8-Ball, Corner Pocket

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In many pool games the penalty for a foul is ball-in-hand anywhere on the table for the opponent. In some games such as straight pool, a foul results in a loss of one or more points. In one-pocket, in which a set number of balls must be made in a specific pocket, upon a foul the player must return a ball to the table. In some games, three successive fouls in a row is a loss of game. In straight pool, a third successive foul results in a loss of 16 points 15 plus one for the foul. A situation where a player has fouled , leaving the opponent snookered. In UK eight-ball this would normally give the opponent the option of one of two plays: In addition, some variations of the game allow the player to pot one of the opposition's balls, on the first visit only, without the loss of a "free shot".

Also rarely high-run , hi-run , highrun , etc. Also littles , little ones , little balls. Also matchplay , match-play. Also nurse shot , nursery shot , nursery cannon. In carom games such as straight rail , balkline and cushion caroms , where all the balls are kept near each other and a cushion, and with very soft shots, can be "nursed" down a rail on multiple successful shots that effectively replicate the same ball setup so that the nurse shot can be repeated again and again, etc.

Used when describing perfect play; a metaphoric reference to puppetry: Also 1-on-1 , one on one , etc. Also pro side of the pocket ; sometimes "of the pocket" is left off the phrase. The long-rail side of a corner pocket. To "aim for the profession side of the pocket" is to slightly overcut a difficult corner-pocket cut shot , to cheat the pocket , rather than undercutting , especially in nine-ball.

Erring too much in this direction is "missing on the professional side of the pocket. Also red s , the red s. Usually set-up in non-verb form, sometimes setup in noun form particularly. Also pool shark , poolshark US ; sharp , pool sharp British. Also sidespin , side-spin , side. Also topspin , top-spin , top.

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Also treble century , triple-century break , treble-century break. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards. Archived from the original on Pocket Billiards with Cue Tips. The Official Rules and Record Book.

Billiard Congress of America. A Pool Player's Journey. The Eight Ball Bible: The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards. Archived from the original PDF on In-context commentary by pool pro Jerry Forsyth. Collins English Dictionary 5th online ed. Blue Book of Pool Cues first ed. Usage clearly demonstrated in context. Each section of the newspaper page scans on this site can be clicked for a readable closeup. Guidelines for American Rotation AR ". Retrieved September 29, Retrieved January 31, Archived from the original on August 25, Retrieved February 26, Play Your Best Pool.

The Shamos source is the authoritative one, but this site provides an animated illustration of precisely how the chuck nurse works. Archived from the original on June 24, Retrieved November 20, Shane Van Boening and Johnny Archer vs. Nick van den Berg and Niels Feijen. In-context commentary at 18 min. American Journal of Physics. American Association of Physics Teachers. Retrieved June 24, Archived PDF from the original on January 25, Icing On The Cake". In-context commentary by pool pro Danny DiLiberto. English Amateur Billiards Association.

Daily News and Analysis. Event occurs at 1: This tertiary source reuses information from other sources without citing them in detail. Stooke is a snooker instructor and writer whose work appears to be presumptively reliable, based on the sources he does cite throughout his materials. Pool and Billiards For Dummies. Retrieved April 3, Ga-Young Kim May 13, The last black ball has just three chances to select pocket position. Other than the 8 ball, other balls may be placed far more randomly than players in other areas would tolerate, with large clusters of solids together, and stripes with each other.

In most of Latin America , including Mexico, shots are un- call ed, as in British pool i. In many if not most areas Brazil being an exception , fouls result in ball-in-hand behind the head string only, as in American bar pool allowing for intentional scratches that leave the opponent a very difficult shot if all opponent balls are "in the kitchen ", behind the headstring. A common Latin American variant of " last-pocket " is that each player is allowed either one or even two cue-ball scratches when shooting for the 8, which must be pocketed in the same pocket as the shooter's final object ball.

Such fouls simply end the shooter's turn at the table and give the opponent ball-in-hand behind the head string; only the second or third, respectively such scratch is a loss of game though scratching the 8 ball itself off the table or into the wrong pocket is an instant loss. This version is common even in US pool bars that are frequented by recent Latino immigrants. This requirement has a profound effect upon game strategy — it is effectively 5 times harder to run out — and most North American and British, etc.

Players must be very mindful what they do with their last few balls, and common failure to get shape that allows for the last object-ball shot to set the player up for an easy 8 ball shot into the same pocket leads to long games with many bank , kick and kiss shots on the 8. In some parts of Latin America, especially South America, the 1 ball often must be pocketed in the side pocket on the right-hand side of the table relative to the end of the table one breaks from , and the 15 ball must be pocketed in the left side pocket.

