8 Ball On Game Pigeon White Ball On The Side

The game of 8Ball is played with: 1. A 'cue ball' being a white ball or a red spotted white ball 2.

The GameDuell fairness guarantee

Equal starting conditions. Both players get the same sets, cards or levels.
Fair matching. You can only play against opponents that have a similar skill-level.
Free selection of opponents. It's you who chooses whom you want to play with.

Game rules 8-Ball Pool

Aim of the game

Pot all of the balls of your color (solids or stripes) and finally pot the black 8 ball in order to win the game.

Gameplay

At the start of the game, the break will determine who goes first. In order to decide this, both players hit the white ball against the cushion at the right-hand side of the screen (the bottom cushion) and aim to finish with the white ball as close to the cushion at the left-hand side (the top cushion) as possible. The player whose ball stops closest to the top cushion wins the break and starts the game.

In duels with more than one round, the player who lost the previous round gets to break in the new round.

The white cue ball can be placed anywhere in the left third of the table for the break.

If at least one ball is potted during the break, the player continues. Each player continues playing as long as he continues potting balls of his colour.

Pay particular attention to the information in the message box. You receive information in this box regarding the current standings.

If at least one ball is potted during the break, the player continues. Each player continues playing as long as he continues potting balls of his color.

Controls

1. Aiming

At all times you can see two direction indicators. One of these shows which direction the ball which you hit will go in. The other indicator shows roughly which direction the white ball will go in after colliding with the other ball.

The 'ghost ball' is there to help you aim. This shows where the white ball will connect. In order to place the ghost ball, there are two options:

Move the cue by clicking and holding the left mouse button down until the ghost ball is in the desired position.
Click on the place where you would like to place the ghost ball.
Move the 'ghost ball' by holding down the mouse button and moving it to the desired position.

Of course you can combine all of the techniques. Firstly, click roughly near the ball which you would like to hit and then move the queue to the correct position.

2. Fine adjustment

Use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard in order to adjust the direction of the shot more finely.

3. Shot power

You can set the power as you wish. Click the shot power box in the desired position. Alternatively you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the power.

The shot power will be reset to a medium pace after each shot.

Tip: The shot power does not increase at a constant rate. This means that when setting a low shot power, smaller increments are possible.

4. Spin

Use spin in order to influence the direction of the white ball after collision. In order to add spin, move the red point by dragging it to the desired position or simply by clicking directly on the desired position.

The results of the spin depend on several factors, such as the shot power and the distance between the white ball and the ball which is hit. In general, the following applies:

The further towards the edge that you hit the white ball, the larger the effect of the spin.
If the white ball is hit on the top (top spin), it continues rolling forward after the collision. The distance in which the ball will rebound off the ball it hits is reduced.
If you hit the white ball on the bottom (back spin), the distance in which the ball will rebound is greater. The white ball stops quicker, stops or may even roll backwards.
The further the ball which you wish to hit is away, the less the effect of the spin.

A comprehensive explanation of the effects of spin is not possible here. Experiment in different situations with different amounts of spin in order to get a feeling for how much spin is required in each situation.

Spin, however, does not affect the direction of the ball which is hit.

5. Shooting

Once you are happy with your settings, take your shot. To do this, press either the 'space bar' or the 'Enter' key on your keyboard or click on the 'Shoot' button.

Ball in hand

Normally you take your shot with the balls as they are on the table when it's your turn. If your opponent has committed a foul, for example by potting the white ball, however, then you receive ball in hand.

Ball in hand means that the white ball can be placed anywhere on the table. There are no restrictions, as with 'bar pool' (such as playing the white ball over the center line), except when a foul is committed on the break.

In order to place the white ball, drag the ball to the correct position by clicking and holding the left mouse button. You can also change the position once you have let go of the ball.

Shot time (and game time)

For each shot you have a limited amount of time. The clock begins counting down as soon as it's your turn. If you do not take a shot before the time runs out, your shot will be counted as a foul. Your opponent will receive ball in hand.

If you exceed the allotted time twice in a row or more than three times in total, you lose the game!

Current Scores

Click on this button in the grey bar at the top of the screen in order to see the current game standings.

Controls and Rules

Click on this button in the grey bar at the top of the screen in order to get an overview of the instructions and the most important rules.

Chat

You can send your opponent a message with the chat button.

There are three options when sending a message:

Smilies or Emoticons (A picture says a thousand words)
Standard answers (Your opponent receives this message in their own language. This is particularly useful if you speak a different language to that of your opponent).
Free text. Simply enter a message and send this by pressing the 'Enter' key on your keyboard.

Rules

GameDuell's 8-ball billiards is predominantly based on the official 8-ball rules of the DBU (German Billiards Union).

The game is therefore not played according to pub rules but rather in accordance with the professional rules.

