8 ball on the break?

Question

At the break right at the start of the game, if you sink the 8 ball and the 8 ball only have you instantly lost or won the game?

Answer 1

Win. It also depends on the house rule. If not then it's ball in hand! But usually win.

Answer 2

If it is a coin op bar table and you can't respot the 8 then it is a win unless you scratch, is the rule I have seen most often. If not a coin op then re-rack.

Answer 3

u lose. and thad be kinda hard cuz its in the very middel. unless ur playin 9 ball

Answer 4

Win or depends on the rule you play by (I've never heard of a rule where you would lose by pocketing the 8-ball on the break).  But by the World Pool-Billiard Association Rules:

(e) Pocketing the eight ball on a legal break shot is not a foul. If the eight ball is pocketed, the breaker has the option of

    (1) re-spotting the eight ball and accepting the balls in

         position, or

    (2) re-breaking.

Answer 5

Won

Answer 6

depends on who's rules you play under

Answer 7

Generally known that you win the game unless in the beginning, it has been established to spot the 8 or do a rebreak. You only really lose if you also make the cue ball.

Answer 8

it means you need to get the 8 ball out of the bottom of the swimming pool, or were u talking about billiards??

Answer 9

lost

Answer 10

This should answer your question and be instrumental in starting World War III among pool players. It will at least get a good argument going and provide some information for players to think about.

You have instantly WON the game. That's going by the APA (American Pool Players Association) rules. It doesn't get spotted. The opponent doesn't have any option other than racking the balls so you can break again.

I never quite understood the concept of spotting the eight ball or giving an opponent any kind of option if the eight is made on the break. You don't spot the nine ball if you make it on the break and there is absolutely no fundamental difference between the the two games when it comes to breaking the rack.

Making the eight or nine on the break is a percentage shot and NOT a skill shot. I'll concede there are some methods to a break that will increase the odds of making the eight or nine on the break but it still remains a percentage shot.

I know a little bit about the history of where the rule (spotting the 8 ball) came from in the BCA. It was designed with the lower skill level players in mind. The organization didn't want some skill level 9 or 10 stepping up to the table against a SL 1 or 2 and snapping the eight on the break several times and getting an automatic win each time. The logic is that it would demoralize the lower skilled players and have the potential to make them give up the game before they even go started. So creating an option of spotting the eight ball or re-racking simply gives the lower SL player an opportunity to be more competitive. It really has nothing to do with the game itself. It's a rule for the LOWER SKILLED PLAYERS.

Just as a side note, and a subject about which few BCA players are even aware of, the BCA and the BCA are NOT one in the same organization. They are two totally seperate entities.

The BCA Pool League started up years ago and for lack of creativity to come up with their OWN name, and to ostensibly give themselves some credibility and leverage in the pool league franchise business, they pretty much stole their name from the BCA (Billiards Congress of America).

The Billiards Congress of America organization DOES NOT PLAY POOL and has a basic charter in which their purpose and primary goal is to PROMOTE pool (8 & 9 ball and probable snooker to a lesser degree) and to come to a meeting of the minds for a STANDARD SET OF RULES for the games.

While the BCA players tout their league as the end all be all of leagues they are no better or worse for the game than the APA, Valley, Pot of Gold, ACS, or any one of hundreds of leagues across the country. They ALL have their rules and handicap systems the suite their players for one reason or another.

Anyway, the Billiards Congress of America (which by the way has some senior members of the APA on the board, as well as other leagues top representatives) would love nothing more than for the pool leagues across the country to adopt a standard set of rules to play the game by. That way, anytime you walked into a pool room or entered a tournament you would know without question what the standing rules would be.

And while I'm on my soap box, and speaking of making the eight or nine on the break, did you know that some professional tournaments have started moving the rack forward so the the nine ball is on the spot instead of the one ball? That's to cut down on the nine ball being made on the snap. People come out to tournaments to watch the pros PLAY pool, not make the object ball every time they break. It's like going to a prize fight. Spectators want to watch a boxing MATCH. They don't want to pay good money to see someone like Mike Tyson KO his opponent in the first ten seconds of the first round and in the process change the recognizable features of a guys face. So moving the rack forward is just another case of tweaking the game so it's more appealing to a paying audience and has little to do with the game itself. Try going into a pool hall and negotiating getting the breaks and the seven or eight out and then suggesting the rack having to be moved up when the other guy breaks. I'm quite sure they'll tell you, "there's no paying audience here" and "the one ball stays on the spot".

And something else to think about when it comes to rules. Table size! If you're playing in a pool room you're probably playing on a 9' table. Do you think RULE should be the "standard" size table to play on at the professional level or at the amateur league events in Las Vegas is a 9'er. The pros play on a 9' table but there are very few players and matches to get through. The primary reason they play on 7'ers in Vegas is because they take up less area so they're able to get more tables in a limited amount of space. And the games take less time on a small table and there are hundreds of matches to get through in a relatively short period of time. I'm just pointing this out to make you think less about WHAT a rule is and more about WHY some rules are in place.

Time doesn't permit me to get into the rules of a handicap system right now, not to mention you're probably bored to tears as it is, so I'll just save that one for later.

Answer 11

you win...but it can ONLY be the 8 ball and it really depends on the person you play with cuz u can just spot the 8 ball or re rack

Answer 12

LOSER

Answer 13

I can tell you that in competitive pool in the UK, Ireland, South Africa and Australia under World 8 ball Fed rules the 8 sunk on the break is just a re - rack with the breaker playing again.

Answer 14

To answer your question directly: Neither! An 8-ball break, is neither a won nor a loss:

According to The Official Rules And Records Book of the Billiard Congress Of America: World Standardized Rules:

In the game of Eight-Ball:

"If the 8-ball is pocketed on the break, breaker may ask for a rerack or have the 8-ball spotted and continue shooting. If the breaker scratches while pocketing the 8-ball, the incoming player has the option of a rerack or having the 8-ball spotted and begin shooting with ball in hand behind the headstring."

That is the OFFICIAL rule of the BCA, verbatim.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you are playing Bar Room rules:

The 8-ball made on the break (without scratching) is SOMETIMES considered a win -----   Be CLEAR that this is indeed the "rule of the house"!  

Play it safe, and ask about this rule BEFORE you play, to avoid any arguments, fights, or confusion.

Good luck.

LAG

Answer 15

u won thats why the 8 balls in the middle- its the hardest one to make in on the break

Answer 16

you lose the game

Answer 17

Neither it is spotted or a re-rack

World standard rules _If your playing in a bar no telling what they will come up with-Right up there with a dollar for the juke box Almost my favorite stupid bar rule

But again neither

Answer 18

matters whos rules you are playing under

Answer 19

WON!!!

Answer 20

We've opened up this can of worms many times before and it doesn't smell any better this time than the other times. I would just like to say that there is a big fundamental difference between breaking a rack of 9 ball or a rack of 8 ball. In 8 ball the object of the game is to make all the balls in your suit , be it stripes or solids , and then make the 8 ball in a designated pocket to win the game. So if you sink the 8 ball on the break you have not done this. How can you call that a win? In the game of 9 ball you shoot the balls in numerical order hitting the lowest ball first.There is no need to designate a pocket for the 9 ball.  And according to the rules as long as you make a good hit on the lowest numbered object ball on the table and the nine ball happens to go in on that shot you win the game. On the break shot in a game of nine ball you must hit the one ball first, so if the 9 ball happens to go in on the break shot you have won the game fair and square AND according to the rules , haven't you? I apologize for not  answering your question with a straight forward answer but my little explination should tell you how i feel about an 8 ball on the break.