Eight-ball is a pocket billiards (pool) game popular in much of the world, and the subject of international amateur and professional competition. Pocket billiards, most commonly referred to as pool, is the general term for a family of games played on a specific class of Billiards table, having 6 receptacles It is played with sixteen balls (a cue ball and fifteen object balls) on a pool table with six pockets. Billiard balls are used in Cue sports, such as Carom billiards, pool, and Snooker. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles A billiard table or billiards table (or more specifically a pool table or snooker table) is a bounded table on which billiards-type games TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

Contents 1 History 2 International rules 2.1 Equipment 2.2 Setup 2.3 Break 2.4 Turns 2.5 Pocketing the 8 ball 2.6 Winning 2.7 Fouls 3 English-style rules 4 Eight-ball rotation 5 Informal rule variations 5.1 Australia 5.2 Canada 5.3 Latin America 5.4 New Zealand 5.5 North Africa 5.6 United Kingdom 5.7 United States 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

History

The game of eight-ball is derived from an earlier game invented around 1900 (first recorded in 1908) and initially popularized under the name "B. B. C. Co. Pool" (a name that was still in use as late as 1925) by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. The Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is a United States -based Corporation that has been involved in This forerunner game was played with seven yellow and seven red balls, a black ball, and the cue ball. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles Today, numbered stripes and solids are preferred in most of the world, though the British-style variant uses the traditional colors. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles The game had relatively simple rules compared to today and was not added (under any name) to an official rule book until 1940. ^{[1]:24, 89–90 [2][3][4]}

International rules

American-style eight-ball rules are played around the world by professionals, and in many amateur leagues. The rules for eight-ball may be the most contested of any billiard game. There are several competing sets of "official" rules. The non-profit World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), with national affiliates such as the Billiard Congress of America (BCA), promulgates the World Standardised Rules^[5] for amateur and professional play. The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA is the international governing body for Pocket billiards (and also sactions rules and events for Carom billiards The Billiard Congress of America is a governing body for Cue sports in the United States. The for-profit International Pool Tour has also established an international set of rules^[6] for professional and semi-professional play, used in major tournaments broadcast on television. The International Pool Tour is a professional sports tour created in 2005 by Kevin Trudeau. Meanwhile, many amateur leagues, such as the American Poolplayers Association (APA) / Canadian Poolplayers Association (CPA), and the Valley National Eight-ball Association (VNEA) / VNEA Europe, use their own rulesets as their standards (most of them at least loosely based on the WPA/BCA version), while millions of individuals play informally using colloquial rules which vary not only from area to area but even from venue to venue. The American Poolplayers Association ( APA) was founded in 1981 although with roots dating back to the National Pool League (founded in 1979.

A summary of the international rules follows (see the WPA/BCA or IPT published rules, which conflict on minor points, for more details):

Equipment

There are seven solid-colored balls numbered 1 through 7, seven striped balls numbered 9 through 15, an 8 ball, and a cue ball. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

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

The table's playing surface is approximately 9 ft. by 4. 5 ft. (regulation size), though some leagues/tournaments may allow other sizes.

Setup

To start the game, the object balls are placed in a triangular rack. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles A rack is the name given to a frame (usually Wood or Plastic) used to organize Billiard balls at the beginning of a game The base of the rack is parallel to the end rail (the short end of the pool table) and positioned so the apex ball of the rack is located on the foot spot. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles 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 placement of the balls, for a legal rack according to World Standardised Rules is that the 8 ball is placed in the center, while the two lower corners must be a stripe and a solid (see image). The cue ball is placed anywhere the breaker desires inside the "kitchen". TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

Break

One person is chosen (by a predetermined method, e. g. , coin flip, win or loss of previous game, lag) to shoot first and break the object ball rack apart. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles If the shooter who breaks fails to make a legal break (usually defined as at least four balls hitting cushions or an object ball being pocketed), then the opponent can demand a re-rack and become the breaker, or elect to play from the current position of the balls. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

If the breaker pockets a ball, it is still that player's turn and the table is considered "open" (meaning the breaker can still make any object ball to determine if he/she will only shoot solids or stripes throughout the game). TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles If the breaker fails to make another ball after the break, the table is still considered "open" until someone legally pockets a ball.

