POOL

[El Diablo]

ah,

I don't think it's standard to ever play ball-in-hand anywhere in 8-ball. 9-ball, yes.

[kitaristi0]

A pretty common bar rule I've seen is you have to pot the 8 in the opposite pocket of where you potted your last ball. That makes games last a bit longer and gives you more bang for buck. It also sets up some fun tactical warfare type situations when you both only have the black left.

[ QUOTE ]
what if you have one ball left which is also behind the headstring?

[/ QUOTE ]

The way I play is as long as the cue ball goes down the table after you hit your shot it's fine. So you could put a ton of backspin on it or just hit it at an angle to cause the cue ball to roll down the table.

[ohgeetee]

if the table is fairly clear, banking the length of the table isn't usually a difficult task. Put the cue ball anywhere beside the ball you want to hit, and aim half the distance between where the ball is and where you want it to contact, hitting with a bit of follow.

The easiest rule to exploit in bar games is the lack of a safety rule, where you don't have to hit a pocket or rail with the cue ball or target ball after contact. this lets you just kiss your ball on any shot you're snookered on and leave them screwed.

A good friendly/easy to explain rules system is:

call ball and pocket only(no combos, banks, etc. need to be called.)
cue ball or target ball has to hit a rail or go in pocket after contact - scratch if it doesn't
normal scratch results in ball in hand behind the head string
scratch on break is a normal scratch
making 8 on the break is 50/50 instant win or instant loss, in most leagues its instant win.
scratching on the 8 is a loss.

[HDPM]

[ QUOTE ]
ok main question is this:

if you scratch (cue into a pocket) the cue needs to be placed anywhere behind the headstring (correct?)

what if you have one ball left which is also behind the headstring?

Another question is what happens when you hit the wrong ball first (some people say stnd. scratch some say ball in hand anywhere on table).

I kindve wanna make some stnd rules and like print them out + put em on the wall (we did this for beer pong in boston and it works amazing).

edit: also safeties... is it true that after you hit a 'target' ball one of either your cue ball or the target ball must either go into the pocket or hit a rail (or another ball) to not be a scratch?

[/ QUOTE ]

In all American pocket games you must hit a rail or pocket a ball after contacting a ball. You can hit the rail with the ball, the cueball, or any other ball. Hitting another ball does not count. Something must hit a rail after legal contact. Period. My guess is that most bar players don't know that, but it is a rule in all the games. If you don't like it play snooker in London I guess, I dunno.

Standard 8 ball rules give you ball in hand anywhere on a foul. If you play behind the line and your only ball is behind the line, it should spot. I know many bar players don't do this. Forcing a player to kick table length at a ball is crazy when a player fouls. It becomes an advantage to foul. So bar players than often sneer at deliberate safeties or fouls. A small point is that the 3 foul rule does not apply in typical 8 ball games, but some play it I think. So I guess when playing by bad rules learn to "accidentally" miscue into a pocket or something.

When calling shots the only thing necessary to call is the ball and the pocket. the ball can get there by going 10 rails and caroming of 6 balls and the light. Doesn't matter. Ball and pocket. The only game requiring balls go clean is bank pool. I know many bar players like you to have to call minute details of shots.

Pool is a better game when played by actual rules as opposed to the rules often found in bars made up by players who don't know the rules. Avoid playing with them for money, because they will make rules up or start fights and such.

[daryn]

this came up last night. we went to a billiard place for a friend's birthday. i was reminded of how i hate playing pool with basically everyone, because nobody but me seems to know the rules.

things that i hate:

i'll have nothing but the 8 ball left and they of course will have 5 or so balls scattered around. the cue will be stuck behind a few balls making it very improbable that i get a legal shot off. it's my shot. of course they are quick to say IF U SCRATCH U LOSE DOOD!! of course they don't realize that you only lose if you scratch on the 8 shot and the 8 is potted.

another one is ball in hand rule, where they scratch and then they make you put it "behind the line". the worst is when you're on the 8 and the 8 is on the same side of the table, so they force you to make some kind of circus shot where you have to bank it off the far cushion and back. of course, go back to my first gripe, they say if you scratch YOU LOSE LOLOLOOL!!!

another one i came across last night. guy went up to take his shot.. just barely tapped the cue into a neighboring ball. the ball barely moves. then he says "your shot"... as if it's not a scratch. you must drive a ball or the cue to a cushion, or pocket a ball... otherwise you could just go back and forth trading little taps.

this really bugs me more than it shoud.. and most of the time i just "play dumb" and play by the "house rules" or whatever.

also last night some guy scratched on the break, and he was like, "that's the game, we lost" .. WTF? NO you do not lose if you scratch on the break.

[daryn]

nice post HDPM

[FeliciaLee]

Post deleted by FeliciaLee

[DOMIT]

[ QUOTE ]
ah,

I don't think it's standard to ever play ball-in-hand anywhere in 8-ball. 9-ball, yes.

[/ QUOTE ]

At one point (I haven't played tournament pool in 10years tho) it used to be ball in hand on a scratch. Heck, you even had clothing fouls (ie if any part of your clothing touched the balls--some unsavory ppl could use it to move balls into a better position--that was a scratch as well).

The rules for scratching were pretty much the same as 9-ball.. I loved it. But rules are constantly changing, and I've been out of it for so long, that I don't know what they currently are.

I think you did a great job in answering for a house game tho [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[El Diablo]

H,

"Standard 8 ball rules give you ball in hand anywhere on a foul."

Agreed, however that's not how I've ever seen it done in bar play. In pool halls, definitely. Here's the applicable section from the rules I linked above.

"4.14 FOUL PENALTY
Opposing player gets cue ball in hand. This means that the player can place the cue ball anywhere on the table (does not have to be behind the headstring except on opening break). This rule prevents a player from making intentional fouls which would put an opponent at a disadvantage. With “cue ball in hand,” the player may use a hand or any part of a cue (including the tip) to position the cue ball. When placing the cue ball in position, any forward stroke motion contacting the cue ball will be a foul, if not a legal shot. (Also see Rule 3.39.)"

[El Diablo]

DOM,

I was unclear. I was continuing my previous posts answering wrt standard bar/friendly rules in that post. See above for actual rules.