8 ball
8-ball (English: 8 ball ) is a discipline of pool , in which fifteen object balls ( the colored ones ) and one game ball ( the white ones ) are played on a pool table. The balls with the numbers 1 to 7 are completely colored (except for the point on which the number is, therefore also called spots in English ) and are therefore called the full ones . In contrast, balls 9 to 15 only have one colored stripe and the rest is white, which is why they are also called halves . Both color groups are sorted in ascending order in the color sequenceYellow (1/9), blue (2/10), red (3/11), violet (4/12) (in the TV set pink , for better differentiation from blue ), orange (5/13), green ( 6/14) and bordeaux or brown (7/15) .
Both players must first try to punch holes in their color group completely in order to be able to sink the black eight, which, if done correctly, leads to winning the game.
history
The 8-ball discipline emerged around 1900 from other billiards and was initially played with seven yellow and red balls, one black ball and the white ball.
Today the use of yellow and red balls instead of full and half balls ( solids / spots and stripes , more rarely Lows and Highs or Bigs and Littles ) in 8-Ball is no longer common, as you can use the same set of balls with others Pool variants such as B. 9-ball , 10-ball or 14 and 1 can play endlessly . In the Blackball variant, which is still very common in the UK , however, traditionally those two colors are still used for the object balls.
regulate
8-ball is an announcement game. This means that you have to say in advance which ball will be played in which pocket if it is not obvious. Bankers , the game over gangs, or combinations are e.g. B. seldom obvious and should always be announced.
A player may continue to play until he does not manage to sink his own, announced ball into the announced pocket, or until he commits a foul .
Build up and break
The object balls are set up in a triangle at the beginning: the foremost object ball at the base, the figure eight in the middle and one full and one half object ball at the rear corners. The color group of the remaining balls (as well as that of the foremost) is freely selectable. The starting player has the right to choose the position of the game ball within the head field (upper quarter of the table).
When breaking , at least four of the object balls must touch a board or an object ball must be sunk. If both are not the case, the opponent can either take over the situation or demand that it be rebuilt (and also decide on the right to kick-off). No announcement has to be made during the break.
After the break, the table is always open at first . This means that it is also allowed to sink a full one with a half and vice versa. The choice of color is only decided after the first correctly (with an announcement) pocketed ball after the break (and by no means after one or more balls have been punched during the break).
The player remains at the table when he has correctly pocketed one or more object balls.
If the cue ball falls into a pocket or jumps off the table during the break, the opponent has “ball in hand” out of the head field. However, he is only allowed to play the object balls that are at least half a diameter outside the head field. If object balls were also punched during the break, they remain in the pocket (unless it is a figure of eight).
If the eight falls on the break, the breaking player can decide whether to rebuild or to take over the lie, with the eight placed on the foot point.
If both the cue ball and the black figure eight fall, the opponent decides whether to rebuild or to take over the position with the black man who has been put back. Here he has "ball in hand" out of the head field.
In the unlikely event that a player sinks all the balls of one color during the break, he can either choose the other color or the black eight directly.
Correct thrust
After the color selection has been made, it is sufficient for a correct shot to hit a ball of your group (in case of doubt, previously announced) and to touch a board with the cue ball or an object ball (after the collision).
foul
A foul occurs if: (Definition: game or push ball = white ball, object ball = colored ball including black 8)
- the ball is sunk.
- the cue ball does not touch an object ball.
- the cue ball first hits a ball of the opposing color group, or the black eight, as long as there are still own object balls left.
- the cue ball hits an object ball of its own color group first, but afterwards neither a ball touches a board nor an object ball is sunk.
- a puncture occurs, d. H. the tip of the cue hits the ball a second time or still touches the ball when it comes into contact with the object ball.
- a ball falls from the table. If a ball remains on the edge of the table, it is considered to have "fallen off the table", as the boards do not belong to the playing area, but merely delimit it.
- a ball is touched or moved with the cue (stick foul).
- the player touches a ball with his body or clothing (body or clothing foul).
