Rules to play 3 Ball Pool

1. A 3 ball rack can be set up in either a standard sized triangular rack or in a diamond rack. There are also specially made three ball triangle racks. See the images below for racking rule details. To compile a three ball rack, no special ordering or placement of the balls are necessary. Most three ball rules prohibit players from racking the balls when it is his or her turn to break due to the known advantages of certain placement nuances such as .....

Foul Rules

2. There are several 3 ball foul regulations. Fouls cost the shooting player one additional point on top of their initial point for making the stroke. Fouls are assessed in the following situations Performing a double hit on the cue ball. Shooting the cue ball off of the billiard table. Performing a Push Shots. Moving the cue ball or object balls with the butt of the cue or ones hand. Illegal jump shots according to the general rules of pocket bill .....

Ball Scoring

3. Three ball scoring is typically tracked on a chalkboard or a white board, or a piece of paper. Players wimply write down the number of points each player has. It has been noted that during play, it is customary to call out the current score in the format of thats three shooting four. It is worth noting that when calling out the score, players dont say thats three shooting for four so as to prevent confusion. In order to prevent disruption to the .....

Tie

4. Three ball has some fairly crazy terminology when it comes to scoring a tie match. For three ball games played for money, the common all tie or everyone ties, or push are often used. This is where two or more players end up in a tie for the minimum score, and thus, all players return to play again. Note that those players with higher scores also return for the rematch. This is known as if one tie, all tie or if two tie, all tie. As long as the pl .....

Ball Call Shot

5. Players can elect, before play begins, to play a called shot and or called pocket version of three ball rules. In the called version of three ball, players call out two ball in this side pocket before taking the stroke. Balls that are pocketed in a manner inconsistent with what was called are spotted, but no foul results. If playing on a coin operated pool table, balls pocketed in a manner inconsistent with the specifics of the call remain pocket .....

Team Play

6. There are several ways that three ball billiards can be played as a team game. 3 ball scotch doubles can be played with players alternating shots and each team playing only one game per round, just as though there were only two players. Alternatively, players can divide themselves in to equal sized teams where each player on each team plays one complete game per round, and in the end, scores within each team are summed to yield that teams final s .....

Ball Money Pocket

7. A money pocket can be elected in a 3 ball game, before play begins, whereby if a ball is pocketed, the shooting player has one point deducted from his or her score. If during the shot, a foul occurred or multiple balls were pocketed in to various pockets, the money pocket benefit is not applied. Of course, in the money pocket variation of three ball rules, the best score possible is zero, versus a best possible score of 1 in normal three ball rul .....

Variants

8. There are several other 3 ball rule variations, (that are non standard and must be declared before play commences,) and differences that one may encounter depending on the locale. Some nuances include If the shooting player neglects to drive at least one ball to the pocket, or fails to contact another object ball followed by another ball contacting any rail, shall be assessed a foul. (This rule, however, is illogical based on 3 ball scoring rule .....

Ball Technique

9. Clearly those skilled at kiss shots and carom shots would generally have a slight, but statistically significant advantage over those who do not. Consider that a 50% better score can be attained by those able to pocket two balls in one shot, versus those who can not. .....

Training

10. There are several known billiard instructors out there who encourage their trainees to play solo games of 3 ball billiard using the seven, eight, and nine ball as the three balls. We can see how this would be beneficial, psychologically, in preparing players for eight ball or nine ball tournaments. Since the eight and nine ball are common choke points for many players, it can be beneficial to partake in repetitive practice using those exact balls .....

History

11. Although there is no documented proof of the origin of three ball billiards, it seems to have originated from an earlier rotation game having the same name. The original game was played with the balls one through three, and followed the rules of nine ball, with the three ball taking the place of the nine ball. Over the years, 3 ball rules have transformed as such that 3 ball is a game that is more akin to straight pool. .....

Object

12. The object of the game is to sink all of the object balls in as few strokes as possible, with points being added to the players score for each stroke and for specific fouls.Unlike in eight ball and nine ball, the player at turn remains at turn until all object balls are pocketed,or the player concedes or reaches the maximum point limit (see below). All strokes count as one point each, whether they pocketed no balls, one ball or more than one ball .....

Winning

13. Once a players inning is over, the next player starts over with a fresh rack. After all players have finished, the player with the lowest score is declared to be the winner.In a tournament context, the winner of the event may be the player with the lowest total score over many rounds of play (strict scoring), or the highest number of won rounds (loose scoring). In case of a tie, a playoff round is played between the tied players. .....

The break

14. Players turn order is decided at random at the beginning of the game or match, as in other several player pool games. The cue ball is placed anywhere behind the head string (in the kitchen) and a typical hard break (as in nine ball or eight ball) is performed. The break is the first stroke of a players game, and thus counts toward his or her score.Any balls pocketed on the break are considered to be legally pocketed and the player now only has to .....

Keeping score

15. Like the otherwise dissimilar (one shot per turn) several player pool game killer (also known as elimination), three ball is scored on a chalk board or piece of paper to keep track of who has how many points. Because of three balls backwards scoring (compared to other games, which typically have the more points are better scoring that most people are used to), it is customary to help keep score accurately by one or more players intoning the score .....

Called

16. The game can optionally be played in called pocket (e.g. 7 ball in that corner pocket) manner, as per many league variants of eight ball, or in a fully called shot (e.g. kick off that rail to the 7 to 4 ball combo into this side pocket), as per typical North American barroom eight ball played on coin operated tables. Balls illegally pocketed are not considered fouls, but are spotted (if playing on a non coin operated table, otherwise they must lo .....

Instant loss

17. An uncommonly required but serious consequences variant is that if one sinks all three object balls on the break but also scratches or otherwise fouls, this is an instant loss instead of a score of two, taking the form of the player receiving the maximum allowed score (see above),[citation needed] which is technically still tieable, so not truly an instant loss. This rule is an adaptation from nine ball and common North American eight ball, in wh .....

Money pocket

18. In another variant, the pocket into which all wagers have been placed holds a special strategic value to the game if the final ball is sunk into this money pocket, one point is deducted from (thereby improving) that players score. If a foul also occurred, or multiple balls were pocketed on this shot and the final ball to be pocketed did not fall into the money pocket, the point reward does not apply. In this version of the game the best possible .....

Shoot three rounds total

19. The only time someone would not shoot the final round of a game is if there is no way they can win, even if they get an ace. This could occur if one person gets low scores on all three of their rounds and someone else gets high scores on their two rounds. For example, if one person got threes during all three rounds (giving them a total of nine) and another person got a five on two rounds (giving them a total of 10), the person with the 10 has al .....

Tally everyones score

20. The person with the lowest score now becomes the first person to shoot, because this is the score everyone else will want to beat. The person on the list following the new first shooter then shoots and you follow the list from there. In cases of a tie on the first round, whoever was first on the list will be the new first shooter. .....

Continue shooting

21. The remaining pool balls, counting each shot as one point. To make the game quicker, most groups will only allow a maximum of five shots. So, if youve taken your fourth shot and still have balls on the table, you automatically have a five and your turn is over. You can, however, play the version where each person has an unlimited number of shots to clear the table, but you usually play single rounds in this case instead of three rounds. .....

Rack the balls for the first shooter

22. The person who is last on the list will rack for the person who is first. After the first person is finished shooting, they in turn rack for the next person in line and this continues throughout the list with the previous person racking for the next person in line. There are two ways to rack the balls. You can either rack them in a straight line or rack them in a triangle. .....

Next person in line

23. The next person will take their five shots and tally their score and this will continue until each person on the list has shot one round. .....