Rules
There are two competing standards bodies that have issued international rules. The older, and currently dominant, of the two sets in British-style pool are the World Eight-ball Pool Federation (WEPF) rules (often called "World Rules"). The majority of WEPF members come from the UK and Ireland, and from current and former Commonwealth of Nations countries, plus Belgium.
A competing but very similar set of rules has been promulgated by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), under the game name "blackball" to better distinguish it from the American-style game (for which WPA also promulgates rules),. It was intended that "blackball" would unify the various existing British-style rulesets (presumably also including the WEPF rules) although this has not yet happened. The self-described "governing body" for WPA blackball in Europe, with numerous national and local affiliate groups, is the European Blackball Association (EBA).
In countries where play-to-pay pool tables with automatic ball-return devices are common, only the cue ball is returned to the players after potting. This means that if the black is potted from the break the game cannot continue without paying for a second game. It is not uncommon in the UK for 1 pound sterling (approximately 1.30 euros) to be the price of a game. Players may agree to play on without a black rather than lose the cost of a game for a single shot.
Read more about this topic: Blackball (pool)
Famous quotes containing the word rules:
“Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own practice.... We may call Cannibals barbarians, in respect to the rules of reason, but not in respect to ourselves, who surpass them in every kind of barbarity.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“This was Pharaoh, direct descendent of our deity Amon, god of the sun, who rules the heavens as Pharaoh rules the earth. Again, he brought treasure, gold, and precious jewels taken from our enemies. For to Pharaoh riches were power and power was to be desired. And also again he brought many captives. For is it not by slaves that one becomes even richer and then has even more power?”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“Never invite to dinner: those who won’t decide until the last minute; those who come more than half an hour late; those who want to bring along two or three friends; drunks; monologists; those who stay until three o’clock in the morning; those who think that conversation means having an argument; those who take a high moral tone; those who are stupid, ugly, or dull. Enforcement of these rules will enable one to eat alone every night in comfort.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)