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For example, if the first ball scored in the game is the 3-ball, then the player must pocket the rest of the balls from 1 to 7 while the opposing player attempts to pocket all the balls from 9 to 15. The turn passes from one player to the next whenever the shooter fails to pocket a ball of his category or fouls. A player legally pocketing a ball of his category must continue to shoot. Winner of the game is the player pocketing his numerical group of balls first, followed by legally pocketing the 8-ball. The 8-ball must be pocketed in a marked pocket.
1. LAGGING - Players will lag to see who has first break and from that point on the winner breaks. If the lagged balls make contact during the lag, lag over.
2. RACKING - All balls should be frozen (touching) as tightly as possible. The breaking player may request and receive a re-rack.
3. BREAKING - Players must break from behind the head string. To be a legal break, the head ball or second ball must be struck first and at least four balls must be driven to the rails or a ball must be pocketed. The cue ball may not be shot into a rail before the rack. An attempt to break does not count unless the rack is broken as above. Otherwise, the balls are re-racked and re-broken by the same player. A game not legally broken, but resulting in a scratch or a foul, will be re-racked and broken by the opposite player. THE RACK MUST BE STRUCK BEFORE A FOUL CAN OCCUR. Breaking safe or soft is not allowed. The League Operator may make judgments and issue penalties to teams and players who are not breaking hard. Breaking just hard enough to comply with this rule is not a guarantee against penalties. Remember, break as hard as you can with control.
4. AFTER THE BREAK - Various circumstances can occur upon completion of the break. They are:
a. A foul on the break will result in ball-in-hand behind the head string and the incoming player has an open table as defined in "4e." The incoming player may then shoot at any ball that is outside the head string. Outside the head string is determined by aligning the middle or base of the ball with the imaginary line (head string) between the centers of the two appropriate diamonds (see diagram of table).
If an object ball is dead center on the head string, or out, then it is playable. If it is in, the ball is not playable. If the two players cannot agree on an object ball being in or out, then a third party is consulted for an opinion. If a third party is consulted, his opinion is final. If no third party is available or agreed upon, then a flip of a coin will decide the issue.
The cue ball must be in as described above before play can begin. It is up to the opponent to check to be sure the cue ball is in before it is shot. This is not a foul; no penalty may be assessed. The shooter must move the cue ball into a position acceptable to the opponent. To refuse and shoot anyway will be considered a sportsmanship violation to be reported to the League Office.
b. No balls are pocketed and it is the other player's turn.
c. The 8-ball is made. This is a winner unless the player scratches, in which case he loses.
d. One ball is made. As an example, the 3-ball; now it is still the breaker's turn and he is shooting low balls or the solids.
e. One of each type ball is made (example: the 6-ball and the 12-ball). Now the breaker has his choice. He may shoot at either type of ball. He may shoot any ball, except the 8-ball, and anything that goes in counts. If he were to make one of each on his second shot, he would still have an open table and the same choice as after the break. If he were to miss or foul on his second shot, his opponent would have an open table. If the opponent then shoots and makes a ball, but also fouls on the shot, it is still an open table. Open table means a player can shoot a combination involving a stripe and a solid and whichever he makes, without committing a foul, would be his category.
Example: If a player has an open table, and he shoots the 6-ball into the 10-ball, and the 10-ball goes in the pocket, he has stripes (high balls) and must strike the stripes first from that point on.
f. If two balls of one type and one ball of the other type are pocketed (example: 3, 6, and 10-balls) it is the shooter's choice just as in "4e" above.
g. Occasionally it occurs after the break, or anytime during the game for that matter, that a player mistakenly starts shooting the wrong category of balls. Although it is sportsmanlike for the sitting player to remind the shooting player that he is about to foul by shooting the wrong category of balls, it is not a requirement for him to do so. Once the shooter has hit the wrong category of balls, the foul has occurred whether the ball is pocketed or not. If the ball is pocketed, it is permissible, though not recommended, that the sitting player allow the shooting player to continue shooting his balls in until he feels inclined to call the foul. The shooting player can escape penalty by quietly realizing his error and returning to shoot the correct category of balls and legally contacting one of them before his opponent calls foul, or by finishing off the wrong category of balls and legally contacting the 8-ball prior to his opponent calling a foul. In other words, the sitting player must call the foul before the shooter returns to the correct category and legally contacts one or before the shooter pockets the remaining balls of the wrong category and legally contacts the 8-ball. Before any foul has occurred, the shooter also may avoid penalty by asking the sitting player which category of balls he has. The sitting player must tell him the truth.
