How to Play Nine-Ball

With roots that can be traced all the way back to the 1920s, nine-ball is a fast paced game of pocket billiards, better known simply as pool. A game of nine-ball is typically quicker than a game of straight pool, and generally involves a little bit more skill, as well. Though throughout its history nine-ball has mainly been considered a "money game", it is still a very respectable form of the game, and is even the preferred game for many tournaments all over the world.

To begin a game of nine-ball, one person first needs to rack the balls, and their opponent will break it. Racking a game of nine-ball is really quite simple - the balls, 1 through 9 are arranged in a diamond pattern, with the 1 ball in front and the 9 ball in the center of the group. The order of the remaining 7 balls is not important.

The opponent then breaks as you would in a normal pool game, and play proceeds from there. Whoever ends up pocketing the 9 ball wins - however, the rules of the game state that you must pocket all of the balls in order, 1 through 8, before shooting directly at the 9.

This is where technique comes in. A skilled nine-ball player will always look for opportunities to hit a ball into the 9, and possibly sink it early. Say for instance, the lowest numbered ball left on the table is a 5. As long as the cue ball hits the 5 before it hits any other ball, your shot is legal and any balls pocketed will count. So you can hit the 5 into the 9, put the 9 in the pocket and win the game just like that. In a similar fashion, a game of nine-ball can even be won in one single shot on the opening break.

Remember, the rules state that the cue ball must hit the lowest numbered ball on the table first, and whoever pockets the 9 is the winner. You don't have to necessarily put all of the other balls into the pockets before the 9 ball, however.

If you fail to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table first, it is considered a foul, or ball-in-hand, and your opponent can place the cue where he or she desires. This makes setting up that winning combination shot pretty simple in many situations.