Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the
cue sport
Cue or CUE may refer to:
Event markers
* Sensory cue, in perception (experimental psychology)
** Cueing (medicine), rehabilitation techniques for Parkinson's disease patients to improve walking
* Cue (theatrical), the trigger for an action to be c ...
pool
Pool may refer to:
Bodies of water
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a roc ...
. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular
billiard table
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, Pool (cue sports), pool, Russian pyramid, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface us ...
with at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a
cue stick
A cue stick (or simply cue, more specifically billiards cue, pool cue, or snooker cue) is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the . Cues are tapered stic ...
, players must strike the white
cue ball
A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball prop ...
to nine colored
billiard balls
A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball pr ...
, hitting them in ascending numerical order. An individual game (or ) is won by the player pocketing the . Matches are usually played as a to a set number of racks, with the player who reaches the set number winning the match.
The game is currently governed by the
World Pool-Billiard Association
The World Pool Association (WPA) is the international Sport governing body, governing body for Pool (cue sports), pool (pocket billiards). It was formed in 1987, and was initially headed by a provisional board of directors consisting of represent ...
(WPA), with multiple regional tours. The most prestigious nine-ball tournaments are the
WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organized by Matchroom Sport, who pro ...
and the
U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships. Notable 9-Ball players in the game include
Luther Lassiter
Luther Clement Lassiter Jr. (November 5, 1918 – October 25, 1988), nicknamed Wimpy, was an American pool player from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The winner of seven world pocket billiard championships and numerous other titles, Lassiter is ...
,
Buddy Hall
Cecil P. "Buddy" Hall (May 29, 1945 – May 22, 2025) was an American professional pool player and was considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. The International Pool Tour heralds Hall as a "living pool legend." He was nicknam ...
,
Efren Reyes
Efren Manalang Reyes (born August 26, 1954) is a Filipino professional pool player. A winner of over 100 international titles, Reyes was the first player to win world championships in two different pool disciplines. Among his numerous title ...
,
Earl Strickland
Earl Strickland (born June 8, 1961) is an American professional pool player who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. He has won over 100 championship titles and three world titles. In 2006 he was inducted into the Billiard ...
and
Shane Van Boening
Shane Van Boening (; born July 14, 1983) is an American professional pool player from Rapid City, South Dakota. Van Boening is considered one of the best players of all time. Van Boening has won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and has won ...
. The game is often associated with
hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling (or gambling for higher than current stakes) with the hustler, as a form of both a confidence tri ...
and
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
, with tournaments often having a "buy-in" amount to become a participant. The sport has featured in popular culture, notably in the 1961 film ''
The Hustler
''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports drama film, directed by Robert Rossen. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges legendary pool player " Minnesota Fats".
The film, which was based on the 195 ...
'' and its 1986 sequel ''
The Color of Money
''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is the sequel to the 1961 film ''The Hustler''. Like the previous film, ''The Color of Money'' is based on a ...
''.
Nine-ball has been played with varied rules, with games such as
ten-ball
Ten-ball is a rotation pool game similar to nine-ball, but using ten balls instead of nine, and with the 10 ball instead of the 9 as the "".
Although the game has existed since the early 1960s, its popularity has risen since the early 2000s as a ...
,
seven-ball
Seven-ball is a pool game with rules similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven as implied by its name, and play is restricted to particular pockets of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the g ...
and
three-ball
Three-ball (or "3-ball", colloquially) is a folk game of pool played with any three standard pool s and . The game is frequently gambled upon. The goal is to () the three object balls in as few shots as possible.[World Cup of Pool
The World Cup of Pool is an annual international single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in nine-ball pool competition. The Philippines holds the record for World Cup wins, winning the title on four occasions. In 2023, they also became t ...]
,
World Team Championship and the
Mosconi Cup
The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi, the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the We ...
.
History
The game was established in America by 1920, although its exact origins are unknown. Nine-ball is played with the same equipment as
eight-ball
Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes, bigs and smalls, big ones and little ones, or rarely highs and lows) is a discipline of Pool (cue sports), pool played on a billiard tabl ...
and other pool games.
Rules
The game of nine-ball is played on a
billiard table
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, Pool (cue sports), pool, Russian pyramid, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface us ...
with six
pockets
A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag or ...
