Rules of Eight Ball
Until I researched the actual rules of how the Billiard Game of Eight Ball is suppossed to be played, I never realized that I had been playing the game wrong all these years. And the funny thing is that everyone I have ever played Eight Ball with was playing the game the wrong way right along with me.
The Billiard Game of Eight Ball is played with one Cue Ball and Fifteen numbered object balls. The object balls are split between solid colors, numbers one through seven, and striped balls, numbers nine through fifteen.
Setting up the table to play Eight Ball involves Racking the balls in a triangle at the foot of the table. The Eight Ball goes in the center of the triangle, the one ball goes in the corner of the triangle that is on the foot spot, a solid goes in one of the other corners and a striped ball goes in the last corner.
The opening shot of the game is called the Break. This involves one of the players hitting the cue ball into the racked balls and scattering them around the table. For it to count as a legal break, at least one of the object balls must go into a pocket or at least four of the numbered object balls must go to the rail of the pool table.
If one of the legal conditions is not met on the break it is considered a foul. When this happens, the player who did not break can either go ahead and make their shot or have the balls racked again and decide who gets to break.
If the Cue Ball goes into a pocket or one of the object balls goes off of the table during the break, it is also considered a foul. When one of these happens, the other player has ball in hand behind the head string which is at the end of the pool table opposite the end where the balls are racked.
If the Eight Ball goes into a pocket on the break, then the player who did the break can either ask for the balls to be racked again or put the Eight Ball on the foot spot and continue the game as normal. If the Eight Ball and the Cue Ball go into a pocket on the break then the other player has the choice of having the balls racked again or having the Eight Ball spotted and ball in hand behind the head string.
To win, one of the players must put either all the solids or stripes in a pocket and then legally put the Eight Ball in a pocket before the other player does. They decide who is solids and who is stripes by whoever first puts an object ball in a pocket after the break. For example, If the player pockets a striped ball, then
(s)he must put all the stripes in a pocket.
Contrary to the way most people play, including the way I have played all these years, any object balls that are put in a pocket during the opening break of the game do not determine which player is solids or stripes. The table is always open after the break. It is the next legal shot after the break that determines which balls a player must put in the pockets.
After the break, it is determined if a player will shoot for stripes or solids by which type is legally pocketed. Whichever player first pockets a stripe or a solid ball after the break then that player will shoot for the type of ball they put in the pocket.
A legal shot is one where the player hits one of their type of balls first and either pockets one of their numbered balls or causes the Cue Ball or a numbered object ball the make contact with one of the pool table rails. If neither of these happens, then it is a foul.
Combination shots are allowed in the game of Eight Ball as long as the Eight Ball is not is not used as the first ball in the combination. The only time you can use the Eight Ball as the first ball is when it is your only remaining legal object ball left on the pool table.
If at anytime the player jumps a numbered object ball off of the table it is considered a foul and the player losses their next turn. The only exception is if the Eight Ball is jumped off of the table. This results in a loss of the game.
When the player has put all of their striped or solid balls in the pockets, the next step is to pocket the Eight Ball to win the game. When trying to put in the Eight Ball it is not considered a loss for the player to pocket the Cue Ball, which is called a scratch, or commit another type of foul as long as the Eight Ball is not pocketed or jumped off of the table. The other player will have ball in hand when one of these types of fouls happens.
A player loses the game when any of the following occur:
-
* The Eight Ball is jumped off of the table
-
* The player puts the Eight Ball into a pocket while still having their numbered object balls on the table
-
* The player puts the Eight Ball into a pocket they were not aiming for
-
* The above mentioned fouls that cause a loss
If both players do not pocket a ball after three turns each, for a total of six turns, the game can be called as a stalemate. When this happens the balls are racked again and the same person who did the break will break again. A game can be called as a stalemate game no matter how many balls are left on the table.
Now you know how to play Eight Ball like the pros. These are the World Standardized rules of the game. These are the rules that are adhered to during competitions. Whether you plan on playing in a Billiard Competition or not, it is still a good idea to know how to play Eight Ball using the correct rules of the game.
