Game rules

Pool Rules: All 12 Game Modes

Pool Simulator puts a 9-foot tournament table in your browser, with real table physics and 12 game modes, from 8-Ball and 9-Ball to Mata-Mata, Brazil's favorite bar game, and a program of trick shots. You don't need to know the rules by heart: a referee calls every foul as it happens and shows its rule number on screen. Below are the complete rules, exactly as they are played on Selminha.com.

The table and the balls

Every mode is played on a 9-foot tournament table, with a playing surface of 100 by 50 inches and six pockets: four corners and two side pockets. The referee always racks the balls for you.

Head of the table: The end you break from, closed off by the head cushion.
Head string and kitchen: The head string is a line a quarter of the table's length from the head cushion. The area behind it is the kitchen.
Foot of the table: The far end, where the balls are racked. The front ball of the rack sits on the foot spot.
Long string: An imaginary line down the middle of the table. Balls that go back on the table are spotted on it, as close as possible to the foot spot.
The balls: Solids (1 to 7), the 8 and stripes (9 to 15), plus the white cue ball. 9-Ball uses only balls 1 to 9, and 10-Ball, 1 to 10. Mata-Mata uses 4 reds and 4 yellows; Blackball, 7 reds, 7 yellows and the black (no number); English 8-Ball, 7 reds, 7 yellows and an 8 that's black with a white stripe; Free Pyramid, 15 numbered white balls and one yellow ball, called the colored ball.

The 12 game modes

Mata-Mata: Brazil's bar game: four reds against four yellows, no called shots.
8-Ball: Solids against stripes, every shot called, and the 8 last.
9-Ball: Balls 1 to 9 in rotation; pocket the 9 to win the rack.
10-Ball: Like 9-Ball, with ten balls and every shot called.
Straight Pool: 14.1 continuous: each called ball you pocket is a point, rack after rack.
One-Pocket: Each player owns one foot corner pocket, and only that pocket counts.
Bank Pool: Only bank shots count, with 9 or 15 balls.
Blackball: 8-Ball with reds and yellows; every foul gives a free shot.
Heyball: Chinese 8-ball, with a mandatory hard break.
English 8-Ball: Reds, yellows and a striped 8; the break has to score 3 points.
Free Pyramid: Russian pyramid: strike any ball, and the first to 8 points wins.
Artistic Pool: Ten trick shots scored by difficulty: a program, not a match.

General rules

These rules are the base for most modes. Whenever a mode's own rules say something different, the mode's rules win.

The lag: before the first rack, both players shoot a ball from the kitchen to the foot cushion and back. The player whose ball stops closer to the head cushion chooses who breaks.
The break: you break with ball in hand behind the head string, and in modes played in racks, the break alternates every rack.
Your turn: you stay at the table as long as you do what your mode requires. Miss or foul, and the turn passes.
Ball in hand: drag the cue ball into place in the overhead view and confirm with Done. Depending on the mode and the foul, it goes anywhere on the table or only in the kitchen.
Calling your shot: in 8-Ball, 10-Ball, Straight Pool and Bank Pool, you name the ball and the pocket. The game calls it from your aim, and you can change it.
Common fouls: scratching (the cue ball drops or leaves the table), hitting the wrong ball first, no ball reaching a cushion after contact, a ball off the table, touching a ball with the cue, a double hit and a push shot. If several fouls happen on one shot, only one penalty applies.
Three fouls in a row lose the rack in 9-Ball, 10-Ball, One-Pocket and Bank Pool, and cost 15 extra points in Straight Pool. The referee warns anyone on two fouls.
Shot clock: when it's on, you get 60 seconds per shot and one +25 s extension per rack. Running out of time is a foul.
No progress: after 10 shots in a row with nothing pocketed (20 in One-Pocket and Bank Pool), each player gets 3 more turns. If nothing drops, it's a stalemate and the balls are re-racked.
A deliberate miscue, striking near the edge of the cue ball, is unsportsmanlike conduct, and the penalty grows each time.
RESIGN, in the pause menu, ends the match as a loss for whoever resigns.

