8-Ball Pool Rules: The Complete Beginner’s Guide
8-ball is the most played cue game in the world. Two players share a table of fifteen object balls plus the white cue ball. One player must pot all seven balls of one group, then pot the black 8 to win. Simple to learn, and deep enough to keep you playing for decades.
The set-up
The fifteen balls are racked in a triangle with the 8 in the centre of the third row and a solid and a stripe in the two back corners. In the “American” set the groups are solids (1–7) and stripes (9–15); in the UK pub set they are reds and yellows with a black 8. The rules are identical, only the colours change.
The break
The breaker plays the cue ball from behind the head string (the line a quarter of the way down the table) and hits the pack as hard as is controllable. A good break pockets a ball or drives several balls to the rails. Potting the 8 on the break is not a win: the 8 is spotted again (or the table is re-racked), depending on house rules. Cue & Chalk spots it back.
Open table and choosing groups
After the break the table is open: neither player owns a group. The first player to legally pot a ball after the break takes that ball’s group, and the opponent gets the other. Potting balls on the break never assigns groups.
Taking your turn
- You must hit one of your own group first with the cue ball.
- After contact, either a ball must be potted or any ball (including the cue ball) must reach a cushion. Otherwise it is a foul.
- Pot a ball of your group and you keep going. Miss, and your turn ends.
Fouls and ball in hand
These are fouls, and each gives your opponent ball in hand: they may place the cue ball anywhere on the table.
- Cue ball potted (a “scratch”).
- Failing to hit any ball, or hitting the wrong group (or the 8 too early) first.
- No ball potted and no ball driven to a cushion after contact.
Winning on the 8
Once all seven of your group are down, the 8 becomes your target. Pot it to win. You lose if you pot the 8 before clearing your group, or if you pot it while fouling (for example, potting the cue ball at the same time). In Cue & Chalk the rules are casual, bar-table style: you do not have to call your pocket.
Tips for your first games
- Early on, choose the group with an easier layout rather than the first ball that happens to drop.
- Break up clusters of your balls before you clear the easy ones, so you are not left with a tied-up group.
- Play position: think about where the cue ball ends up, not just the pot. See how to aim pool shots and cue ball spin.