Harris Manchester College 8-ball rules

The game shall be known as ‘8-ball pool’.

Play it in a sportsmanlike manner.

The organiser is the sole judge of what is fair and shall take whatever action they deem necessary to ensure the rules are observed.

1.      Equipment

a.      A white ball called the ‘cue ball’

b.      Two groups of object balls consisting of seven red and seven yellow balls

c.      A black ball (8-ball)

d.      Prescribed cues

e.      The JCR pool table. No other table is ratified as they are unlikely to have a broken cushion and a curved surface

2.      Object of the game

a.      The player pocketing all their object balls in any order and then legally potting the black ball wins the game

3.      The break

a.      Arrange the rack into formation shown on the right.
The black ball should be placed on top of the nearly invisible black dot located on the JCR pool table. The top ball in the picture should be towards the breaker.

b.      The first breaker will be decided with a flip of a coin. In the following games the breaker alternates.

c.       Breaking shot must be taken from the baulk area.

d.      A break is legal if a ball is potted or 4 object balls touch a cushion after the break

i.      If the break is illegal, other player can demand a re-rack and choose the player to take the break

e.      If the black ball is potted on the break, the breaker can either choose to re-rack and break again, or to return the black ball to the table on the black dot and to take another turn. If the dot is covered by another ball, return black ball as close to it as possible, so that the black ball doesn’t come in contact with any other ball

4.      Choosing the colours

a.      Potting a ball on the break does not decide the colour each player will play

b.      The next ball potted on a legal shot determines the colours. Note: hitting a yellow to pot a red means the player will play the duration of the game with the reds

c.       If a ball is potted with a foul shot, the colours remain undecided and the other player will continue the game. They can choose to continue play with a free shot from where the cue ball has come to rest OR from baulk

5.      Continuing play

a.      In the course of play, if balls are potted and a legal shot is played, the player is entitled to another shot. This continues until a player either

i.      Fails to pocket one or more of the allotted balls OR

ii.      Commits a foul

b.      A frame is over when the black ball is potted on a legal shot and all balls come to rest OR on a loss of frame (see 9.)

c.       If the cue ball is touching another ball before taking a shot, the player must play away from the ball

i.      If this is a ball the player is ‘on’, this counts as a hit. The cue ball or any other ball must subsequently hit a cushion.

 ii.      If the player is not on the ball the cue ball is touching, they must hit their own ball and a cushion after hitting the ball.

iii.      If the ball that was touching the cue ball moves, the shot is a foul

d.      Hitting a ball of the table. If a ball is hit off the table, this is a foul and opponent continues play

i.      Object balls are not returned to the table

ii.      The black ball is spotted in the event the player was not on the black

iii.      Cue ball is placed in baulk and the other player continues

e.      Object ball frozen to, that is touching, a cushion

i.      When making contact with a ball frozen to the cushion, the cue ball must touch a cushion after the shot, object ball must touch another cushion, any other ball must touch a cushion, or a ball must be pot. Otherwise, this is a foul.

f.        Ball falling into a pocket without being hit

i.      If a ball falls in having been still for more than 5 seconds, it is replaced, and play continues

g.      Stalemate

i.      If the players agree that any attempt to pocket or move an object ball would result in an immediate loss of the game, the game is considered a stalemate and a re-rack occurs.

6.      Legal shot defined

a.      To play a legal shot player must initially hit a ball he is ‘on’ and then must

i.      Pot any ‘on’ ball or balls OR

ii.      Cause the cue ball or any other object ball to contact a cushion

7.      Fouls

a.      Potting the cue ball

b.      Playing outside baulk when obliged to play within baulk

c.       Potting an opponent’s ball without potting one of your own first

d.      Failing to perform a legal shot

e.      The tip of the cue remaining in contact with the cue ball after it has commenced a forward motion.

i.      Examples include touching the cue ball twice by following through or by swooping it up from below (‘chipping’)

f.        Playing with any other part of the cue except for the tip

g.      Playing before the balls have come to rest from previous shot, or playing before a ball has been re-spotted, if this is the case

h.      Playing a shot without at least one foot on the floor

i.        Player touching a ball with their body, clothing or accessory.

8.      Penalty for a foul

a.      Loss of control of table. Player loses their turn and the opponent has two shots. The first one of these is free. Free shots are not carried over. If a player is on the black, they only get one shot, however this is free.

b.      A free shot: A player must hit a ball. Failing to do this results in the loss of the subsequent shot and the opponent having two shots.
On a free shot a player may

i.      Play or pot any of the opponent’s balls

ii.      Play but not pot the black ball, assuming the player is not on the black ball

iii.      Hit a ball without any of the balls touching a cushion

c.       Following a foul, the cue ball may be placed in baulk and played in any direction OR be played from where it lies on the table

9.      Loss of frame

a.      Committing a foul in a shot in which the black is potted

b.      Potting the black when any of the player’s balls remain on the table

c.       Deliberately fouling

d.      Unsportsmanlike conduct, as determined by the organiser

10.  General rules

a.      The baulk area (or just baulk) is the area of the bottom of the table that is between the baulk line and the baulk cushion (i.e., bottom cushion). The bulk area is somewhat analogous to the "kitchen" in American-style pool.

b.      No coaching – a player must not take advice from others

c.      Take a maximum of 60 seconds on a shot. If using a rest, take a maximum of 90 seconds.

d.       Something not covered by the rule book – consult Felix or the Sports Officer. They respond well when offered food.

i.      If both of them are unavailable, agree with your opponent on how to continue