Sorry, very few of the guys at the Eagle's Club's Wednesday night $5 tournament would or maybe even could read the WPA rules pdf with comprehension.
So we have to play Bar Rules, which usually means whatever you make on the break is yours, with a choice only if you make both a solid and stripe on the break, and eight on the break wins if no scratch, loses if scratch on break shot, cue ball goes to the kitchen on a scratch, and call pocket is required only on the eight ball. I say 'usually" because one never knows the rules in play until something comes up and you have to try to defend your own interpretation.
And that brings up the 'biggest and loudest' rule - meaning the biggest and loudest player has a good chance of setting the rules, usually after-the-fact to try to disallow a shot his opponent just made, like "you didn't call the combination" when one OB caroms off another on its way into the pocket, or "you didn't call the bank" anytime an OB skims a rail heading into a pocket.
The ultimate bar rules are the 'slop' and 'chickensh-t' rules. Any shot with a lucky roll, or even shots that are better than the opponent can make, are automatically 'slop' and he wants you to give up your turn because 'no slop allowed'... then any type of safe play which snookers the opponent is called 'chickensh-t pool' and he wants you lose your turn or better yet just forfeit the game...
I keep hoping a poll hall will open around here and some league - any league - will start up and stay around for a few years just so folks will learn by experience some rules to the game of pool.
