When you can’t come to an agreement, the best thing to do is to find 8 ball pool rules: the simple version. The rules you know aren’t quite the same as the rules your opponent plays by. Chances are you’ve probably been in the middle of a game with someone when a certain rule pauses the game and leads to controversy. Shop for pool ball racks, break cues, and more here at, and be ready to take on eight ball.There are so many different variations of 8-ball pool that it’s hard to know which set of rules to play by. Special thanks to the BCA for shedding light on this topic and creating the rules that are so easy to understand and follow. Just click the link at the top of the article and it will take you to a page on the BCA's website with all the official rules and regulations for the game of 8 ball. Safeties, combo shots, jump and masse shots and more can all be found at the BCA's website. These are just the basics as there are quite a few other rules involved with the details of the game. There are a few ways you can lose beyond simply not sinking the 8 ball first: if you foul when you pocket the 8 ball, jump the 8 ball off the table, pocket the 8 ball in the wrong pocket, pocketing the 8 ball when it isn't the legal object ball. Once your balls are clear, call the 8 ball and sink it. When a player pockets a called ball following the break, that's when you choose whether you're solids or stripes. After the break, the table is open regardless of whether or not any balls have been pocketed. The way you choose your ball group is fairly simple. If a ball goes into a pocket, but it isn't the called pocket, that would be the definition of slop. That means you have to choose the pocket where you're shooting before taking your shot. Traditionally, 8 ball is a "call shot" game. Likewise, if you sink the 8 ball on the break, you don't win. If you scratch on the break you don't automatically lose, the other player just gets ball in hand behind the head string. Be sure to set the break rules BEFORE the start of a game. The most common breaking orders are either alternating or loser breaks. After the opening break, breaking order varies based on the rules you set up at the start. Usually the one who wins the opening lag gets the first break. When you rack 'em, make sure that the rack is tight and that the front ball is on the foot spot. Put the 8 ball in the center, a solid on one corner and a stripe on the other corner and you're good to go. Some people insist that the balls have to be "boy/girl" with solids and stripes alternating in order, but that really isn't true. Racking the balls really isn't as complex as people make it.
#8 BALL POOL TABLE HOW TO#
We'll get into how to choose who's solids and who's stripes a little later. One player is solids (balls 1-7) and the other is stripes (9-15). Sink your balls to get to the 8 ball, then pocket the 8 ball to win. For the complete rules, we recommend that you visit the BCA's website. Keep in mind though that these are just the basics. In order to shed some light onto the rules, we decided to give an overview of the rules of the game with the help of our friends from the Billiards Congress of America (BCA). Surprisingly enough, there is quite a bit of confusion and dissention as to the actual rules of these games. We all love pool, whether its 8 ball, 9 ball or any of the other myriad of games you can play on a pool table. View All Pool Table Repair and Maintenance.View All Standard Pool Table Accessories.