8 ball house rules for my home table?

2

219Dave

Pool is my therapy
Silver Member
I bought a table for my basement a year and a half ago, and am loving it. I'm still trying to come up with a set of "house rules" for my home table. My problem is that the only people who come over and play are very casual players--mostly neighbors and friends who almost never play. Everyone seems to have their own set of rules that they're used to. While it might seem easiest to adapt the BCA rules which I've read online, some of them are very foreign to the casual player. More specifically:

1. Virtually no one that I play with is used to the table always being open after the break. If they sink a stripe on the break, they call stripes. To be candid, that's how I always played growing up, in college, etc. Should I insist on the open table after the break rule?

2. After a foul, everyone I know (non-serious players) always played that you get ball in hand in the kitchen. The one thing that I hate about that is that you don't want to encourage anyone to scratch on purpose to force you to shoot a tough kick shot. Does absolutely everyone here play true ball in hand in 8 ball after a foul, or do some of you play ball in hand in the kitchen?

3. I like playing that if you hit the 8 on the break that's a win. Does that offend you more experienced guys?

4. We always played that a scratch when shooting on the 8 is a loss. More specifically, if you sink the eight accidentally before sinking your other balls, or scratch while shooting for the eight ball (whether sinking it or not), or sinking the 8 in the wrong pocket, were all losses. Thoughts on this?

Sorry if this post rambles. What I'm trying to get at here is a set of rules that isn't too "babyish" or amateurish, but that also don't come off as too foreign when playing with friends and neighbors who don't even like having to call their shot.

Thanks for your help!!
 
219Dave said:
I bought a table for my basement a year and a half ago, and am loving it. I'm still trying to come up with a set of "house rules" for my home table. My problem is that the only people who come over and play are very casual players--mostly neighbors and friends who almost never play. Everyone seems to have their own set of rules that they're used to. While it might seem easiest to adapt the BCA rules which I've read online, some of them are very foreign to the casual player. More specifically:

1. Virtually no one that I play with is used to the table always being open after the break. If they sink a stripe on the break, they call stripes. To be candid, that's how I always played growing up, in college, etc. Should I insist on the open table after the break rule?

I could go etier way on this one .......


2. After a foul, everyone I know (non-serious players) always played that you get ball in hand in the kitchen. The one thing that I hate about that is that you don't want to encourage anyone to scratch on purpose to force you to shoot a tough kick shot. Does absolutely everyone here play true ball in hand in 8 ball after a foul, or do some of you play ball in hand in the kitchen?

2if you place the cueball behind the headstring, then if all your opponets balls are behind the headstring also you spot the one closest to the line ..(that way they cant scratch on purpose and make you kick at it)



3. I like playing that if you hit the 8 on the break that's a win. Does that offend you more experienced guys?

i agree with that rule



4. We always played that a scratch when shooting on the 8 is a loss. More specifically, if you sink the eight accidentally before sinking your other balls, or scratch while shooting for the eight ball (whether sinking it or not), or sinking the 8 in the wrong pocket, were all losses. Thoughts on this?

making the 8 early or scratching on the 8 should be a loss (imo)



Sorry if this post rambles. What I'm trying to get at here is a set of rules that isn't too "babyish" or amateurish, but that also don't come off as too foreign when playing with friends and neighbors who don't even like having to call their shot.

Thanks for your help!!
Click to expand...

i hope this helps but bottom line your house your rules
scott
 
BCA

I think people should really start stressing some standardized form of 8-ball. These bar rules change from region to region. I posted the BCA rules which I consider to be the best 8-ball rules.
 
i agree on the jumping/masse shots... unless you know very well the ability of someone you are playing with I would say no jumping or masse.

When I was in highschool my parents had a table and we had a BCA handbook. I clarified and educated the people I played with religiously about the real rules the professionals play by. I also had some very good reasons for why their house rules are detrimental to the game. For example, placing the cue ball after fouls in the kitchen could be used to a huge advantage by a player whose opponent has balls that are only in the kitchen.

If you have a handbook, a some persuasive arguments for the stubborn people, and are discuss the rules before you play I doubt you'll see much resistance to the rules. If you are the experienced and superior player most people will respect your abilities and knowledge and want to do what you do. :smile:

I would also suggest dogging some shots to keep those poor amateurs around... eh, who am I kidding... beat them down LOL
 
That is a good point. That happened to us one night, and one of the guys suggested that the ball you call should be the first to fall, and I went with it. But to your point, it's not consistent. Here comes version 17! :rolleyes: Thanks -
 
It's your house, so you can write your own "house rules". To avoid misunderstandings, it's essential to have a concise but comprehensive set of rules that everyone agrees upon. Keep it short enough to fit on one page, post it on the wall, and have any newcomers read the rules and ask questions before their first game. We had a group of both younger and older players, so everyone's ideas were different. I started with the BCA and IPT sites, and we agreed on any variations. Our most unusual rule is the ball-in-hand rule. Old guys and bar players wanted ball-in-hand in the kitchen, some of us wanted "ball-in-hand anywhere". We compromised by moving the kitchen to the middle of the table to everyone's agreement. Nobody argues-everyone gets along fine. Hope this helps. PM if you'd like any assistance.

Bill
 

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tonmo said:
That is a good point. That happened to us one night, and one of the guys suggested that the ball you call should be the first to fall, and I went with it. But to your point, it's not consistent. Here comes version 17! :rolleyes: Thanks -
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't think the "called ball must drop first rule" adds anything positive to the game but it does take some things away. For one, it can create arguments when it's too close to call, and there might not have been any reason before the shot to ask someone to watch carefully. The other reason is that there are some strategic shots where you are trying to make your opponent's ball and it may be impossible for yours to go in first.

For example, when his ball is blocking the pocket and you can make your ball follow his in by transferring topspin to it. It is a shame, IMO, to remove these shots from the game of 8-ball without gaining anything for it.

To the original poster, BCA for the win! :) Some people may not like ball-in-hand rules at first, but I think they will once they get used to them and get a more intuitive understanding for the rationale. Plus complete rules are already written up for you.

Allow the snapped 8-ball to count if you like, but if you're not playing for money, does it really make much of a difference? All it does is make the challenger lose his turn due to a lucky break by the breaker. Just my opinion.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. Billyjack- I used your posted rules as a starting point, and tweaked them some.

Best of all- I talked my audio/video guy here at work into making it into a professional-looking poster with a pool table background and all. Life is good!
 
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