Three-ball
Three-ball is a folk game of pool played with any three standard pool and. The game is frequently gambled upon. The goal is to the three object balls in as few shots as possible. Theoretically, any number of players can participate, in rotation, but more than five can become unwieldy. The game involves a somewhat more significant amount of luck than either nine-ball or eight-ball, because of the disproportionate value of pocketing balls on the shot and increased difficulty of doing so. In some areas and subcultures, such as the Asian-American youth-dominated pool hall scene of San Francisco, California, three-ball is a popular local tournament game.]''
Play
There are no widespread official or standardized rules for three-ball, though local tournaments promulgate rulesets that have some sway over area player populations even outside the context of the tournaments. Below are listed the most common, widely accepted rules.The game is played on any pocket billiard table. Under tournament conditions, a single usually consists of three or five per player, and a may consist of several multi-inning rounds, back-to-back or spread out over a period of time. In a gambling context, three-ball is typically played in multiple games, sometimes for many hours, with players able to enter and leave as suits their finances and risk-aversion.
Object
The object of the game is to sink all of the object balls in as few strokes as possible, with being added to the player's score for each stroke and for specific fouls. Unlike in eight-ball and nine-ball, the player at turn remains at turn until all object balls are pocketed, or the player concedes or reaches the maximum point limit . All strokes count as one point each, whether they pocketed no balls, one ball or more than one ball.There is a predetermined cut-off score of a certain number of points, after which the player must turn the table over to the next player. Among casual players this is typically five or six points, while among skilled players it is most commonly four, and sometimes even as low as three. It is also considered sportsmanlike to simply concede defeat before reaching this number if victory or a tie is clearly impossible; when conceding, one is scored at the cut-off number, not the number one conceded at
Winning
Once a player's inning is over, the next player starts over with a fresh rack. After all players have finished, the player with the lowest score is declared to be the winner. In a tournament context, the winner of the event may be the player with the lowest total score over many rounds of play, or the highest number of won rounds. In case of a tie, a playoff round is played between the tied playersThe rack
Three object balls are racked either in a triangle — usually aluminum, wooden or plastic, like a miniature eight-ball or snooker rack — with the apex ball on the, or in a straight line, again with the lead ball on the foot spot, and the other balls behind it, lined up toward the center of the. ]''No particular arrangement is necessary, as there is no specific order in which the balls must be pocketed, nor do any of them have specific point values. Racking is often simply done by hand, though there have been at least two manufacturers of triangular three-ball racks, and many also simply use the front of the eight-ball/straight pool triangle to rack for three-ball. Players usually are not permitted to rack their own balls that they are about to break, because of known techniques for occasionally sinking all three object balls on the break in a predictable manner If straight rather than triangular racking is required, the rule against self-racking may or may not be dropped; as of 2012, there are no publicized techniques for predictably sinking all the balls from a straight rack. As in other games, the player at turn may demand a if not satisfied with the correct formation or position of the racked balls.The break
Players' turn order is decided at random at the beginning of the game or match, as in other several-player pool games. The cue ball is placed anywhere behind the and a typical hard break is performed. The break is the first of a player's game, and thus counts toward his or her score. Any balls pocketed on the break are considered to be legally pocketed and the player now only has to sink the remaining balls.Very good players can sink all three object balls on the break with surprising frequency, resulting in the perfect score of one point, especially if the balls are triangle-racked; this feat is achieved using an adaptation of the from eight-ball and nine-ball; the straight rack was introduced to make this more difficult, as it does not provide the contact point and angles that the well-known technique requires.
Fouls
Every shot costs one point, and a foul of any kind costs the player an additional one-point penalty. Fouls consist of: pocketing the cue ball; knocking the cue ball off the table; a on the cue ball with the cue stick ; ; and accidentally moving a ball with a hand, the of the cue, etc. A shot in which the player pocketed one or more object balls but also fouled incur a one-point penalty - a foul always results in a penalty of 1 point. Thus, a break shot that sank all three object balls plus the cue ball is a score of two, unless the "instant loss" rule is in effect.Shots after a cue ball must, similarly to the break shot, be taken from on or behind the head string and must go forward across/from the head string, as in typical American, rather than taken anywhere on the table.
