How to Play Blackball Pool

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Blackball Pool is the standard form of pool played in British and Irish pubs, clubs, and leisure centres. Played on a smaller table than its American cousin, it uses reds and yellows instead of stripes and solids, with the black 8-ball as the game-winning ball. The compact table size and straightforward rules make it accessible to complete beginners while leaving plenty of room for skilled play.

Its appeal is simple: games are fast, the rules are intuitive once learned, and the two-shot foul system keeps every frame competitive right to the end. You will find a table in almost every pub in the UK, which makes knowing the rules properly genuinely useful.

A little history

Blackball Pool grew out of the broader family of pocket billiard games that spread across Britain from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as billiard tables were scaled down for pub and club use. The specific rules now known as Blackball were codified and formalised by the World Eight-Ball Pool Federation, and its origins as a distinct, standardised code are closely tied to the grassroots pub-league scene that developed strongly across the UK from the 1970s onwards. Beyond that, its precise early history is unclear, and accounts of exact founding dates or individuals vary widely.

Setting up

1. Brush and check the table is clear of obstructions.
2. Rack all 15 object balls in a triangle at the foot spot using the triangle rack. Place the black ball on the middle spot of the triangle (second row, centre). Place a red and a yellow in the two corners of the rack. Fill the remaining positions randomly with reds and yellows.
3. Place the cue ball anywhere in the baulk area (the D) for the opening break.
4. Decide who breaks by coin toss, lag, or any agreed method.

How to play

1. The breaking player strikes the cue ball from anywhere within the D and must make a legal break: the cue ball must contact the pack and at least two object balls must reach a cushion, or a ball must be potted. Failing this, the opponent may accept the table as it lies or request a re-rack.
2. If a ball is potted on a legal break, the breaking player continues their visit. The groups (reds or yellows) are not yet assigned at this point: the table is described as 'open'.
3. The table is assigned once a player legally pots a ball during open play: that player takes the colour potted and their opponent takes the other colour. If balls of both colours are potted on one shot, the striking player chooses their group.
4. On each visit, the player must contact one of their own balls first with the cue ball. Potting one of your own balls continues your visit. Missing your ball, potting the cue ball, or potting an opponent's ball ends your visit and constitutes a foul.
5. A foul awards the opponent a two-shot penalty. This means the opponent has two consecutive visits at the table, and any ball (except the cue ball) potted on the first of those visits does not end that two-shot visit; they retain a second shot regardless. Two-shot carries do not extend beyond the second shot.
6. Common fouls include: failing to hit your own ball first; potting the cue ball (in-off); potting the black before clearing your own balls; causing the cue ball or any object ball to leave the table; touching any ball with anything other than the tip of the cue; playing before the balls have come to rest; playing with both feet off the floor.
7. A ball that leaves the table is placed on the spot, or if the spot is occupied, as close to the spot as possible along the centre line towards the top cushion.
8. When the cue ball is potted or leaves the table, the opponent plays from anywhere within the D, shooting in any direction.
9. On the first shot of a two-shot visit only, the incoming player may nominate any ball on the table as a 'free ball' if their route to their own balls is wholly or partially snookered by the opponent's balls or the black as a result of a foul. A free ball counts as the player's own ball for the purpose of that shot only.
10. Once a player has potted all seven of their own balls, they must pot the black to win. The black must be potted in a nominated pocket. The player must state clearly which pocket before playing the shot.
11. A player loses the frame immediately if they pot the black before clearing all their own balls; if they pot the black in a pocket other than the one nominated; or if they commit a foul on the black when it is the only remaining ball.

Winning and scoring

The first player to legally pot the black ball, after having potted all seven of their own balls, wins the frame. The black must be potted in a pocket clearly nominated before the shot is taken. Potting the black without a prior legal nomination, or potting it in the wrong pocket, results in an immediate loss of the frame regardless of whether it was the result of a foul. In match play, the winner of the agreed number of frames wins the match.

The fine points

The two-shot rule is the most common source of disputes. Remember that two shots means two visits: the player is guaranteed a second shot even if they pot a ball on the first. However, they cannot accumulate further two-shot penalties from fouls that occur during that two-shot visit. If the opponent fouls again during the two-shot visit, the incoming player keeps any unplayed shots from the original penalty and adds two more from the new foul, up to a maximum of two shots at any one time. On the free ball rule, 'wholly or partially snookered' means the direct path from cue ball to every one of the player's object balls is blocked. If even one of your balls is directly playable, no free ball applies.

Stalemate situations, where neither player is willing to play towards their own balls and the game is not progressing, are resolved by offering the player deemed responsible a set number of attempts to break the stalemate, after which the referee may award the frame to the opponent. In casual play without a referee, agree before the game how to handle this. On the final black, any foul is a loss of frame; there are no further two-shot carries once the black is the only ball left on the table.

How to win more often

• Control the cue ball: always plan where the cue ball will finish after each pot, not just which ball you are potting. Good position play matters far more than power.
• Do not rush to pot all your balls early if it means leaving the black exposed for your opponent to snooker you. Consider leaving one or two of your own balls near the black to restrict your opponent's access to it.
• On a two-shot visit, use the first shot to escape a bad position or break up a cluster of your opponent's balls rather than simply attempting a pot. You are still guaranteed a second shot even if the first is a safety.
• Nominate your pocket for the black out loud as early in your run as the shot becomes likely. Some players forget this requirement when under pressure and lose a winning frame on a technicality.
• Learn basic snooker shots: kicking your cue ball safely behind a cluster of your own balls when you have no clear pot forces your opponent into a difficult position and keeps the game under your control.

Variations

Last Pocket

In this popular pub variation, the black must be potted in the same pocket in which the player's final object ball was potted, rather than in any nominated pocket. This adds a tactical element throughout the frame, as players must think about which pocket they use to clear their last ball well before they reach the black.

Pairs (Doubles)

Two teams of two players compete, with partners alternating shots within each visit. The rules are otherwise identical to the standard two-player game. Communication between partners is permitted, but a player may not take a shot while their partner is speaking to them during the shot itself. Pairs games are a staple of pub league competition.

Killer

A multi-player format where each player starts with three lives. Players take turns attempting to pot a ball; failing to pot loses a life. The last player with lives remaining wins. Because Blackball tables and equipment are used, this fits naturally into a pub setting when more than two people want to play on the same table.

No Cushion Required on Break

Some venues and informal leagues drop the requirement for two balls to reach a cushion on the break, requiring only that the pack is struck legally and the cue ball does not go in-off. This speeds up re-rack situations and is worth agreeing before the game starts.

Blackball Pool: frequently asked questions