Pool Rules for Every Game
Every pool game you can play on CueVerse, explained in a few lines, with the full rules and a short video for each. New to pool? Start with 8-ball, or watch how to play pool in three minutes.
The basics every game shares
- A legal shot: the cue ball hits the right ball first, then a ball drops or any ball touches a cushion.
- Scratch: potting the cue ball is a foul.
- Ball in hand: after a foul, your opponent may place the cue ball where they like before shooting.
- Calling a shot: some games ask you to name the ball and the pocket before you shoot. On CueVerse you click the pocket.
- Keep the table: pot a ball on a legal shot and you shoot again; miss and your turn ends.
The games
8-Ball
Fifteen balls: solids (1–7), stripes (9–15) and the black 8. Claim a group, pot all of it, then call a pocket and sink the 8 to win. Pot the 8 early or in the wrong pocket and you lose; on CueVerse, an 8 on the break just re-racks.
9-Ball
Nine balls in a diamond. On every shot, hit the lowest-numbered ball first, then any ball can drop. Pot the 9 on any legal shot to win, even on the break. Right after the break, you may push out.
10-Ball
Ten balls and every shot called: ball and pocket. Hit the lowest ball first. The 10 wins only when it's your called ball and the last one on the table; drop it any other way and it comes back up.
Straight Pool (14.1)
Call every shot, and every ball you pot is a point. When one ball is left, the other fourteen are racked again and you keep going. On CueVerse it's a solo high run: your run ends on your first miss.
One Pocket
Only the two corner pockets at the foot of the table score, one for each player. Any ball counts. The first to eight balls in their own pocket wins.
Cutthroat
Three players, five balls each: 1–5, 6–10 and 11–15. Pot your opponents' balls and protect your own. The last player with a ball on the table wins.
House modes
8-ball with a twist: 4 Pockets, Rails Required, Bank 8, Bank It All, Call Every Pocket and Last Pocket, each changing how you're allowed to pot.
Teams and groups
Play 2 vs 2 with a partner, or join a Boot 'Em ring of up to sixteen players where you pot or you're out.
Not sure which to play?
8-ball is the one most people know. 9-ball is faster and more open, 10-ball is 9-ball where luck doesn't count, and straight pool is the long game of pure potting. Compare the two most popular in 8-ball vs 9-ball, or watch every video guide.