Missing 8 ball rule

ChopStick

ChopStick

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Silver Member
I was just reviewing the 8 ball rules and I noticed one is missing that has been there for years.

If you are NOT playing ball in hand, your opponent scratches and all of your balls are behind the head string. The object ball nearest the head string gets spotted. The logic being, you should never be penalized as the result of your opponents foul. I have had people who did not have a shot they liked just turn around and shoot the cue ball in the hole. This was on the books for many years but I guess since ball in hand became more common they just left it out.
 
ctyhntr said:
APA is still ball in hand behind the kitchen, while BCA is bih anywhere.
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I don't know BCA rules, but I played APA and the only time BIH was in the kitchen was after the break.

As for the original posted rule, I've never heard it. It makes a lot of sense, and I've been in bars where the deliberate scratch was viewed as the most clever thing imaginable. In those cases, bumping a ball past the line and turning over the table meets with scorn and cursing, even though it's the same deliberate foul play as scratching.
 
We do not play ball in hand in our local league , and it is frustrating to be penalized when my opponent scatches , wilh my , usually , 8 ball in the kitchen . I wanted to have a rule where it was ball in hand anywhere if the other player scrathes , but that went over like a Turd in the punch bowel .

The lesser players always think we are trying to put something over on them .

We had a rule for 1 yr , last year , where it was open after the break , but that even got voted out . That was for sure a help for the lesser player , but they are to stupid to see it . I am surprised the don't out law custom sticks . that's next .

jim
 
I used to play in 2 different 8 ball leagues in the same pool hall, one BCS and the other in house. They had different rules.

When a situation came up you had to stop figure out what night it was and what the rule was.
 
The rule I am thinking of was in the official rule books. This was back in the days before leagues made ball in hand popular. I think it should still be in there.
 
What rules are you looking at?

WPA Rules (section 1.5 is in the "General Rules" section)

1.5 Cue Ball in Hand
When the cue ball is in hand, the shooter may place the cue ball anywhere on the playing surface (see 8.1 Parts of the Table) and may continue to move the cue ball until he executes a shot. (See definition 8.2 Shot.) Players may use any part of the cue stick to move the cue ball, including the tip, but not with a forward stroke motion. In some games and for most break shots, placement of the cue ball may be restricted to the area behind the head string depending on the rules of the game, and then 6.10 Bad Cue Ball Placement and 6.11 Bad Play from Behind the Head String may apply.

When the shooter has the cue ball in hand behind the head string and all the legal object balls are behind the head string, he may request the legal object ball nearest the head string to be spotted. If two or more balls are equal distance from the head string, the shooter may designate which of the equidistant balls is to be spotted. An object ball that rests exactly on the head string is playable.
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DallasHopps said:
I've been in bars where the deliberate scratch was viewed as the most clever thing imaginable.
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I know. Those guys think they are so smart. What we started doing is set the cue ball behind the head string and either shoot one of our balls in the pocket or out of the kitchen and play safe at the same time. Then they howl, you can't do that. I answer back, you can't do what you just did either.

That is actually mentioned in the current rules as unsportsmanlike conduct with a possible penalty of loss of the game.
 
It was in the BCA rules at one time.

ChopStick said:
The rule I am thinking of was in the official rule books. This was back in the days before leagues made ball in hand popular. I think it should still be in there.
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I had a BCA rule book from the late '70s or early '80s. It did state that if all your balls were behind the head string and your opponent scratched you could spot the ball closest to the head string, if two balls were equal distance you got to pick which ball. I gave that rule book to a tavern that was not quite ready to go to ball in hand but all were tired of intentional scratches in their weekly tournament. When the new rule was questioned the owner just showed them the BCA rule book with that rule highlighted.
 
gregcantrall said:
I had a BCA rule book from the late '70s or early '80s. It did state that if all your balls were behind the head string and your opponent scratched you could spot the ball closest to the head string,
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The key word is 'could', as in you can take the table as is with BIK and shoot the CB out of kitchen and back and make a ball that was not moved. {I do it all the time 1-rail long, 3-rails to corner, and draw with big sidespin outside of 2nd diamond back to corner.} in most of these situations I would rather shoot the shots I know than a long shot at the head-spot.
 
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