How to Play Pool: Eight-Ball Rules and Beginner Tips

Pool is a game for two players (or two teams) on a table with six pockets. In the most common version, eight-ball, one player pockets the solid balls, the other pockets the stripes, and whoever pockets their group and then the black 8-ball wins. This guide explains how to play pool step by step: the equipment, setting up the balls, the break, taking turns, fouls, and how to win. It ends with beginner tips and free pool games you can try in a browser.

What you need

• A pool table with six pockets. Tables are usually 7, 8 or 9 feet long. Nine feet is the regulation size, and 7 foot tables are common in bars.
• A cue stick for each player, and chalk for the tip. Chalk helps the tip grip the ball so it does not slip.
• 16 balls: one white cue ball, seven solids (numbers 1 to 7), seven stripes (9 to 15) and the black 8-ball.
• A triangle rack to hold the balls in place for the opening shot.

Pool is also called pocket billiards. It is a different game from snooker, which uses a larger table and 22 balls, and from carom billiards, which has no pockets.

The goal

In eight-ball, you claim either solids or stripes. You pocket all seven balls in your group, then pocket the 8-ball to win. You have to say which pocket the 8-ball is going into before you shoot at it.

Step 1: Rack the balls

Put the 15 object balls in a triangle, with the front ball on the foot spot. The 8-ball goes in the centre of the rack. The two back corners hold one solid and one stripe. The cue ball starts at the other end of the table.

Step 2: The break

One player shoots the cue ball into the rack to scatter it. This is the break. Agree who breaks before you start, for example with a coin toss.

If the break is weak, with no ball pocketed and fewer than four balls reaching the cushions, the other player can choose between re-racking and playing the table as it lies.

Step 3: Choosing solids or stripes

After the break the table is open. Nobody has a group yet. The first player to legally pocket a ball other than the 8-ball takes that ball's group, and the opponent gets the other group. The groups stay the same for the rest of the game.

Step 4: Taking turns

You keep shooting for as long as you legally pocket a ball. Your turn ends when you miss, or when you foul.

A legal shot means the cue ball first hits a ball from your own group, or the 8-ball once your group is gone.

Fouls and ball in hand

Common fouls in eight-ball:

• Hitting the wrong ball first.
• Pocketing the cue ball (a scratch).
• Pocketing an opponent's ball while shooting at the 8-ball.

After a foul, your opponent gets ball in hand: they can place the cue ball anywhere on the table for their next shot. That is a big advantage, so avoid fouls.

Winning and losing the game

Once your group is gone, aim at the 8-ball and call the pocket. You win by sinking it in the pocket you called. You lose if you sink it in the wrong pocket, scratch while shooting at it, or knock it off the table.

Local rules vary between bars, leagues and homes. Agree on things like calling pockets and the break before you start.

Other pool games

Eight-ball is the most popular game. In nine-ball, you always hit the lowest numbered ball on the table first, and whoever pockets the 9-ball wins. Straight pool is played to a set score, usually 100 or 150 points.

Tips for beginners

• Chalk the tip before shots.
• Think about where the cue ball will stop after each shot. Planning the next shot matters more than any single pot.
• Slow and smooth beats hard. Hard hits make the cue ball difficult to control.
• Learn to read angles. The more you play, the easier it gets to see where a ball has to be hit.
• Try a bank shot when a ball is blocked: drive it off a cushion into the pocket.
• Leave the 8-ball alone until your group is clear.

Play pool online

You can practise the rules for free in your browser:

• 3D Billiard 8 ball Pool. The game page lists one player and two player modes. Break the triangle, pot your group, then the 8 ball. It does not list controls, so check the in-game hints.
• 8 Ball Pool World. You use the mouse, and the platform says you can play with a friend. Check the menu to see how a match with a second person is set up.
• Billiard Neon. Choose PVP against another player or PVC against the computer. It supports mouse or tap input. The game does not spell out foul rules, so read them in the game.
• 8 Ball Pool. Browser pool with one-on-one matches, tournaments of up to eight players and a practice arena.

If you like cue sports, carrom is a related flick-and-pocket game. For something to play without any equipment, try our list of games to play with friends without anything, or see the best board games for 2 players.

Game names are used only to describe the games and belong to their owners. This page is an independent guide.