Racking Rule

irock said:

I was watching a recorded 9 ball tournament, and they were racking the 9 ball on the spot, is this becoming the normal rule now, or was this just a rare occasion.

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Racking the 9-ball on the spot is certainly being done more and more. Events now doing it include the Eurotour events, the Mosconi Cup, the World Cup, and the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship.

The hold-outs for the old way include the WPA World 9-Ball Championship, the Derby City Classic 9-Ball event, and the Turning Stone (and other Joss) events.

The variations in 9-Ball racking rules are numerous, including:
• who racks -- breaker, non-breaker, or third party
• type of rack -- triangle (wood, plastic, metal) or template (multiple types)
• location of the rack -- 1-ball on the foot string or 9-ball on the foot string
• location of balls in the rack -- random or pattern racking, with or without 2-ball in back

And then the breaking variations include:
• who breaks -- winner, loser, alternating
• breaking location -- anywhere behind the head string or anywhere within a break box (various sizes)

It's a mad, mad world.