8 Ball Pool Rules: Break, Fouls and the 8-Ball
Updated
In 8-ball pool, one player takes the solids (balls 1 to 7) and the other takes the stripes (9 to 15). You pocket all seven balls of your group and then the black 8-ball to win. Pocket the 8 too early, in a pocket you did not call or on a foul, and you lose the rack.
The rules below follow the World Pool-Billiard Association, or WPA. Leagues, bars and browser games often change details, and the differences are marked where they matter.
The balls and the rack
| Ball | What it is |
|---|---|
| 1 to 7 | Solids |
| 9 to 15 | Stripes |
| 8 | The black ball, pocketed last |
| White | The cue ball, the only ball you strike with the cue |
The 15 numbered balls are racked tightly in a triangle. The front ball sits on the foot spot, the 8 goes in the middle of the third row, and one solid and one stripe sit in the two back corners. The rest go in without any pattern.
The break
- You break with the cue ball in hand behind the head string, a line across the table near the end you break from.
- No ball is called on the break, and the cue ball may hit any ball first.
- A legal break pockets a ball or drives at least four numbered balls to the rails. If it does neither, your opponent chooses: play the table as it lies, re-rack and break, or make you break again.
- If you pocket a ball without a foul, you keep shooting and the table stays open.
- A ball knocked off the table on the break is a foul. It stays out of play, except the 8, which goes back on its spot.
What if the 8-ball goes in on the break?
Under WPA rules it is neither a win nor a loss. After a legal break you choose: put the 8 back on its spot and play on, or break again. If you also fouled, for example by scratching, your opponent makes that choice instead.
Some leagues play it differently. Under APA rules, an 8 on the break wins the game, unless you foul the cue ball on that shot, in which case it loses.
Solids or stripes: choosing your group
After the break the table is open, which means nobody owns a group yet. Under WPA rules you call a ball before each shot. Pocket the ball you called and its group is yours, while your opponent gets the other one.
Balls that drop on the break do not decide the groups under WPA rules. Some leagues, such as the APA, give you the group of the balls that dropped on the break, as long as only one group went in.
While the table is open, you may hit any ball first except the 8. In Pool: 8 Ball Mania, your group is decided by the first ball you pot, solids or stripes.
Calling your shots
WPA 8-ball is a call-shot game. Before each shot except the break, you name the ball and the pocket when they are not obvious. Cushions and other balls touched along the way do not matter, only that the called ball drops in the called pocket.
You must call a ball from your own group until that group is cleared; after that, the 8 is the only ball you can call. You may also call safety instead, which hands the table to your opponent after the shot.
Browser games handle calls their own way. The instructions of 3d Billiard 8 ball Pool, for example, say you win by rolling the 8 into any pocket once your group is cleared.
Fouls and ball in hand
| Foul | What happens on the table |
|---|---|
| Scratch | The cue ball drops into a pocket or leaves the table |
| Wrong ball first | The cue ball first touches a ball that is not yours, or the 8 while the table is open |
| No rail after contact | Nothing is pocketed, and no ball reaches a rail after the cue ball hits a ball |
| Ball off the table | A numbered ball is knocked off the table |
On a real table there are more fouls, such as touching a ball with your hand or cue, a double hit, a push shot, or shooting while balls are still moving.
After a foul your opponent gets ball in hand: they may place the cue ball anywhere on the table before their shot, or behind the head string when the foul came on the break. Blackball, the British version of eight-ball, handles fouls differently and may give the opponent two shots.
How you win or lose on the 8-ball
You win when you legally pocket the 8, in the pocket you called, after your group is cleared. You lose the rack if you:
- pocket the 8 on a shot where you foul, for example by scratching
- pocket the 8 before your group is cleared
- pocket the 8 in a pocket you did not call
- knock the 8 off the table
None of these apply to the break, which has its own rules above.
Tips that win more racks
- Choose your group with your eyes. While the table is open, look at which group has fewer balls in clusters or against the rails.
- Plan where the cue ball stops. Every shot should leave you an easy next shot.
- Break up clusters of your own balls early, while you still have other shots to fall back on.
- Keep one easy ball near a pocket for last, so you have a clean route to the 8.
- When there is no good shot, play safe and leave the cue ball where your opponent has no clear shot.
- On the 8, watch where the cue ball will roll. If it scratches on the shot that pockets the 8, you lose the rack.
Browser versions vary
Browser pool games set their own rules, so read the instructions before your first rack. Pool: 8 Ball Mania says standard eight-ball rules apply and lets you play the computer or a friend. Nine, Eight and Snooker puts eight-ball, nine-ball and snooker in one game, with single, two-player, observer and free table modes.
Billiard Neon warns that the 8-ball can end the game and lets you play a person or the computer. Pro Billiards can be played alone against a timer or by two players on one device. 9 Ball Pool 3D is a different game: you hit the lowest-numbered ball first and win by legally pocketing the 9.
More cue and ball games are in the sports category. Dominoes is another game where every table seems to have its own rules; how to play dominoes sorts out the common versions.
Common questions about 8 ball pool
What happens if you scratch on the 8 ball?
If the 8 drops on the same shot, you lose the rack under WPA rules. If the 8 stays on the table, it is an ordinary foul and your opponent gets ball in hand.
Do you have to call your pocket in 8 ball?
Under WPA rules, yes: every shot after the break is called, unless the ball and pocket are obvious. Some browser games skip calls, so check the instructions of the game you play.
What is ball in hand?
After a foul, the incoming player may place the cue ball anywhere on the table before shooting. After a foul on the break, WPA rules limit this to the area behind the head string.
Once you know the open table, the fouls and the four ways to lose on the 8, any version of the game is easy to pick up.
