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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11This guide explains how to play table 8-ball pool under the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) Rules of Play effective September 15, 2025. The rules below give you the game’s objective, break, turns, fouls, and win conditions in playing order. Casual venues and leagues may use different rules, so agree on the ruleset before the first rack. These are table-pool rules, not instructions for a particular video-game version.
What you need to play
A standard game uses a cue ball, fifteen object balls, a rack, and cues. The fifteen object balls are divided into seven solids and seven stripes, plus the 8-ball. The WPA rules also refer to play with a cue stick.
What is the goal of 8-ball pool?
Each player tries to pocket their assigned group—solids or stripes—and then legally pocket the 8-ball. After the break, shots are called: name the intended object ball and pocket. Once a player has cleared their group, they must call the pocket for the 8-ball as well.
How do you rack and break?
Set up the rack
Rack all fifteen object balls tightly in a triangle. Put the 8-ball directly below the apex ball, with one solid and one stripe at the two lower corners. The cue ball begins in hand above the head string.
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Make a legal break
No ball is called on the break, and the cue ball does not have to hit a particular object ball first. If the breaker pockets an object ball without fouling, they keep shooting, but the table remains open: pocketing a ball on the break does not assign solids or stripes.
If no object ball is pocketed, at least four object balls must reach one or more rails for the break to be legal. If that requirement is not met, the opponent may accept the table as it lies, have the balls re-racked and break, or have the balls re-racked and let the original breaker break again.
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If the 8-ball goes in on the break
Under this WPA rules edition, pocketing the 8-ball on a legal break is neither a foul nor an automatic win. The breaker may have it spotted and continue with the balls as they lie, or choose to break again. If the 8-ball is pocketed on a foul break, the opponent may have it re-spotted and take cue ball in hand above the head string, or choose a re-break.
How are solids and stripes assigned?
The table stays open after the break until a player legally pockets a called ball. That player takes the group of the ball pocketed; the opponent takes the other group. On an open table, any object ball except the 8-ball may be struck first. A ball pocketed on the break by itself does not decide either player’s group.
How do turns and called shots work?
After groups are assigned, a player continues shooting while legally pocketing balls from their group. On shots other than the break, call the intended ball and pocket. You may call a safety instead of trying to continue your turn; any object ball pocketed on a safety stays down, but your turn ends.
What is a foul in 8-ball pool?
Common fouls under the WPA rules include scratching or driving the cue ball off the table, striking the wrong group first, and failing to send any ball to a rail after contact when no ball is pocketed. Other examples include having no foot on the floor at cue contact, driving an object ball off the table, touching a ball, double-hitting the cue ball, or making a push shot.
After a standard foul, the opponent gets cue ball in hand anywhere on the playing surface. This means they may place the cue ball where they choose on the table before taking their shot.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do you win—or lose—the rack?
After legally pocketing all the balls in your group, call a pocket and legally pocket the 8-ball there to win. Under the WPA rules, you lose the rack if you pocket the 8-ball before clearing your group, pocket it in an uncalled pocket, pocket it while fouling, or drive it off the table. These loss conditions do not apply to the break shot; the break has its own 8-ball rules above.
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Which rules should you agree on before playing?
House and league rules can differ from the WPA baseline. Before the first rack, settle any variations that matter to your game, especially whether a ball made on the break assigns a group, what counts as a legal break and what happens after an illegal one, how an 8-ball made on the break is handled, whether shots must be called, and what penalty or cue-ball placement follows a foul.
For the standardized rules used in this guide, see the WPA’s official rules index and its Rules of Play effective September 15, 2025.
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