Racking/Spotting Etiquette??

D Player

D Player

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Please forgive the stupid question...

There is currently a thread in the main forum talking about spotting and racking balls in the game of one pocket -- specifically questioning if it is bad etiquette to spot dark colored balls like the 6 or 8 after a miss or at the head of the triangle before a break.

I don't recall this topic having been discussed in the straight pool forum before, so I thought I would ask... Is there an etiquette that most people follow in 14.1 when spotting/racking...

I have heard when racking for the opening break that the 1 and 5 balls should be at the corners because they are easiest to see, but what about when racking for your opponent before they shoot the break ball? I wouldn't think the order would matter at all, but I thought I would ask.

Similarly, is it considered bad etiquette to spot a dark colored ball?

:confused:
 
The 1 and 5 on the corners on the opening break is an official rule of the game.The 1 ball on the right and the 5 on the left......as seen from the person racking the balls. After that it doesn't matter. I think you can get away with the 4 instead of the 5 these days since most places have those pink 4 balls. Secondary racks are random and I've never heard of any etiquette rules about it.

As for spotting a ball the only thing I've ever heard is that you should spot the ball with the number facing up so neither player has an advantage of an aiming point on that ball. I've done that for so long that it's become a habit for me.
MULLY
interested in hearing the replies to this thread because I'm a stickler for good manners at the table
 
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Thanks for the responses! It's one of those things I never really thought about beyond the opening break.

I would always focus on making sure the rack was tight and positioned properly. When spotting balls, I would grab the ball that was made when playing with drop pockets and any ball when playing on a table with a ball return. I had never heard about spotting a ball with the number up.
 
D Player said:
Thanks for the responses! It's one of those things I never really thought about beyond the opening break.

I would always focus on making sure the rack was tight and positioned properly. When spotting balls, I would grab the ball that was made when playing with drop pockets and any ball when playing on a table with a ball return. I had never heard about spotting a ball with the number up.
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Yeah, I spot them with the number up in any game that I play.
MULLY
 
mullyman said:
The 1 and 5 on the corners on the opening break is an official rule of the game....
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That's no longer a rule. There was a rules revision in January, 2008, and that is one of the rules that was deleted. The one about spotting the number up also no longer appears in the rules or regulations. See the WPA website for the new rules.
 
Bob Jewett said:
That's no longer a rule. There was a rules revision in January, 2008, and that is one of the rules that was deleted. The one about spotting the number up also no longer appears in the rules or regulations. See the WPA website for the new rules.
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Ok, so spotting them number up WAS in the rule book? I thought that's where I saw it. As for getting rid of that rule I don't know why. Not only does it not give a place to measure for aiming but it appeals to the "neat" side of me that likes things being proper. hehe!!
MULLY
 
Went through the WPA rules and one rule stuck out to me. If the cue ball is blocking the ball to be spotted then the object ball should be spotted in line behind it but not touching it. Who decides on the distance between the balls? Just a fraction could be enough to block a shot or have it makeable. I can't imagine the nits that could jump all over that one.
MULLY
 
mullyman said:
Went through the WPA rules and one rule stuck out to me. If the cue ball is blocking the ball to be spotted then the object ball should be spotted in line behind it but not touching it. Who decides on the distance between the balls? Just a fraction could be enough to block a shot or have it makeable. I can't imagine the nits that could jump all over that one.
MULLY
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actually this rule was made easier in latest Rules edition. Before it was required to place all balls in such a manner (almost touching but not in contact). Now one should respot the ball with contact to other balls - EXCEPT the cueball. IMO it was done to avoid such a ball being frozen and being subject to the Rule 6.7 "Double Hit / Frozen Balls".
 
Vahmurka said:
actually this rule was made easier in latest Rules edition. Before it was required to place all balls in such a manner (almost touching but not in contact). Now one should respot the ball with contact to other balls - EXCEPT the cueball. IMO it was done to avoid such a ball being frozen and being subject to the Rule 6.7 "Double Hit / Frozen Balls".
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The "don't freeze a spotted ball to the cue ball" rule has been around for a long time. I'm not sure what the recently replaced rules said exactly, but the rule since the 1960s or perhaps before was to freeze object balls to each other when spotting and not freeze them to the cue ball.
 
So what is the regulation distance between the spotted ball and the cue ball? That just seems really gray to me. Only because I could see people arguing over that one.
MULLY
 
mullyman said:
So what is the regulation distance between the spotted ball and the cue ball? That just seems really gray to me. Only because I could see people arguing over that one.
MULLY
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Practically, it is as close as the referee can place it in a reasonable time. I can usually get it within a mm quickly.
 
Here's one for 14.1 break balls...

I used to play straight pool with a man that...if I had the 9-ball next to the pack for a break shot...he would place the 1- ball as close to it as possible...or for instance if I had the 7-ball break shot, he would place the 15-ball near it...and then tell me he was placing the same colors near each other to throw off my vision etc...

This was just one of the many stupid...and sometimes smart...angles he had as he showed me how to play straight pool...this man ran a lot of balls in no time flat so he was the real deal...

Mike
 
Mike_Mason said:
I used to play straight pool with a man that...if I had the 9-ball next to the pack for a break shot...he would place the 1- ball as close to it as possible...or for instance if I had the 7-ball break shot, he would place the 15-ball near it...and then tell me he was placing the same colors near each other to throw off my vision etc...

This was just one of the many stupid...and sometimes smart...angles he had as he showed me how to play straight pool...this man ran a lot of balls in no time flat so he was the real deal...

Mike
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I honestly don't know if that would work or not but it seems as the way he explained it as if he was trying to throw your game off. I don't like to play with people like that.
MULLY
 
Originally Posted by mullyman
The 1 and 5 on the corners on the opening break is an official rule of the game....
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Bob Jewett said:
That's no longer a rule.
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Bob, the link you gave me to the WPA site was as you said, it didn't specify any placement of certain balls. The BCA rules still say the 1 and 5 on the corners. So, what's the deal? Which rules are we supposed to follow these days and why can't the governing bodies work together to make one official set of rules?
MULLY

http://www.bca-pool.com/play/tournaments/rules/pdf/BCA14-1Rules.pdf
 
mullyman said:
The BCA rules still say the 1 and 5 on the corners.
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Mullyman,
Please don't worry about this. Just be advised that the old school players will place the 1 and the 5 on the corners for the opening break because it is TRADITIONAL (forget the rules). It shows "good breeding" on the part of the racker. You may not start a game of 14.1 in Betmore's Basement without the 1 and the 5 on the corners.


One of the things that has held back pool is the lack of widely followed and consistent rules (both for general play and specific games); hopefully the new rules will be an improvement.
 
mullyman said:
Bob, the link you gave me to the WPA site was as you said, it didn't specify any placement of certain balls. The BCA rules still say the 1 and 5 on the corners. So, what's the deal? Which rules are we supposed to follow these days and why can't the governing bodies work together to make one official set of rules?
MULLY

http://www.bca-pool.com/play/tournaments/rules/pdf/BCA14-1Rules.pdf
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You should not refer to either the old BCA web site -- which is out of date -- nor the new BCA web site (www.generationpool.com) -- which has the new rules but has edited out parts. You need to go directly to the WPA site.

The BCA accepts the WPA rules, although they seem not to have transcribed them well.
 
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