8 Ball Rules: 10 Basic Rules of 8 Ball Pool for Beginners

What are the rules of 8 ball pool? Here are the 8 ball rules in plain words, so you can play your first game the right way. Eight ball is the game most people play in bars, at home, and in leagues.

I have played pool for over 50 years, and I have played in leagues and tournaments for over 38 years. The rules below come from the official 8 ball rules on this site. I also show you where league rules and bar rules are different.

One thing first: there is more than one set of 8 ball rules. Always agree on the rules before the first break.

What Are the Basic Rules of 8 Ball Pool?

Eight ball is played with a cue ball and 15 object balls. One player shoots the solids, the 1 through 7. The other player shoots the stripes, the 9 through 15.

To win, you make all of your balls first. Then you make the 8 ball in a pocket you called. If you do that the right way, you win the game.

1. How Do You Rack the Balls for 8 Ball?

Use a triangle rack at the foot end of the table. Under the official rules:

• The 8 ball goes in the middle of the triangle.
• The front ball goes on the foot spot.
• Put a stripe in one back corner and a solid in the other back corner.
• The balls should all touch each other. Rack them tight.

Here is a short video from my Pool Skool channel on how to rack the balls tight for 8 ball.

2. Who Breaks First?

Under the official rules, the players lag for the break. Each player shoots a ball to the far rail and back. The ball that stops closest to the head rail wins the lag. The winner can choose to break. After that, players take turns breaking each game.

3. What Is a Legal Break in 8 Ball?

The breaker shoots from behind the head string. The head string is the line across the table where the cue ball sits for the break. To make a legal break, you must do one of two things:

1. Make a ball, or
2. Drive at least four numbered balls to a rail.

If the break is not legal, it is a foul. The other player can take the table as it is, or have the balls racked again. Then they can break, or make you break again.

If you make a ball on a legal break, you keep shooting. The break is not a called shot.

4. What Happens If You Make the 8 Ball on the Break?

This is one of the biggest differences between rules.

• Official BCA rules: Making the 8 on the break is not a win. The breaker can have the balls racked again, or have the 8 ball spotted and keep shooting.
• APA, TAP, and most other leagues: Making the 8 on the break is a win.

If the breaker makes the 8 and scratches on the break, the other player chooses. They can rack again, or spot the 8 and shoot with ball in hand behind the head string.

5. Stripes or Solids? (The Open Table)

Right after the break, the table is open. That means no one has stripes or solids yet, even if balls went in on the break.

You get your group when you make a called ball after the break. On an open table, you can hit a solid first to make a stripe, or a stripe first to make a solid. But if the 8 ball is the first ball you hit on an open table, your turn is over.

6. Do You Have to Call Your Shot in 8 Ball?

Under the official rules, 8 ball is a call shot game. You do not have to call easy, obvious shots. Your opponent can ask which ball and pocket if they are not sure. Bank shots and combination shots are not obvious, so call them.

You never have to call kisses, caroms, or how many rails. Leagues are a little different:

• BCA and TAP: You call every pocket. If the shot is obvious, the call is automatic.
• APA: Any ball that goes in counts, except the 8 ball. On the 8, you have to call your pocket and mark it.

Learn more about banks on our bank shots in pool page.

7. What Is a Legal Shot?

After the break, on every shot you must hit one of your own balls first. Then you must do one of these:

1. Make a ball, or
2. Make the cue ball or any numbered ball touch a rail.

If you miss, your turn is over. You keep shooting as long as you make your balls.

8. What Is a Foul in 8 Ball? (Ball in Hand)

Common fouls include a scratch (the cue ball goes in a pocket), hitting the other player's ball first, and not getting a ball to a rail after contact.

Under the official rules, after a foul the other player gets ball in hand. That means they can put the cue ball anywhere on the table and shoot. The one exception is a scratch on the break. Then the cue ball goes behind the head string.

9. What Happens If You Scratch on the 8 Ball?

Under the official BCA rules, a scratch or foul while you shoot at the 8 is not a loss, as long as the 8 ball does not go in or leave the table. Your opponent gets ball in hand. In APA and TAP leagues, a scratch on the 8 ball is a loss.

See all the details on our pool scratch rules page.

10. How Do You Lose in 8 Ball?

Under the official rules, you lose the game if you:

1. Foul when you make the 8 ball.
2. Make the 8 ball on the same shot as your last ball.
3. Knock the 8 ball off the table at any time.
4. Make the 8 ball in a pocket you did not call.
5. Make the 8 ball before all of your balls are gone.

The one exception is the 8 ball on the break, covered in rule 4.

8 Ball Bar Rules vs League Rules

Bar rules were the first rules I ever learned. They are much the same as regular 8 ball rules, with a few big changes:

• If you make a ball on the break, it picks your group (solids or stripes).
• You must call banks off the rail and caroms off other balls. If you call the 8 clean and it touches a ball or rail on the way in, you lose.
• There is no ball in hand. After a scratch, the next player shoots from behind the head string.
• If you do not hit a ball or a rail, it is only loss of turn.

Read more on our billiard rules page.

Want the Full Official Rules?

See the official billiard rules page for the complete 8 ball rules, and the billiard game rules page for the general rules of pocket billiards.

Now Learn to Win at 8 Ball

Knowing the rules is step one. Winning takes a plan. Watch this break and run from my Pool Skool channel to see a full rack of 8 ball played start to finish.

My book 8 Ball Winning Strategies shows you how to think through a rack and play smart 8 ball. See what is inside on the 8 Ball Winning Strategies page.

You can also get my free 7 part pool fundamentals training by email. Sign up on our pool tips page. To make more balls, see how to aim in pool and cue ball control.

Quick Recap of the 8 Ball Rules

1. Rack with the 8 in the middle and the front ball on the foot spot.
2. A legal break makes a ball or sends four balls to a rail.
3. The table is open after the break.
4. Hit your own ball first, then make a ball or touch a rail.
5. After a foul, your opponent gets ball in hand.
6. Make all your balls, then call and make the 8 to win.
7. Agree on the rules (official, league, or bar) before you start.

Go back to the Pool Billiards Game home page.