Bank pool

Bank pool

Highest governing body	World Pool Association
Nicknames	Banks
First played	1930s
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	single competitors
Mixed-sex	No
Equipment	Cue sports equipment
Glossary	glossary of cue sports terms

Bank pool is a pool game that has as its most fundamental requirement that all scoring shots in the game must be made by [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|bank shot]], sending a called ball off a [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|cushion]] and into a called pocket.

While the game has multiple variations, the predominant version through much of its history was played with a full fifteen-ball [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|rack]], of which the winning player was required to legally pocket eight balls. A shortened version of the game using nine balls of which the players must legally pocket five for the win, often called "nine-ball banks," gained popularity in the 1990s and 2000s and is the subject of international professional competition and televised matches.

Rack

The balls are racked in nine-ball formation (or eight-ball formation if using a full rack), but in no particular order.

On the break shot, at least four balls must hit the rails else it is an illegal break. Any balls pocketed during the break do not count toward the score and will be spotted after the player's inning ends. Pocketing a ball on the break results in the player continuing to shoot.

On an illegal break, the opponent has the option of requesting a re-rack or accepting the table as-is and may begin shooting.

Play

The key rule is that all shots must involve the ([[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|cue ball]] striking the [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|object ball]] directly, sending the object ball to one or more [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|cushions]] on the way to the [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|pocket]]).

Bank pool is one of the "cleanest" (no "[[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|slop]]") pool games — no [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|kick shots]] (the object ball must be hit directly with the cueball, without hitting the rail first); no [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|combinations]] (shots must be cue ball to the object ball, then object ball to the called pocket, and the shooter must call the ball, the rail(s), and the pocket); and the object ball cannot hit another ball on the way to the pocket (no [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|kiss shots]]).

Fouls

The shooter "owes" the table a ball if they foul — a previously pocketed ball (if any) must be [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|spotted]]. Any ball pocketed on a [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|foul]] is spotted in addition to the ball owed. If the cue ball is [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|scratched]] (pocketed or knocked off the table), it is a foul, and the cue ball must be [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|spotted]] behind the [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|head string]] (i.e., in the "[[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|kitchen]]"). Any balls that were sunk on that shot are spotted. If the shooter has not already legally pocketed a ball at the time of the foul, a ball is still owed, which must be spotted after the [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|inning]] in which it was legally pocketed. If the shooter makes a legal bank shot and another ball goes in accidentally, it is not a foul, but that extra ball is spotted after the inning. It is also a foul if the shooter does not hit the [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|called]] object ball and drive it or the cue ball to a cushion or pocket the object ball (this is different from nine-ball and standardized eight-ball, in which any ball may contact a rail after the object-ball hit to avoid fouling). In many areas, fouling three times during successive turns means a loss of [[Glossary of cue sports terms#template:plain text|game]], but that rule may often be ignored in local amateur play. A stricter variant preferred by some is that even three non-consecutive fouls is a loss of game. Players typically make sure the rules are clear and agreed-upon before play begins, especially when gambling.

Further reading

• Alciatore, David G. (2017). The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards (ebook). Union Square & Company. ISBN 9781454927914.
• Alciatore, David G. (May 2017). The Sport of Pool Billiards 1: Techniques and Training Based on PAT Part 1 (ebook). Union Square & Company. ISBN 9781454927914.
• Byrne, Robert (1998). Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards (Paperback). Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 9780156005548.
• Eckert, Ralph (May 8, 2015). The Sport of Pool Billiards 1: Techniques and Training Based on PAT Part 1 (ebook). Litho. ISBN 9783941484986.
• Leider, Nicholas (February 12, 2010). Pool and Billiards For Dummies (ebook). For Dummies. Wiley. ISBN 9780470633946.

External links

• Official rules of bank pool of the Billiard Congress of America