News from
the felt
Development stories, design decisions, and table talk from the team building Duel: 8 Ball Pool.
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Game notes. No press-release fog.
Player’s guide
Billiards vs pool vs snooker: what’s the difference?
Billiards is the family name; carom has no pockets and three balls, pool has six pockets and sixteen balls, snooker has a twelve-foot table and twenty-two. Sizes, scoring, and which is harder.
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Technique
Pool cue tips: hardness, shape, chalk, and when to replace one
Soft, medium, or hard leather, layered vs solid, nickel vs dime shape, how to chalk without wrecking the tip, and the five signs a tip needs replacing.
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Rules
9 ball rules: how to play 9-ball from rack to final shot
Hit the lowest ball first and legally pocket the 9 to win. The rack, the legal break, the push out, fouls and ball in hand, and how bar rules differ from the rule book.
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Rules
How to play cutthroat pool: rules, rack, and how to win
Three players, five balls each, and the last one with a ball on the table wins. The rack, how groups are claimed, the ball-return foul, and the strategy that wins.
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Rules
What is a scratch in pool? The rule, the penalty, and how to stop
A scratch is the cue ball going in a pocket or off the table. The ball-in-hand penalty, the break and 8-ball cases, and the 90-degree rule that predicts every scratch.
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Player’s guide
Pool table dimensions: every size, and the room you need for each
Playing surface, outside size, height, and pocket widths for 7, 8, and 9-foot tables, why a 9-foot table isn’t 9 feet, and the room each one needs.
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Rules
Pool ball colors and numbers: how many balls are in pool and which is which
Sixteen balls: seven solids, seven stripes, the black 8, and the cue ball. The color order, the add-eight trick, the bar-table cue ball, and why the rules never mention color.
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Player’s guide
8 ball pool vs computer: how AI opponents think, and how to beat them
How computer opponents pick shots, why difficulty is just aim error, how to beat easy and hard levels, and how to tell when an online opponent is a bot.
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Player’s guide
The best cue in 8 ball pool games: what cue stats really change
The best cue is the one that fixes your weakest shot. What aim, cue-ball path, power, and spin stats actually change, with real published numbers.
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Technique
Pool shots: the 8 basic shots every player should know
Stop, cut, follow, draw, bank, kick, combination, and safety. What each pool shot does, when to play it, and the mistake that most often ruins it.
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Player’s guide
Pool games without login: what actually needs an account
Computer opponents, pass-and-play, and practice never needed a sign-in. What an account really buys you, what Game Center is, and how to check first.
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Player’s guide
Deterministic physics: what it means for fair online pool
Same stroke, same table, every time. Why that lets two phones agree on an online shot, the four things that quietly break it, and a two-break test.
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Rules
How to rack pool balls: the 8-ball rack, step by step
Apex ball on the foot spot, 8-ball in the centre, a solid and a stripe in the back corners. Three myths that are not rules, and how to get the pack tight.
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Player’s guide
Pool games without ads: forced vs optional ads on iPhone
Truly ad-free pool is rare and rarely free. How to tell an ad the game starts from one you start, what remove-ads really removes, and a five-minute test.
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Technique
How to get better at pool: a practice plan that actually works
Fix the stroke first, then cue ball speed, then position. Four scored drills, a weekly plan you can keep, and why playing more games stops helping.
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Player’s guide
Offline pool games for iPhone: what should work without Wi-Fi
Computer opponents, pass-and-play, and practice need no connection. What honestly does, the red flags airplane mode exposes, and a sixty-second test.
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Technique
How to hold a pool stick: grip, bridge, and stance
A loose back-hand grip at the vertical-forearm point, a planted bridge about eight inches from the ball, and a stance that keeps the cue level.
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Player’s guide
Pool ball physics: what real physics means in a pool game
Slide then roll, the 90 and 30 degree rules, throw, and cushions that grip spin. What a real simulation has to model, and a four-shot test for any game.
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Player’s guide
Is a pool game pay to win? An honest look at cue stats
The only question that matters is whether money buys a shot skill cannot reach. What each cue stat is wired to, and the ten-second published-number test.
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Player’s guide
Pool games without loot boxes: what to look for
The five places paid randomness hides in pool games, why an odds table is the giveaway, and a five-minute check to run before you spend anything.
