Bar player BS? I don't remember insulting your BCA/WPA community and calling it BS... Learning "master" rules isn't a problem, finding enough people to play by them is. Good for you if you can play with lots of players who use official rules, but here bar rules dominate over everything. Still, we don't have what you would call "house rules". When you go to a bar, you can play using any rules you like. It's more that every group of players has their own ruleset, but the differences between them are usually minimal. Here's how I thought people should describe dominating bar rulesets in their area (this one is South-Eastern Europe, possibly even wider):
- When racking, 8 ball is placed in the middle of the triangle and goes to the footspot, other balls are placed around it in solid-stripe-solid-stripe sequence
- To make a legal break, the CB can be positioned anywhere in the kitchen, and the only requirement is to touch the CB (possible variations: sometimes a player needs to shoot it past the center of the table, sometimes it needs to touch the rack)
- If no balls fall in, the other player gets the turn and is free to shoot at any ball except the 8 (see below). This repeats until a colored ball is pocketed
- The ball that rolls into the collection chamber first determines the group of the player who pocketed it. This applies even when a player shoots in both solids and stripes in the same shot. Sometimes it may vary, so the group of a player is determined by the ball which is pocketed first (what can sometimes be hard to notice) or, rarely, if both solids and stripes were pocketed, the player can be given the opportunity to choose the group he wants. Scratching doesn't influence the group determination in any way.
- Scratch and CB off the table result in placing the CB on headspot and the opponent getting the next turn.
- Pocketing 8 ball on the break is a win, even if other colored balls are pocketed. Scratching while pocketing the 8, both on the break and later in-game, is a loss.
- Balls off the table are usually placed wherever the players decide, 8 off the table is a loss.
- Hitting the 8 directly at any time (except when you acquired your last pocket) is a loss.
- Hitting the opponent's balls directly results in loss of turn, and the opponent can choose if they want the ball you hit to be pocketed or left on the table.
- When shooting, there's no requirement for the CB to hit anything (rails, other balls...).
- As long as you keep pocketing at least one OB in one shot, you continue your inning.
- Pocketing your opponent's balls isn't punishable and you don't lose your turn as long as your OB is pocketed at the same time (and if you didn't hit the opponent's ball directly).
- Jumping is allowed (even with scooping techniques).
- The pocket where you dropped your last OB becomes your last pocket where you need to drop the 8 ball to win. If the 8 ball is pocketed in any other pocket, or if it falls in before the last pockets are determined, it results in a loss.
- Pocketing your last OB and the 8 in the same shot is a loss.
- Failing to touch the 8 three times in a row is a loss.
- If you drop your last OB in the opponent's last pocket, your last pocket becomes the one right across the table.
There are probably some other minor rules I forgot, but this would be the basis of the game. I'd like to hear other versions now