. The , which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments), is struck to hit the nine , which are numbered 1 through 9, each a distinct color, with the 9 ball typically having a yellow stripe on a white base. The aim of the game is to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table (often referred to as the ) and balls in succession to eventually pocket the nine-ball.
As long as the lowest numbered ball on the table is contacted first by the cueball, and any one or more of the object balls are pocketed in any of the pockets with no being committed, a player's continues. When the table passes to another player, they must play from where the balls were last positioned, except if the prior inning ended in a foul. In that case, the incoming player takes , anywhere on the table. The winner is the player who legally pockets the nine-ball, the game's , regardless of how many balls have been pocketed beforehand. This can happen earlier than the nine-ball being the sole remaining object ball on the table if it is pocketed via a or other indirect method.
Breaking

Each rack begins with the object balls placed in a
rack and one player playing a .
The object balls are placed in a diamond-shaped configuration, with the 1-ball positioned at the front on the , and the 9-ball placed in the center. The rack used to position the balls may be either triangle-shaped, as is used for eight-ball and other pool games, or a specific diamond-shaped rack that holds only nine balls may be used. Racks are usually made of wood or plastic.
A template that lies on the table during the break has also come into use.
The break consists of hitting the 1 ball, with the attempt to pocket any ball. If the 9 ball is successfully potted, the player automatically wins the rack. This is sometimes known as a . Additional rules in some tournaments exist, such as a number of balls having to reach the , and players can be chosen to break alternately or whoever won the preceding rack. The break is often the most crucial shot in nine-ball, as it is possible to win a rack without the opponent having taken a single shot. This is often called a , or running the rack.
Earl Strickland
Earl Strickland (born June 8, 1961) is an American professional pool player who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. He has won over 100 championship titles and three world titles. In 2006 he was inducted into the Billiard ...
holds the record for break and runs, after he successfully ran 11 consecutive racks in a tournament in 1996. The first break of a match is sometimes decided by a flip of a coin, but often by playing a , with both players playing a cue ball down the table, the closest to the top rail winning the initial break.
Push out and fouls
After the break, if no fouls were committed, the shooter has the option to continue the rack as usual, or to play a . The rules on a push out are different to those of a regular shot, as the shot does not need to hit a rail or ball.
After the push out, the opposing player has the option to play the shot that has been left, or to force their opponent to play on from that location. In early versions of nine-ball the push out could be called at any time during the game, but is now only for the shot after the break.
If a player misses potting a ball on a shot, or commits a foul shot, then their opponent plays the next shot.
A foul shot can involve not making first contact with the lowest numbered ball, pocketing the cue ball, or, after hitting the lowest numbered ball, not pocketing an object ball and not making contact with a by an object ball or the cue ball.
A foul shot for any reason offers the opponent , which means they can place the cue ball at any location on the table. A player making three successive fouls (for any reason) awards that rack to the opponent.
Unlike some other cue sports, such as
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...
, players are allowed to jump the cue ball over other balls. However, if any ball leaves the cloth at the end of a shot, it is counted as a foul. Jumping is common in nine-ball, and players often have a dedicated jump cue.
European alterations

As of the 2000s, the rules have been somewhat in flux in certain contexts, especially in Europe. The
European Pocket Billiard Federation
The European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) is the European governing body for pocket billiards. EPBF is the European regional affiliate member of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).
Events
The federation holds the European Championship ...
(EPBF), the WPA-affiliate in Europe, has instituted a requirement on the Euro Tour is that the break shot be taken from a "" a rectangular box smaller than the regular nine-ball breaking area.
While making the money ball on breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult with the break box.
This was later used on the annual international
Mosconi Cup
The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi, the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the We ...
tournaments. Another Mosconi Cup rule change in 2007 called for racking such that the 9 ball rather than the 1 ball is on the , which further stops overpowered break-off shots.
Governance
The general rules of the game are fairly consistent and usually do not stray too far from the earliest format set by the
Billiard Congress of America
The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) is the governing body for cue sports in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is ...
(BCA).
These later formed the basis of the standardized WPA rules, which the BCA follows as a member, although amateur league play may be governed by similar but slightly different rules promulgated by the
American Poolplayers Association
The American Poolplayers Association (APA) is a pool league for amateur pool (pocket billiards) competition in the United States. The APA conducts pool leagues and tournaments in the disciplines of eight-ball and nine-ball with a unified rulese ...
(APA) and other organizations.
