Playing pool in a pub or bar is much more engaging than in a pool hall or at home, because in this case there is the table itself - you can challenge the winner of the previous game, and if you win, it will be you. to continue and be challenged. This is because billiards are coin operated, and anyone can enter one or join the list to be next to play. This article explains the dynamics and rules of behavior that apply when playing pool with strangers - the rules are slightly different! Finally, we will explain how to find a tavern or a bar where you can play billiards.
Steps
Step 1. Be aware that some of the official billiards rules do not apply in bars
This is how experienced bar players in the United States play.
Step 2. Declare the shot - this is the first difference between a good player and "one who would like to be"
Declare which balls will be hit by the cue ball. It is not necessary to declare an obvious straight shot. If you manage to pocket the ball but not in the way you declared, you will lose a turn, but the hole will still be counted (it's still a coin table!). If, on the way to the hole, the ball touches the rim it is not a foul. A hole made irregularly is called a "slop"; a good player will be honest about it - admit that he has touched another ball, and give up the turn.
Step 3. The balls do not have to be arranged for the split in the full-half-full order (in fact, following this "fashion", at the three vertices of the triangle all balls would end up solid, which doesn't make much sense)
The only requirement to be respected is that the 8-ball be the one in frontal position between the three inside balls. It is a good idea to place an empty one on one of the corners.
Step 4. Generally, even if a ball is pocketed on the first shot (the break), the game remains "open" and you can decide which balls to pocket (full or half) with the second shot
However, if he fails to pocket, the game remains open until one of the two players hits a correctly declared hole.
Step 5. Before it is pocketed and the respective "colors" (full and half) are established with a shot or two, you can freely hit all balls except 8
Step 6. Once you have established your color, you need to hit the balls of your color first
An opponent's ball can be in the center of a three-ball combination.
Step 7. The 8 can never be hit first (except when you want to pocket it, of course), so it can't be the first ball hit by the blank
In fact, the 8 should never be used in any way (until it becomes the last ball to pocket). The rules relating to 8 vary from local to local; most of the time it is one of those rules that are set by the players before the game. In any case, the 8 is never neutral!
Step 8. You can only carom or make the colored ball touch the white one
After the white ball hits the affected ball, the latter can carambulate the opponent's ball.
Step 9. In case of a "scratch", the white ball is placed on the starting point (or on the line drawn on the table) and the ball that will be hit must be beyond the line
Step 10. Direct splits (when two balls are hit simultaneously by white) are always contestable when they involve the 8 or the opponent's ball; in this case we speak of mixed split
In official matches of any kind it is never possible to hit the target ball at the same instant as the opponent's ball, even if declared in advance as a split. A mixed split is not regular. Local rules for this type of split vary from local to local. It is often one of those rules that are set by the players before the game.
Step 11. There are no local regulations that can prevail over others
If a rule has not been established before the start of the game, it cannot be applied. All experienced players play the same way in every seat.
Step 12. Those who won the last game and preside over the table can declare some special rules that apply only to the next game
This rarely happens, but it is still possible. However, it must take place before the split (preferably before the tokens are inserted). For example, you can play a nine-ball game, pocket 8 after a bank or in rotation (pocket your balls in numerical order).
Step 13. In cities and tourist areas, you can meet people from England or Australia
It's good practice - and fun too - to agree on the rules. They will usually be excited to learn different rules, but they have different interpretations of what a foul can be (touching the ball with your hand for example) and the penalty that the foul entails (I pass the turn or lose the next one as well).
Step 14. If you participate in a tournament inside a bar, it is usually allowed for a shot to pocket 8
Others stipulate that the shot must be clean, but in competitions with money up for grabs this rule usually does not apply.
