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Eight-ball

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For other uses, see Eight ball (disambiguation)

Eight ball is a billiards game played with a cue ball and 15 billiard balls on a pool table with 6 pockets.

Equipment

There are eight solid-colored balls numbered 1 through 8, seven striped balls numbered 9 through 15, and a solid white cue ball.

The rack.

The balls are usually colored as follows:

  • 1 and 9 - yellow
  • 2 and 10 - blue
  • 3 and 11 - red
  • 4 and 12 - purple
  • 5 and 13 - orange
  • 6 and 14 - green
  • 7 and 15 - brown
  • 8 - black
  • cue - white.

Alternatively, the 7 and 15 balls may be colored tan or magenta.

Playing the game

There are four phases to the game: setup, breaking, taking turns, and pocketing the 8 ball.

Setup

To start the game, the colored balls are placed in a trangular rack. The base of the rack is parallel to the end rail (the short end of the pool table) and positioned so the apex ball of the rack is located on the foot spot. The balls in the rack are ideally placed so that they are all in contact with one another. This is accomplished by pressing the ball together from the back of the rack toward the apex ball. The placement of the balls, for a legal rack according to world standardized rules is that he 8-ball is placed in the center, while the two corners are must be a stripe and a solid (see image). The cue ball is placed anywhere the breaker desires between the head string and its nearest short side (that is, the quarter of the table farthest from the rack), an area known as the "kitchen."

The pool table is divided into two equal halves lengthwise by an imaginary line called the "long string". Two lines, the "head string" and "foot string" are perpendicular to the long string and are placed 1/4 length away from each end of the table. The intersection of the long and head strings is called the "head spot", and the intersection of the long and foot strings is called the "foot spot".

Break

The break

One person is chosen to shoot first ("break" the balls apart; note that this is a different definition of the word "break" than in other billiards games, notably snooker) by any number of methods: flip of a coin, loser of last game breaks, winner of last game breaks, "lag", etc. If the shooter who breaks fails to make a legal break (usually defined as at least four balls hitting cushions) then the opponent can either re-rack and break, or play from the current position.

If the breaker pockets a ball, it is still the same player's turn. This area of the game has two possible variations.

  • The breaker is deemed to have legally pocketed the ball, and continues to shoot for balls in the same group. In this interpretation, if balls in both groups are potted, a common rule is for the player to nominate which group they will shoot for, but for their turn to end.
  • The table is still "open" until someone legally pockets a ball (accepted by BCA)

A common "house rule" is that if the 8 ball is potted on the break, either the breaking player or the opposing player wins immediately.

Taking Turns

A player will continue to shoot until he/she makes a fault or fails to pocket one of the object balls. Then, the other player takes his/her turn. Play alternates like this for the remainder of the game.

Pocketing the 8 ball

Once all the player's object balls are pocketed, he/she can now attempt to sink the 8 ball and win. To win, he/she must specify the pocket it will land in, and make it in that pocket. If it is shot in the wrong pocket, if the cue ball is dropped, or if there is a fault (see below), he/she loses. If neither the cue ball nor the eight ball is sunk, the player's turn is over.

Faults/fouls

When one player commits a fault (UK terminology) or foul (US and AU terminology), the other player gets "ball in hand", that is, may place the cue ball anywhere on the table before playing their next shot. Area of substantial disagreement in rules: some (including the BCA) play that (after the break) the cueball may be placed anywhere, and shoot at anything. Others play that the person with ball in hand may only place the cue ball in the "kitchen", and must shoot out of the "kitchen" before hitting any ball (that is, they may not shoot at a ball inside the "kitchen" directly). However, if all their balls are inside the "kitchen", they can request that the one closest to the head string be placed on the head spot. Under BCA rules, if the cue ball is pocketed on the break, the cue ball must be placed in the "kitchen" and shot out. If he/she pots the cue ball while playing on the black, it will be an immediate foul and the opposite player will receive two shots whether or not he/she is on the black. If he/she pots the black and the cue ball he/she will automatically lose the game.

More information: Foul

APA rules:

  • Whether (and how) jumping the cue ball is a fault
  • Whether you lose if you:
    • Shoot at the eight ball and miss
    • Shoot at the eight ball, pocket the cue ball, but don't pocket the eight ball
  • Whether the players have to announce ball and pocket
  • Whether pocketing the eight ball on the break is a win or a loss

Possible set of rules

Note: The rules for this game may be the most contested of any billiard game; MAKE SURE that you and your opponent agree on the rules before playing. Many people and leagues in the USA use the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) rules as their standard. The place where you are playing may also have their own house rules, though you should still consult your opponent on whether to play by them.