Mata-Mata

Mata-Mata, also called sinuquinha, is Brazil's most popular bar game. Four reds face four yellows, nobody calls shots, and you win the rack once all four balls of your color are off the table. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (3 by default).

Each color sits in its own half, against the cushions, and the cue ball starts on the center spot.
You break from the center spot. The color of the first ball you hit becomes yours.
After that, hit a ball of your color first. Pocket one of yours with no foul and you keep shooting.
Fouls include scratching, missing every ball, hitting your opponent's color first, pocketing any of their balls, a ball off the table and jumping a ball.
Two chances: after any foul, your opponent gets two shots to pocket a ball of their color.
Your ball pocketed on your foul goes back on the table; your opponent's ball stays down and counts for them. A pocketed cue ball goes back to the center: there's no ball in hand.
The winner of each rack breaks the next one.

8-Ball

One player takes the solids (1 to 7) and the other the stripes (9 to 15). Clear your group, then pocket the 8 in the called pocket with no foul, and you win the rack. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (3 by default).

The break is legal if a ball drops or at least 4 object balls reach a cushion. If not, your opponent can play from there, re-rack and break, or have you break again.
An 8 pocketed on the break never loses the rack: on a legal break, you choose to spot it and keep shooting, or to re-rack and break again.
After the break, the table is open: hit any ball except the 8. The first called ball you make gives you its group.
Every shot is called, ball and pocket. You can call Safety instead: your turn ends even if a ball drops.
Pocketed balls stay down, even on a foul. A ball knocked off the table is a foul, and it isn't spotted.
After a foul, your opponent gets ball in hand anywhere on the table.
The three-fouls rule doesn't apply in 8-Ball.
You lose the rack if you pocket the 8 on a foul, before clearing your group, in a pocket you didn't call, or knock it off the table.

9-Ball

Balls 1 to 9 are racked in a diamond. The cue ball always has to hit the lowest-numbered ball first, but nobody calls shots: any ball that drops on a legal shot counts. Pocket the 9 on a legal shot, even on the break, and you win the rack. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (5 by default).

On the break, hit the 1 first. If nothing drops, at least 4 object balls have to reach a cushion.
Three-ball rule: on a break with no foul, at least 3 balls have to be pocketed or pass the head string. If not, your opponent chooses whether to play from there, giving up the push out, or to hand the shot back to you.
Push out: on the shot right after a break with no foul, you can send the cue ball anywhere without having to hit the lowest ball or drive a ball to a cushion. Your opponent then chooses who shoots.
Combinations, banks and caroms all count: the ball that drops doesn't have to be the lowest one.
Only the 9 is ever spotted, when it drops on a foul or a push out, or leaves the table.
A foul gives your opponent ball in hand anywhere, and three fouls in a row lose the rack.

10-Ball

10-Ball is played like 9-Ball, with ten balls, but every shot after the break is called, ball and pocket. The 10 only wins the rack as the last ball on the table, in the called pocket. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (5 by default).

On the break, hit the 1 first. There's no call on the break and no three-ball rule.
The 10 never wins on the break: if it drops, it's spotted.
The push out works just like in 9-Ball.
Call any ball, but hit the lowest-numbered ball first. There's no safety.
Make the called ball and you keep shooting. If a ball you didn't call drops, it stays down, and your opponent chooses whether to shoot from there or give the shot back.
A 10 that drops early is spotted. If you called it with balls still on the table, the call is good and you keep shooting.
A foul gives your opponent ball in hand anywhere, and three fouls in a row lose the rack.

Straight Pool

In Straight Pool, also called 14.1 continuous, every ball you pocket in the called pocket is worth one point. When only one ball is left, the other 14 are re-racked and your run goes on. The first player to the target (25, 50 or 100 points) wins.