Object balls knocked off the table are spotted on the foot spot, and do not count as fouls
,,,, and non-scoop-under jump shots are legal. No shots, including combinations, banks, etc., have to be as to object ball, pocket, or any other details; "" shots are legal.
It is not a foul to do a weak break that fails to drive balls to or into pockets. Similarly, it is not a foul to make a weak shot that does not pocket a ball or contact a cushion, since, again, these mistakes are effectively self-punishing, by costing the player a stroke.
Rules
Keeping score
Like the otherwise dissimilar several-player pool game killer, three-ball is scored on a chalk board or piece of paper to keep track of who has how many points. Because of three-ball's "backwards" scoring, it is customary to help keep score accurately by one or more players intoning the score-so-far after each shot, in the form "that's [x], shooting [x+1]"All tie
The popular "all tie" or "everyone ties" rule is a common money game variation, in which if two players among several tie for lowest score than all players, regardless of having conceded or getting poor scores, remain in the game/round if they are willing to ante again to continue. Play then resumes, often yielding another tie and an even larger pot, and so on.Called
The game can optionally be played in manner, as per many league variants of eight-ball, or in a fully called-shot, as per typical North American barroom eight-ball played on coin-operated tables. Balls illegally pocketed are not considered fouls, but are spotted.Teams
The game can be played as a team game in two ways. First, players can be divided into even teams, with each player on each team shooting a full game per round, and the scores within each team being combined to yield the final score. Secondly, the game can be played in format, with players alternating shots, and each team only playing a single game per round, as if there were only two players.Other
Instant loss
An uncommonly required but "serious consequences" variant is that if one sinks all three object balls on the break but also scratches or otherwise fouls, this is an instant loss instead of a score of two, taking the form of the player receiving the maximum allowed score , which is technically still tieable, so not truly an instant loss. This rule is an adaptation from nine-ball and common North American eight-ball, in which sinking the game-winning target ball is an instant win unless one also fouls, yielding a instant loss.Money pocket
In another variant, the pocket into which all wagers have been placed holds a special strategic value to the game: if the final ball is sunk into this "money pocket", one point is deducted from that player's score. If a foul also occurred, or multiple balls were pocketed on this shot and the final ball to be pocketed did not fall into the money pocket, the point reward does not apply. In this version of the game the best possible score is zero rather than one.Miscellaneous
Other rules may vary from locale to locale.One variant is that scratching on the last stroke results in all balls pocketed on that shot being spotted and the 1-point penalty stroke being assessed. Another, from nine-ball, is that it is a foul to fail to either drive at least one object ball into a pocket, or contact an object ball then have at least one ball contact a rail.
Online computer gaming variants may lean more toward nine-ball rules. Some such variants include: the two variant rules immediately above; ball-in-hand after fouls; it is a foul to not drive some number of balls to a rail or into a pocket after the break; and a rule that object balls knocked off the table are counted as pocketed. As noted, some of these online rules are questionably logical under the conditions and nature of three-ball.
A rare variant is adapted in part from both tournament eight-ball and nine-ball, in which players do not continue shooting if they miss or foul, and the winner is the player that pockets the 3 ball. The incoming player receives ball-in-hand if the preceding opponent fouled. The lowest numbered ball must be struck first, but the 3 ball cannot be pocketed earlier than last with a combination, kiss or carom shot the way the 9 ball can in nine-ball. I.e., the game called "three-ball" in this case is really nothing but a shortened form of nine-ball with a single rule change.
Another optional rule is that if the initial break attempt completely misses the racked balls, the subsequent break attempt must be taken from where the cue ball comes to rest; the cue ball cannot be re-placed behind the head string.
Technique
Players skilled at carom and kiss shots are at a marginal advantage in three-ball, because sometimes the only way to win is to sink two balls with one shot; average players lacking expertise in multi-ball shots succeed at this only a truly negligible percentage of the time, while expert players can make them a still quite small, but statistically meaningful, percent of the time. Otherwise, players skilled at eight-ball, nine-ball, one-pocket and/or straight pool are well-equipped to excel at three-ball.Because of the value of pocketing multiple object balls on the break, a strong break is an important technique.