Place the point of the triangle three-quarters down the length of the table, at the “foot spot”: the dot on the tabletop that corresponds to the head spot. If the “head string” marks the 1/4 point from the head of the table to the foot, then the “foot string” is an imaginary line that marks the distance 3/4 of the way from the head to the foot. The “food spot” is located at the exact midpoint of the foot string line. [3] X Research source Set the 8-ball in the center of the triangle. Put the 1-ball at the point of the triangle, facing the break. Place a stripe ball in one back corner of the rack, and a solid ball in the other corner.
Object balls: The striped and solid balls numbered 1-15. Every pool ball but the cue ball. The “object balls” are the balls that you are trying to knock into the pockets. Pocket: The baskets along the rim of the pool table. There are six pockets: one in each corner, and one at the midpoint of each long side. “Pocketing” is the act of knocking one or more numbered “object” balls into a pocket. Rail: The bank along the side of the pool tabletop. Scratch: When a player accidentally knocks the cue ball into a pocket. If you scratch, remove one of your sunk balls from a pocket and place it back in the center of the table. Your opponent now has the chance to shoot from his or her chosen spot at the top of the table. Open table: The table is “open” when the choice of groups (stripes or solids) has not yet been determined. When the table is open, it is legal to hit a solid first in order to make a stripe or solid. Foul penalty: Opposing player gets the cue ball in hand. This means that the player can place the cue ball anywhere on the table to take his or her next shot.
If a player scratches on a legal break shot: All balls pocketed remain pocketed. The shot is a foul, meaning that it is now the other player’s turn to shoot. The table is open, meaning that the first player to sink a ball without scratching chooses that ball type (stripes or solids) as his or her objective for the game. If a player jumps a numbered ball off the table on the break shot, it is a foul. The incoming player has two options: Accept the table in position. Take the next shot and continue the game. Take the cue ball in hand behind the head string. Shoot or break again, as necessary. If the 8-ball is pocketed on the break, then the breaker may ask for a re-rack, or have the 8-ball spotted and continue shooting. If the breaker scratches while pocketing the 8-ball on the break, the incoming player has the option of a re-rack or having the 8-ball spotted and begin shooting with ball in hand behind the head string.
Make it clear who is who. If you make a stripe, call out, “I’m stripes!” If you make a solid, call out, “I’m solids!” If you are the first player to pocket a numbered ball, but you sink both a stripe and a solid at the same time: you have your pick between the two groups. Choose the group that looks the most immediately advantageous.
There is no rule against combination shots, in which you sink two numbered balls from your group with one shot. However, the 8-ball can not be used as a first ball in the combination unless it is the shooter’s only remaining legal object ball on the table. Otherwise, it is a foul.
For instance: say, “8-ball, corner pocket,” and indicate which corner pocket you mean. If you call your shot, but you do not make the 8-ball into a pocket: it is now your opponent’s turn to shoot. You have neither won nor lost unless you make the 8-ball or scratch while trying to make the 8-ball.
A player loses when he or she: pockets the 8-ball at any point after the break; pockets the 8-ball on the same stroke as the last of his/her group of balls; jumps the 8-ball off the table at any time after the break; pockets the 8-ball in a pocket other than the one he/she has called; or pockets the 8-ball when it is not the legal “object ball. "