According to World Standardized Rules, if the 8 ball is pocketed on the break, the breaker may ask for a re-rack or have the 8 ball spotted and continue shooting. If the breaker scratches while pocketing the 8 ball on the break, the incoming player has the option of a re-rack or having the 8 ball spotted and begin shooting with ball-in-hand behind the head string. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

For regional variations, see below.

Turns

A player (or team) will continue to shoot until committing a foul (fault), taking a safety, or failing to legally pocket an object ball on a non-safety shot. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles 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. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

Pocketing the 8 ball

Once all of a player's or team's group of object balls are pocketed, they may attempt to sink the 8 ball. To win, the player or team 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, is knocked off the table, or a foul (see below) occurs and the 8 ball is pocketed, the player loses the game. Otherwise, the player's turn is over (including if a foul occurs on an unsuccessful attempt to pocket the 8 ball; in some leagues, such as the VNEA, such fouls are also loss of game, but not in World Standardized Rules).

Winning

Any of the following circumstances result in a game win:

• A player legally pockets the 8 ball into a designated pocket, after all his or her object balls have been pocketed
• The opposing player illegally pockets the 8 ball (e. g. before clearing all of his/her object balls, does so on the same shot as the last such object ball, or it falls into a pocket other than the one that was designated)
• The opposing player commits any foul, including scratching the cue ball into a pocket, or knocking it off the table, during the same inning that the 8 ball is pocketed. A scratch or foul is not a loss of the game if the 8 ball is not pocketed or jumped from the table.
• The opposing player knocks the 8 ball off the table.

Fouls

• The shooter fails to strike one of his/her 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 includes "split" shots, where the cue ball strikes one of the shooter's and one of the opponent's object ball simultaneously. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles
• No ball comes into contact with a cushion or is pocketed, after legal cue ball contact with the (first) object ball (or 8 ball, if shooting for the 8).
• The cue ball is pocketed ("scratched")
• The shooter does not have at least one foot on the floor (this requirement may be waived if the shooter is disabled in a relevant way, or the venue has not provided a mechanical bridge)
• The cue ball is shot before all balls have come to a complete stop from the previous shot
• The cue ball is struck more than once during a shot
• The cue ball is jumped entirely or partially over an obstructing ball with an illegal jump shot that scoops under the cue ball
• The cue ball is clearly pushed, with the cue tip remaining in contact with it more than momentarily
• The shooter touches the cue ball with something other than the tip of the cue
• The shooter touches any other ball (with body, clothing or equipment), other than as necessary to move the cue ball when the player has ball-in-hand
• The shooter knocks a ball off the table
• The shooter has shot out-of-turn
• On the break shot, no balls are pocketed and fewer than four balls reach the cushions (in which case the incoming player can demand a re-rack and take the break or force the original breaker to re-break, or may take ball-in-hand and shoot the balls as they lie)

English-style rules

Main article: Blackball (pool)

In the United Kingdom, blackball as an overall rather different version of the game has evolved, influenced by English billiards and snooker, and has become popular in amateur competition in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and some other countries. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English billiards, called simply billiards in many former British colonies and in Great Britain where it originated also known variously as the English game Snooker is a Cue sport that is played on a large Baize -covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long As with American eight-ball, there are two competing standards bodies that have issued international rules. Aside from using unnumbered object balls (except for the 8), UK-style tables have pockets just larger than the balls, and more than one type of rest is typically employed. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles The rules significantly differ in numerous ways, including the handling of fouls, which may give the opponent two shots, racking (the 8 ball, not the apex ball, goes on the foot spot), selection of which group of balls will be shot by which player, handling of frozen balls and snookers, and many other details. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

The English Pool Association [1] is recognized by the Sports Council as the governing body for pool including blackball in England. UK Sport is the United Kingdom 's organisation for directing the development of Sport within the home countries.

