Most Ridiculous Pool Rules!

[Sweet Marissa]

I feel the same way about wearing pants
It's rules for the sake of having rules I reckon

That rule is for the sake of the rest of us

I was wondering when your next response was coming!

 

[Roll-Off]

The dumbest rule I've ever seen is 9-ball on the break wins. Absolutely stupid! Even dumber is 8-ball on the break wins. Luck should not be a factor in a game of skill.

 

[macguy]

Someone suggested the other day that we should have a thread on the worst, silliest, most ridiculous rules we've come across on our travels into dens of eniquity, or just to mates places who had their own set of crazy rules.

Anyway, the standout worst rule I've come across was the 'any foul on the 8-ball' is loss of game. Talk about destroying the incentive to go for tough out. I'll be knocking my balls all around the 8 ball.

Other crazy rules I've seen are:
Cue butt width pushout of CB from rail.
6" rule - If CB is miscued and goes less than 6" you can put it back and try again.

When you play in bars you run into all kinds of dumb rules. I played in a place once where they didn't allow any slop. This included you had to call it if the object ball touched the rail before going in. Every time I shot down the rail I would call the rail and be sure I touched the rail before the ball went in. They were not screwing with me, they actually played like that there. I played in a lot of black rooms in the south in the 70's often I was the only white guy in the place and they always had their own rules. Games like "8-ball in Georgia" where the rules seem to change as you play.

 

[shinyballs]

I played in an APA league one season a few years ago and I couldn't believe you had to mark the pocket for the 8-Ball by placing a coaster or item on the rail. I'm not sure if it was a normal APA thing or just a local rule. I forgot 2 or 3 times in a row one night.

Another time, I was in a pool hall and a guy playing next to me asked me to play. He said he didn't play ball in hand though. He was actually a pretty good shot, but after I rolled the cueball behind my balls a few times without hitting a rail, he agreed to play ball in hand the next game.

 

[Side Pocket Kid]

I've posted this before but I'll post it again..

Alright so a couple of my friends won the qualifications for AUCI at Georgia Southern. So I went down to Florida to see them play in the regionals. A friend of mine by the name of Adam broke, and the cue ball exploded into pieces on the table. I mean, shattered everywhere. We were bafeled when the referee/Tournament director broke out the scale and weighed the broken peices, deciding on who has ball in hand!!!

He explained all this bs I dont remember it all, he found a way to split the 2 halves and the player with the heaviest half recieved ball in hand. I thought it was a joke at first!

 

[JoeyInCali]

BCA 8-ball rule on pocketing the 8-ball on the break.
It gets respotted.
"Bar" rules. Rules for nitwits, cheaters, bangers, punks and idiots.

 

[Side Pocket Kid]

When you play in bars you run into all kinds of dumb rules. I played in a place once where they didn't allow any slop. This included you had to call it if the object ball touched the rail before going in. Every time I shot down the rail I would call the rail and be sure I touched the rail before the ball went in. They were not screwing with me, they actually played like that there. I played in a lot of black rooms in the south in the 70's often I was the only white guy in the place and they always had their own rules. Games like "8-ball in Georgia" where the rules seem to change as you play.

Its true... if you play 8 ball here in georgia at the lodges.. or some bars... It seems as if the people you play have new rules comming in after every shot you do... and when they do the same thing and you call a foul, they start to explain how they were doing something else at the same time to "counter-balance the shot" so they wont get fouled
I Like to beat the crap out of them and make them feel like crap losing with their own rules..

 

[Colin Colenso]

That rule is for the sake of the rest of us

Yeah, it's like kids and candy!

How cruel is it to take a kid to a candy shop and not let them have any. I am a monster

 

[Sweet Marissa]

I played in an APA league one season a few years ago and I couldn't believe you had to mark the pocket for the 8-Ball by placing a coaster or item on the rail. I'm not sure if it was a normal APA thing or just a local rule. I forgot 2 or 3 times in a row one night.

I hate that one, too. Just call the friggin pocket. Anyway, marking it could be construed as using an aiming device!!!

 

[DaveK]

BCA 8-ball rule on pocketing the 8-ball on the break.
It gets respotted.
"Bar" rules. Rules for nitwits, cheaters, bangers, punks and idiots.

But the '8 off the break wins' rule in bar pool is there simply because the ball cannot be spotted unless you invest another loonie, er, bunch o' quarters. Other than that exception, I agree about bar rules.

Dave

 

[blah blah]

I hate that one, too. Just call the friggin pocket. Anyway, marking it could be construed as using an aiming device!!!

heh, heh-

my "special marker" would be a laser pen, and i'd hook it up right at center pocket with the light shining down as a bright target

 

[satman]

short on time but

Someone suggested the other day that we should have a thread on the worst, silliest, most ridiculous rules we've come across on our travels into dens of eniquity, or just to mates places who had their own set of crazy rules.

