[0:00]Pocket Billiards, how to play. These are the general rules for all billiard games and they should be followed unless the specific game you are playing says otherwise.
[0:11]There are six pockets on the table, four corner pockets and two side pockets. Diamonds go around the long and short rails. Two diamonds in on either side of the long rail is an imaginary line called the head string and foot string. In the middle of those lines is the head spot and the foot spot. In the exact middle of the table is the center spot. The short rail near the head spot is called the head rail and the place between the head spot and the head rail is called the kitchen. The walls are called cushions and the edges near pockets are called pocket points. The white ball is called the Q ball. The other balls are called object balls, of which they are colored solid and striped. The stick players use to interact with the balls is called a cue. Use a triangle to rack the balls and the apex ball should be on the foot spot. All the balls must be lined up behind the apex ball and pressed together so that they all have contact with each other. If a player fails to hit a ball into a pocket on a legal shot, which is called to pocket, then the player's turn is over and their opponent goes, hitting the Q ball wherever it lays on the table. You may only strike the Q ball. To strike the ball, rest your hand on the table with the Q sliding over the crook of your thumb. You are allowed to wrap your index finger over the Q if you want. Hitting a ball is called a stroke. The hit must be momentary. You may not push the ball, or it is a foul. You may not touch the Q ball with anything other than the tip of the Q, or it is a foul. To determine who goes first, each player simultaneously shoots a solid ball from behind the head string so that it bounces off the foot rail and returns to as close as possible to the head rail. This process is called the lag. The player whose ball is closest to the innermost edge of the head cushion, wins the lag and determines who breaks. To break, place the Q ball in the kitchen, then strike it directly into the racked balls. It may not touch anything before striking the balls or it is a foul. If you scratch on the break, you do not lose the game. When the Q ball is pocketed, or touches an object ball that was already pocketed, it is a foul called a scratch. And results with the loss of turn and the opponent getting a ball in hand. Ball in hand means you place the Q ball anywhere in the kitchen. The shooting player may then shoot at any object ball that isn't in the kitchen, unless they first bounce the Q ball off the foot rail. The ball in hand may be adjusted or moved prior to the hit. A ball is pocketed if it goes into the pocket and remains there. A ball that rebounds from the pocket back onto the table bed is not a pocketed ball. Call shot is the process of announcing the intended object ball and its desired pocket you are shooting for. However, if the shot is an obvious shot, you do not need to indicate it. The exact path and every collision the ball uses doesn't need to be indicated, nor do any additional object balls that end up pocketed. Only one ball may be called on each shot and you aren't penalized if more than one ball is pocketed, so long as the called ball is pocketed. The opening break is not a call shot and the shooter may choose to call safety, where the play passes to the opponent at the end of the shot, regardless if balls are pocketed. You must always keep at least one foot in contact with the floor during a shot. You may not shoot while any ball is still in motion. This includes rotational motion. If any ball moves on its own, after all the balls have stopped moving for longer than five seconds, then you return the ball as close as you can to its previous position. If an object ball drops into a pocket by itself as a player shoots at it, so that the Q ball is unable to hit it when it otherwise would have, the Q ball and object ball are replaced to their positions prior to the stroke, and the player may shoot again. If you foul, your inning ends, the stroke is invalid and any pocketed balls are not counted to the shooter's credit. The balls are replaced only if the rules of the specific game require it. If the Q ball fails to make contact with any legal object ball, it is a foul. A player must cause the Q ball to contact a legal object ball and then pocket a numbered ball or cause the Q ball or any numbered ball to contact a cushion. Failure to meet these requirements is a foul. Touching any object ball with the Q ball while it is in hand is a foul. To legally jump a ball, you must strike down on the ball from the top. You may not strike the ball from the bottom to cause it to jump. This is illegal and a foul. If a ball leaves the playing surface, called the bed, by traveling into the air, it must land back in the bed or it is a jumped ball foul. Balls are not allowed to hit non bed objects like the floor. Return any object jumped balls to the foot spot. This is called spotting. If more than one ball is to be spotted, they are placed in ascending numerical order in a line towards the foot rail. If there are other balls in the way, then you avoid those spots and place the ball just beyond them on the same line. If you run out of space when you reach the foot rail, continue placing balls in ascending order above the foot spot in a straight line towards the head rail. Every foul results in a loss of turn and the opponent getting a ball in hand. If the non-shooting player distracts his opponent or interferes with his play, it is a foul. If a player shoots out of turn or moves any ball except during his inning, it is a foul. Players are not allowed to use with measuring devices to see if a Q ball or an object ball would travel through a gap. Only the Q may be used as an aid to judge gaps, as long as the Q is held by the hand. To do so otherwise is a foul. If a player intentionally marks the table in any way to assist in executing the shot, for example, like placing a cube of chalk on the rail, he has fouled. These are the general rules for all billiard games and they should be followed unless the specific game says otherwise.