Eight-ball rotation

For more details on this topic, see Rotation (pool). Rotation, sometimes called rotation pool or 61, is a pocket billiards (pool game requiring a standard pool table, and triangular rack

The hybrid game eight-ball rotation is a combination of eight-ball and rotation, in which the players must pocket their balls (other than the 8, which remains last) in numerical order. Rotation, sometimes called rotation pool or 61, is a pocket billiards (pool game requiring a standard pool table, and triangular rack

Informal rule variations

Australia

Australian pub play may stipulate that if one loses the game with all seven of one's object balls remaining on the table, one has been "pantsed" and must hobble one full lap around the pool table, with one's pants around one's ankles, or even fully naked. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles (See also related New Zealand and UK variants. )

Canada

In Canada there is a similar level and type of variation as in the US (see below). One particularly common feature of Canadian bar pool is the "hooked yourself on the 8" rule — failure to hit the 8 ball when one is shooting for the 8 is a loss of game, unless one was hooked (snookered) by one's opponent (even then, if a pocket is called for the 8, as opposed to "just a shot", i. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles e. a safety, failure to hit the 8 is an instant loss). TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles Pocketing an opponent's object ball while shooting for the 8, even if the shot was otherwise legal, is also a game-loser, often even in local league play. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles "Split" shots, where the cue ball simultaneously strikes a legal and an opponent's object balls, are generally considered legal shots in informal games, as long as they are called as split shots, and the hit is in fact simultaneous to the human eye. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles A further Canadian bar-pool peccadillo is that a shot is a visit-ending (but not ball-in-hand) foul if one pockets one's called shot but also pockets another ball incidentally, even if it is one's own (however, if that secondary pocketing was also called, the shot is legal, regardless of the order in which the balls were dropped). TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

Latin America

In Mexico and parts of South America, the 1 ball often must be pocketed in the right side pocket (relative to the end of the table one breaks from), and the 15 ball must be pocketed in the other side pocket (left). This rule probably developed to make it harder to run out after the first shot. Position play takes a larger role in this variation, and many times a player's strategy will revolve around getting the 1 or 15 in. When racking the balls for this variation, the 1 and 15 balls are placed behind the 8 ball at the center of the rack, the 1 ball on the right and the 15 ball on the left (from the racker's perspective).

A Latin American variant of "last-pocket" is that each player is allowed two cue ball scratches when shooting for the 8, which must be pocketed in the same pocket as the shooter's final object ball; such fouls simply end the shooter's turn at the table and give the opponent ball-in-hand; only the third such scratch is a loss of game (though scratching the 8 ball itself off the table or into the wrong pocket is an instant loss); this version is common even in US pool bars that are dominated by recent Latino immigrants. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

In Brazil, a foul is generally punished by pocketing the lowest-numbered ball of the opponent.

New Zealand

A traditional informal rule in New Zealand is the "down-trou" requirement: A player who loses without pocketing any of their own balls is expected to honour this humiliation by dropping their pants. Trousers are an item of Clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth stretching across ^[7] (See also related Australian and UK variants. )

North Africa

In North African countries, as in Latin America, both the 1 and 15 balls must be pocketed in the sides, the 15 on the right and 1 on the left (relative to the end of the table one breaks from). The North African version of the informal game is always played "last-pocket". TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles Ball-in-hand is not taken on fouls, and "bank-the-8" is a very common rule in addition to last-pocket. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

United Kingdom

Further information: Blackball

There are several colloquial blackball variations, which along with differences between published blackball rules and American-style eight-ball can be encountered by eight-ball players as a form of culture clash when playing against opponents who are more accustomed to UK pub pool, the two-shot rules being the most significant. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

The "pantsed" rule of Australian pub play is also becoming more commonplace in universities and pubs in the UK, where it is called being "seven-balled", and may require hobbling exposed around the table as many as three times. (See also the related New Zealand variant. )

United States

"Bank-the-8" is a common American amateur variation, especially on coin-operated bar tables (because it usually makes the game last longer), in which the 8 ball must be banked or kicked, off one or more cushions, into the called pocket; either player may suggest bank-the-eight at any time before or during the game, and the other may accept or refuse; all other rules apply as usual. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles Playing bank-the-eight may be considered rude if there is a long line of players waiting to use the table.

