Rule set for 8-Ball Pool
English Pub Pool rules.
Find what just happened at your table, and what it means.
These are the rules every Leagology match is scored by, foul by foul.
The break
I potted the black on the break
#If it went down on its own, you've won the frame. If anything went down with it, the white included, you've lost.
Nothing went in off the break
#It's the other player's turn.
One of each colour went in off the break
#The table stays open and you keep going.
The white went in off the break
#It's a foul, like any other. Your opponent gets two shots.
Your colour
The white
I potted the white
#It's a foul. Your opponent gets two shots, or one if only the black is left. The white comes back behind the baulk line.
The white went in. Where does my opponent play from?
#Anywhere behind the baulk line, the line across the end of the table you break from.
After a foul, can the white be put anywhere?
#No. It's played from where it stopped. It only comes back behind the line if it went in.
Fouls and two shots
My opponent fouled. What do I get?
#Two shots, and the first can be a free ball, no declaration needed. If only the black is left, it's one shot, with no free ball.
Do two shots carry?
#Yes. Pot on your first shot and you still have your second. Only a miss uses one up.
What's a free ball?
#After a foul, your first shot can hit any ball first, and even pot one of theirs, without it being a foul. You don't have to say so.
What counts as a foul?
#Potted opponent's ball, potted the white, hit the wrong ball first, didn't hit any ball, push shot, ball off the table, accidentally moved a ball, or used opponent's ball to pot.
I'm snookered. Do I get let off?
#No. Hit the wrong ball first and it's a foul.
I potted one of theirs
#It's a foul, unless it was your free ball. Their ball stays down.
Can I use their ball to pot mine?
#Not normally. That's a foul, unless it's your free ball.
The black
When can I go for the black?
#Once all your colours are down. Any pocket, and you don't have to call it.
I potted the black before my colours were down
#You've lost the frame.
I potted the black and the white
#You've lost the frame. The black going down on a foul loses it.
I potted the black with another ball
#You've lost the frame. The black is the last ball and has to go in on its own.
I fouled while on the black, but it didn't go in
#It's an ordinary foul and the frame goes on. Your opponent gets two shots if they still have a colour on the table, one if only the black is left.
Do I have to call the pocket on the black?
#No. Any pocket counts, and you don't have to say which.
Do you get two shots on the black?
#Only if there's still a colour on the table, and then they carry. If only the black is left, it's one shot, with no free ball.
Settle it properly.
Every one of these gets enforced when somebody's marking, and every match ends up on a record that follows the players. Which is a better way of ending an argument than both of you remembering it differently.
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