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Player’s guide
2 player pool on one phone: how to play a fair game with a friend
Pass the phone when the turn changes, settle the break and race length first, and handicap a mismatch with an uneven race instead of uneven rules.
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Technique
Throw in pool: how contact friction bends your shot off line
Why a perfectly aimed soft cut still misses on the fat side. Cut-induced throw, what english does to it, and the three habits that allow for it.
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Rules
Pool terms: a glossary of 40 words every player should know
The vocabulary nobody explains. Forty terms grouped by where you meet them — the table, the balls, the shots, the spin, the rulebook, and the strategy.
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Technique
The stop shot in pool: why the cue ball slides before it rolls
A stop shot only works while the white is still sliding. What the slide is, how far it lasts, and why the same shot dies close up and runs on from distance.
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Technique
Safety play in pool: how to win by leaving nothing
The turn you cannot convert is still worth something. How to make a legal safety, which blocker to pick, and the three ways a safety backfires.
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Technique
Kick shots in pool: how to escape a snooker legally
Mirror your target through the rail and drive the cue ball at the reflection. The legality trap that turns good escapes into fouls, and how to kick safe.
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Technique
Bank shots in pool: the mirror trick for finding the angle
Mirror the pocket through the cushion and aim at the reflection. Why hard banks come up short, what cut-induced spin does, and which bank to learn first.
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Technique
Cue ball control: thinking one shot ahead
Where the white stops is a decision, not luck. The tangent line, why speed beats spin, and why you should aim for a zone instead of a spot.
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Technique
Why your draw shot isn’t drawing back
Four causes, one diagnosis. Tip height, cue elevation, a stroke that stops at the ball, and the distance that quietly eats your backspin.
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Technique
How to break in 8-ball and actually pot something
Hit the head ball dead full with a level cue at about eighty per cent. Why the rack matters more than your arm, and where the cue ball should end up.
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Technique
How to aim in pool: the ghost-ball method, explained simply
Put your cue ball's centre where a phantom ball would sit against the object ball. How to find that spot, the half-ball shortcut, and why good aim still misses.
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Rules
Stalemates and re-racks: when nobody can shoot
A warning, three more turns each, then a fresh rack and no winner. What counts as no progress, and why the original breaker breaks again.
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Rules
The three-foul rule in pool, explained
Three fouls in a row loses the game — but only for the same player, only with nothing legal in between, and only if you were warned.
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Technique
How to put spin on the cue ball: draw, follow, and english
Above centre for follow, below for draw, left or right for english. What each one does, why draw fades with distance, and the two costs of sidespin.
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Rules
Casual vs tournament 8-ball rules, side by side
Two rules that matter and five that cause arguments. Call-shot, the three-foul rule, and every place bar 8-ball quietly disagrees with the published book.
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Rules
Solids or stripes: how groups are actually decided
The break assigns nothing. What an open table means, the shot that closes it, and why a foul leaves the choice with your opponent.
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Rules
What is a legal break in 8-ball?
Pocket a ball or drive four object balls to a cushion. What counts, what an illegal break hands your opponent, and the truth about the 8 on the break.
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Rules
Do you have to call your shots in 8-ball?
Official rules call every shot; bar rules call only the 8. What a legal call actually contains, and what happens when the ball drops elsewhere.
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Rules
What happens if you scratch on the 8-ball?
It only loses the game if the 8 goes down on the same shot. The official rule, the break exception, and where bar rules disagree.
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Rules
Ball in hand: what it means and how to use it
The free cue ball is the biggest gift in a rack. Where you can place it, the one restricted version, and how to spend it on the second shot.
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Rules
How to play 8-ball: the complete rules for beginners
The rack, a legal break, picking solids or stripes, every foul, ball in hand, and the called pocket that wins it.
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Player’s guide
What makes a great 8 ball pool game for iPhone?
The practical test: believable physics, readable controls, real ways to play, and progression that respects the table.
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Modes
Three ways to play. One honest table.
Take on the house, pass the phone, match through Game Center, or stay late and drill the shot.
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Economy
Rewards without the spin
Fixed prize ladders, published challenges, and a comeback stack when the bankroll hits zero.
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Game design
Why Every Cue Shows Its Work
Guide, Control, Power, and Spin are printed on every cue card, because competitive gear should be clear before the match begins.
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