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Some players (most often amateurs) place the balls in numeric order but for the 9 ball; from the top of the triangle down and from left to right, i.e., the 1 on the foot spot, followed by the 2 then 3 in the second row, and so on. The colours must next be potted in the ascending order of their values, from lowest to highest, i.e. yellow first (worth two points), then green (three points), brown (four points), blue (five points), pink (six points), and finally black (seven points); each colour remains in the pocket after being potted. Determine which balls you want the cue ball to contact and in what order. We have mentioned that you will need nine to 15 pool balls, along with the white cue ball. To make sure you get this right, apart from the size of the fixture and number of bulbs it holds, you’ll need to choose the right bulbs for your billiards lighting. Traditionally, the 1 ball is placed on the rack’s right corner, and the 5 ball on the left corner from the racker’s vantage point to maximize contrast between the corner balls and the background, as the 1 and 5 are the brightest colored balls, however, the world standardized rules do not require this.
An easy way to remember these positions is with the mnemonic, ‘God Bless You’, with the first letter of each word being the first letter of the three colours as they are racked from left to right on the baulk line. Think of an imaginary line that runs through the front of the plane and out the back. The first ball must be placed at the apex position (front of the rack and so the center of that ball is directly over the table’s foot spot). Breaks of 100 points or more are referred to as a century break, and are recorded over the career of a professional player. Points in snooker are gained from potting the object balls in the correct sequence. A number of rules have developed which detail what must be done when one or both of the cue ball and fifteenth object ball are either in the rack area at the time an intragame rack is necessary, or are in such close proximity to the intragame racking area, that the physical rack cannot be used without moving the one or the other. Such rules are detailed on the following chart (note therein that the kitchen refers to the area behind the table’s head string).
Millions of individuals play casually, using informal “house rules” which vary not only from area to area but even from venue to venue. This may be on a subtle or even subconscious level, but it’s still worth considering, especially if you have a grand vision of what spending time in your billiards room should be like. Players will often play on even when there are not enough points available for them to win, hoping to force their opponent into playing foul shots by laying snookers. When the final ball is potted, the player with the most points wins the frame. If a child rescues the maiden and makes it back to the box, he or she wins a prize. So, if you’re not sure whether a table is slate or wood, try to lift it up – carefully. So, what should you do if you want to play pool? Professional and competitive amateur matches are officiated by a referee, who is charged with ensuring the proper conduct of players and making decisions “in the interests of fair play”.
Triangular racks are used for eight-ball, straight pool, one-pocket, bank pool, snooker and many other games. In both one-pocket and bank pool all fifteen object balls are racked entirely at random, with the center of the apex ball placed directly over the foot spot. In nine-ball, the basic principles are the same as detailed in the eight-ball section above, but only balls 1 through 9 are used; the 1 ball is always placed at the rack’s apex (because in nine-ball every legal shot, including the break, must strike the lowest numbered ball first) over the table’s foot spot, and the 9 ball is placed in the center of the rack. In nine-ball games where a handicap is given by one player being spotted a ball, what is billiards some tournament venues enforce a rule that the spotted ball must be racked as one of the two balls in the row directly behind the 1 ball. Diamond-shaped frames are sometimes used for the game of nine-ball (although a triangular rack can also be used) and template racks come in a variety of shapes. The 8-ball is still in play, and thus the game continues.