A similarly-motivated variant is "last-pocket", in which the 8 ball must be pocketed in the same pocket as the shooting player's last object ball (i. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles e. , each player may be said to eventually "own" a pocket in which their 8 ball shot must be played if they have already run out their suit); all other rules apply as usual. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

In informal amateur play in some regions, the table will only be considered open if no balls were pocketed, or an equal number of stripes and solids were pocketed, or the cue ball was scratched, on the break; if an odd number of balls were legally pocketed, such as one solid and two stripes, or no solids and one stripe, the breaker must shoot the stripes (in these examples). It is also a common house rule in some areas that if the cue ball is pocketed or flies off the table on the break, the breaker loses the game instantly. In non-money games it is common for a foul break in which the rack was not struck at all (e. g. , due to a miscue) to be re-shot by the original breaker. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles

In common bar pool, fouls that are not cue ball scratches into a pocket or off the table generally only cause loss of turn, with cue ball left in place (even if it is snookered). Even in the case of a cue ball scratch, this only results in ball-in-hand behind the head string. TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles Handling of fouls while shooting at and/or pocketing the 8 ball varies widely, from area to area, in bar pool. In some cases any foul while shooting at but not pocketing the 8 is a loss of game, in others only a foul while otherwise successfully pocketing the 8, and in yet others only certain fouls, such as also sinking an opponent's ball, while pocketing the 8 (that last is not even a recognized foul of any kind in the international and major American-style tournament/league rulesets. )

Other US bar pool oddities from area to area include: Knocking the cue ball off the table on the break may be an instant loss; scratching the cue ball on the break may be an instant loss; pocketing the 8 ball on the break may be either an instant win or instant loss; no safeties may be allowed at all — all shots must be an at least vaguely plausible attempt to pocket a legal ball; scoop-under jump shots are usually considered valid; all jump shots may be banned; massé shots may be banned; it may be illegal to use the 8 ball in any way in combinations, caroms or kisses; the table is almost never considered so open as for it to be legal to use the 8 ball, or a ball of the opposite suit, as the first ball in a combination shot while the table is open; the 8 ball may be required to be pocketed "cleanly" in the sense of no contact with other object balls (even if the kiss shot can be accurately called); failure to hit one of one's own object balls (or the 8 if shooting for the 8) is considered a "table scratch" and gives the opposing person a shot in-hand from behind the head string; "split" shots, where the cue ball simultaneously strikes a legal and an opponent's object balls, may be considered legal shots, as long as they are called as split shots, and the hit is in fact simultaneous to the human eye; most commonly of all, it may be required that all shots must be called in detail, as to what balls and bank/kick cushions will be involved in the shot, with the shot considered a turn-ending (but not ball-in-hand) foul if not executed precisely as planned (and a loss of game if the "foul" shot pocketed the 8 ball); or completely oppositely, that nothing other than the 8-ball has to be called in any way — "slop" can count (mostly). TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles TemplateCuegloss will have to be hacked to support multi-page articles Most league (i. e. , more formal, "official" rules) players are also bar pool players in other circumstances and will switch back and forth between league rules and their local house rules, depending on whom their opponents are.

Due probably to the influence of nine-ball, in which the 1 ball must be the apex ball of the rack, most American bar players traditionally rack a game of eight-ball with the 1 ball in this position. Nine-ball is a contemporary pocket billiards (pool game with historical beginnings rooted in the United States and traceable to the 1920s Racking is also typically done solid-stripe-solid-stripe-solid along the two sides of the rack, resulting in solids being on all three corners. This is not a legal rack in World Standardised Rules, nor any other notable league ruleset, because it gives an automatic, strong statistical advantage to solids.

See also

• List of World Eight-ball Champions

References

External links

• World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) — the International Olympic Committee-recognised promulgator of international rules for a variety of cue sports including eight-ball.

• Billiard Congress of America (BCA) — the US national WPA affiliate and self-described "governing body of pool" in North America

• American Poolplayers Association — the self-described world's largest pool league (site also provides pool-related news and articles); see also the affiliated Canadian Poolplayers Association

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