This rule probably developed to make it harder to run out after the first shot. Position play takes a larger role in this variation, and a player's strategy must necessarily initially revolve around getting the 1 or 15 in while preventing this opponent from doing likewise. When racking the balls for this variation, the 1 and 15 balls are placed behind the 8 ball at the center of the rack, the 1 ball on the left and the 15 ball on the right from the racker's perspective.

Latino last-pocket is virtually the only version of eight-ball played in Mexico, other than in the Mexico—United States border area. Another variant in Latin America is that the only ball-in-hand behind the head string foul is scratch ing the cue ball into a pocket; other fouls are simply loss-of-turn. Pocketing the 8 ball on the break shot is an instant win, as it usually is in American bar pool, but is not in the international rules. Because Mexican pool, except near the US border, is almost always played on open-pocket pool-hall -style tables, rather than coin-operated tables that trap object balls, any of one's own balls pocketed on a foul are spot ted but how they are spotted varies widely, with the balls often placed against the foot cushion on the center string , and adjacent to nearby diamonds if more than one must be spotted, instead of on the foot spot, but sometimes even to the side at long rail diamonds, due to the influence of coyote , a Mexican variant of Chicago ; foot-spot spotting is neither common nor uncommon.

Pool itself is not considered a very serious game in the country other than in the northern states ; in most of Mexico, three-cushion billiards is the serious game, while pool is mostly played by youths, by groups of friends including many young women as a bar game to pass the time, and by older working-class men as an after-work activity.

In many recreation halls, dominoes is more popular than pool. In many bars in Brazil and not an official rule , a foul is generally punished by pocketing the lowest-numbered ball of the opponent. In that case, the cue ball remains where it stopped, as ball-in-hand is not commonly used. New Zealand eight-ball in many respects is closer to British blackball , but with numbered balls being used.

A "D" is typically drawn on the table above the baulk line as on a snooker table and the shooting player is required to place the cue ball within it on the break-off and after an opponent scratches. The shooting player can shoot the ball in any direction from within the "D". If no "D" is drawn on the table then the "forward play" rule is followed: After a scratch, the player with ball-in-hand must shoot forward of the baulk line, i.

The "nomination" rule is unique to New Zealand: A player snooker ed on the 8 ball may nominate one of the opponent's balls if any remain to hit as an alternative, legal " ball on ". However, the shooter is not permitted to pot pocket such a nominated ball — doing so results in a loss of game.

In North African countries as in Latin America, but reversed , both the 1 and 15 balls must be pocketed in the sides, the 15 on the right and 1 on the left relative to the end of the table one breaks from. The North African version of the informal game is always played " last-pocket ". Ball-in-hand is not taken on fouls, and " bank-the-8 " is a very common rule in addition to last-pocket.

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Pool is popularly played in two forms. Traditionally it is played with smaller balls than the internationally standardized version, on a 4. The cue ball is also slightly smaller than the object balls. The two most common competitive rule sets used on the traditional tables are WEPF world eightball pool rules [7] replacing old EPA rules , [8] and WPA world-standardized blackball rules.

The two standardized competitive rule sets have features to which some amateur pub players object. As one example, WEPF rules permit intentional fouls. As another example, in WPA rules, rather than getting two independent visits after a foul, the incoming player gets one free shot and then play returns to normal. As most pub rules are based around old EPA rules, in which two visits are awarded rather than a free shot amateurs are often unhappy with this difference in blackball, although it is in no way as offensive as intentional fouls which are illegal in blackball and result in loss of frame.

Standardized Rules for 8-Ball

Not all differences are controversial. Both WEPF and WPA require a player to either pot on their visit, or drive any ball, including the white, into a cushion after hitting a legal object ball, or else they give a foul. Although the precise specifics of the rule are a mouthful, many amateur players find the it acceptable. It is primarily as a way to prevent "tucking up", whereby a player does not attempt to pot and instead just rolls up to their object ball to use it to snooker their opponent; tucking up is seen as unsporting, so being forced to play harder shots is quite welcomed.

There are several sets of rules which use a combination of many others in an attempt to find a balance between WPA rules, which are seen as more aggressive, and WEPF rules which are often referred to, pejoratively, as "chess" because of the amount of safety play they encourage, which can drag a game out.

