What does ball in hand mean?

Question

When a player has ball in hand, does it mean he can put the ball wherever he would like on the table or does it mean that the player has to put the ball behind the 2nd diamond where the player broke the balls at the beginning of the game (the same area where you have to break)?

Answer 1

Ball in Hand means that your opponent has fouled, I.E. scratched, not hit the right ball in sequence , not have the object ball go in the called pocket, etc.  And you can put it any where you want on the table.  This is standard for most tournaments.

Answer 2

When a player has ball in hand they are allowed to place the cue ball anywhere on the shooting Surface. Behind the 2nd diamond is referred to as behind the head string or "in the kitchen" the cue ball must not come in contact with any ball behind the 2nd diamond before it crosses over it so you can't shoot at  any ball  behind the line where the cue ball is unless it crosses over the 2nd diamond first  you can do this by banking or combination shots if you want to hit  ball behind the line. Generally if you are playing Valley rules or tournament play in 8-ball when a foul or scratch shot occurs it will result in ball in hand and you can shoot at any ball on the table one must not shoot at the 8 ball until the person has cleared his other object balls first there is no combination shots allowed with the 8 ball playing by either rules . In bar room rules when a foul or scratch occurs they generally play with the behind the head string rules all rules are subject to change depending on which tournament you play in or who you play with have fun

Answer 3

The second part of you question, behind the second diamond, is correct.

Answer 4

STRAIGHTSHOOTER KNOWS THE GAME.

Answer 5

"Ball in Hand" is a BCA rule...which means that if your opponent fouls...you get the cue ball handed to you and you can put it anywhere you want....get him to foul 3 times in a row and he loses the game.....by the way, you have to tell him when he makes the 2nd consecutive foul that he is on 2 so as to be aware that you might be trying to foul him out and no issues when the 3rd one comes up....."funny how some guys will forget the fouls they made...but telling him that he is on 2 ...the issues are avoided".......the "behind" the headstring is usually for what everyone refers to as "bar rules".....unless it is 8 ball(BCA Rules) and there is a scratch on the break.....then, although the table is still "open" you have to start behind the headstring...all fouls after that in 8 ball are "ball in hand"......hope this helped.....good luck on the tour and will be expecting my 1%!!

Answer 6

Hoss_994 is correct.  I usually clarify things by saying either "ball in hand" meaning that the cue ball can be placed anywhere on the table, or "ball in hand behind the headstring" meaning anywhere behind the 2nd diamond.  He's right on the mark with this one.  M.D.-BCA Instructor/Referee.

Answer 7

When a player has ball in hand they are allowed to place the cue ball anywhere on the shooting Surface.  Behind the 2nd diamond is reffered to as behind the headstring or "in the kitchen".  Generally if you are playing Valley rules in 8-ball when a foul or scratch shot occurs it will result in ball in hand.  In bar room rules when a foul or scratch occurs they generally play with the behind the headstring

Answer 8

ball in hand means anywhere. thats how it is in all pro and league 9ball and 8ball. except, in 8 ball, if you scratch on the break, the other person can put it anywhere behind the line made by the 2nd diamonds, which is called the headstring.