8 ball rules question

J

Jerry R

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a question for the rules gurus.
You’re playing 8 ball and the rules state you do not need to call an obvious shot, but you MUST call all banks and combos.
You end up straight in on the 8 ball, but miss it so bad that it goes 4 rails and falls into the pocket that you “obviously” were shooting at.

Is it still a good shot?
 
In every tournament I’ve ever played, that shot is good. Ball and pocket only, for calls. That being said, years ago, I have also been in several disputes over similar situations. However, not so much in the last 10 or so years. Seems like players are now more accepting to call ball and pocket only.


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Jerry R said:
I have a question for the rules gurus.
You’re playing 8 ball and the rules state you do not need to call an obvious shot, but you MUST call all banks and combos.
You end up straight in on the 8 ball, but miss it so bad that it goes 4 rails and falls into the pocket that you “obviously” were shooting at.

Is it still a good shot?
Click to expand...
Good shot. I thought the rules stated the 8 ball needed to be called but I may be wrong. Doesnt matter. Good shot
 
i’ll disagree and say that

if banks MUST be called
and you make the money ball
by way of an un-called bank

loss of game
 
"You don't need to call" translates as "you don't have to verbally confirm your ball and pocket as they are already silently nominated". Because in almost all disciplines you don't need to call banks or caroms anyway, the route to the nominated pocket doesn't have any effect on the call and the outcome.
 
Thanks guys for all the answers. It was just a hypothetical question that someone asked me about. I probably shouldn’t have used the 8 ball in my example since most rules require that to be called anyway. Though in our local leagues if it’s a straight in shot it generally isn’t.
 
Any league, or other organized competition using standardized rules, will say that you call ball and pocket, so you'd be fine.
You didn't say if it was a hypothetical league though, so maybe it's just bar pool in your scenario. Some places play that the 8 "must go clean", and some want you to call every cushion. I've had people tell me that I didn't call my ball off the long rail as it kissed it going down the rail into the corner pocket.
So while there will be rules to check for anything organized, just playing challenge pool in a bar is going to boil down to what you and your opponent end up agreeing to.
 
Jerry R said:
I have a question for the rules gurus.
You’re playing 8 ball and the rules state you do not need to call an obvious shot, but you MUST call all banks and combos.
You end up straight in on the 8 ball, but miss it so bad that it goes 4 rails and falls into the pocket that you “obviously” were shooting at.

Is it still a good shot?
Click to expand...
No, it's a bank that you were required to call.

pj
chgo
 
markjames said:
i’ll disagree and say that

if banks MUST be called
and you make the money ball
by way of an un-called bank

loss of game
Click to expand...
Actually, because only the ball and pocket have to be called, not if it's an actual bank or straight in, it does not matter.

So, regardless if the ball goes straight in or someone misses so badly the the ball goes four rails and
then caroms off two other balls it still counts because only the ball and pocket have to be called, money ball or not.
 
Even though I mainly play BCAPL where "obvious" shots do not need to be called I call every single 8 ball, combo, and bank. I had an opponent shoot a pretty obvious combination at our state BCA tournament a few ago but the 2nd ball went in instead of the ball closest to the pocket which I am guessing was accidental but I let it stand so I asked him to call the less than obvious shots, he got all huffy but lost anyways.
 
The complication in this discussion is the use of the term "obvious". People naturally assume it is used in the sense that "I know what you were trying to do" - using that rational, many banks, kicks, combos, etc. are "obvious".

But it is impossible to know or prove what someone else knows or thinks, so the rules specifically define the term "obvious shot":

1739985045296.png


Basically, if there is no obstruction between the cue ball and the object ball, and no obstruction between the object ball and the pocket, the shot is considered "obvious" and the ball and pocket are not required* to be called. All other shots must be called. And by definition, Jump Shots should be explicitly included on this list.

*an opponent always has the right to ask the shooter to call the ball and pocket.
 
Jerry R said:
I have a question for the rules gurus.
You’re playing 8 ball and the rules state you do not need to call an obvious shot, but you MUST call all banks and combos.
You end up straight in on the 8 ball, but miss it so bad that it goes 4 rails and falls into the pocket that you “obviously” were shooting at.

Is it still a good shot?
Click to expand...
Apparently not a good shot and would be loss of game, if you have agreed to the rules that you are required to call all banks.

However, for the proper rules where you only have to call ball and pocket, it would indeed count no matter how it gets to the intended pocket.
 
Last edited:
What specific ruleset are you using? Generally, the shot is good. You're straight on the 8-ball and the pocket you're trying to put it in is obvious. The path the 8 takes to get to that pocket is irrelevant. Calling banks and combinations is not declaring the path the ball is going to take. It's just indicating the intention (i.e., which ball and which pocket) of the shooter when the shot is not as obvious. For example, one person may bank a ball when another might cut it.
 
Some of you are getting way caught up in the have to call the bank etc. It’s call ball and call pocket. Doesn’t matter how it gets there.
 
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