ricky9ball
Member
If there is a spot on the pool table, is the 8 ball set behind this or on it please? In Nine ball is the 9 ball sat on that spot on racking please??
8 and 9 ball rack position help?
- Thread starter ricky9ball
- Start date
It will be specified in event rules. Otherwise, anything the players will agree on.
I habitually rack 8 on the spot because the balls don't stay put on worn out bar cloth. 8 on the spot leaves the important balls clear of the divots. I used to say that it was done in tournaments but the only examples were 9 and 10 ball. Most shooters don't care. They appreciate the big spread.
The rules for pool are online here: https://wpapool.com/rules-of-play/
If you have never seen them, I think it will be useful to look through them at least once. It's good to know the rules of a game you are trying to play. Those rules show where the foot spot is -- two diamonds from the foot rail and the side rails.
To answer your specific question, The rules of both 8-ball and 9-ball require the "apex" ball to be on the foot spot. That's the ball at the top of the rack or the 1 ball in 9-ball. However, in some pro events -- specifically in all events promoted by Matchroom -- the 9 ball is positioned on the spot. That's because with a tight rack at 9-ball the "wing" balls -- the two balls beside the 9 ball -- go in automatically unless the break rules are modified. This is considered to be a large problem.
ricky9ball
Member
Hello Bob, I'm very grateful for that, and the explanation. I've downloaded the rules now, but I have a question for you please? I've been watching a match on the Youtube pool Chanel, and saw a guy come off the 8 ball to pocket the nine ball, with the 8 ball still on the table, it was not deemed a foul. So what are the rules regarding coming off one to to pot another Bob?
That is also in the general rules of 9 ball, and most 10 ball events, as long as you hit the lowest numbered ball, what you make afterwards is also good. 1-9 combo, 4-9 combo, whatever, all means a win.
The rule at nine ball is that if you contact the lowest object ball first, anything pocketed counts. If you play a 1-9 cannon and the 9 falls into some random pocket, you win the game.
I've done an entire series of scientific videos on the pros and cons of this type of racking on worn and new cloth.
Is it available to see? A link maybe??
Ditto. Youtube?
When racking 8-ball, 9-ball, or 10-ball, the designated game-ball is racked 1 ball's width behind the spot defined by the center line of the table and the centerline of the last quadrant of the table. Given a table that is 100" by 50" those coordinates would be 25"×25" from either apex of either corner or the apex of the side pockets.
This doesn't accounting for the second row of balls properly. For standard racking of eight ball, the eight ball's center is behind the foot spot (or the center of the head ball of the rack) by 3.897 inches. That's the diameter of the ball times the square root of 3.
That distance is normally never measured. You just rack the head ball of the rack on the foot spot.
If you rack the 9 on the spot -- as in some pro tournaments -- then if you want to mark where the center of the 1 ball is, you need to measure that distance from the foot spot.
Yeah, but most of think this is a stupid trick based on pros knowing how to always make a wing ball on the break. Moving the game-ball to the spot does not alter that the pros can almost always make a ball on the break.
Thou dost exaggerate.