5. COMBINATION SHOTS - Combination shots are legal, but striking the correct ball first is required except in the open table situation. The 8-ball is not neutral. A player is credited with all balls he legally pockets. When a player does not pocket one of his balls, but pockets an opponent's ball, he loses his turn. The opponent does get credit for the pocketed ball. No pocketed ball is ever spotted.
6. BALLS ON THE FLOOR - If the 8-ball is knocked on the floor, it is loss of game. Other object balls that get knocked on the floor will be spotted. If the spot is taken, then the ball will be placed on a line directly behind the spot as close to the spot as possible. Knocking a ball other than the cue ball on the floor is not a foul. It might occur that a player pockets his ball while simultaneously knocking some other ball on the floor. In this situation, it is still his turn and the ball is not spotted until he misses. If the ball on the floor is one of the shooter's balls, then it is spotted when the shooter has pocketed all of his other balls or misses.
7. POCKETED BALLS - Balls must remain in a pocket to be legal. If a ball goes in a pocket, but bounces back onto the playing surface, it is not considered pocketed. If it is the 8-ball, it is not to be considered as either a win or a loss. If it is the cue ball, it is not to be considered a scratch.
Note 1: If a ball which has been hanging in a pocket for more than a few seconds suddenly falls in, it is to be placed back on the table where it was originally sitting. Once a ball has stopped all motion, it cannot move again without outside forces affecting it. So, if it falls in a pocket, it is to be placed back on the table where it was before it fell.
Note 2: It occasionally happens on tables with small pockets that two balls become jammed in a pocket and are leaning over the edge of the slate to some degree. They are off the playing surface and are pocketed. Drop them in and resume playing the game unless the pocketing ends the game (8-ball or cue ball scratch when shooting the 8-ball).
8. ONE FOOT ON THE FLOOR - At least one foot must be on the floor at all times while shooting if a bridge stick is present. There is no foul
9. FOULS - If any of the following fouls are committed, the penalty is ball-in-hand for the incoming player. Make certain you have ball-in-hand before you touch the cue ball. Confirm it with your opponent before touching the cue ball. Ball-in-hand might be new for many members and therefore warrants further explanation. Ball-in-hand means you get to put the cue ball anywhere on the table (with the exception of fouls on the break which result in ball-in-hand behind the head string), and shoot any of your balls (or the 8-ball, if all of your balls have been pocketed) regardless of where that ball is. A player exercising his rights under the ball-in-hand rule may place the cue ball on the table anywhere he desires. Even after having addressed the cue ball a player may, if not satisfied with the placement, make further adjustments with his hand, cue stick or any other reasonable piece of equipment. A foul may be called only if the player fouls the cue ball while actually stroking the cue ball, meaning a double hit of the cue ball (sometimes called double clutching). The ball-in-hand rule penalizes a player for an error. Without this rule, a person can actually benefit by accidentally or purposely scratching or otherwise fouling. In the unlikely event that a game should ever become stalemated, meaning that neither player wants or can make use of ball-in-hand, then the balls are re-racked, the same player breaks and the innings for the stalemated game are crossed off the score-sheet.
Only the player or the coach may officially call a foul, although anyone may suggest to the player or the coach that a foul should be called.
These are the only fouls resulting in ball-in-hand. All other violations are sportsmanship violations. The ball-in-hand fouls are as follows:
a. Anytime the cue ball goes in a pocket.
b. Failure to hit a correct ball first. (A player who is shooting stripes must hit a striped ball first). In general, the shooter has the advantage in such situations unless his opponent has asked an outside party to watch the hit. Protect yourself. If you think your opponent is getting ready to shoot a shot that could possibly be a bad hit, stop him from shooting and get someone to watch the shot. Potential bad hit situations are usually fairly obvious and protests and disputes over these close situations can almost always be avoided if someone is asked to watch the shot. Teams involved in repeatedly calling bad hits without outside party verification may be subject to penalty points for disruptive un-sportsmanlike behavior.
