In short. English pool, also called blackball or eightball pool, is played by two people on a six-pocket table, with seven reds, seven yellows and a black. The first ball you pot sets your colour; you then clear your seven and pot the black to win. Potting the black too early loses the frame.
The table and the balls
Fifteen object balls: seven reds, seven yellows, and the black, no numbers, no solids and stripes. Plus the white cue ball. If you arrived here wondering what the game with the coloured balls even is, start with pool with red and yellow balls.
They are racked in a triangle with the black on the centre spot of the third row and a red and a yellow in the two back corners, colours alternating as evenly as the triangle allows.
Choosing your colour
The table starts open: neither player owns a colour. The first ball legally potted after the break sets it, pot a red and reds are yours for the rest of the frame.
If you pot one of each on the same shot, the first ball to drop is the one that counts, and you carry on. Potting the black while the table is still open loses the frame.
Taking your shot
Once colours are decided, the cue ball must strike one of your balls first. Pot one of yours and you carry on; fail to pot and the turn passes.
You do not have to call your pocket. Anything of your colour that drops counts, including balls potted by accident.
Fouls, and the two shots
A foul in this game is any of the following:
- Potting the cue ball, the scratch, or in-off.
- Hitting no ball at all.
- Hitting one of your opponent's balls first.
- Potting one of your opponent's balls, even if you pot one of yours on the same shot.
The penalty is two shots for your opponent, and the first of them is free. Miss on the first and they play again; pot on it and the penalty is spent, so they carry on as after any other pot. Failing to pot on the second ends their turn.
The two shots do not accumulate: fouling again while your opponent still holds them leaves them with two, not four. And it holds to the end of the frame: even when a player is already on the black, a foul still hands their opponent two shots.
Free ball
If the foul leaves the incoming player snookered, unable to hit any of their own balls in a straight line, they get a free ball: for that shot, any ball on the table counts as theirs to hit first, and a ball they pot with it counts as one of theirs. It applies to the first of the two shots only.
Winning, and the ways to lose on the black
Clear your seven, then pot the black. No called pocket, no nominated cushion.
You lose the frame immediately if you:
- pot the black before clearing your own colour, including on the break;
- pot the black and the cue ball on the same shot;
- pot the black together with one of your opponent's balls;
- commit any other foul on the shot that pots the black.
The last one is what catches people out: a scratch that would only cost you the table at any other moment ends the frame if the black drops on the same shot.
English pool versus American 8-ball
| English pool | American 8-ball | |
|---|---|---|
| Balls | Reds and yellows, unnumbered | Solids 1–7, stripes 9–15 |
| Table | 6 ft or 7 ft, tight pockets | 7 ft to 9 ft, wider pockets |
| Foul penalty | Two shots to the opponent | Ball in hand, anywhere on the table |
| Snookered after a foul | Free ball | No such concept, ball in hand covers it |
| Calling pockets | No | Yes, every pot must be called |
| Accidental pot | Counts, you continue | Not called, so the turn ends |
Ball in hand punishes a foul harder than two shots do: the incoming player places the cue ball anywhere, so they pick their own angle. In English pool a foul is survivable, and the free ball rule makes it worth leaving your opponent snookered rather than merely far from their balls.
In this game
Controls
Drag from the cue ball, or from anywhere in the lower half of the table: start on the ball and it plays like a slingshot, start further out and the cue aims from your finger through the ball. Your distance from the ball sets the power.
- A second finger on the top gauge sets the power on its own.
- Release next to the cue ball to cancel the shot.
- No side, no screw, a shot is an angle and a power.
Fouls, and what they cost
You foul if you pot the cue ball, hit nothing, hit a ball that is not your colour first, or pot one of your opponent's. Your opponent then gets two shots: miss the first and they play again; pot, and they simply carry on.
If your foul leaves them snookered, no ball of theirs reachable in a straight line, their first shot is a free ball: they may hit any ball, and anything they pot counts for them.
Potting the black before you have cleared your colour loses the frame, and so does potting the cue ball along with it.
Two rules left out on purpose
In pub pool, a shot where no ball reaches a cushion after contact is a foul unless a ball is potted. This game does not apply it: it mostly punishes soft shots, and penalising someone who aimed well but hit gently spoils more frames than it cleans up.
The other is ball in hand: after a foul the rules let you replace the cue ball. Here you play it where it stopped, and if it was potted it comes back on its own to the middle of the baulk line. That is a matter of pace, stopping to place the white after every foul breaks the frame more than it balances it.
Solo and online
- Bots at several levels, each picking its shot by simulating it.
- Online: quick match or a room code, with a time limit per shot, running out counts as a foul. If your opponent leaves, a bot can finish the frame.
Most arguments about pool rules come from mixing the two codes. They share a name and a black ball, and they punish a foul in completely different ways. Below are the rules as this game plays them, then the comparison.
Frequently asked questions
How is my colour decided?
Not on the break. The table stays open: the first ball you pot after the break sets your colour, and your opponent gets the other. While the table is open, hitting either colour first is not a foul.
Do you have to call your pocket in English pool?
No. Any ball of your colour that drops counts, including one potted by accident, and you carry on. Calling pockets is an American 8-ball rule.
What happens if you pot the white ball?
It is a foul, the scratch, or in-off, and your opponent comes to the table with two shots, plus a free ball if your foul left them snookered. If it happens on the shot that pots the black, you lose the frame.
What happens if I pot the black too early?
You lose the frame straight away. All seven of your balls have to be down first. And even at the right moment, potting the cue ball along with the black loses it too.
Play a frame
Against the bot, or against a friend online with a room code. Free, no account.
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