Intentional Scratch

I use the intentional scratch a lot. What can be even more creative in bar-table eight ball is the intentional pocketing of one of your opponent’s balls (I guess some would call this an intentional scratch too).

The pocketing of your opponent’s ball tactic can get pretty interesting and it can definitely flip the table completely around -- hopefully, to your advantage.
 
pocket said:
Generally (I know that is kind of vague), but is it illegal to intentionally scratch or miss? I'm guessing it is just a ball in hand penalty for the most part, can't actually think of what other penalty could be enforced.

Bad form?
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There are penalties for intentional scratches and fouls, but sometimes the benefit of do so in order to gain a tactical advantage outweighs the disadvantage of the penalty. In straight pool, one pocket and banks the penalty for the first 2 consecutive fouls is only 1 ball subtracted from your score per foul. In 9 ball, 10 ball, and 8 ball fouls result in ball in hand which is a more harsh penalty, but can still be worth it to tie up balls to prevent a run out in the right situation. Most people here would call an "intentional miss" playing a safe and it is always acceptable and requires often as much or more skill than pocketing a ball.
 
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In the straight pool example: if there's a scratch and you don't take it behind the line,
it's treated as an intentional (unsportsmanlike) foul.

If you go behind the line with the cue ball, but make no honest effort to hit a ball past the line
(so, hitting it into a point, hitting some ball behind the line, rolling it into the head rail)
it's also an intentional (unsportsmanlike) foul.

The penalty for this is not -15 points, it's whatever the ref deems appropriate. It could be loss of match.
Could just be a stern lecture. The -15 point penalty is for 3 fouls in a row, whether they're intentional or not.

There are certain shooting fouls that pretty much automatically get labelled unsportsmanlike.
These include intentionally using the movement of your stroke to dislodge other balls
(besides the one you struck), the "lift-brush" foul where you place the tip near the edge of the ball and
then lift upwards to move it a few millimeters, and push fouls where the tip stays on the ball
(for example trapping it between the pocket point and your tip, rather than lightly rolling it there).

In general there's no special penalty for intentionally fouling in any game unless the ref considers it unsportsmanlike.
If no ref is present, brace yourself for an argument.
 
Agree with what others have to say.

If you use the cue to shoot the cue ball into an illegal object ball and reposition the balls in your favor, that's acceptable and just another part of the game especially when you're locked up in a tight safety with no way to hit the target object ball.

However, using your hand or cue stick to knock balls around or using your cue to shoot any balls other than the cue ball is unsportsmanlike conduct and should be called loss of game or match, depending on the situation.
 
Here's one I saw at a state team event last year.

It was down to the final rack and the player shooting was hooked but he only needed one ball for his team to win. So what does he do???

He walks over to one of his object balls and fires it directly into the pocket. He calls a foul on himself and says, "That should do it, we only needed one ball!"

Instantly, the opposing team erupted and total chaos ensued for a few minutes. After the dust settled I believe they ended up replaying the rack, which I found a bit odd. I thought they would have called a foul and respotted the ball. It's possible that the balls got messed up in the chaos and that's why they replayed the rack instead of spotting the ball and continuing the rack....I'm not sure.

At any rate, it was entertaining to hear the yells from the other team and watch all the confusion.

Moral of the story -- never shoot an object ball directly with your cue stick. That's a foul every time! Should be ruled unsportsmanlike conduct and loss of rack at the very least.
 
It can be a valuable strategy playing One Pocket. There's a YouTube video that shows Efren with five penny's sitting at his corner. That alone demonstrates how important intentional fouling can be in the scheme of things.
One night in bed I farted real big and pulled the covers over my second wife's head. She cried foul so I put a penny on the corner of the nightstand. :)
 
pocket said:
Generally (I know that is kind of vague), but is it illegal to intentionally scratch or miss? I'm guessing it is just a ball in hand penalty for the most part, can't actually think of what other penalty could be enforced.

Bad form?
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Here are the rules:
http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/the_rules_of_play
They will take a while to read through and won't make complete sense the first time through, but I think you will be well rewarded for the effort you put in. It is good to know the rules of the game you are playing.

Several of the posts above are inaccurate.

To answer your specific question in a different way, among good players if someone plays a shot when they should play a foul or a miss, the good players will think of him as a clueless newbie. On the other hand, among bad players, if you play an a foul or a miss when it is the correct thing to do tactically, they will think of you as a cheat and a coward. The problem is that the bad players don't know the rules.
 
i was playing pool in oman this summer, and a lot of the people there play "2 shot" rule in 8 ball. where if you scratch the oncoming player can have 2 opportunities to make a shot if they please. if you are that player and you make the first ball, you have to keep running the rack. although if you miss your first shot, then you have a second opportunity to make the shot. the smart player will intentionally miss the first shot, moving a trouble ball for there run at the rack and then proceed to run the rack. personally, i think this rule gives a handicap to the lesser player. but many players over there play straight BCA rules in tournaments etc.
 
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SeabrookMiglla said:
i was playing pool in oman this summer, and a lot of the people there play "2 shot" rule in 8 ball. where if you scratch the oncoming player can have 2 opportunities to make a shot if they please. if you are that player and you make the first ball, you have to keep running the rack. although if you miss your first shot, then you have a second opportunity to make the shot. the smart player will intentionally miss the first shot, moving a trouble ball for there run at the rack and then proceed to run the rack. personally, i think this rule gives a handicap to the lesser player. but many players over there play straight BCA rules in tournaments etc.
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The two shots per foul is in UK 8-ball rules (and other related games). Maybe a lot of those folks played UK 8-ball?
 
Cornerman said:
The two shots per foul is in UK 8-ball rules (and other related games). Maybe a lot of those folks played UK 8-ball?
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The international version of the rules are at http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/the_rules_of_play under "Black Ball". Those rules allow a "free shot" as the first shot of an inning after a foul.

I think there are some other versions of the two-shot rule in the UK.

One of the rules of black ball is that if you pocket an opponent's ball without also pocketing a ball of your own group, it is a foul. Another is no jump shots.
 
pocket said:
Generally (I know that is kind of vague), but is it illegal to intentionally scratch or miss? I'm guessing it is just a ball in hand penalty for the most part, can't actually think of what other penalty could be enforced.

Bad form?
Click to expand...

Playing by regular rules, it's not worth it (BiH). Some bar rules require the CB to be placed in the kitchen or on the headstring/headspot, which can give you tactical advantage in certain situations.
 
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