During game play, if the player fails to hit a ball of the designated group, or hits the opponent's ball with the cue ball, then the opponent receives 2 shots unless the opponent has pocketed all his or her balls and only the 8 ball remains, in which case the opponent will only get one shot. In case of such a foul, the game continues with the player playing the cue ball at the place where it stopped. If a scratch occurs, then the opponent plays ball-in-hand, but is only allowed to place it anywhere in the D. However, that player may shoot the cue ball in any direction. Knocking a ball apart from the cue ball off the table carries no penalty.

Instead, the misplaced ball is returned to its original place and the game continues. If a scratch or other foul occurs while playing the 8 ball, as long as the opponent has at least one ball of his or her group present on the table and the 8 ball is not pocketed, the game continues. In both cases of this foul-on-the-8 situation, the opponent gets two chances regardless of whether any balls are potted on the first chance before the fouling player may shoot again. In these circumstances, treatment of the cue ball depends on the type of foul.

If the cue ball had been scratched, the cue ball must be placed behind the break line. If the incoming opponent scratches, [ clarification needed ] the player who originally fouled now receives two chances. When the 8 ball is the only ball on the table, any kind of foul ends the game, and the opponent of the fouling player wins.

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Most commonly of all in American bar pool — sometimes called straight eight by its aficionados, and usually played on coin-operated, smaller tables — a requirement may be that all shots be called in detail. The shot considered a turn-ending but not ball-in-hand foul if not executed precisely as planned, but a loss of game if the "foul" shot pocketed the 8 ball.

In informal amateur play in most areas, the table will only be considered open if no balls were pocketed, or an equal number of stripes and solids were pocketed, or the cue ball was scratch ed into a pocket or off the table , on the break ; if an odd number of balls were legally pocketed, such as one solid and two stripes, or no solids and one stripe, the breaker must shoot the balls that were pocketed in the greatest quantity stripes in these examples.

The table is almost never considered so open as for it to be legal to use a ball of the opposite suit , much less the 8 ball, as the first ball in a combination shot while the table is open despite this being perfectly legal in WPA World Standardized and many US league rules. In non- money games it is fairly common for a foul break in which the rack was not struck at all e. Fouls, in common bar pool, that are not cue-ball scratches generally only cause loss of turn, with cue ball left in place even if it is hook ed.

Even in the case of a scratch, this only results in ball-in-hand behind the head string.

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In some cases any foul while shooting at but not pocketing the 8 is a loss of game, in others only a foul while otherwise successfully pocketing the 8, and in yet others only certain fouls, such as also sinking an opponent's ball and the 8 on the same shot, or hitting the 8 then cue-ball scratching, are game-losing.

What is considered a foul further diverges from established, published rulesets. Scoop-under jump shot s are usually considered valid these are fouls in WPA and most league rules, as they are double-hit s, though few players realize it. When a cue ball is frozen or near-frozen to an object ball, shooting it dead-on, in line with both balls, is a foul in most formal rulesets as another kind of double-hit , but is generally tolerated in bar pool.

Other US bar pool oddities varying from area to area include: Playing bank-the-eight may be considered rude if other players are waiting for a turn at the table. A similarly motivated variant is " last-pocket ", in which the 8 ball must be pocketed in the same pocket as the shooting player's last object ball i. This variant is also popular in Mexico. Due probably to the influence of nine-ball , in which the 1 ball must be the apex ball of the rack, most American bar players traditionally rack a game of eight-ball with the 1 ball in this position.

Racking is also typically done solid-stripe-solid-stripe-solid along the two sides of the rack, resulting in solids being on all three corners. In the United Kingdom , eight-ball pool and its internationally standardized variant blackball has evolved into an overall rather different game, influenced by English billiards and snooker , and has become popular in amateur competition in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and some other countries. As with American-style eight-ball, there are multiple competing standards bodies that have issued international rules.

Aside from using unnumbered object balls except for the 8 , UK-style tables have pockets just larger than the balls. More than one type of rest is typically used. Most tables do not have diamond s on the rails, and consequently the racking spot is on the baulk line not at the second-diamond headstring. The rules significantly differ in numerous ways, including the handling of fouls, which may give the opponent two shots, racking the 8 ball, not the apex ball, goes on the spot , selection of which group of balls will be shot by which player, handling of frozen balls and snooker s, and many other details.

The English Pool Association [11] is recognized by the Sports Council as the governing body for pool including blackball in England. The hybrid game eight-ball rotation is a combination of eight-ball and rotation , in which the players must pocket their balls other than the 8, which remains last in numerical order.

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