- the player does not have at least one foot on the ground at the moment of his strike
- the player takes his shot while balls are still moving on the table.
- a player plays an extreme backlash and tries to jump over a ball with intentional or unintentional slipping (jump ball). A regular jump ball must be hit with a downward facing cue above the ball horizon. "Shoveling" the ball is prohibited.
- Ball nests or pressed balls, where the end of the game has to play with a high buck ( upright leading hand) over the opposing ball (s) or the figure eight and touches them with the cue.
- Balls protruding from an overfilled pocket influence the game, e.g. B. prevent a ball from falling into your pocket.
If several fouls are committed within one shot, this is still only counted as one foul.
All object balls that are pocketed with a foul remain in the pockets.
There is no foul if
- a ball briefly rolls over the board, but then returns to the playing area,
- after playing a ball of your own color group, one or more object balls of the opposing color group are pocketed:
- If the own announced ball is sunk into the announced hole, the player remains at the table and is allowed to continue playing (unless a foul is otherwise committed). It doesn't matter which ball falls first. Such a game situation can e.g. B. occur if the player with a follower first sinks the opponent's ball from a pocket blocked (nailed up) by the latter and then his own.
- If the own announced ball is not sunk into the announced hole, then the recording is only ended and it is the other player's turn, but without “ ball-in-hand ” (unless a foul has been committed otherwise).
Ball-in-hand
If a player commits any foul, the opponent always has "ball-in-hand". This is a so-called storage improvement, similar to the free kick or penalty kick in football. The white ball can now be set up again by the opponent at a freely selectable point. The only exception is the game ball sunk during the break (see above).
Three foul penalty
There is no 3-foul penalty with 8-ball, only with 9-ball, the similar 10-ball and 14: 1
Loss of game due to foul on black 8
The game is lost if:
- a player sinks the eight before he is allowed to play on it.
- a player commits a foul while pocketing the figure eight. Here, too, there is no foul if opposing balls fall together with the correctly sunk eight (see above). Exceptions apply if the eight falls on the opening break (see above)
- a player sinks the figure eight with the same push with which he sinks one of his object balls still on the table.
- a player sinks the figure eight into a pocket other than the one that was announced.
- a player who has eight jumps off the table.
- the white is sunk with or expires.
Safety
Since 8-Ball is an announcement game, an announcement must be made even in hopeless situations. This is intended to rule out irregular "foxes" (random hits, English flukes). Is an impact attempt clearly recognizable, d. H. If the game ball and object ball are currently playing on a pocket, the announcement can be dispensed with after prior agreement with the opponent. If a move is not recognizable to the opponent and the end of the game tries to push without being announced, he will be asked about his move. However, the end of the game can also announce safety before any shot (for tactical reasons). No matter what happens with that push, he gives up the game afterwards. All other rules remain in place - in particular, a "nip-shot" like in snooker (without touching the boards) remains a foul. Announcing safety can be beneficial in certain game situations, e.g. B. if you do not want to continue playing after you are about to sink your own ball because you suspect that you would not benefit from your own follow-up shot, but the opponent would be forced to commit a foul with his follow-up shot and you would then “ball-in” yourself -Hand "has.
Special case of stalemate
If a maximum of two object balls and the eight are still on the table, but no player tries to end the game, then after a certain number of hits (usually every three) the game can be counted as a tie or it becomes a new one began. The one who started this game begins again. For tactical reasons it can happen that you do not try to sink your object balls because it is too heavy or because you may have to solve. In this case you play it safe and don't risk anything.
"Pub variant"
A variant that is sometimes played in pubs states that after all of your own object balls have been correctly punched, the figure eight must be punched in the pocket opposite the pocket in which the last own object ball was punched. However, this variant is outside the official rules and only has the purpose of artificially extending the game at billiard tables with a coin slot (payment per game). In order to give other players a chance to come to the table, the rule in some pubs is: black goes everywhere. This is especially true in England (Black goes anywhere!).
