A Basic Guide to 8-Ball Billiards (Pool)

Basic Guide to 8-Ball Billiards (Pool)

History
The first pool table was made in the 15th century. At that time, there would be one hole, or “pocket”, in the center of the table, and one would try to hit the balls into the hole by using the “hitting ball”, or cue ball, which currently is the white ball. The standard pool game today, eight ball, was founded around 1900. This game consisted of 7 red balls, 7 yellow balls, and the cue ball. None of the complicated rules of today’s pool, such as scratches, existed until the game was added to the official billiards rule book in 1940. Today, 8-ball is the most popular billiards game internationally.

Equipment

List of Necessary Equipment
To play 8-ball, you need a standard pool table, a cue, a bridge, and the balls that come with the table (7 striped, 7 solid, 1 black, 1 white).

List of Optional Equipment
A bridge, a short stick (if not much room around the table), triangle rack, and chalk.

Descriptions of Equipment

The Balls
There are 16 balls involved in 8-Ball Pool, one which you hit, the cue ball, and 15 others, numbered 1-15, which you hit the cue ball at to try and get them in the pockets along the table. Balls 1-8 are solid colored, and balls 9-15 are striped.

Colors of the Balls
Balls 1 and 9: Yellow
Balls 2 and 10: Blue
Balls 3 and 11: Red
Balls 4 and 12: Purple
Balls 5 and 13: Orange
Balls 6 and 14: Green
Balls 7 and 15: Brown
The 8 Ball: Black
The Cue Ball: White

Image of Balls in Starting Rack Formation and Cue Ball


The Table
The surface of the pool table is 9 feet long by 4.5 feet wide; however, smaller sizes are used in many situations if the room is not big enough. There are six pockets along the edges of the table, one in each corner, and two on opposite edges in the middle of the table, as seen in the image below. A high-quality pool table usually has a heavy quarry-grade slate as its base, weighing up to 300 pounds and keeping the table steady. The surface of a pool table is covered with billiards cloth, which if scratched is very expensive to replace.

Image of Pool Table with Technical Terms


The Cue and Accessories

Cue
The standard cue is what is used to strike the cue ball. It is usually 58 inches long and is made of wood bonded with carbon fiber.

Image of Pool Cue with Technical Terms


Short Cue
This is just a shorter version of the standard cue. It is generally used when the table is surrounded by close walls and the use of a shorter stick is necessary.

Bridge
The Bridge is used when you cannot reach the ball you want to hit easily. However, this is not allowed in professional play, and sometimes it is just more fun to lean over the table at a crazy angle.
Image of a Bridge


Rules
These are the rules of 8-ball pool. These are for a one versus one game, for a two versus two game, you do the same thing, but split into two teams and each player alternates on every other shot for their team.

Objective
The objective is to pocket all of the balls on your side (explained below) in the six pockets. Both players alternate shots until one completes this, and wins the game.

Initial Setup
The 15 balls are initially placed in the rack and moved to the position where the triangle is on the picture of the pool table above. The eight ball must be in the middle, so it cannot go in on the break. In addition, the two corner balls must be of opposite colors. Otherwise, the remaining balls may be placed in a random fashion.

The Break and Choosing Sides
One of the two players has to begin the game by breaking the balls in their setup. They place the cue ball on the opposite market, and hit it into the rack of balls (with the rack being removed, of course). If they hit a ball in, they will examine whether the ball was striped or solid. If striped, they go on the rest of the game trying to pocket the stripes, white their opponent tries to pocket the solids, or vice versa. If no balls are pocketed on the break, all balls, except for the 8 ball (explained later), are fair game for both teams until one gets one in, where the same rule applies that was mentioned above, and they try and hit that color in for the rest of the game.

Winning
After a player has hit all of his balls in the pockets, he must hit the eight ball into the pocket to win. Once he successfully hits the eight ball in without fouling, he has won the game.

The 8 Ball
The eight ball is key to winning. However, it can also lose you the game. If you hit the eight ball in before you have hit the other balls in, you lose the game.

Fouls

Scratching
Scratching, or hitting the white ball in the hole, is a foul with constitutes your opponent being able to place the white ball anywhere behind where it was originally put into play (the left center dot). Your opponent must hit forward after that placement (aiming towards or past the dot). Additionally, if you scratch when you hit a ball in the hole, the ball is removed from the hole and placed on the right center dot (where the rack started).

Intentionally Aiming at the Eight Ball or the Opponents Balls

Aiming at the' opponents ball intentionally and directly (without hitting at least 3 walls first) constitutes a foul with results in your opponent being rewarded two shots.

Knocking a Ball Off The Table
This results in a foul which places the ball at the right center mark, unless it is the cue ball, then it is placed at the left center mark. However, if the eight ball is knocked off, the game is lost. If it is one of your opponents balls, you lose your next turn (they get two shots in a row).
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Thank you for reading my guide. Please feel free to leave any comments, compliments. criticisms, or suggestions that you may have.

 

You mention a lot of terms in the first couple of pictures which you don't bother going into depth to explain. People unfamiliar with billiards would have trouble leading on to what you were saying if they were unfamiliar with conventional billiards terms. I would recommend explaining each term in a simple manner so that it's easier to understand. Layout is nice and use of pictures is a plus but you need to further expand on those pictures.

 

Thank you for your suggestion.

I will assume you were talking about the picture of the pool table's surface and the picture of the cue, which both had many terms that I did not define.

It is not that I "don't bother going into depth", but I do not think going into depth on those terms in the pictures was necessary, as all you really need to know about them is shown in the picture. For example, I'm sure some very serious pool players don't even know 1/2 of the terms in those two pictures, ass they are not very essential to the game, especially the different parts of the cue.

I may change those pictures for slightly less detailed ones, because now that you point them out, they seem overly complicated and mention areas a beginner does not need to know.


Not referring to the pictures, I do believe that I should make a glossary for terms like "cue" at the beginning. Unfortunately, I am currently on vacation and will not be able to get to it for a few weeks.

 

Very nice guide, although many people know how to play this will defiently help the ones who don't, 9/10.

 

Contrary to popular belief centering the entire guide is actually really unattractive and stressful on the eyes. I haven't actually read the guide yet, but so far that's what I would like to express. Try to play around with the formatting and be original with it.

 

Under the 8 ball, you forgot to mention (as unlikely of it happening is) that getting the 8 ball in off the break is also a win.

EDIT: Like xeleration said, don't center the guide - try only centering the titles.

 

It is, but it was also proved physically impossible.