Dimensions The playing area of a tournament snooker table, as standardized by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) and the amateur International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF), measures 11 feet 8.5 inches by 5 ft 10 in (3569 mm by 1778 mm) with a tolerance of ± 0.5 in (13 mm), though commonly referred to as 12 ft by 6 ft, the nominal outer dimensions including the rails. Smaller tables, approximately 10 ft by 5 ft down to half size, are also sometimes used in pubs, homes and smaller snooker halls. The height from the floor to the top of the cushion is between 2 ft 9.5 in and 2 ft 10.5 in (851 mm and 876 mm). Pockets A snooker table has six pockets, one at each corner and one at the centre of each of the longest side cushions. The pockets are around 86 mm (3.5 in), though high-class tournaments may use slightly smaller pockets to increase difficulty. The amount of (trimmed underside of the rubber cushion's protruding at the pocket opening), if any, has a strong effect on how easily a ball is accepted by the pocket (the ""). On snooker and English billiards tables, the pocket entries are rounded, while pool tables have sharp "". This affects how accurate shots need to be to get into a pocket, and how fast they can be when not dead-on, including shots that run along and against a cushion, making snooker more difficult to play than pool. According to the WPBSA official rule book, "the pocket openings shall conform to the owned and authorised by The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA)". The WPBSA and IBSF rule books' equipment sections do not actually specify the measurements and shapes of these proprietary templates which change from time to time, requiring that the templates be dated. The organizations do not recognize tournament play or records (maximum breaks, etc.) if not performed on tables that conform to then-current templates. Cushions The cushions (sometimes known as rails, though that term properly applies to the wood sections to which the cushions are attached) are usually made of vulcanized rubber. Markings The area is marked by a drawn on the cloth across the