On the break, calling is optional. If no called ball drops, the cue ball and two object balls have to reach a cushion, or you lose 2 points.
Call any ball and hit any ball first. Your called ball scores 1 point, plus 1 for every other ball that drops with it.
Missing your called ball isn't a foul: your turn ends, and any balls that dropped are spotted. A safety works the same way.
Each foul costs 1 point, and your score can go negative. The cue ball stays where it stopped, but after a scratch your opponent gets ball in hand in the kitchen.
The re-rack: when the 14th ball drops, those 14 are racked again with the apex spot left empty. The last ball and the cue ball stay put, unless they're in the way.
A third foul in a row costs 15 extra points, and the player who committed it breaks again with all 15 balls re-racked.

One-Pocket

Each player gets one of the two corner pockets at the foot of the table and can only score there. Every ball in your pocket is a point, and the first player with 8 wins the rack. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks.

The breaker picks a pocket with Switch pocket, and the opponent gets the other one.
No calling: hit any ball first. Each ball in your pocket is a point, and you keep shooting.
A ball in your opponent's pocket counts for them. Balls in the other four pockets are spotted.
Each foul costs a point: one of your balls goes back on the table. With none to give, you owe one.
There's no Safety button: any legal shot that doesn't put a ball in your pocket ends your turn.
After a scratch, your opponent gets ball in hand in the kitchen. Three fouls in a row lose the rack.
After a stalemate, both scores carry over, debts included.

Bank Pool

In Bank Pool, only banks count: each legal bank is a point. Choose Short-Rack Bank Pool (9 balls, 5 points to win the rack) or Bank Pool (15 balls, 8 points). The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks.

The break is good if a ball drops or at least 4 balls reach a cushion. Balls pocketed on the break are spotted, but you keep shooting.
Before every shot, call the ball, the cushions in order and the pocket. The game suggests a call from your aim.
A bank counts only if the cue ball hits the called ball first and that ball hits exactly the called cushions, in the called order, touches no other ball and drops in the called pocket.
Grazing the jaws, or the cushions right by the mouth of the called pocket, doesn't spoil the bank.
A missed bank isn't a foul: your turn just ends, and any ball that dropped is spotted. An illegal break isn't a foul either.
Each foul costs a point: one of your balls goes back on the table. Three fouls in a row lose the rack.

Blackball

Blackball is 8-Ball with reds, yellows and the black, under the international rules. Pocket all your balls, then the black, with no called shots. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (3 by default).

You break from baulk, the area behind a line one-fifth of the table's length from the head cushion. At least one ball has to drop, or at least two balls have to cross the center line.
A black pocketed on the break means a re-rack, and the same player breaks again.
The first player to pocket balls of only one color on a normal shot gets that color.
Pocketing your opponent's ball along with one of yours is legal. Pocketing only theirs is a foul, and so is jumping a ball.
When there's no straight path to any ball you can hit, the referee declares a snooker: on that shot, no ball has to reach a cushion.
Every foul gives your opponent a free shot: any ball can be hit first, and they can choose Ball in hand in baulk.
You lose the rack if you pocket the black on a foul or before clearing your group. Knocking it off the table is just a foul.

Heyball

Heyball is Chinese 8-ball: solids against stripes, with the 8 last, and nobody calls shots, not even the 8. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (5 by default).

The break, from the kitchen, has to be hard: about 11 mph, or around 60 on the power bar. A first weak break gets a warning; the second loses the rack, and the third, the match.
If nothing drops and fewer than 4 balls reach a cushion, the break is illegal, and your opponent decides whether to play from there or re-rack.
You take the group of the first ball you hit, if a ball from that group drops on the same shot.
Pocketing only your opponent's ball isn't a foul, but your turn ends. A jump shot is only legal if you strike the top half of the cue ball.
A foul gives your opponent ball in hand anywhere. Balls knocked off the table aren't spotted.
A deliberate foul, like a deliberate miscue, loses the rack the first time and the match the second.
You lose the rack if you knock the 8 off the table, or if you pocket it on a foul, on the same shot as your last ball, or before your group is cleared.
The shot clock gives you 45 seconds per shot, 30 on the break, with one +30 s extension per rack.

