9-ball rules, explained simply

The rack

The nine balls are racked as tightly as possible in a diamond. The 1 sits at the front point, nearest the player who breaks. The 9 sits in the middle of the diamond, on the foot spot: the marked spot a quarter of the table’s length from the far cushion. The other seven balls fill the rest of the diamond.

The break

A lag decides who breaks the first rack, and the break then alternates: see who breaks in pool.

The breaker plays from anywhere behind the head string, the line a quarter of the table’s length from the breaking end, and must hit the 1 first. A legal break also needs both of these:

• at least one ball potted, or at least four object balls driven to one or more cushions;
• at least three object balls potted or sent past the head string, or a mix of the two, such as one potted and two past the line.

Missing the first requirement is a foul. Missing only the second lets the other player choose: play the table as it lies, without a push out, or hand the shot back to the breaker. After a legal break, potted balls stay down, and the breaker keeps shooting if one dropped.

The push out

On the shot straight after a legal break, the player at the table may announce a push out, often used when the break leaves no good shot at the lowest ball. For that one shot, the cue ball need not hit the lowest ball first and no ball has to reach a cushion; every other foul still counts. The other player then chooses who plays next. A 9 potted on a push out does not win: it is put back on the table.

Every shot: the lowest ball first

After the break, the cue ball must first touch the lowest-numbered ball on the table. If nobody can tell which of two balls it touched first, the lowest ball is taken as hit first.

After that first contact, a shot is legal when a ball is potted, or when any ball, the cue ball included, reaches a cushion. Any ball potted on a legal shot counts, in any pocket, and the player stays at the table.

A shot that pots nothing ends the turn, and the next player plays from where the cue ball stopped.

Fouls and ball in hand

After a foul, the other player has ball in hand: they may place the cue ball anywhere on the table and play from there. The common fouls in 9-ball are:

• potting the cue ball, or driving it off the table;
• hitting any ball other than the lowest-numbered ball first;
• a shot where nothing is potted and no ball reaches a cushion after the first contact;
• driving an object ball off the table;
• playing without at least one foot on the floor;
• touching or moving a ball other than with a normal shot;
• striking the cue ball twice in one shot, or pushing it with the tip;
• playing while any ball is still moving.

Object balls potted on a foul stay down; only the 9 is ever put back. A foul must be called before the next shot begins, or it is treated as if it never happened.

Three fouls in a row

A player who fouls three times in a row in the same rack, without a legal shot in between, loses the rack. A player on two fouls must be told so when they come to the table. Without that warning, a third foul counts only as the second.

How to win a rack

The player who pots the 9 on a legal shot wins the rack. The 9 does not have to be the last ball on the table:

• On the break: a 9 that drops on a legal break wins at once.
• By combination: the cue ball hits the lowest ball first, and that ball, or another it strikes, sends the 9 into a pocket.

Clearing the table from your own break in one turn is a break and run.

The 9 does not win if it drops on a foul or a push out, or if it leaves the table. It is then spotted: put back on the foot spot, or as close behind it as the other balls allow. Each rack won is one point in the match.

Keeping score

To count racks at the table without signing up, open the free 9-ball scoreboard in your phone’s browser. It keeps the race and shows who breaks next.

The Bida Nào app scores each rack as you play. After the break, you tap the balls that dropped. When a turn ends, you tap the ball the player left on, and every ball below it counts as potted for them. A 9 potted by a combination or a carom is recorded with the Combi / Carom switch and wins the frame on the spot. A result counts once both players confirm it. More on the pool scoring app page.

Get the app.