c. Failure to hit a rail after contact. A rail must be hit by either the cue ball or any other ball after the cue ball and the object ball contact. A pocketed ball counts as a rail. A sentence that should answer many questions is: ANY ball must go to a rail AFTER LEGAL contact.
d. The object ball is frozen to a rail and the player is contemplating playing a safety (see SAFETY described in Definitions). In order for the following frozen ball rule to be in effect, the opponent must declare that the ball is frozen and the player should verify. Once it is agreed that the ball is frozen, then the player must either drive the object ball to another rail (of course, it could hit another ball, which in turn hits a rail), or drive the cue ball to the rail after it touches the object ball. If the latter method of safety is chosen then the player should take care that he quite obviously strikes the object ball first. If the cue ball strikes the rail first or appears to hit both the rail and ball simultaneously, then it would be a foul unless either the cue ball or object ball went to some other rail.
e. It is illegal and, therefore, a foul to jump a cue ball over another ball by miscuing it up in the air on purpose. Accidental miscuing is not a foul unless other rules in this section are violated.
f. Anytime the cue ball goes on the floor, or otherwise ends up off the playing surface.
g. Receiving illegal aid (coaching from person(s) other than the coach) during your turn at the table. To determine what is and is not considered coaching, refer to COACHING in the General Rules Section of this manual.
h. Causing even the slightest movement of the cue ball, even accidentally, is a foul. It is not a foul, however, to accidentally move any other balls (including the 8-ball) unless, during the process of shooting, a player moves a ball and it in turn strikes the cue ball. Even dropping the chalk on the cue ball is a foul. Any balls moved accidentally during a shot must be replaced by the opponent after the shot is over and all balls have stopped rolling. If it occurs before the shot, it must be replaced before the shot is taken.
i. If, during the course of a shot, the cue ball does not touch anything.
j. Only the player, and not the coach or the Team Captain, may place the cue ball in a ball-in-hand situation. The last player to touch the cue ball must be the shooter.
k. Exercise caution when picking up or placing the cue ball in a ball-in-hand situation. The cue ball is always alive. If the cue ball, or the hand holding or moving it, touches another ball it is a cue ball foul and your opponent has ball-in-hand. Be especially careful when you are picking up or placing the cue ball in a tight spot.
10. THERE ARE VARIOUS WAYS TO LOSE:
a. Your opponent pockets his numerical group and legally pockets the 8-ball.
b. You pocket the 8-ball out of turn or knock it on the floor.
c. When playing the 8-ball, you pocket the 8-ball in the wrong pocket or fail to properly mark the pocket where the 8-ball went in.
d. You foul the cue ball and then pocket the 8-ball.
e. When playing the 8-ball, you scratch the cue ball. You lose whether or not you pocket the 8-ball.
Note: If you are shooting at the 8-ball and miss it altogether, you have fouled and your opponent has ball-in-hand, but you don't lose because of this foul.
f. A game is forfeited if you alter the course of the 8-ball or the cue ball in a game losing situation.
Example 1: You are shooting the 4-ball, miss the pocket, and the 4-ball hits the 8-ball. The 8-ball is going towards the pocket and you reach out and stop it and try to claim that it is only a ball-in-hand foul. Wrong, it is loss of game.
Example 2: You are shooting at the 8-ball and miss the pocket and the 8-ball is heading towards the wrong pocket or the cue ball is heading towards a pocket. You reach out and stop the ball and claim that it is only a ball-in-hand foul. Wrong, it is loss of game.
11. HOW TO WIN - You have won the game when all the balls of your numerical group have been pocketed, and you have legally pocketed the 8-ball in a properly marked pocket without scratching. To properly mark the pocket, a coaster or some other reasonable marker (other than chalk) must be placed next to the pocket the 8-ball is intended to enter. Both teams may use the same marker. Only one marker should be on the table. However, if more than one marker is on the table, as long as you clearly mark the pocket where you intend to pocket the 8-ball you have properly marked the pocket. If the marker is already at the intended pocket from a previous attempt or game, it is not necessary for you to touch it, pick it up, or reposition it.
Note: You cannot play the 8-ball at the same time you play the last ball of your category. The 8-ball must be a separate shot.