Tournaments
Nine-ball events worldwide are run at the highest level by the WPA. The
WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organized by Matchroom Sport, who pro ...
has events for men, women and junior players. Events are generally open to any player who can pay the entry fee, however, some events are based on qualification. The WPA hosts a world ranking schedule based on WPA events, with other ranking systems also operated by the APA and the EPBF. Other major events held by the WPA include the
U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship,
China Open 9-Ball Championship and the International 9-Ball Open.
In addition,
Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport is a UK-based sporting event promotions company founded by Barry Hearn and run by him and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool (cue sports), pool, bowl ...
runs major international competitions including the
Mosconi Cup
The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi, the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the We ...
,
World Cup of Pool
The World Cup of Pool is an annual international single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in nine-ball pool competition. The Philippines holds the record for World Cup wins, winning the title on four occasions. In 2023, they also became t ...
and
World Pool Masters
The World Pool Masters is an annual international nine-ball tournament. Formerly, it was called the European Pool Masters (until 1995) until players from other parts of the globe were invited.
History
Throughout much of its history, the tournament ...
.
Outside those events held on an worldwide basis, nine-ball is played in continental tour series. Events are held on series such as the Diamond Pool Tour,
Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...
and
Euro Tour
The Euro Tour is a series of professional pool events set around Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlanti ...
.
Derived games

Several games have been derived from nine-ball. Six-ball is essentially identical to nine-ball but with three fewer balls, which are racked in a three-row triangle, with the money ball placed in the center of the back row.
According to
Rudolf Wanderone
Rudolf Walter Wanderone (Birth name, né Rudolf Walter Wanderon Jr.; January 19, 1913 – January 15, 1996), Includes three photos of his grave marker; provides birth and death dates, and legal surname spelling. Provides surname spelling wi ...
, the game arose in early 20th century billiard halls; halls charged for matches by the 15 ball rack rather than by table, so players of nine-ball had six balls left over.
For this reason, the game is often played with the balls numbered between 10 and 15, with the 15 ball as the money ball.
Seven-ball
Seven-ball is a pool game with rules similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven as implied by its name, and play is restricted to particular pockets of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the g ...
is also similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven object balls, which are racked in a hexagon, and players are restricted to pocketing the money ball on their designated side of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the game's invention in the early 1980s. While not a common game, it was featured on television broadcaster
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's ''Sudden Death Seven-ball'' which aired in the early 2000s.

The most common derivative game is the game of
ten-ball
Ten-ball is a rotation pool game similar to nine-ball, but using ten balls instead of nine, and with the 10 ball instead of the 9 as the "".
Although the game has existed since the early 1960s, its popularity has risen since the early 2000s as a ...
. The game is a more stringent variant, using ten balls in which all pocketed balls must be . Unlike in nine-ball, the money ball cannot be pocketed on the break for an instant win. Due to its more challenging nature, and the fact that there is no publicly known technique for reliably pocketing specific object balls on the break shot, there have been suggestions among the professional circuit that ten-ball should replace nine-ball as the pro game of choice,
especially since the rise of the nine-ball soft break, which is still legal in most international and non-European competition.
Ten-ball has its own world championship known as the
WPA World Ten-ball Championship
The WPA World Ten-ball Championship is a professional ten-ball Pool (cue sports), pool tournament sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). The event was first held in 2008 in the Philippines, followed by playings there in 2009 and ...
.
Popular culture
The sport has featured in popular culture, most notably in the 1959 novel ''
The Hustler
''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports drama film, directed by Robert Rossen. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges legendary pool player " Minnesota Fats".
The film, which was based on the 195 ...
'' and its
1961 film adaptation, and the 1984 sequel novel ''
The Color of Money
''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is the sequel to the 1961 film ''The Hustler''. Like the previous film, ''The Color of Money'' is based on a ...
'' and subsequent
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
.
In ''
Endless Ocean: Blue World'', Nineball Island, which serves as the player's home base, is won through a game of nine-ball.
See also
*
List of WPA World Nine-ball Champions
The World Nine-ball Championships are held annually, and are sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association. Events have been held for boys and women, and for the main world championships since this time, with a girl's tournament being creat ...
*
Glossary of cue sports terms
The following is a glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: ''carom billiards'' referring to the various games played on a billiard table without ; ''Pool (cue sports), pool'', which d ...
*
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Cue sports nav
Pool (cue sports)
Sports originating in the United States
Individual sports
Ball games
Indoor sports
Pub games