How to rack pool balls: every rack, rule set by rule set
Updated 10 November 2026
Rack the balls as tightly as possible, with the rack on the foot spot, a quarter of the table’s length from the far cushion. Under the current world rules, 8-ball puts the 8 in the middle with a solid and a stripe on the back corners; 9-ball puts the 1 at the front and the 9 on the foot spot; 10-ball puts the 1 on the foot spot and the 10 in the middle. Older rules and league rule books move some of these balls, so check which rules the venue or event plays before the break.
Every rack at a glance
The table lists the balls each rule set fixes. Every ball not listed is placed in any order, without a deliberate pattern.
| Game and rule set | On the foot spot | Fixed balls |
|---|---|---|
| 8-ball, current world rules | The front ball (any ball but the 8) | The 8 in the middle; one solid and one stripe on the back corners |
| 8-ball, American league rules | The front ball | The 8 in the middle; one rule book also fixes the back corners, the other does not |
| UK and Irish 8-ball (red and yellow balls) | The black | Every ball, in one set pattern |
| Chinese 8-ball (Heyball) | The front ball | The 8 in the middle; a solid and a stripe on the back corners; the rest spread apart |
| 9-ball, current world rules | The 9 | The 1 at the front; the 9 in the middle |
| 9-ball, previous world rules and American league rules | The 1 | The 1 at the front; the 9 in the middle |
| 10-ball, current world rules | The 1 | The 1 at the front; the 10 in the middle |
| 10-ball, one American league rule book | The 1 | The 1 at the front; the 10 in the middle; the 2 and 3 on the back corners |
| Straight pool, one American rule book | The front ball | The 1 and the 5 on the back corners |
| Straight pool (world rules), one-pocket, bank pool | The front ball | None |
| Snooker | No foot spot | The reds in a triangle against the pink; each colour on its own spot |
Before you rack: the foot spot and a tight rack
The foot spot is where two lines meet: the long string, down the centre of the table, and the foot string, which crosses the table a quarter of its length from the foot cushion. On a 9-foot table, whose playing surface is 100 by 50 inches, that is 25 inches from the cushion. A ball is on the spot when its centre is over it.
Every rule set asks for the balls to be racked as tightly as possible, each ball touching its neighbours. A wooden triangle holds its shape better than a plastic one. The breaker plays from behind the head string, the line a quarter of the table’s length from the near cushion. Who breaks is explained in who breaks in pool.
8-ball under the current world rules
Fifteen balls, numbered 1 to 15, form a triangle of five rows with the front ball on the foot spot. The 8 is the first ball straight behind the front ball: the middle ball of the third row. One solid (1 to 7) and one stripe (9 to 15) go on the two back corners, either way round. Every other ball is placed without a deliberate pattern.
If the 8 drops on a legal break, the breaker chooses between spotting the 8 and playing on, or breaking again. To count racks at the table, open the free 8-ball scoreboard in your phone’s browser.
8-ball under American league rules
The two large American league rule books agree on the shape and on the 8: a triangle with the front ball on the foot spot and the 8 in the middle. They differ on the back corners. One asks for balls of different groups on the two back corners, as the world rules do. The other fixes only the 8, so both back corners may hold solids or both may hold stripes.
They also differ on who racks. In one, the breaker racks; in the other, the player who is not breaking racks, and the breaker may ask for a rerack.
UK and Irish 8-ball (red and yellow balls)
The game played in the UK and Ireland with seven red balls, seven yellow balls and a black uses one set pattern, and every ball has its place. The black sits on the spot, in the middle of the third row, so the whole triangle sits two rows further towards the foot cushion than in the other games. A red is at the front.
The pattern, read from the front ball in rows across the table, is shown in the drawing below. The rule books print it as a picture rather than in words, and one of them adds that a mirror image is not allowed. The cue ball is played from baulk, the end of the table behind a line a fifth of the table’s length from the bottom cushion.
Chinese 8-ball (Heyball)
Heyball racks fifteen balls with the front ball on the foot spot and the 8 in the middle, and a solid on one end of the back row and a stripe on the other. Unlike 8-ball, the other solids and stripes are spread as far apart as possible rather than placed at random. The rules and the table are in what is Heyball.
9-ball under the current world rules
Nine balls, numbered 1 to 9, form a diamond in rows of one, two, three, two and one. The 1 goes at the front point, towards the breaker. The 9 goes in the middle of the diamond, and it is the 9, not the 1, that sits on the foot spot. The other seven balls are placed at random; setting them in a chosen order earns a warning, then a penalty.