The following terms will be used for the following:

Stripes = the striped balls 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
Solids = the colored balls 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
Color = Solid or Stripe
White = the white ball which must be struck using the cue
Pocket = the six holes in the corners and in the middle of the long cushions

1. Choice of ball color

After breaking, the table is always 'open', i.e. it remains undecided who is 'solids' and who is 'stripes'. The decision is made after the first ball is potted.

2. Conditions for valid shots and fouls

At least one of the following requirements must be fulfilled for a valid shot:

You pot a ball of your color (solid or stripe) and the white remains on the table (A foul occurs if the white is potted > the opponent receives ball in hand)
A ball of your color must be hit first (A foul occurs if an opponent's ball is hit first > the opponent receives ball in hand)
If no ball is potted, the white or another cue ball must hit one of the cushions after the collision (A foul occurs if no balls hit one of the cushions > the opponent receives ball in hand)

3. Play the black 8 ball

If the black is potted on the break, it is placed back on the table.
As long as the table is 'open', i.e. the color has not yet been decided, the black ball can be hit first, e.g. in order to pot another ball.
Once it has been decided who is solids and who is stripes, the 8 ball cannot be the first ball played. If this happens, however, this is a foul and the opponent receives ball in hand.
If the 8 ball is mistakenly potted before the conditions for this have been fulfilled, the game is lost.
The 8 ball can only be played and potted once all balls of your color have been potted. It is also not possible to pot the last ball of your color and the black ball in the same shot. This also results in the game being lost.
The 8 ball is the only ball which must be 'declared'. This means that the pocket in which the 8 ball should be pocketed must be clicked before the shot. If the black ball is potted into another pocket, the game is lost.

4. Ball in hand

If the white is potted on the break, the opponent gets ball in hand (in the left third of the table). A ball which is not in the top third of the table must be played first.
For all other fouls, ball in hand means that the white ball can be placed anywhere on the whole table.

Summary of the rules

Here are the most important differentiations from the standard rules for 'bar pool':

The table is 'open' even if a ball is potted on the break. Who is solids and who is stripes is only decided once the first ball is purposefully potted.
If no ball is potted, the white ball or another ball must hit a cushion after the collision.
Ball in hand means a free choice of position on the whole table apart from when the foul was committed on the break.
The black 8 ball can be potted anywhere, however, it must be declared beforehand.
Potting one of your opponent's balls is not a foul as long as a permitted shot was played (playing your own ball first).

The most popular American pocket billiard games is hands down – 8-ball.

The rules of the game are pretty simple. The first person to make all of their assigned groups (Solid or Stripes) of balls and then make the 8-ball in a designated or “called” pocket wins the game. Let’s break down some basic terminology before we move on.

Basic Definitions

We’ll go over some basic definitions so everyone is on the same page.

Cue Ball = White ball

Object Balls = 15 colored and numbered balls

-Solids = Numbered 1 through 7

-Stripes = Numbered 9 through 15

-8 Ball = Black ball numbered 8

Rail = The bank or walls within the box of the pool table (think of 4 walls in a room, but called Rails)

Scratch = When a player accidentally makes the cue ball into a pocket or commits a foul

Example: You are Solids but you accidentally hit a Stripe ball first

Pockets – There are 6 holes in which you can make the Object balls in called “Pockets”

The 4 pockets in the corner are called Corner Pockets
The 2 other remaining pockets on the sides are called Side Pockets

Cue/Cue Stick/Pool Stick – The main playing stick you use to strike the object balls

Quick Summary of 8-ball game

8 Ball On Game Pigeon White Ball On The Sideline

The pocket billiard game 8-ball is played with 15 object balls (labeled 1 through 15) and a cue ball (the white ball). Played with two players, whoever pockets their group of balls first (you can be SOLID – 1 through 7, or STRIPES – 9 through 15) and then pockets the 8-ball will win the game.

This is a call shot game, so you must call which ball you intend to make and the pocket it will go in. Failure to make it in the intended pocket forfeits your turn and it is now your opponent’s turn.

Universal Rules

(Regardless if you are playing bar rules or league rules – they are the same)

Most of the rules in all formats have some universal rules that are the same across the board. It may alter slightly from format to format.

A player must sink their appropriate balls (Solid or Stripes), then pocket the 8-ball in the “called” pocket to win the game.
The first player to make the 8-ball, wins the game.
- A player cannot shoot the 8-ball until all of their appropriate balls are pocketed first.
If you make the 8-ball on the break without scratching, you instantly win.

How to Rack

You must “rack” or place the balls in a triangle at the “Foot” of the table with

The 8-ball in the center
A stripe ball in one corner of the rack
A solid ball in the other corner of the rack and
The first ball on the rack on the “Foot Spot”.

The rest of the balls don’t really matter where they go.

The Foot Spot usually has a black sticker or designated marked area.

8 ball on game pigeon white ball on the sides

What’s a “Tight Rack” or “Frozen”?

A Tight Rack – This means all the balls in the rack are touching without any space between the balls. This can also be called “Frozen”.