English 8-Ball

English 8-Ball follows the discipline's international rules: reds, yellows and a striped 8, with no called shots. Clear your group, then pocket the 8 on a shot of its own. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (3 by default).

You break from behind the break line, one-fifth of the table's length from the head cushion.
The break has to score 3 points: 1 per ball pocketed and 1 per ball that fully crosses the center line. If not, the balls are re-racked and your opponent decides who breaks.
An 8 pocketed on the break always goes back on its spot. A cue ball that drops on a legal break isn't a foul, but your turn ends.
Groups are never decided on the break. Your group is the color of the first ball you pocket on a legal shot.
Pocketing only your opponent's ball isn't a foul, but your turn ends. Jumping a ball is a foul.
Every foul gives your opponent ball in hand anywhere. Balls knocked off the table are spotted.
The shot clock gives you 45 seconds per shot and one +45 s extension per rack.
You lose the rack if you pocket the 8 on a foul or too early, and a deliberate miscue loses the rack right away.

Free Pyramid

Free Pyramid is a version of Russian pyramid in which you can strike any ball with the cue. Every ball pocketed is a point, every foul gives your opponent a point, and the first to 8 points wins the rack. The match is a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks (3 by default).

You break with the colored ball from the house, the area behind a line a quarter of the table's length from the head cushion.
The break is legal if any ball drops, if at least 3 numbered balls reach a cushion, or if 2 do and one crosses the center line.
Before every other shot, use the Choose the ball to strike button to pick the ball you'll strike.
No calling: any ball that drops on a legal shot is a point, even the struck ball. There's no ball in hand after the break.
After contact, a ball has to drop or the shot has to be completed with cushions or the center line, or it's a foul.
Fouls also include the struck ball hitting nothing, a ball off the table and running out of time. Balls pocketed on a foul are spotted.
After a foul, your opponent scores 1 point, picks a penalty ball off the table and decides who shoots next.
The shot clock gives you 45 seconds per shot, with no extensions.

Artistic Pool

Artistic Pool isn't a match: it's the Podium Bay Program, ten trick shots like massé, jump and bank shots. There's no referee, no fouls and no clock. Play alone or with one other person on the same device.

Each shot is already set up, and the screen shows what it calls for and its degree of difficulty (DOD), from 2 to 9.
You choose aim, power, where the tip strikes and cue elevation, but the cue ball stays where the setup puts it.
You get three attempts at each shot, and the table resets before every attempt.
Make it on the first try and you score the full DOD; on the second, two-thirds; on the third, one-third, rounded up.
If the cue ball drops or leaves the table, the attempt doesn't count.
The maximum is 54 points. With two players, each takes the same shot in turn, and the higher total wins; equal totals are a tie.
To start over from the first shot, choose RESTART in the pause menu.

Playing the computer or a friend

Against the computer: Pick a club member: Valentina (Beginner), Don Tomás (Club player) or Niklas (Pro).
A friend: On the same device, taking turns.
A friend, by link: Set up the table and send the link: whoever opens it plays you, and anyone else who opens it once the match has started can watch. You pick the mode, the race and the shot clock, and you break the first rack, with no lag.
Leaving and inactivity: Leaving in the middle of a match counts as a loss. A player who goes 48 hours without taking their turn can lose for inactivity, and a table idle for 7 days is closed.
Racks or points to win: Most modes are a race to 1, 3, 5 or 7 racks. Straight Pool goes to 25, 50 or 100 points, and Bank Pool is played with 9 balls (5 to win) or 15 (8 to win). In Artistic Pool, you choose 1 or 2 players.
Shot clock: Turn it on or off in the menu: 60 seconds per shot in most modes, 45 in Heyball, English 8-Ball and Free Pyramid. In the last 10 seconds, the bar turns red.
Rules: The Rules button, at the top left, opens the rules for the mode you're playing, and the shot clock stops while they're open.