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Intentionally Fouling by Pocketing Opponent's Ball with Ball in Hand

10/4/2021 7:29:14 PM

Intentionally Fouling by Pocketing Opponent's Ball with Ball in Hand

In Last Pocket 8 Ball, can my opponent, with ball in hand, knock my ball in directly which is blocking his 8 ball pocket. This gives me "ball in hand".

In other words, my opponent made no attempt to hit his object ball.

What do the rules say on this scenario?

This question relates to the following billiard rules:

Intentionally Fouling by Pocketing Opponent's Ball with Ball in Hand

Replies & Comments
  1. user1633400953RayMills on 10/5/2021 9:26:28 PM

    Have you already perused this site's page on Last Pocket Eight Ball Rules?

    You didn't say whether that object ball was your last one, which would lead to following the rules on assigning an alternate last-pocket to you, and the second player to have his side pocketed. I found one sentence that refers to him doing this by mistake (it assigns a last-pocket just as if you had done it), but fouling-on-purpose can be a very strategic option that is legal in ball-in-hand games.

    I don't think any set of rules wants to have one which demands an investigation on "the intent of the fouler". For instance, in this circumstance, I think it could be a very good shot when he tries to pocket your (last) ball by billiard-ing or combo-ing using the 8-ball. If he can't find a way, he can then decide whether fouling is worth the ball-in-hand penalty.

    I'm sorry, I realize now that in your question both players had not finished their sides, unless you're calling the 8-ball "his object ball". So, my logic follows only if your opponent had no regular object balls left.

    • If he did, neither player would have been assigned a pocket yet.
    • If he had only the 8-ball left, unblocking the pocket and giving ball-in-hand would be of variable value, probably based on how easily you can run out before him.
  2. user1633400953billiardsforum on 11/3/2021 3:07:46 AM

    @user1633400953 - There's a chance that you will need to clarify your question in order to get an accurate answer. There are parts of your scenario which are ambiguous or awkwardly worded as such that we can't get a clear picture of what happened. For example, you wrote:

    ... knock my ball in directly which is blocking his 8 ball pocket.

    Should "in directly" be "indirectly"? You can see that the former would indicate the object ball was pocketed, while the latter wouldn't necessarily mean that it was.

    I ask that you reply below and clarify the scenario with some additional detail.

    With that, I will take a stab at understanding your scenario and linking it to applicable sections of the relevant rules.

    It sounds like the other player contacted your object ball first with the cue ball, which is illegal in 8-ball (and thus, also illegal in the "Last Pocket" variation of the game).

    Players must meet all of the requirements of a legal shot. Specifically, item #2 in the list:

    1. You called your ball and pocket.
    2. The cue ball struck one of your objects balls first.
    3. Your called ball went into your called pocket.
    4. You didn't otherwise commit any foul.

    However, if I've misunderstood your question and the opponent struck a ball from their assigned group first, then it would be just fine.

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Intentionally Fouling by Pocketing Opponent's Ball with Ball in Hand

  • Title: Intentionally Fouling by Pocketing Opponent's Ball with Ball in Hand
  • Author:
  • Published: 10/4/2021 7:29:14 PM
  • Last Updated: 11/3/2021 3:00:04 AM
  • Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)