rules to play 9 ball pool

Rules to play 9 ball Pool

1. Determining the Break
The player who wins the lag chooses who will break the first rack. (See 1.2 Lagging to Determine Order of Play.) The standard format is to alternate the break, but see Regulation 15, Subsequent Break Shots.
2. Nine ball rack
The object balls are racked as tightly as possible in a diamond shape, with the one ball at the apex of the diamond and on the foot spot and the nine ball in the middle of the diamond. The other balls will be placed in the diamond without purposeful or intentional pattern. (See Regulation 4, Racking Tapping of Balls.)
3. Legal break shot
The following rules apply to the break shot:
(a) the cue ball begins in hand behind the head string; and
(b) if no ball is pocketed, at least four object balls must be driven to one or more rails, or the shot is a foul. (See Regulation 17, Open Break Requirements.)
4. Second Shot of the Rack Push Out
If no foul is committed on the break shot, the shooter may choose to play a push out as his shot. He must make his intention known to the referee, and then rules 6.2 Wrong Ball First and 6.3 No Rail after Contact are suspended for the shot. If no foul is committed on a push out, the other player chooses who will shoot next.
5. Continuing play
If the shooter legally pockets any ball on a shot (except a push out, see 2.4 Second Shot of the Rack Push Out), he continues at the table for the next shot. If he legally pockets the nine ball on any shot (except a push out), he wins the rack. If the shooter fails to pocket a ball or fouls, play passes to the other player, and if no foul was committed, the incoming player must play the cue ball from the position left by the other player.
6. Spotting balls
If the nine ball is pocketed on a foul or push out, or driven off the table, it is spotted. (See 1.4 Spotting Balls.) No other object ball is ever spotted.
7. Standard fouls
If the shooter commits a standard foul, play passes to his opponent. The cue ball is in hand, and the incoming player may place it anywhere on the playing surface.
8. Serious fouls
For 6.14 Three Consecutive Fouls, the penalty is loss of the current rack. For 6.16 Unsportsmanlike Conduct, the referee will choose a penalty appropriate given the nature of the offense.
9. The rack
The object balls are placed in a diamond shaped configuration, with the 1 ball positioned at the front (toward the position of the breaking player) on the foot spot, and the 9 ball placed in the center. The physical rack used to position the balls is typically triangle shaped, usually wood or plastic, and capable of holding all fifteen object balls, although diamond shaped racks that hold only nine balls are sometimes used. The placement of the remaining balls is generally considered to be random. However, in some handicapped tournaments, the ball being spotted to the lesser player must be one of the two balls placed behind the 1 ball at the apex of the rack. An imaginary line drawn through the one ball and back apex of the diamond should be parallel to the long rails of the table (perpendicular to the short rails). The placement of balls is expected to be precise, especially in league and tournament play; If any ball in the rack does not touch each adjacent ball, or if the rack is not straight, or if the 1 ball is not resting precisely on the foot spot, the player assigned the break may demand a re rack.
10. The break
One person is chosen to shoot first, by breaking the rack. Usually this is determined by flipping a coin, or by lagging, especially in professional tournaments in the case of the latter, or it may be ruled by the authority in charge, the sponsor or the players themselves that the winner or loser of the previous game will always shoot first in the next rack. As with most pocket billiard games, the base of the cue ball must be behind the head string for the break shot. If the player who breaks fails to make a legal break, the opponent can either demand a re rack and become the breaker, or continue to play as if it had been an ordinary foul, depending upon the rules of the event. If the breaker pockets a ball and commits no foul, it remains the breakers turn. If the breaker pockets the 9 ball on the break (without fouling), this is an instant win.