How to play Billiards: rules and scoring

Pool (8, 9 or 10-ball), straight pool (14.1), three-cushion or snooker: pick the variant in the rules. Pool is played in racks, 14.1 and three-cushion to a target, snooker in frames.

8-ball / 9-ball / 10-ball

• Six pockets
• 8-, 9- and 10-ball

Goal: Pocket the balls legally to win each rack, and be the first to win the agreed number of racks.

Setup

• For 8-ball, 15 balls go in the triangle with the 8 in the middle.
• For 9-ball, balls 1 to 9 in a diamond with the 1 at the front and the 9 in the middle.
• For 10-ball, ten balls in a triangle with the 10 in the middle.
• Toss a coin or lag to decide who breaks.

How to play

1. In 8-ball, after the break the first player to pocket a solid (1–7) or a stripe (9–15) takes that group.
2. Once your group is cleared you pocket the 8, calling the pocket.
3. In 9-ball and 10-ball the cue ball must first hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table on every shot.
4. Any ball that then drops counts.
5. 10-ball is played with called shots.
6. Fouls: pocketing the cue ball, hitting the wrong ball first, or no ball reaching a cushion.
7. On a foul the opponent gets ball in hand anywhere on the table.

Scoring

• In 8-ball you win the rack by clearing your group and pocketing the 8 in the called pocket.
• Pocketing the 8 early, or with the cue ball, loses the rack.
• In 9-ball and 10-ball you win by legally pocketing the 9 or the 10.
• In 9-ball the 9 on the break wins too (a “golden break”).
• Each rack is one point.

Winning

• Matches are races: the first to win the agreed number of racks (for example race to 5) takes the match.
• The break can alternate or go to the winner; agree on it at the start.

Note

• In doubles, partners take turns.
• Some tables call only the 8, others every ball.
• In bars the loser sits down and the winner stays on.
• In the app you can mark a break and run (clearing the table alone from the break).

Straight pool (14.1)

• 15 balls
• Usually to 100

Goal: Be first to the target score (usually 100; 125–150 in tournaments). Every ball pocketed in the called pocket is a point.

Setup

• The 15 balls are racked in a triangle.
• On the break the player must either call and pocket a ball, or send two object balls and the cue ball to a cushion.
• Otherwise it’s a foul.

How to play

1. Before every shot the player calls a ball and a pocket.
2. Any ball will do: there are no colours or numbers to follow.
3. As long as the called ball drops, the player stays at the table.
4. When fourteen balls are down, the fifteenth stays where it is and the others are racked again.
5. The run carries on: that’s the “continuous” in 14.1.

Scoring

• Every ball pocketed is a point.
• Every foul costs a point: pocketing the cue ball, no cushion after contact, a ball off the table.
• Three fouls in a row by the same player cost another 15 and reset the count.
• In the app you enter the balls pocketed in each inning and whether it ended in a foul.
• The app counts the third foul itself.

Winning

• The first to reach the target wins.
• The game ends the moment the target is reached, however long the run.

Note

• Casual games are often played to 50 or 75.
• Some tables skip the three-foul penalty.
• Pick the target when setting up; the three-foul penalty is under house rules.
• A whole rack (14 balls) in one inning shows in gold as a special run.

Three-cushion

• No pockets
• 3 balls

Goal: Make legal three-cushion caroms and be first to the target.

Setup

• Two cue balls (white and yellow, one per player) and a red.
• The break is decided by a coin toss or a lag.
• The balls’ starting spots are marked on the cloth.

How to play

1. You strike your own ball.
2. It must touch both other balls.
3. It must hit cushions at least three times before it touches the second ball; the cushions can be the same or different.
4. You keep shooting as long as you score.
5. The first miss ends the inning and it’s the opponent’s turn.

Scoring

• Every legal carom is a point.
• Write down the points of each inning.
• The average (total points divided by innings) shows a player’s level.
• The highest run is worth noting too.

Winning

• First to the target (for example 25, 30 or 40) wins.
• With equal innings, if the player who broke gets there first, the opponent still plays their last inning.
• If they reach it as well, the game is a tie or goes to extra innings.

Note

• Straight rail (free game) has no cushion rule.
• In one-cushion the cue ball must hit a cushion at least once before the second ball.
• Tournaments in Turkey are usually played to 30 or 40 with a shot clock.

Snooker

• 15 reds
• 6 colours

Goal: Pot the balls in the right order and finish the frame with more points than your opponent.

Setup

• On a full-size table the reds are racked in a triangle and the colours go on their spots.
• Yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7.
• The white is the cue ball.

How to play

1. On your turn you must first pot a red, then any colour, then a red again, and so on.
2. Potted colours are re-spotted while reds remain.
3. When the reds are gone the colours are potted in order, yellow to black.
4. When you miss, it’s your opponent’s turn.
5. The points scored in one visit are a break.

Scoring

• Reds are 1, colours 2 to 7.
• Fouls: hitting the wrong ball first, potting the white, missing all the balls.
• A foul gives the opponent at least 4, or the value of the ball involved if that’s higher.
• The highest possible break is 147.

Winning

• The frame ends when the last black goes down; the higher score takes it.
• Matches are played over a set number of frames: in a best of 5, the first to 3 frames wins.
• If the scores are level, the black is re-spotted and played.

Note

• Shorter games use 6 or 10 reds.
• In doubles, partners take turns.
• In the app you enter the points at the end of each frame and, if you like, the highest break.

House rules

These are the rules tables argue about most. Agree on them before you start; you can turn them on or off when you set up the game.

Three-foul penalty (−15)

Three fouls in a row by the same player cost 15 points on top of the −1 for the foul.