Anyway, the standout worst rule I've come across was the 'any foul on the 8-ball' is loss of game. Talk about destroying the incentive to go for tough out. I'll be knocking my balls all around the 8 ball.

Other crazy rules I've seen are:
Cue butt width pushout of CB from rail.
6" rule - If CB is miscued and goes less than 6" you can put it back and try again.

There is a small bar 4 blocks from my house. On Friday nights they have a $5 entry 8-ball tourney. No ball in hand rules, call pocket on all your balls. But the worst part is when you're shooting the 8. You have to call if you're going to kiss off another ball or how many rails if you're going to bank it. This wouldn't be so bad, but if you call it 1 rail and the 8 touches the rail outside the diamond before going into the pocket it's 2 rails and you lose. Or if you're shooting it straight in and it touches the rail outside the first diamond, it's a bank, and you lose. Worst rule I've ever seen. Sam

 

[MFB]

There is a small bar 4 blocks from my house. On Friday nights they have a $5 entry 8-ball tourney. No ball in hand rules, call pocket on all your balls. But the worst part is when you're shooting the 8. You have to call if you're going to kiss off another ball or how many rails if you're going to bank it. This wouldn't be so bad, but if you call it 1 rail and the 8 touches the rail outside the diamond before going into the pocket it's 2 rails and you lose. Or if you're shooting it straight in and it touches the rail outside the first diamond, it's a bank, and you lose. Worst rule I've ever seen. Sam

Yeah, but a bar 4 blocks from the house has got to even out the bad 8-ball rule.

I could live with a crappy rule if I could stumble home 4 blocks.

 

[Bob Jewett]

But the '8 off the break wins' rule in bar pool is there simply because the ball cannot be spotted unless you invest another loonie, er, bunch o' quarters. ...

They could keep an extra eight ball behind the bar, but then you wouldn't have to put in another loonie. Do any tables take Sacajawea's yet?

 

[Bob Jewett]

This is a rule in the Unified World Rules (as published on the BCA site for example), rule 3.42. ...

Hopefully not for long. http://www.sfbilliards.com/Rev1.html

 

[Bob Jewett]

I've posted this before but I'll post it again..

Well, yes, but I'd call that an interpretation rather than a rule. I'd rule a rebreak. I'm still incredulous.

 

[DaveK]

They could keep an extra eight ball behind the bar, but then you wouldn't have to put in another loonie. Do any tables take Sacajawea's yet?

But the ball tray will only hold 15 balls, not 16 in many cases ... and if if they did, da bozos playng next wouldn't know how to get all dem balls inside dat triangle thingy ...

OK, I give up, what does Lewis and Clarks guide have to do with anything ?

Dave

 

[Bob Jewett]

... OK, I give up, what does Lewis and Clarks guide have to do with anything ?

Dave

She's on a US coin. Google on

sacajawea OR sacagawea coin

 

[butterflycues]

You must be playing in Mexico, or West Liberty Ia. That's the way they play at one bar here. Butterflycues

In bars around me, they play the stupidest billiard game on the whole planet. It's a game played by casual players.

It's basically last pocket 8ball, but...
- no ball in hand on fouls
- no call shot
- no such thing as a legal hit with rails, etc...anything is allowed
- cue ball always on the head spot after scratch
- just touching the 8ball is automatic loss of the game
- you're allowed to shoot at opponent's group using rail first
- if you touch opponent's group ball directly, that one goes into pocket
- you're allowed to shoot at opponent's 8ball two cushion 'escape'...used mostly to remove 8ball from 'his' pocket
- special racking order of stripes and solids
- no such thing as 'open table' like in international rules, you have to accept whatever drops on the break...if balls from both groups fall, then it's open for interpretation
- safety play is considered 'chicken'
- scooping under the cueball to produce sort of a jump is considered 'heroic'
- there are a few more, but it's been more than 5 years since I last played using those stupid rules
- where I live, old gamblers play only this game...they won't play anything else...

 

[kwilson]

Someone suggested the other day that we should have a thread on the worst, silliest, most ridiculous rules we've come across on our travels into dens of eniquity, or just to mates places who had their own set of crazy rules.

Anyway, the standout worst rule I've come across was the 'any foul on the 8-ball' is loss of game. Talk about destroying the incentive to go for tough out. I'll be knocking my balls all around the 8 ball.

Other crazy rules I've seen are:
Cue butt width pushout of CB from rail.
6" rule - If CB is miscued and goes less than 6" you can put it back and try again.

cant be any worse than rules of golf that are ridiculous.