I’ve heard varying methods of the proper way to rack pool balls, so I turn to the dope to find out the best method.
In my case, I usually play 8-ball, so what’s the usual racking method? Is it 1 Ball first, then alternating solids/stripes, or is it 1 ball first, then alternating rows of stripes/solids? Am I even right about the 1 ball coming first?
Slight Tangent: When racking, I’ve seen some people place the 8 ball top of the row of balls just behind where the 8 ball would normally go. They then jut the entire rack forward, causing the 8 ball to fall in place. Any particular reason for doing this, aside from looking cool?
When I was a teenager wasting my time playing pool in a buddy’s basement, we had a copy of a book by Minnesota Fats which had a picture of an eight-ball rack on the cover. We decided that the picture constituted racking gospel, and I can’t bring myself to rack any other way to this day, 40 years later. The sequence was:
Friedo is right, 8 in the middle and one stripe/solid each on the rear corners. Nothing else is required. This is because the rear corner balls are the most likely to drop on the break. And of course having the 8 in the center makes it very unlikely it will drop on the break for an easy win (rules on that vary greatly however!). In tournaments with a dedicated racker he will try to alternate the other stirpes/solids to get a good distribution of each, but it doesn’t really matter.
In 9-ball, the only requirement is 1-ball in the first spot (since it must be hit first to be a legal break), and the 9-ball in the center to prevent an easy win. The other balls can go anywhere. When I am racking 9-ball for my opponent, I will try to put consecutive numbered balls away from each other to slightly lower the chances of an easy run-out, but again, it’s up to the racker.
These rules are based on my own experience in APA and BCA leagues and hold true with every organized cash tounament I’ve ever played in. No official cites, sorry.
One other side-note: If you are playing 8-ball, don’t let them tell you that you must put the cue behind the head string on a scratch. You only have to do that on a scratch on the break. Any other time after the break, a scratch gets you “ball in hand” which means you can put the cue anywhere and shoot at any ball (of yours). It infuriates me how so many people play bar rules “always behind the head string”. No good organized tournament ever plays that way.
Preach it, Cepper, and welcome to the boards. I was recently berated at a bar for being an idiot who didn’t know “the real way to rack.” Many people apparently like to rack like this:
O
X X
O 8 O
X O O X
O X X X O
and because they think it looks symmetrical and pretty, it must be the right way.
I’dont know how much the rules differ but we call Pool with spots and striped numbered balls American pool and we play Pool with reds, yellows and a black. We or atleast everyone I know rack them like this.
That’s the rule for the VNEA league too. Strangely the APA doesn’t specify the wing balls, only the eight. I like to rack the same way every time so I know where balls pocketed on the break are coming from. Here’s my pattern. It goes 1 through 7 top to bottom alternating with their color mates. (Typical colors here in the US. Apologies to anyone not having Wingdings font.)
l
l[
[ll
l[l[
[l[[l
There’s probably a downside to this arrangement or me having a known consistency. Any ideas?
What about making the racked balls snug together? Some slide the rack forward, letting the momentum tighten everything. Some push the balls forward with eight fingers. If one ball drifts loose after you remove the rack, do you re-rack?
I rack exactly as the PC apeman though I’m not particular as to which numbers go where, just the stripes and solids. I have yet to figure out what L and H stand for.
RE: When they put the 8 ball on top of the rack then push it forward, I think it is an attempt to keep the rack from moving when you pull the rack away. I usually tape the three balls in front fro this purpose.
Absolutely yes!
Having spent many a long night watching money games (mostly 9 ball at West End Billiards, Elizabeth NJ*), you re-rack until both you and your opponent are satisfied with the tightness of the rack.
If the top ball rolls off the foot spot DON’T “tap” the top ball to try to settle it exactly on the spot, any table that sees real action already has a dent in the felt that almost never lines up with the spot, (thank lazy house-men and bad table maintenance). Put the top ball where it wants to be and ignore the spot, nobody who really plays will complain.
If the spot is loose, a little spit on the loose part of the spot (use your finger!) followed by rubbing the spot down with a ball usually does the trick.
If the foot spot is really bad I’d usually rip it off and replace it myself, I’ve always carried a tin of spots in my cue case just for this, if your not a regular ask the house-man BEFORE you do this!
Nobody I’ve ever watched rack puts the 1 ball anywhere but at the top of the rack, doing otherwise makes you look like a noob or a shark pretending to be a noob!
This is my favorite way to rack for 8 ball, (in the link the top ball is on the the lower left)
solid/low stripe/high 8 ball
but I’m really liking the PC apeman’s for the beauty of it!
Pisses me off when I drop three solids on the break and call a stripe for my first called ball and my opponent tells me “you can’t you got solids”. I’m giving ya three balls what the hell are you complaining about (ain’t my fault that the solids are tied up and the stripes are an easy run out!)?
CMC fnord!
*Where I had the pleasure of watching Steve Mizerak knock the balls around one night, and drinking bad coffee while talking shit with Allen Hopkins while his wife Dawn practiced. In it’s day it was THE place to play (read the sixth post), damn shame it had a slow painful death, RIP “Mobile” Bob.
In college I worked in a real-deal pool hall. I used to have to work through the night when soomeone was in from out of town for a big money game. They rarely played 8-ball for money, but when they did, this was how the balls had to be racked:
L
LH
H8L
LHLH
HLLHL
Here’s the rationale as it was explained to me:
You want to minimize the chances that two of the same type will go in on the break, or travel the most on the table. To that end you want the back corners to be different. Then you try to have balls that have equal chances of traveling the most (and finding their way into or near a pocket) be of differnt sets (H and L). Working from the back corner balls moving toward the front ball, each position shold be alternated. This allows the most alternation with different back corner balls. The only deviation of two balls of the same set being juxtaposed next to each other are two balls in the back and onbe of the balls next to the front ball.
I’ll just add, that no one cared if you started with a solid or a stripe, but if I ever made the front ball a nine-ball or a five-ball, I’d be verbally slapped around. The reason is that these guys usually played nine-ball for big money and the five and the nine were the money balls, and therefore put more pressure on whoever was goping to break.
Absolutely! Giving someone a loose rack (when playing for money) is a good way to get into a serious disagreement. If the table is in perfect condition you wont need to use your fingers, but it doesn’t hurt.
What Uncommon said. You would keep a tally, whether it be one on the five and two on the nine, one on the five and three on the nine, etc. Also, you could have the balls have differing weights for either player. For instance, if you were considerbaly better than me, you might say that the five is worth one for me and the nine is worth three. But for you the nine might be worth two and the five wold be worth zero. Since it is really a money game, you would negotiate in order to get a player to play you who wouldn’t stright up.
