Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules
Up and down freestyle rules have been derived from the basic rules for up and down billiards. Only those parts of up and down pool rules that differ from normal up and down billiard rules will be listed here. Beyond that, the general rules of pocket billiards shall be applied to all areas not touched by the up and down rule set.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Break Shot
To perform the up and down freestyle break shot, the zero ball is utilized as the cue ball. The remaining 15 balls, numbered 1 through 15, are arranged in a triangle rack in no particular order. The apex ball shall rest on the head spot.
The cue ball is shot from the kitchen by the shooting player, and can strike any ball. It is a foul to neglect to strike any ball on the break shot, however, no foul is assessed if no ball is pocketed or no ball(s) are driven to a rail.
When a player pockets any ball on the break shot, excluding the cue ball, that player's inning continues, and no points are scored. If no balls are pocketed legally, the player's inning comes to an end. As in standard billiards, the table remains open immediately after a break shot, regardless of whether a solid or striped ball is pocketed. In up and down freestyle rules, the table is considered open when it has not yet been determined which player shoots in ascending order, and which player shoots in descending order. During an open table situation, the shooting player is entitled to utilize any ball on the table as his or her object ball as long as it is the next consecutive number relative to the cue ball.
According to up and down freestyle rules, the breaking player is entitled to carom the cue ball into any pocket, however, no point is earned or foul assessed as would be on a non-break shot. That player is simply entitled to continue his or her inning at the table.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Scoring
- In up and down freestyle rules, it is possible for a player to have a negative score at any give time.
- When a foul is committed, the loss of one point shall result.
- One point is earned for each called ball that is legally pocketed
- One point is deducted from a player's total score when a called shot is not made successfully.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Shot After the Break
In up and down freestyle rules, when the breaking player pockets a ball on the break shot, his or her inning continues, and that player performs his or her next shot. If on the break shot, no ball is pocketed, the incoming player has the option of shooting with the current layout of balls at that time, or of requiring the original breaking player to continue play with the balls as they are at the time.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Fouls
In up and down freestyle billiards, no balls are ever spotted. This includes balls that are jumped off of the table. The list below outlines all possible acts that result in a foul. When a player commits any of the fouls listed below, he or she loses a point from their score, and his or her inning comes to an end. The incoming player enters play with ball in hand. Fouls occur when the shooting player:
- any ball leaves the playing surface and comes to rest someplace other than the playing area.
- pockets a called ball in an incorrect pocket. (A pocket that was not nominated.)
- neglects to cause the next numerically consecutive ball to move during the shot.
- pockets the cue ball on the break shot.
- pockets a ball that was not called, resulting in a scratch.
- neglects to pocket a ball that was called., resulting in a scratch
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Ball In Hand
In up and down freestyle rules when a player has the good fortune of taking ball in hand, he or she may move one ball to any desired spot on the table's playing surface, so long as that ball's placement does not disturb any other balls. It should be noted here that if a player can not take a ball from its current position without disturbing the surrounding balls, then they should not take that ball. If they disturb adjacent balls while trying to take a ball in hand, they are assessed a foul, and their inning ends. It should also be noted that the ball moved during a ball in hand execution must be used as the cue ball for the next shot. If the shooting player does not adhere to this stipulation, a foul is assessed and the opponent has ball in hand.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Legal Shots
In up and down freestyle pool, players can elect any ball presently on the playing surface of the table as the cue ball. When this elected cue ball is shot, it must first strike the next consecutively numbered ball relative to the cue ball that remains on the table at the time. Bank shots are allowed in this situation, as they don't count as a contact. At any given time, the only playable object ball is the next consecutive numbered ball as related to the cue ball. If the player is shooting in ascending order, he or she must shoot the next highest ball in relation to the cue ball. If the player is shooting in descending order, he or she must shoot the next lowest ball in relation to the cue ball. If the shooting player is successful in his or her shot, a new cue ball may be selected for the next shot. This new cue ball can be any ball on the table at the time.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Pocketing Multiple Balls
According to up and down freestyle rules, players can legally pocket more than one object ball in the same shot. In order for this scenario to be legal, the shooting player must call at least one of those balls. The shooting player's score increases by one point for each ball that is pocketed, if the called ball is included in the bunch of pocketed balls. If the called ball is not in the bunch of balls that were pocketed, the player is assessed a foul, and the player's inning ends. A point is also lost for each ball pocketed in this situation. When the table was considered open before the shooting player's shot, and the called ball is not pocketed, then the table remains open.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Safety Play
Players may call safety in up and down freestyle rules. For the safety to be considered legal according to up and down freestyle rules, the nominated cue ball must make contact with its associated object ball. In addition to that first requirement, a ball must be pocketed during the shot, or a ball must hit a rail after the cue ball makes contact with the associated object ball. When a safety is played, one point is counted per ball pocketed, and then the player's inning comes to an end.
Up and Down Freestyle Rules - Caroms and Combination Shots
Combination shots and carom shots are perfectly legal shots in up and down freestyle, as long as the shooting player causes the cue ball to first contact the next consecutively numbered object ball. For example, a player shooting in ascending order can use the 3 ball as the cue ball, carom it off of the 4 ball and cause the 3 ball to be pocketed. The player may shoot with the 3 ball, strike the 4 ball with a combination shot to pocket the ten ball. In these situations, at least one of the pocketed balls must have been called by the shooting player in order to avoid a foul.
Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules
If you have any questions about Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules, please post them in the pool rules forum.
Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules History
Up and down freestyle pool, and it's rules, are variants of up and down pool rules, which were created in 1995 by a man named Victor Engel from Vancouver BC, Canada. He grew up in Guatemala, and moved to Texas in 1980. The rules were updated with a slight revision on January 19, 2003. See the-light.com for more information on Victor. (victor@victorengel.com)
The official Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules are predominently observed in North America.
How to Play Up And Down Freestyle Pool
- Title: Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules
- Author: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)
- Published: 2/12/2008 10:45:00 PM
- Source: the-light.com
Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules
The Up And Down Freestyle Pool Rules article belongs to the Pocket Billiards Rules category. Pocket billiards is a class of cue sport game commonly referred to as pool.
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