Thursday Night
Pool League Rules 2024-2025 Season=
Teams must be present and ready to shoot no later than
7:00p.m. There is a 15-minute leeway for late players as long as at
least two (2) players are present to play at the official start time
(7:00p.m.). Please allow 20 minutes of practice time for the visiting
team if they show up by 6:30. A team needing to reschedule a match
must give the opposing captain and Krisy a minimum of 24 hours’
notice and must set up a make-up match within 7 days, if the
opposing team agrees to a reschedule, otherwise it will be forfeit. The
opposing team will get their play average per player on any forfeit.
Collecting money from the team players is the captain’s
responsibility, $20.00 per week per team, except for week 1 where
the total due per player is $25.00. Any one player, who does not pay
the weekly dues on time and owes the league for 2 or more weeks of
dues, will not be allowed to participate in League Play until fees are
paid in full. All money must be turned in by 5:00p.m on the Sunday
following Thursday’s match. Drop bars are The Local, Woodrow’s
and Tiger Tom’s (Fireside is NOT a Drop Bar). There will be a fine
of $5.00 per week, for any team whose stats are not delivered on
time. If it becomes a habit that stats are not dropped off on time, I
will be forfeiting the score of the home team and the away team will
receive their average.
A full team is 4 players and 3 substitutes (7 players).
Absolutely no roster changes after week 6. Players must play a
minimum of 4 weeks to be eligible to play in the Playoffs.
Captains will reach an agreement on the order of play before
play starts. If a player is not present at the time of his/her game, the
opposing team can choose to come back to the game when the player
arrives, or it will result in a forfeit of the game; the player may play
the remainder of their games in the match. If a team is short a
player(s), the missing players’ games are forfeit.
Only a Plain White or Single Dot Cue Ball is allowed.
OBJECT OF THE GAME:
Eight Ball is a game played with a cue ball and fifteen object
balls, numbered 1 through 15. One player must pocket balls
of the group numbered 1 through 7 (solids), while the other
player has 9 through 15 (stripes). The player pocketing their group
first and then legally pocketing the 8-ball wins the game.
PLAYERS TURN:
A player’s turn begins when the balls come to rest after their
opponent fails to legally pocket a ball.
CALL POCKET:
In Call Pocket, obvious balls and pockets do not have to be
indicated. It is the opponent's right to ask which ball and
pocket if he is unsure of the shot. Bank shots and
combination shots are not considered obvious, and care
should be taken in calling both the object ball and the intended
pocket. When calling the shot, it is NEVER necessary to indicate
details such as the number of cushions, banks, kisses, caroms, etc.
Any balls pocketed on a foul remain pocketed, regardless of whether
they belong to the shooter or the opponent.
FOULS:
In the event of a foul, the opposing player gets cue ball in hand.
This means that the player can place the cue ball anywhere on
the table (does not have to be behind the head string except on
opening break). All infractions must be called by the opponent before
another shot is taken, or else it will be deemed that no infraction
occurred. THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN CALL A FOUL IS THE
OPPONENT.
CUE BALL IN HAND FOUL:
During cue ball in hand placement, the player may use his hand
or any part of his cue (excluding the leather/tip) to position the cue
ball. When placing the cue ball in position, contacting the cue ball with
the tip will be a foul, if not a legal shot.
LEGAL SHOT:
Unless otherwise stated in a specific game rule, a player must
cause the cue ball to contact a legal object ball and then (1) pocket a
numbered ball, or (2) cause the cue ball or any numbered ball to
contact a cushion/rail. Failure to meet these requirements is a foul.
PLEASE NOTE: It is permissible for the shooter to bank the cue ball
off a rail before contacting his object ball. However, after contact with
his object ball, an object ball must be pocketed, or the cue ball or any
numbered ball must contact a rail. Failure to meet these requirements
is a foul.
SAFETY SHOT:
For tactical reasons a player may choose to pocket an obvious
object ball and also discontinue his turn at the table by declaring
safety in advance. A safety shot is defined as a legal shot. If the
shooting player intends to play safe by pocketing an obvious object
ball, then prior to the shot, he must declare a safety to his opponent.
If this is NOT done, and one of the shooter's object balls is pocketed,
the shooter will be required to shoot again. Any ball pocketed on a
safety shot remains pocketed.
CUE BALL SCRATCH:
It is a foul (scratch) if on a stroke, the cue ball is pocketed. If
the cue ball touches an object ball that was already pocketed (for
example, in a pocket full of object balls), the shot is a foul.
FOULS BY TOUCHING BALLS:
It is a foul to strike, touch or in any way make contact with the
cue ball in play or any object balls in play with anything (the body,
clothing, chalk, mechanical bridge, cue shaft, etc.) EXCEPT the cue tip
(while attached to the cue shaft), which may contact the cue ball in
the execution of a legal shot. Any object ball moved during the foul
must remain at the final location.
FOUL BY PLACEMENT:
Touching any object ball with the cue or cue ball while it is a ball
in hand foul is also a foul.
