Games - Eight ball

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	Games - Eight ball

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 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 triangle, called a "rack." The base of the rack is parallel to the short end of the pool table and positioned so the ball in the tip of the rack is located on the foot spot. The balls in the rack are pressed into contact with the foot ball, and remain in contact after the rack is removed. Within the rack, the 8-ball is centered while the two corners are each spotted with one solid ball and one stripe ball (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

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, the 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 potted in the wrong pocket, if the cue ball is potted, or if there is a fault (see below), he/she loses. If neither the cue ball nor the eight ball is potted, the player's turn is over.

Faults

When one player commits a fault, 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.

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

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