Here are the rules of the supported games in GTKPool.
But first, for those of you new to pool, we'll go over some of the basics.
The table is where the balls are played. It consists of a large flat surface covered in felt (usually green, but often also red, blue, tan and a couple of other colors). The surface under the felt is usually made of a stone known as slate. It is heavy and very flat. It is covered in felt to help give the shooter "control" of the ball by creating a consistent and slightly frictional surface.
The table contains six "pockets". They are located at the four corners and at the center of the long side rails. The pockets are where you try to "sink" the balls. Of course it is never good to sink the cue ball.
The table surface is surrounded by "Rails" or "Bumpers". These are usually lined with a rubber strip to help the balls bounce off of them with minimal loss of momentum.
There are sixteen balls in pool. Not all games use all of the balls, however many do.
The Cue Ball is alone in that it is the only ball that is not an "Object Ball". It is the ball you strike with the cue stick to play the games. The other balls are all object balls. They can have differing levels of importance in different games.
One group of balls is often called the "Solids" or "Low-balls". They are the balls numbered from 1 to 7. The eight ball is also solid, but is not included in this group as the reference is usually related to the game 8-Ball.
The other group is often called the "Stripes" or "High-balls". They are the balls numbered from 9 to 15. They are usually white balls with a colored stripe on them. They correspond to their solid brethren in that the color matches the ball that is 8 balls lower.
Here are the balls and their names. It is good to know this information for playing games like 9-Ball and Rotation where it is required that you always hit the lowest ball on the table first.
|
Cue Ball | |
Eight Ball |
|
One Ball | |
Nine Ball |
|
Two Ball | |
Ten Ball |
|
Three Ball | |
Eleven Ball |
|
Four Ball | |
Twelve Ball |
|
Five Ball | |
Thirteen Ball |
|
Six Ball | |
Fourteen Ball |
|
Seven Ball | |
Fifteen Ball |
| Cue Ball | This is the white ball on the table. It is used by striking it with the cue stick to play. |
| Object Ball | These are all the balls on the table that are meant to be sunk. It can also be used to designate the ball you are currently shooting at. |
| English | This is a "spin" put on the ball to change how it reacts on the table either before or after contact with something. (Note: English is not yet implemented in GTKPool) |
| Rail / Bumper | These are the sides of the inner part of the table. They are meant to keep the balls on the table and bounce them. |
| Foul | This is when you do something against the rules. Most fouls result in a "Ball in Hand" penalty. |
| Scratch | A scratch is when you have sunk the cue ball. This results in a ball in hand penalty. |
| Ball in Hand | This is where you have the opportunity to place the cue ball wherever you like. You can also do this before a break. |
| Spot a Ball | Spotting a ball is when a ball has been illegally sunk and it needs to be replaced on the table. It is normally placed on the foot string. |
| Head string | The imaginary line marked by a dot at the "head" of the table. All breaks must occur from behind the head string. |
| Foot String | The imaginary line marked by a dot at the "foot" of the table. All racks must be placed on the center of the foot string dot. |
| Cue / Cue Stick | The usually wooden stick used for shooting. |
| Draw | The practice of determining first shooter by hitting the ball from the head string to the foot rail and back to the head rail. The player closest to the head rail "wins" the draw. (Note: GTKPool does not support this as a feature.) |
| Rack | This is where you set the balls in place to start a game. There are different rack alignments for different games. |
| Break | This is the act of hitting the balls while they are in the rack. This is how all games are started. |
| Combination Shot | The act of hitting one object ball with the cue ball into another object ball to sink it. More then two balls could be involved but are rare as the complexity of calculating the angles is difficult. |
| Bumper Shot | The act of bouncing either cue ball or object ball off a bumper in order to sink it in a pocket. |
The object of 8-Ball is to be the player who sinks the black 8-Ball. However, you must first sink all of your object balls before doing so. You will be either "solids" or "stripes". Sinking the 8-Ball before you have sunk all of your object balls results in a loss. Also, scratching when sinking the 8-Ball results in a loss.
8-Ball requires racking all 15 balls at the foot string. The 8-Ball should be in the center. The cue is placed behind the head string.
The first player is in charge of breaking. You should always try to break the balls as completely as possible. (yeah, I know it currently sucks :( )
If the player sinks a ball on the break, then that becomes the player's category. He/She must continue to sink balls of that category (solids or stripes). If more then one ball is sunk, they will get the category of the first ball sunk. If nothing is sunk then the table is "open". Meaning that there is no restriction on what ball can be hit/sunk next and the player loses their turn.
Once a ball is sunk the categories are set. Each player must continue to sink their own balls until they are all off the table.
During each shot, several things may happen.
The object of 9-Ball is to be the player that sinks the 9-Ball. It can be sunk at any time to win. You lose if you scratch when sinking it.
9-Ball requires racking the lowest nine balls, all of the solids and the 9-Ball. The one ball must be in the front spot and placed on the dot on the foot string.
The game is started by the first player breaking. It is required that they break as hard as possible. You can win by sinking the 9-Ball on the break.
If the player sinks any ball he retains turn. He/She must continue to shoot at the lowest ball on the table first. It does not have to be the ball that is sunk. He/She may try to sink any ball on the table including the 9-Ball.
During each shot, several things may happen.
The object of rotation is to reach 61 or more points first, thereby numerically eliminating your opponant from the game.
Rotaion requires racking all 15 balls at the foot string. The 1-Ball should be at the front with the 2-Ball and 3-Ball at the other corners of the rack. The cue is placed behind the head string.
The game is started by the first player breaking. It is required that they break as hard as possible.
If the player sinks any ball he retains turn. He/She must continue to shoot at the lowest ball on the table first. It does not have to be the ball that is sunk. He/She may try to sink any ball on the table.
Each ball that you sink gets you the face value of the ball for points. For example, sinking the 12-Ball adds 12 points to your score.
During each shot, several things may happen.
Hopefully this is fairly self explanatory. In this mode there are no rule enforcements, no players and a standard full rack. This is probably the best mode for experimenting with options. It is also handy if you have a game that you like to play that is not available, provided it requires all 15 balls.