Guide
How to Play 8 Ball Pool
8 Ball Pool is pocket billiards for two. Break the rack, take solids or stripes with your first pot, run your group with cue-ball control, and win by legally potting the 8 ball last.
Play 8 Ball PoolThe objective
Clear your group, then pot the 8
8 Ball Pool is played on a six-pocket table with a cue ball and fifteen numbered balls: solids 1–7, stripes 9–15, and the black 8. One player is assigned solids and the other stripes. You win the rack by potting every ball in your group and then legally potting the 8 ball.
Between the break and the win, the work is shot selection and cue-ball control: hitting your own ball first, sending it to a pocket, and leaving the cue ball where you have another shot. There is no timer — the challenge is the order you choose.
The game is free, runs in the browser, and needs no account. Open the table when you want to play; use this guide for the rules, the fouls, and the habits that win more racks.
The break
Fifteen balls racked, one shot to open
The object balls are racked in a triangle with the 8 ball in the middle and a solid and a stripe in the back corners. The breaker plays the cue ball from behind the head string into the pack. Pot a ball on the break and you keep shooting; if nothing drops and no ball reaches a cushion, the break is a foul.
The table is “open” until the first legal pot after the break. That pot decides your group: a solid makes you solids, a stripe makes you stripes, and your opponent takes the other group.
Controls
Aim, pull back, release
Every method moves the same cue ball. Pick whichever fits the device in your hand.
Everywhere
Drag to aim and shoot
Move the pointer around the cue ball to aim — a preview line shows the cue path and the ghost-ball contact. Press and drag back from the cue ball to pull the cue stick; the further you pull, the more power. Release to shoot.
Desktop & mobile
Power meter
The meter beside the table fills as you pull back so you can see the exact power before you commit. A soft tap is enough for a hanger; a full pull is for the break or a long cross-table cut.
Desktop
Keyboard
Left and right arrows nudge the aim by a fine step for precise cuts. Space shoots at the current power. N racks a new game and M mutes the sound. Every on-screen control also has a visible focus ring.
The loop
Four beats you repeat all game
Reading the table, then working through these four is the whole game.
- 1
Break the rack
Fifteen object balls are racked in a triangle with the 8 ball in the centre. Aim from behind the head string, set your power, and shoot the cue ball into the pack. A ball potted on the break lets you keep shooting; if nothing drops and no ball reaches a cushion, the break is a foul.
- 2
Claim solids or stripes
The table is "open" until the first legal pot after the break. Pot a solid (1–7) and you are solids for the rest of the game; pot a stripe (9–15) and you are stripes. Your opponent takes the other group. Pots on an open table still count and keep your turn alive.
- 3
Run your group
Each turn, strike the cue ball to hit one of your own balls first and send it into a pocket. Pot one and you shoot again; miss, or pot nothing, and the turn passes. Think one shot ahead — where the cue ball stops decides whether you have another shot.
- 4
Pot the 8 to win
Once all seven of your balls are down, the 8 ball is your target. Call it into any pocket with a clean hit. Pot the 8 early, pot it on the same shot as the cue ball, or scratch while shooting at it, and you lose the game instantly.
Rules & fouls
Every rule that decides a shot
The objective
Pot all the balls in your group — solids or stripes — and then legally pot the 8 ball. The first player to do so wins the rack. There is no timer forcing a shot; the challenge is shot selection and cue-ball control.
The break and the open table
The breaker shoots the cue ball into the rack from behind the head string. The table stays open until someone legally pots a called group ball after the break. Balls potted while the table is open are not "wrong" — they simply may decide your group.
Legal shots
On every shot the cue ball must first contact one of your own group (or the 8 once your group is clear), and after contact a ball must be potted or some ball must reach a cushion. Fail either test and it is a foul.
Fouls and ball in hand
Potting the cue ball (a scratch), hitting the opponent’s group or the 8 first, or hitting nothing are all fouls. After a foul the incoming player gets ball in hand: place the cue ball anywhere on the table before shooting.
Winning and losing on the 8
You win by potting the 8 ball on a legal shot after your group is cleared. You lose immediately if you pot the 8 before your group is clear, pot the 8 and scratch on the same shot, or knock the 8 off the table.
Common mistakes
Why winnable racks get lost
Shooting every ball you can see
Potting a ball that wrecks your position for the next shot often ends your run. If a pot leaves you snookered, a safety is the better play.
Ignoring cue-ball speed
Firing every shot at full power sends the cue ball three rails away from your next ball. Match the pace to the distance you actually need.
Going for the 8 too early
Take a hard look at the table before your last group ball. If clearing it leaves an awful angle on the 8, change the order while you still can.
Forgetting the first-contact rule
Hitting the opponent’s ball or the 8 first is a foul even if you pot one of your own. Always confirm the cue ball reaches your group first.
- Before every shot, decide where you want the cue ball to stop — the pot is only half the shot.
- Use the preview line to line up thin cuts; aim the ghost-ball marker at the pocket, not the object ball.
- Break from slightly off-centre with high power to spread the rack and give yourself an early pot.
- When you have no good pot, play a safety: leave the cue ball where your opponent has nothing.
- Clear balls that block your own pockets or trap the cue ball early, while you still have options.
- Save an easy ball near a pocket as an "insurance" shot to get back to the table later.
- Leave the 8 ball for last with a clear line to a pocket — do not get stranded needing a bank.
Where you can play
Same table on phone and desktop
play8ballpool.app runs in any modern browser with no app to install. Progress stays on the device you played on.
Desktop browsers
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all run the game with no plugin. Aim with the mouse, drag back to set power, and use the arrow keys for fine adjustments on tricky cuts.
Phones and tablets
The layout is touch-first. Slide a finger to aim, drag back from the cue ball to charge the shot, and release to shoot. The full table and power meter stay on one screen.
Progress on this device
Wins, losses, current and longest streak, fewest shots in a win, and fastest win are stored in local browser storage. They stay until you reset them or clear site data, and they do not sync between devices.
Still stuck on a rule? Read the 8 Ball Pool FAQ or jump in and play.
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