Eight-ball is a two-player game played with fifteen numbered balls and a cue ball. One player takes the solids (1 through 7), the other takes the stripes (9 through 15), and the first to clear their group and then legally pocket the black 8-ball wins. Everything below is the detail that decides arguments at the table, in the order it comes up.
01
Racking: where every ball goes
Fifteen object balls go into the triangle at the foot end of the table. The apex ball sits on the foot spot. The 8-ball goes in the middle of the third row—the centre of the rack. The two back corners must hold one solid and one stripe. Every other ball can go anywhere, and the rack should be tight enough that the balls touch.
The breaker places the cue ball anywhere behind the head string, the imaginary line across the other end of the table. That area is called the kitchen. A loose rack is the single most common reason a break produces nothing.
02
What makes a break legal
A break is legal if the cue ball strikes the rack and then one of two things happens: at least one object ball is pocketed, or at least four object balls are driven to a cushion. Meet either condition and play continues normally. Pot a ball and you keep shooting.
Fail both and you have broken illegally. The incoming player can either play the table as it lies or demand a fresh rack and break it themselves. If you scratch on the break—cue ball in a pocket—any balls you potted stay down, and your opponent gets the cue ball behind the head string rather than anywhere on the table.
It is not a win and not a loss. The standard ruling is to spot the 8-ball back on the table and let the breaker carry on. House rules that call it an instant win are exactly that: house rules.
03
The open table: nobody owns a group yet
Potting a stripe on the break does not make you stripes. After the break the table is open, which means neither player is committed to a group. Groups are decided by the first ball legally pocketed after the break—if you call the 12 and make it, you are stripes and your opponent is solids for the rest of the rack.
While the table is open you may hit any object ball first except the 8-ball. Striking the 8-ball first on an open table is a foul, the same as it is later. If a shot on the open table drops one ball from each group, the ball you called is the one that assigns your group.
04
Staying at the table
Your turn continues as long as you legally pocket a ball from your own group. Pot nothing, pot only your opponent’s ball, or commit a foul, and the turn passes. Potting an opponent’s ball is not a penalty on its own—the ball stays down and you simply stop shooting.
That asymmetry matters more than beginners expect. Clearing your group quickly leaves your opponent a table full of blockers, so strong players often park one of their own balls near a pocket instead.
05
Every foul, and what it costs
There are only six things that count as a foul in standard 8-ball, and all but the 8-ball ones carry the same penalty: the incoming player gets ball in hand and may place the cue ball anywhere on the table.
Scratch. The cue ball goes in a pocket, or off the table entirely.
No contact. The cue ball fails to touch any object ball.
Wrong ball first. The cue ball touches a ball outside your group first—including the 8-ball before your group is cleared.
No rail. After legal contact, no ball is pocketed and no ball reaches a cushion. This is the rule newcomers break without noticing.
Ball off the table. Any object ball driven off the bed of the table.
Illegal break. Neither a pot nor four balls to a cushion.
A soft safety is still a foul unless something happens after contact. Touch a legal ball, then either pocket a ball or drive some ball—cue ball included—into a cushion. A gentle nudge that leaves everything sitting still hands over ball in hand.
06
Winning: the called pocket on the 8
Once your group is gone, the 8-ball becomes your only legal target. You must name the pocket before you shoot, hit the 8-ball first, and send it into that pocket. Do all three and the game is yours.
You lose the game outright—not just your turn—if you pocket the 8-ball before clearing your group, pocket it in a pocket you did not call, scratch on the same shot you pot it, or knock it off the table. These are the only fouls in 8-ball that end the game, which is why the last shot deserves more care than the fifty before it.
07
Casual rules versus tournament rules
Most disagreements between two people who both “know the rules” come down to which of two rulesets they learned. Casual 8-ball asks you to call only the 8-ball; a ball that drops by luck counts and you keep shooting. Tournament 8-ball asks you to call the ball and the pocket on every shot: a slopped ball stays down, but your turn ends.
Tournament play usually adds the three-foul rule as well. Foul three times in a row without a legal shot in between and you lose the game. It exists to stop endless safety exchanges from becoming a war of attrition. Agree which set you are playing before the break, not after a disputed shot—Duel makes this an explicit toggle for the same reason.
08
Common questions
Do you have to call your shots in 8-ball?
You always have to call the pocket for the 8-ball. Whether you call every other shot depends on the ruleset: casual games usually let a lucky pot count, while tournament rules require you to name the ball and the pocket on every shot. Under call-every-shot rules a ball potted by accident stays down, but your turn ends.
What happens if you scratch on the 8-ball?
If the cue ball goes in a pocket on the same shot that you pot the 8-ball, you lose the game immediately. It does not matter that the 8-ball went in the pocket you called. This is one of only a handful of fouls in 8-ball that ends the game rather than simply handing over ball in hand.
What happens if you pot the 8-ball on the break?
Under the most common rules the 8-ball is spotted back onto the table and the breaker carries on shooting. It is neither a win nor a loss. If you scratched on the same break, the 8-ball still comes back up and your opponent takes ball in hand behind the head string.
What is ball in hand in pool?
Ball in hand means the incoming player can pick the cue ball up and place it anywhere on the table before shooting. It is the standard penalty for a foul in 8-ball, and it is severe on purpose. The one exception is a scratch on the break, which restricts placement to behind the head string.
Do you lose if you pot your opponent’s ball in 8-ball?
No. Potting an opponent’s ball is not a foul by itself and the ball stays down. Your turn ends unless you also legally potted one of your own balls on the same shot. It only becomes a foul if the cue ball touched their ball first.
Can you hit the 8-ball first if it is the only ball you can reach?
Not until your own group is cleared. Hitting the 8-ball first before then is a foul and gives your opponent ball in hand. If every one of your balls is blocked, the correct play is a kick or a bank off a cushion into a legal target, or a deliberate safety that still makes legal contact.