Rule question: cue ball touching foot spot

jchance

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I had this situation come up in a tournament recently and wasn't sure what to do. We don't play too much 14.1 over in Europe so I hope you guys across the pond can help out with this :)

I made the 14th ball, leaving the CB just above the rack to shoot the break ball in the side. The CB wasn't in a position where it would touch any of the 14 balls when re-racked, but a portion of the CB was sitting where the top outline of the triangle would be. So it wouldn't be possible to rack the 14 balls using a triangle, without moving the CB.

In that case, what happens to the CB? Ball in hand in the kitchen or shoot from where it lies?
 
I had this situation come up in a tournament recently and wasn't sure what to do. We don't play too much 14.1 over in Europe so I hope you guys across the pond can help out with this :)

I made the 14th ball, leaving the CB just above the rack to shoot the break ball in the side. The CB wasn't in a position where it would touch any of the 14 balls when re-racked, but a portion of the CB was sitting where the top outline of the triangle would be. So it wouldn't be possible to rack the 14 balls using a triangle, without moving the CB.

In that case, what happens to the CB? Ball in hand in the kitchen or shoot from where it lies?

Ball in hand in the kitchen
 
I had this situation come up in a tournament recently and wasn't sure what to do. We don't play too much 14.1 over in Europe so I hope you guys across the pond can help out with this :)

I made the 14th ball, leaving the CB just above the rack to shoot the break ball in the side. The CB wasn't in a position where it would touch any of the 14 balls when re-racked, but a portion of the CB was sitting where the top outline of the triangle would be. So it wouldn't be possible to rack the 14 balls using a triangle, without moving the CB.

In that case, what happens to the CB? Ball in hand in the kitchen or shoot from where it lies?
In or out of the rack is determined by whether the cue ball would overlap the line drawn around the outside of the triangle.

On tables that are tapped, you should draw the line anyway even if you don't use a triangle to rack.

A small detail: some people think that if a ball has been spotted on the foot spot it does not interfere with racking. That's wrong; it interferes.
 
Thanks for the replies!

A small detail: some people think that if a ball has been spotted on the foot spot it does not interfere with racking. That's wrong; it interferes.

Does this mean that ball would be spotted on the head spot in that case?
 
Thanks for the replies!







Does this mean that ball would be spotted on the head spot in that case?


Yes. If the last ball interferes with the rack it gets spotted on the head spot provided the cue ball isn't interfering with the head spot in which case the last ball gets spotted on the center spot.
 
Yes. If the last ball interferes with the rack it gets spotted on the head spot provided the cue ball isn't interfering with the head spot in which case the last ball gets spotted on the center spot.

Yes, and of course if the last ball AND the cue ball interfere with racking, then all 15 OBs get racked .... and CB in hand behind the headstring.

There's a chart for this somewhere

I always suggest carrying some tailors chalk or welder's soapstone (which I like best) to lightly draw the lines for the rack ... for the headstring and also for the spotting of balls which is drawn from the foot spot straight down to the middle of the short rail behind the rack.

After you're done, you can remove the lines with a damp cloth.


On an aside thought, this is how I'd play the situation. On the very rare occasion that you draw the lines around the rack, and your rack breaks and you have to replace it with a different size rack. Or ... lines are already drawn but you bring your own rack to play and it is a slightly different size ...

Then ... IMO you STILL go by the lines on the table, and if you have to move and replace the last OB to fit your afterthought rack, then so be it, but he line on the table is the ultimate guide. I mention this only because it happened to me once and the argument was .. go by the new rack size. I said then .... while we are playing what's the reference? BTW .. that's when I started carrying soapstone. :)
 
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