Billiards Rules and Regulations

Ernest Hemingway once said that "The game of golf would lose a great deal if croquet mallets and billiard cues were allowed on the putting green."

How witty, apt and to the point was he, when he said that! The special judgment and the skill you need to have for golf would not have been needed then, right? Billiards, is a common name for what are traditionally cue sports. Cue sports refer to a number of games involving a cue stick used to strike billiards balls and entails a good amount of skill. The balls are moved around on a cloth covered table and the objective is to pocket as many balls as you can and score. Eight Ball is by far the most widely played version when it comes to pool (a cue sport) when it comes to professional and amateur competition. It is played on a pool table with six pockets. In case you are all over the place now with the mere mention of pool and billiards, perhaps you might want to know about billiards rules and regulations?

Billiards Rules

Equipment and Game Set Up
The measurements of the playing surface are roughly 9 feet by 4.5 feet, which is the regulation size, or the standard size. The table could be smaller too, say 7 feet by 3.5 feet in some tournaments. Then there are the billiards balls, which are numbered between 1 to 7, which are of solid color. Balls numbering 9 to 15 are striped and in addition to that, there is the 8 ball and a cue ball. So there are 16 balls on the table in totality. Then as per the rules, to start a game, the object balls (the balls other than the cue ball) are placed in a triangular rack, which is parallel to the shorter end of the table. These balls can be placed randomly on the rack, with the exception of the 8 ball. The 8 ball must be in the center of the third row, which gives the ball a position in the middle of the rack.

Break
A person is chosen by either a flip of a coin or depending on who won the earlier game to break the object ball rack apart by shooting as per the rules. If the shooter goofs up and is not able to make a legal break, which means at least 4 balls should hit the cushions or a ball being pocketed, the other player may ask for a fresh rack and break it or can resume the play from where the balls are on the table.

Playing Turns
A player or the team will keep on playing till a fault is committed. If a safety ball is availed or a ball is not legally pocketed on a non safety shot, that will also give the chance for another player to play. This will be the norm for turns to take a shot.

Pocketing the Ball
After a team gets all the object balls in pocket, they may take a shot at sinking the 8 ball. To be declared as winners, it is mandatory for the team or an individual player to designate a pocket where they want the ball to sink. If that does not happen, the team loses, which can be either in case of a foul or ball getting knocked off the table, according to professional billiards rules and regulations. If the ball goes in some other pocket, the shooter's turn simply gets over.

The Scoring and Winning
In the advent of the following a team or an individual is declared as the winner according to official billiards rules.

• If a competitor knocks the 8 ball off the table.
• An 8 ball is pocketed in the designated pocket by a player, following the pocketing of all the object balls.
• An opposing player illegally pockets the 8 ball, either before the object balls are pocketed or that ball falls in the pocket other than the designated one.
• In case an opponent commits a foul, which may involve scratching the ball with a cue, knocking it off the table while playing a shot which pockets the 8 ball.

Penalties and Fouls
The rules of billiards lays down some penalties for fouls committed. So let us take a look at what you ideally would not want to do with the cue stick.

• The cue ball is scratched.
• During a shot if the cue ball is struck more than once.
• If the cue ball is shot before the object balls have stopped moving totally, it is a foul.
• Another situation where it is a foul is when none of the balls come in the contact with the cushion or are pocketed, following the legal cue ball contact with the object ball.
• Clear pushing of the cue ball.
• If the cue ball is jumped totally or partially over an obstructing ball, accompanied by an illegal jump shot scooping under the cue ball.
• Touching of the ball by the shooter with anything other than the cue tip.
• Any other ball being handled by the shooter, apart from the ball necessary for moving the cue ball in case of ball in hand situation is termed as a foul.
• A ball being knocked off the table is considered as a foul.
• The shooter plays a shot even though it is not his or turn.
• Lastly, while breaking the rack, if less than 4 balls reach the cushions, with no balls being pocketed, it is a foul.

It is important to know that these official billiards rules may vary as per the variations in the game. All the best with your game!