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🔊 Listen to this These series of “Game Rules’ provide rules of many different games for the pool table. The rules here have been simplified from the official versions – to make them a little easier to understand.

There are other games that have been invented, copyrighted and generally available to the playing public. Web searches will turn these up and the rules printed out for use.

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Straight Pool

This is the version of pool played from which 14.1 Continuous was developed. The game is not commonly played nowadays. It can still be found in some small town pool halls.

Object

Score 150 points for a full game. Shortened games can go to 50 or 75 points.

Opponents

Two sides (players or doubles).

Balls

Regular set of balls.

Racking

Standard random rack.

Breaking

Initial breaker determined by local rules (coin, lag, card draw, etc.)

Breaker can call a ball and pocket.

Legal break is cue ball contacts the rack and then a rail plus two object balls contact the rail. (Failure is a two point penalty.)

If no legal break, incoming player can request a re-rack and re-break or accept the table layout.

Regular play

Call ball and pocket.

Each ball counts as 1 point.

Additional balls pocketed on a successful call are counted.

Inning ends on a miss or foul.

Any pocketed balls are lined up from the foot spot.

If all balls pocketed, the inning continues with the balls lined up from the foot spot.

Unless scratched, cue ball is always played from its table position.

If scratch on the break and the break was otherwise legal, incoming player shoots from the kitchen.

If player’s score goes negative on a penalty, player’s score goes to zero and any other points added to opponent’s score.

Safety/defensive play

On a safety, any pocketed ball is spotted and does not count. Inning ends.

Fouls

These fouls have 1 point penalties and loss of turn. (Optional: Three foul rule applies.)

• No legal hit
• Object ball off the table
• Cue ball scratch (incoming player has ball in hand in the kitchen)
• Illegal ball touching (optional – moved balls can be replaced with opponent’s approval and play continues with no penalty)