The Pool

1. Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards (mostly in North America) or pool billiards(mostly in Europe and Australia), is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the rails, into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight ball and nine ball. An obsolete term for pool is six pocket. .....

Pool Game types

2. There are hundreds of pool games. Some of the more well known include eight ball, nine ball, ten ball, straight pool, one pocket and bank pool. There are also hybrid games combining aspects of both pool and carom billiards, such as American four ball billiards, cowboy pool and bottle pool. 1 Eight ball 2 Nine ball 3 Three ball 4 One pocket 5 Bank pool .....

General Rules

3. The following General Rules apply to all the games covered by these rules except when contradicted by specific game rules. In addition, the Regulations of Pool Billiards cover aspects of the game not directly related to the game rules, such as equipment specifications and organization of events. The games of Pool Billiards are played on a flat table covered with cloth and bounded by rubber cushions. The player uses a stick (pool cue) to strike a .....

Players Responsibility

4. It is the players responsibility to be aware of all rules, regulations and schedules applying to competition. While tournament officials will make every reasonable effort to have such information readily available to all players as appropriate, the ultimate responsibility rests with the player. .....

Lagging to Determine Order of Play

5. The lag is the first shot of the match and determines order of play. The player who wins the lag chooses who will shoot first. The referee will place a ball on each side of the table behind the head string and near the head string. The players will shoot at about the same time to make each ball contact the foot cushion with the goal of returning the ball closer to the head cushion than the opponent. A lag shot is bad and cannot win if the shooter .....

Players Use of Equipment

6. The equipment must meet existing WPA equipment specifications. In general, players are not permitted to introduce novel equipment into the game. The following uses, among others, are considered normal. If the player is uncertain about a particular use of equipment, he should discuss it with the tournament management prior to the start of play. The equipment must be used only for the purpose or in the manner that the equipment was intended. (a) Cu .....

Spotting Balls

7. Balls are spotted by placing them on the long string as close as possible to the foot spot and between the foot spot and the foot rail, without moving any interfering ball. If the spotted ball cannot be placed on the foot spot, it should be placed in contact (if possible) with the corresponding interfering ball. However, when the cue ball is next to the spotted ball, the spotted ball should not be placed in contact with the cue ball; a small sepa .....

Cue Ball in Hand

8. When the cue ball is in hand, the shooter may place the cue ball anywhere on the playing surface and may continue to move the cue ball until he executes a shot. Players may use any part of the cue stick to move the cue ball, including the tip, but not with a forward stroke motion. In some games and for most break shots, placement of the cue ball may be restricted to the area behind the head string depending on the rules of the game, and then 6.10 .....

Standard Call Shot

9. In games in which the shooter is required to call shots, the intended ball and pocket must be indicated for each shot if they are not obvious. Details of the shot, such as cushions struck or other balls contacted or pocketed are irrelevant. Only one ball may be called on each shot. For a called shot to count, the referee must be satisfied that the intended shot was made, so if there is any chance of confusion, e.g. with bank, combination and simi .....

Balls Settling

10. A ball may settle slightly after it appears to have stopped, possibly due to slight imperfections in the ball or the table. Unless this causes a ball to fall into a pocket, it is considered a normal hazard of play, and the ball will not be moved back. If a ball falls into a pocket as the result of such settling, it is restored as closely as possible to its original position. If a settling ball falls into a pocket during or just prior to a shot, a .....

Restoring a Position

11. When necessary for balls to be restored or cleaned, the referee will restore disturbed balls to their original positions to the best of his ability. The players must accept the referee?s judgment as to placement. .....

Outside Interference

12. When outside interference occurs during a shot that has an effect on the outcome of that shot, the referee will restore the balls to the positions they had before the shot, and the shot will be replayed. If the interference had no effect on the shot, the referee will restore the disturbed balls and play will continue. If the balls cannot be restored to their original positions, the situation is handled like a stalemate. .....

