8-ball pool rules: how to play and how to win
· Polar Games
8-ball is the most widely played pool game in the world. Each player takes a group of balls, pots them all and only then goes for the 8 ball to close out the game.
These are the most common rules. Details change from table to table and from league to league, so agree on them before you start.
The table and the balls
There are 15 numbered balls plus the cue ball. Balls 1 to 7 are solids, 9 to 15 are stripes, and the black 8 ball is always potted last. All 15 start racked in a triangle with the 8 in the middle.
The break
On the break, the player drives the cue ball into the rack. Under the most common rule, the break must pot a ball or send at least four balls to a cushion. Potting the cue ball is a foul.
Open table, solids and stripes
Right after the break the table is open: nobody has a group yet. The first player to pot a ball on a legal shot takes that group, solids or stripes, and the opponent gets the other.
Taking turns
You keep shooting as long as you pot balls from your group on legal shots. When you miss or foul, the turn passes to your opponent.
Common fouls
- Potting the cue ball (a scratch).
- Missing every ball with the cue ball.
- Hitting an opponent's ball first, or the 8 ball too early.
- No ball reaching a cushion after contact when nothing is potted.
- Knocking the cue ball off the table.
Ball in hand
After a foul, the opponent usually gets ball in hand: they can place the cue ball anywhere on the table before shooting. It is the best chance to turn a game around.
How to win (and how to lose)
You win by potting every ball in your group and then the 8 ball on a legal shot. Under most rules you lose on the spot if you pot the 8 before clearing your group, pot it together with the cue ball, or knock it off the table.
Tips to improve
- Plan the next ball before you shoot: where the cue ball stops matters as much as the pot.
- Use spin to control the cue ball, not to show off.
- When there is no good shot, leave the cue ball somewhere awkward for your opponent.
- Keep a clear path to the 8 ball as the game nears the end.
Play pool online with Velvet Pool
Velvet Pool is Polar Games' 8-ball pool game, built for desktop and mobile browsers. Line up the shot, set the power and use the spin panel to leave the cue ball where you want the next shot. Play against computer opponents or open a private online room and challenge a friend. The ball physics were written for this game, with WebGL2 graphics.