The break, the push out and the rest of the game are in 9-ball rules. The free 9-ball scoreboard counts racks in your browser.
9-ball under the previous world rules and American league rules
The previous edition of the world rules, and both large American league rule books, put the 1 on the foot spot instead. The diamond has the same shape, with the 1 at the front and the 9 in the middle, but the whole rack sits two rows further towards the foot cushion. Many players still rack this way out of habit.
10-ball under the current world rules
Ten balls, numbered 1 to 10, form a triangle of four rows. The 1 goes at the front, on the foot spot. The 10 goes in the middle of the triangle: the middle ball of the third row. The other eight balls are placed without a deliberate pattern.
10-ball is a call-shot game, and the 10 wins the rack only when it is the last ball on the table and was called. The free 10-ball scoreboard counts racks in your browser.
10-ball under American league rules
One American league rule book adds two more fixed balls: the 2 and the 3 go on the two ends of the back row, either way round. The 1 stays at the front on the foot spot and the 10 in the middle, and the other six balls are placed at random.
Straight pool, one-pocket and bank pool
Straight pool (14.1 continuous) racks fifteen balls in a triangle with the front ball on the foot spot. The world rules fix no other ball and do not allow a template. One American rule book puts the 1 on the back corner to the racker’s right and the 5 on the corner to the racker’s left; the racker stands at the foot end, facing the breaker. When fourteen balls have been potted, they are racked again with the front place left empty.
One-pocket racks fifteen balls in a triangle with the front ball on the foot spot and no fixed balls. Bank pool does the same with fifteen balls, or with nine balls in the 9-ball diamond for the short version.
Snooker
Snooker has no rack in the pool sense. The fifteen reds form a tight triangle with its point towards the baulk end, the front red as close to the pink as it can be without taking the pink’s spot. The colours go on their own spots: black near the top cushion, pink between the blue and the top cushion, blue in the centre, and brown, green and yellow on the baulk line, at the middle and the two corners of the D. Viewed from the baulk end, yellow is on the right. More in snooker rules.
Who racks, and racking templates
Under the world rules, players who rack for themselves may agree who racks; if they disagree, each racks for the opponent and must rack as well as they can. Where a referee racks, the breaker accepts any rack that follows the rules. The American league rule books differ, as above: in one the breaker racks, in the other the opponent does.
A thin template may replace the triangle in 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball and Heyball under the world rules, but not in straight pool or one-pocket. Take it off the table after the break: a ball that touches a template left on the rail is a foul.
House rules and event rule sheets can set any of these points. Where one is posted, it decides. If nothing is posted, agree on one rack before the first break and keep it for the whole match.
When a ball goes back on the spot
In 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball under the world rules, a spotted ball is placed on the long string as close as possible to the foot spot, between the spot and the foot cushion, without moving any ball in the way. If the spot is covered, the ball is placed touching the ball that blocks it, unless that ball is the cue ball, which it must not touch. If the whole line behind the spot is blocked, the ball goes in front of the spot, as close to it as the other balls allow.
Only one ball is ever spotted in each of these games: the 8 in 8-ball, the 9 in 9-ball and the 10 in 10-ball.
Keeping score
The free scoreboards count racks in your browser, with no account. The Bida Nào app scores each rack as you play, in 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball, and a result counts once both players confirm it. More on the pool scoring app page.
Questions
Which ball goes on the foot spot in 9-ball?
Under the current world rules, the 9, in the middle of the diamond, with the 1 two rows ahead of it at the front. The previous world rules and the American league rule books put the 1 on the foot spot instead. Where a venue or event posts its rules, those decide.
Where does the 8 go in an 8-ball rack?
In the middle of the triangle, the middle ball of the third row, in every rule set on this page. In the red and yellow game the black also sits on the foot spot, so that rack starts two rows further back.
Do solids and stripes have to alternate in an 8-ball rack?
No. The current world rules fix only the 8 and one solid and one stripe on the back corners, and one American league rule book fixes only the 8. The red and yellow game is different: it uses one set pattern for every ball.
Do the 2 and the 3 go on the back corners in 10-ball?
Only under one American league rule book. The current world rules fix the 1 at the front on the foot spot and the 10 in the middle, and nothing else.
Can I rack with a template instead of a triangle?
Under the world rules, yes in 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball and Heyball, but not in straight pool or one-pocket. Remove it after the break.