Prompting Calls and Protesting Rulings

13. If a player feels that the referee has made an error in judgment, he may ask the referee to reconsider his call or lack of call, but the referee?s decision on judgment calls is final. However, if the player feels that the referee is not applying the rules correctly, he may ask for ruling by the designated appeals authority. The referee will suspend play while this appeal is in process. Fouls must be called promptly. .....

Concession

14. If a player concedes, he loses the match. For example, if a player unscrews his jointed playing cue stick while the opponent is at the table and during the opponent?s decisive rack of a match, it will be considered a concession of the match. .....

Stalemate

15. If the referee observes that no progress is being made towards a conclusion, he will announce his decision, and each player will have three more turns at the table. Then, if the referee determines that there is still no progress, he will declare a stalemate. If both players agree, they may accept the stalemate without taking their three additional turns. The procedure for a stalemate is specified under the rules for each game. .....

Eight ball

16. Eight ball is a pool game popular in much of the world, and the subject of international professional and amateur competition. Played on a pool table with six pockets, the game is so universally known in some countries that beginners are often unaware of other pool games and believe the word pool itself refers to eight ball. The game has numerous variations, including Alabama eight ball, crazy eight, last pocket, misery, Missouri, 1 and 15 in the .....

Equipments

17. The tables playing surface is approximately 9 by 4.5 feet (2.7 by 1.4 m) (regulation size), though some leagues and tournaments using the World Standardized Rules may allow smaller sizes, down to 7 by 3.5 feet (2.1 by 1.1 m), and early 20th century 10 by 5 feet (3.0 by 1.5 m) models are sometimes also used. There are seven solid colored balls numbered 1 through 7, seven striped balls numbered 9 through 15, an 8 ball, and a cue ball. The balls are .....

Setup

18. To start the game, the object balls are placed in a triangular rack. The base of the rack is parallel to the end rail 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 balls together from the back of the rack toward the apex ball. The order of the balls should be random, with the exceptions of the .....

Break

19. One person is chosen (by a predetermined method, e.g., coin flip, win or loss of previous game, or lag) to shoot first and break the object ball rack apart. If the shooter who breaks fails to make a legal break , then the opponent can call for a re rack and become the breaker, or elect to play from the current position of the balls. Long exposure photograph of a break in eight ball According to World Standardized Rules, if the 8 ball is pocketed .....

Turns

20. A player (or team) will continue to shoot until committing a foul, or failing to legally pocket an object ball on a non foul shot (whether intentionally or not). Thereupon it is the turn of the opposing player(s). Play alternates in this manner for the remainder of the game. Following a foul, the incoming player has ball in hand anywhere on the table, unless the foul occurred on the break shot, as noted previously. .....

Pocketing the 8 ball

21. Once all of a players or teams group of object balls are pocketed, they may attempt to sink the 8 ball. To win, the player must first designate which pocket they plan to sink the 8 ball into and then successfully pot the 8 ball in that called pocket. If the 8 ball falls into any pocket other than the one designated or is knocked off the table, or a foul occurs and the 8 ball is pocketed, this results in loss of game. Otherwise, the shooters turn .....

Winning

22. Any of the following results in a game win: A player legally pockets the 8 ball into a designated pocket, after all of that players object balls have been pocketed The opposing player illegally pockets the 8 ball (e.g. before clearing all of that players object balls, does so on the same shot as the last such object ball, or the 8 falls into a pocket other than the one that was designated) The opposing player knocks the 8 ball off the table. The .....

Fouls of Pool

23. The shooter fails to strike one of his own object balls (or the 8 ball, if all of said object balls are already pocketed) with the cue ball, before other balls (if any) are contacted by the cue ball. This excludes split shots, where the cue ball strikes one of the shooters and one of the opponents object ball simultaneously.No ball comes into contact with a cushion or is pocketed, after legal cue ball contact with the (first) object ball (or 8 ba .....