Scratch: When a player accidentally knocks the cue ball into a pocket.

Rail: The bank along the side of the pool tabletop.

'Pocketing' is the act of knocking one or more numbered 'object' balls into a pocket. There are six pockets: one in each corner, and one at the midpoint of each long side.

Pocket: The baskets along the rim of the pool table.

The 'object balls' are the balls that you are trying to knock into the pockets.

Object balls: The striped and solid balls numbered 1-15.

If you aren't sure what something means, ask a veteran pool player to clarify.

Reference the terms as you learn to play. Pool is rich with unique terminology that can be difficult for new players to understand. Place a stripe ball in one back corner of the rack, and a solid ball in the other corner. Put the 1-ball at the point of the triangle, facing the break.

Set the 8-ball in the center of the triangle.

The 'food spot' is located at the exact midpoint of the foot string line. If the 'head string' marks the 1/4 point from the head of the table to the foot, then the 'foot string' is an imaginary line that marks the distance 3/4 of the way from the head to the foot.

Place the point of the triangle three-quarters down the length of the table, at the 'foot spot': the dot on the tabletop that corresponds to the head spot.

Then, when you are ready to play, remove the racking frame so that only the balls remain. Make sure that the rack is laterally centered along the foot string. Arrange the rack at the opposite end of the table from the head spot, with one corner of the triangle facing the break. Find the triangular pool rack and place the 1-15 balls inside. You can customize your avatar, the table color, and the cue stick through the options menu, available on the top of the game screen.Rack the balls. The first player to pocket the black 8 ball after clearing out all required balls wins.īe careful not to pocket the black 8 ball before the other balls, or you will instantly lose the game.

You will have to clear out all solid or stripes balls depending on which one you or your opponent pockets first. You can adjust the movement of the cue ball using the cue ball button at the bottom of the screen. See the power gauge at the bottom of the screen to check the power of your strike. You can cancel the shot by moving the cue back to a zero power. Drag the mouse back and forth to set up the power, release the mouse button once the desired power is set.

To perform a shot, move around the screen to set the direction. The higher the difficulty, the more accurate the computer opponent will be. In 8 Ball Pool you play against a computer opponent you choose.

8 ball pool single player online