Hey, all. Quick pool question: I was playing Eight Ball with someone the other day, and I took a shot in which I hit MY ball first, and just before it went into the pocket, it combo’d off of my opponent’s ball. I’d called it that way, because I’d always thought that that was a legal shot as long as you hit your own ball first. My opponent disagreed and said that you can never combo with a ball that is not yours, otherwise you lose your turn.
Can anyone settle the argument?
- Freewill39.Most bars or pool halls probably are part of a pool league. You need to look at the rules at the place you were playing. If you were playing at someone’s house, then it would be “house rules.” I’ve seen it played both ways. I think the local tavern pool leagues around here play that you have to strike one of your balls before using an opponent’s, but after that it is ok.
Where I play that would be a legal shot as long as you called the shot off of your opponent’s ball. But I have seen places that considered it illegal.
If you called it why the hell didn’t he say anything before you made the shot?
Under BCA (Billiards Congress of America) rules, which most players consider “official,” it would be a legal shot if you called it that way.
He figured I was calling it knowing that even if I got the shot, I would lose my turn. When I got the shot and then went for the next one, he was confused and verbilized why.
- D.