Be sure to make the rack “Tight” or “Frozen” which refers to each of the balls touching each other with no gaps. This ensures that the rack spreads better with energy transfer from your break is at a maximum.

Where to Break

The player who is breaking must break with the cue ball behind the “Head String”. This is also known as the Kitchen.

This is also where the 2^nd diamond is, so you can break from anywhere behind the 2^nd diamond and there may be a sticker or spot to help you identify this area.

Image Correction: The Head Spot is supposed to be labeled the Head String*

If you want to know some common tips on how to improve your break, click here to go to my post about 5 ways to improve your breaking!

Common Bar Rules

These are common bar rules that I have come across. The rules in your bar may be different and that’s okay too. FYI (For your information, they may vary so please confirm with your opponent on all rules before proceeding with the game, it will save you future headaches later).

After the Break:

Whatever you make is what you are (You made only solid balls on the break, you are solids for the remainder of the game)
If you make the 8-ball and don’t scratch, you automatically win the game
If you scratch or the cue ball flies off the table, your opponent must shoot from behind the Head String (in the Kitchen)
- The object ball they decide to hit from here must be beyond that head string too so you are hitting towards the longer side of the table

No “Ball-in-Hand”

After a foul or table scratch has occurred, you just lose your turn and the cue ball stays where it is
- In other League formats, this would result in a Ball-In-Hand which means you can place the cue ball anywhere. A lot of bar players feel this is too much of an unfair advantage, I will leave that up to you guys to decide for yourselves!

8 Ball On Game Pigeon White Ball On The Sides

Call Your Shots!

A Player must call every single detail of how the ball is going to be pocketed or else the turn ends and it’s the opponents turn (Leave the cue ball where it stops naturally)
- This means if you make the Orange 5-Ball but it hit off of the Green 6-Ball but you didn’t say something along the lines of “5-Ball off the 6-Ball”, your turn is over even though you made your ball.
- Another example of this is if you call your Orange 5-Ball in the Corner Pocket but it misses, bounces and goes into the Side Pocket by accident. Sorry, you didn’t call the side pocket so – you got it, your turn is over!

Make the 8-Ball Clean

Just like Calling Your Shots, you have to call which Pocket the 8-ball will go into
- No caroms allowed, only “Clean” shots so it can’t hit off another ball
- You can bank it off a rail

Carom – When you hit the ball you’re trying to make off of another ball and your original ball goes into a pocket

League Rules (APA vs. BCA)

The two most popular and well-known Billiard/Pool Leagues today are APA and BCA.

APA stands for American Poolplayers Association (Largest American billiard league with over 260,000 Members) and BCA stands for Billiard Congress of America. We’ll go over some of the biggest differences between the rules for APA and BCA. I will have a link below if you want to read all the rules for either league format.

How To Play 8 Ball On Pigeon Games

With APA and BCA being the most popular, we will go over their most popular rules, differences and similarities.

Situations	APA	BCA
After the Break	Whatever you make on the break is what you are	It is still “Open” and you can still choose between solid/stripes
Scratching (Only) After the Break	You must shoot from behind the Head Spot or Kitchen	You have Ball-In-Hand, take the cue ball and shoot from anywhere
Scratching or Table Scratch	Results in Ball-in-Hand	Results in Ball-in-Hand
Call Shots	You do not need to call any shots, “Slop” or “Lucky” shots count (Regardless of a Carom)	You must call each shot into each Pocket (Regardless of a Carom)
8-Ball Call Shot	You must “Mark” your 8-ball pocket with a “Marker” or “Object”. Example: Cell phone, small toy, coin, etc. This is not always the case in League play as some players will just let you call or point to the pocket	You must call the pocket you intend to make the 8-ball in (Regardless of a Carom).
Scratching on the 8-Ball	If you scratch on the 8-ball, that is an automatic loss	You do NOT lose! Your opponent just gets Ball-in-Hand and the game continue

These are obviously not all the rules or differences between APA and BCA, but I wanted to go over the main ones. If you want to know the official rules for both APA and BCA, check out the links below to their official websites:

How To Move The White Ball In 8 Ball Game Pigeon

Major Differences:

8 Ball On Game Pigeon White Ball On The Sidelines

So there are some slight differences between APA and BCA. The biggest takeaway I noticed are two rules:

After the break – In APA, you are what you make. In BCA, it is “Open” and gives the player more options.
If you scratch on the 8-ball – You lose in APA, but in BCA you do not.

If you are interested in how to find a nearby bar or league, check out my post that goes into detail called How to Find a nearby Bar, Tournament or Pool League.

Summary

Bar Rules or BCA Rules appear to be fairer to most players while APA is very forgiving because “Lucky” or “Slop” shots still count. There can be an argument made that since APA is the largest league for Amateurs and players need the handicap. This is a big debate between a lot of pool players and it’s common for players to complain about.

Be sure to choose the best format and rules for you to enjoy billiards. Most of the general rules are similar but there are slight tweaks.