One possible set of rules follows, but it doesn't exactly match the BCA rules:

Winning situation:

  • the player has legally pocketed the eight ball

Losing situations:

  • the player plays the eight ball in a fault situation.
  • the player pockets the eight ball while he still has object balls in his group on the table
  • the player pockets the eight ball in the same shot as the last object ball in his group
  • the player has jumped the eight ball off the table

Possible fault situations:

  • the player does not execute a legal stroke
  • the player pockets the cue ball
  • the player does not have at least one foot on the floor
  • the player shoots the cue ball before all other balls have come to a complete stop
  • the player hits the cue ball more than once during a shot
  • the player touches the cue ball with something other than the tip of his cue
  • the player touches any other ball
  • the player causes a ball to leave the table

A legal stroke is defined as:

  • the player hits the cue ball, then the cue ball hits one of the balls of that player's group of balls, then either the player pockets one of the player's own balls (not necessarily the one hit) or any ball hits a cushion.

Differences between UK and US

In the version of pool or Eight Ball played in the United Kingdom, plain unnumbered red balls and yellow balls often replace the solid and striped balls. In Australia, the terms "bigs" (9-15) and "smalls" (1-7) are generally used instead. The black ball, however, still typically bears a number eight. Another difference is that the UK table has pockets just larger than the balls, whereas the American table has pockets significantly larger.

The cue ball is often placed initially directly opposite the other balls, on the boundary line of the kitchen.

Whether a ball contacts the rail, or the player pots one of his own balls, is irrelevant in deciding a foul. Instead, a legal move is one where the cueball first hits one of the balls in the player's own group, and does not pot the cueball, the black ball or any of the balls in the opponent's group. If the player does succeed in potting one of his own balls then he or she will often be rewarded with a free shot.

After a foul stroke in the UK, the offending player will miss a turn - known as the "two shots" rule. This generally replaces the "ball in hand" rule, except in the case that the cueball is potted. In this case the opposing player, in addition to receiving a second shot, may choose where to place the cueball. Sometimes the player is limited to the semicircle ("the D"), although the horizontal boundary line of the "kitchen" can also be permitted. It should also be noted there has never been a one-shot on the black rule despite popular belief, the EPA rules can be found at http://www.epa.org.uk/wrules.php

A common area of contention concerns "fouls on the black". Possibilities include:

  • Any foul committed while shooting for the black ball is an instant loss.
  • Any foul committed while both players are shooting for the black ball is an instant loss.
  • Any foul committed while one's opponent shooting for the black ball only entitles him to one shot.

Similarly, there is contention over two shots "carrying over". Possibilities include:

  1. If a player has two shots, and pots a ball with the first, he still has two shots.
  2. If a player has two shots, and pots a ball with the first, he now has one shot left.
  3. Rule 1 applies unless the potted ball is his last coloured ball, in which case rule 2 applies.

Lastly, the question of "shooting backwards" after the white ball is respotted following being potted. Possibilities here include:

  1. A player may not hit a ball on or behind the line without hitting another ball or cushion first.
  2. A player may not "shoot backwards", but may shoot at balls behind the line provided that the direction of motion of the white ball is forwards.
  3. A player may shoot backwards.

Further disagreement may arise over whether it is acceptable to deliberately pot the white ball (usually if a "no shooting backwards" rule is in effect, and the opponents' balls are behind the line).

Standardized Rules (World 8 Ball rules)

A standardized version of pool rules for professional competitions have been established. These are the rules played in most 8-ball tournaments on television. These rules are often played in amateur leagues as well. World Rules creates differences to encourage quick play and promote skill by making playing a snooker (hook) more difficult and making covering pockets less advantageous.

[1] - World 8 Ball rules with English definitions.

Some examples of these differences would be -

On all shots, the player must cause the Cue Ball's initial contact with a ball to be with a ball "On" and then pot a ball "On" or cause the Cue Ball or any Object Ball to contact a cushion.

This means that an easy snooker cannot always be played.

Also -

In some versions of 8 ball purposefully committing a foul (by potting an opponents ball) is not allowed. World 8 ball rules permits this. Furthermore, the cue ball (white ball) cannot be moved after a foul is committed. This means that pocketing an opponents ball sometimes means that no significant advantage is given to the opposing player. This depends on where the cue ball lies after the shot is played. Care must be taken though as playing a foul shot resulting in a snooker results in a "foul snooker". The opposing player can then play a free ball or play from the baulk.

For further explanations of the definitions of "snooker", "fouls", "on", "Object ball" and "free ball" please visit the sites above.

Blackball Rules

From 1st January 2006, "Blackball" rules were introduced world-wide. They are being introduced in the UK and other countries playing "small table, English pool". The idea is that blackball should unify the various existing rule-sets. Blackball takes the best parts of the all the main types of rules. These rules are sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association. A guide to these rules can be found at www.blackball.info [2] The governing body for blackball in Europe is the European Blackball Association.

See also

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