I am talking about standard pool found in bars. But for the purposes of this question, we may need to refer to official tournament rules.
I was playing with a friend tonight and he was on the black, I still had three of my balls on the table. He had a shot at the black, and although he didn’t sink it, the ball came to a halt just millimeters from a corner pocket. Rather than risk hitting and missing one of my balls and handing him the game, I slammed the white ball towards the edge of the black, and it bounced away from the pocket and rolled to the middle of the table.
Subsequently I was accused of “cheating” and informed that if I tried doing this in world tournament pool, the game would automatically be handed to my opponent.
So… would my move have resulted in a simple foul, or a forfeiture?
Yah - that’s cheating in in bar or tournament I’ve ever participated in or watched.
You have to at least try to hit one of your own balls - screwing your opponent over in the way you did isn’t allowed.
Your best bet would have been to make a “Safety Shot” at one of your own balls - something soft so the cue wound up behind one of your balls, making it impossible for him to get a clear shot to the 8. Then he would have had to do some impossible double bank shot and you would have had a chance to come back.
The way my friends and I play, it’s a simple foul. I read the book on-line and it may be one of those occasions which could lead to a draw, but I’m too lazy to look for it now. Anyway, we play it as a foul and like all table scratches, we give the opposing player “ball in hand.”
Official rules state you must hit your own ball first + a rail or it’s ball in hand. While what you did was against that rule, you didn’t immediately lose because of it. Of course ball in hand misses are fairly rare.
[hijack]
Plus a rail? Seriously? On every shot? What has to hit the rail? I assume cue ball?
[/hijack]
There are few rules I remember from billiards class in college ( ), but hitting your own ball on your own shot is one I do remember. Missing all balls or hitting the oponent’s ball instead was ball-in-hand.
The way we play it’s: a) cue ball hits object ball + another ball (shooter’s ball or opponents, doesn’t matter); or, b) object ball + rail; c) or object ball makes the pocket (without hitting another ball or rail)
The rules are whatever the house rules are. I’ve played in lots of bars and its always best to watch a few games first and read the rules usually but not always posted on the walls. From the rule book that came with my table - eight ball is not a call shot game but almost everywhere I’ve played you have to call your shots. Most bars if you quote the “official” rule book you’s be lucky if that just laughed you out of the bar.
If you want to play a real game where the “official” and house rules are pretty close - try nine ball. Call your shot and hit the low ball first. Foul, except on the break, ball in hand (anywhere on the table - on the break behind the head string). Nine ball in on a legal shot wins the game.
I’ve almost always played where you have to use your own ball first in combos, and I’ve played where the eight ball can/cannot be used in combos.
Don’t even ask how to rack the balls :rolleyes: - post that one in great debates.
Right, right. In a tournament you just forfit your turn.
At the watering hole I used to play at (and it’s been a while) a “jerky” move like that in the OP would have resulted in forfiture of the game. (We were a cranky lot.)
Bar or no bar, if the 8 ball goes down, someone wins, someone loses. (The only exception is 8-ball in on the break. In official rules, it’s a re-rack or re-spotting of the 8-ball.)
In the OP, no balls were pocketed, so there’s no problem with that. Where I play pool, such a move would be considered somewhat objectionable, but subject to the normal penalties (NOT forfeiture.) Unfortunately, most people don’t play 8-ball ball-in-hand fouls 'round these parts.
Knocking the black ball away from a pocket when you don’t have a way to play safe or run out is not just reasonable, it’s the smart play.
And yes, it’s a foul. But that’s not ‘cheating’. Cheating is doing things like intentionally moving balls with your hand, or claiming that a foul occured when it didn’t. But intentional fouls are part of the game, as long as you accept the penalty. In BCA rules, what you did would result in a ball in hand for your opponent which, unless you were really lucky and tied up the 8–ball somewhere, should have resulted in loss of game anyway. But the attempt is worth it.
It is very common in serious tournaments to intentionally foul. For instance, if an opponent plays a safety on you, and you don’t have a good shot at your own ball, and your opponent is likely to run out if you don’t hit your ball and sink it, it’s perfectly acceptable to hit the cueball into your opponent’s ball in an attempt to tie it up and prevent a run-out. Or, let’s say an opponent has a ball hanging in the jaws of a pocket, which gives him the flexibility to pocket it and break out a cluster of balls that’s preventing a runout. It’s perfectly acceptable to sink your opponents ball and give him the ball in hand.
), but hitting your own ball on your own shot is one I do remember. Missing all balls or hitting the oponent’s ball instead was ball-in-hand.