BALLS JUMPED OFF TABLE:
Balls coming to rest other than on the bed of the table after a
stroke (on the cushion top, rail surface, floor, etc.) are considered
jumped balls. Balls may bounce on the cushion tops and rails of the
table in play without being jumped balls if they return to the bed of
the table under their own power and without touching anything not a
part of the table. The table shall consist of the permanent part of the
table proper. (Balls that strike or touch anything not a part of the
table, such as the light fixture, chalk on the rails and cushion tops,
etc., shall be considered jumped balls even though they might return
to the bed of the table after contacting items which are not parts of
the table proper). When a stroke results in the cue ball or any object
ball being a jumped ball off the table, the stroke is a foul. All jumped
object balls are to be pocketed.
PLAYER RESPONSIBILITY FOULS:
The player is responsible for chalk, bridges and any other items
or equipment the player brings to use at the table. If the player drops
a piece of chalk, or knocks off a mechanical bridge head, (as
examples), the player is guilty of a foul, should such an object make
contact with any ball in play.
INTERFERENCE:
If a non-shooting player distracts an opponent or interferes with
game play, it is a foul. If a player shoots out of turn, or moves any
ball except during his inning, it is considered to be interference.
DEVICES:
Players are not allowed to use a ball, the triangle, or any other
width-measuring device to see if the cue ball or an object ball would
travel through a gap, etc. Only the cue stick may be used as an aid to
judge gaps.
ILLEGAL MARKING:
If a player intentionally marks the table in any way to assist in
executing the shot, whether by wetting the cloth, by placing a cube of
chalk on the rail, or by any other means, he has fouled. If the player
removes the mark prior to the shot, no penalty is imposed.
JUMPS AND MASSE:
Jumps and masses are allowed unless otherwise posted. If the
team has special permission to do so, it is the home team captains’
responsibility to inform the visiting team prior to the start of the
match. To execute a legal jump shot, the cue ball must be struck
above the cue ball center line with the cue stick at an angle between
30 - 60 degrees. It is a foul when the cue ball is made to jump by
"scooping" the cue ball - "scooping" is accomplished by hitting the cue
ball too low.
ILLEGALLY POCKETED BALLS:
An object ball is considered to be illegally pocketed when that
object ball is pocketed on the same shot a foul is committed, or the
called ball did not go in the designated pocket. Illegally pocketed balls
remain pocketed. The penalty is loss of turn only.
COACHING:
Giving advice to your teammates during their turn at the table.
Some examples of what is considered coaching are: giving advice as
to which ball to shoot, where to leave the cue ball, whether to shoot
soft or hard, or whether or not to use English. These types of
comments are considered coaching and will result in a foul.
TIME OUTS:
Teams are allowed to call 1 “Captains” time out in the 1st half &
1 “Captains” time out in the 2nd half of the match, this can be called
by any active player on the team except the player currently at the
table. Players can call 1 time out per game; a time out is 2 minutes;
captains need to use common sense in this area. Time out coaching is
allowed by any (1) One active player that night of the players
choosing.
RACKING THE BALLS:
The balls are racked in a triangle at the foot of the table with
the 8 ball in the center of the triangle, the first ball of the rack on
the foot spot, a striped ball in one corner of the rack and a solid ball
in the other corner.
LEGAL BREAK SHOT:
To execute a legal break, the breaker with the cue ball behind
the head string, must either 1, pocket a ball, or 2, drive at least four
numbered balls to the rail. If he fails to make a legal break, it is a
foul, and the incoming player has the option of 1, accepting the table
in position and shooting, or 2, having the balls re-racked and having
the option of shooting the opening break himself or allowing the
offending player to re-break. Pocketing the 8 ball on a legal break will
result in a win.
SCRATCH ON A LEGAL BREAK:
If a player scratches on a legal break shot, all balls pocketed
remain pocketed, it is a foul, the table is open. PLEASE NOTE -
Incoming player has cue ball in hand. Pocketing the 8 ball and
scratching on the break will result in loss of game.
OPEN TABLE:
The table is open when the choice of stripes or solids has not yet
been determined. When the table is open, it is legal to hit a solid first
to make a stripe or vice-versa. Note: The table is always open
immediately after the break shot. When the table is open it is legal to
hit any solid or stripe but not the 8-ball first in the process of
pocketing the called stripe or solid. On an open table, all illegally
pocketed balls remain pocketed.
PLAYING THE 8 BALL:
When shooting at the 8 ball, a scratch (pocketing the cue ball) is
a loss of game, a foul is not loss of game, if the 8 ball is not pocketed
or jumped from the table. Incoming player has cue ball in hand.
LOSS OF GAME:
A player loses the game if they commit any of the following
infractions:
a. Fouls when pocketing the 8 ball.
b. Pockets the 8 ball on the same stroke as the last of his
group of balls.
c. Jumps the 8 ball off the table at any time.
d. Pockets the 8 ball in a pocket other than the one
designated.
e. Pockets the 8 ball when it is not the legal object ball.