How to Play 8 Ball Pool: Rules and Tips for Beginners

5 min read · By the Booick team

The rules of 8 ball pool in plain words, how to aim, control power and spin, and a few tips to pot more balls and win more games.

8 ball is the most popular pool game. One player takes the solid balls (1 to 7), the other takes the stripes (9 to 15), and whoever pots all their balls and then the black 8 ball wins.

The rules

1. The first ball you pot after the break decides your group, solids or stripes.
2. You keep shooting while you pot one of your balls.
3. Pot all seven of your balls, then call and pot the 8 ball to win.
4. A foul gives your opponent the white ball in hand. Common fouls are potting the white ball (a scratch) and hitting the wrong ball first.
5. Potting the 8 ball too early loses the game.

Aim, power and spin

• Aim: line up the white ball, the ball you want to hit and the pocket.
• Power: use only as much as you need. Hard shots are harder to control and can scratch.
• Spin: hitting above centre makes the white follow through, below centre makes it draw back, and sideways spin (english) changes the angle off the cushion.

Tips that win games

• Think about where the white ball will end up, not just the pot.
• Clear problem balls early, the ones stuck near others or the cushion.
• Leave your opponent a hard shot when you cannot pot, a safety.
• Keep the 8 ball for last and plan an easy finish.

Boo Pool on Booick is a 1 against 1 game with real ball physics. You get 40 seconds per shot, and a bot can take an empty seat so a game always starts.

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