Quick start: how to play in 60 seconds
- Break to start. Whoever pots a red or yellow first is assigned that colour group for the rest of the frame — you don't call it in advance.
- Pot your own colour, then keep going until you miss, foul, or clear your group.
- On a foul, your opponent normally gets one shot of their choice with the cue ball anywhere on the table (see 'two visits' below for the older-rules variant).
- Once your last object ball is off the table, your next legal shot must be at the black.
- Potting the black in a called pocket, after clearing your colours, wins the frame.
- Potting the black at any other time — or before clearing your colours — loses the frame instantly.
Equipment and setup
Blackball uses a smaller table and ball set than American pool, snooker or Chinese 8-ball.
- A UK pool table, typically 6ft or 7ft, with narrower pockets than an American-style table
- A cue ball (white), 7 reds, 7 yellows, and the black 8-ball
- One cue per player
- Chalk
- A triangle (rack)
Objective
Legally pot all seven of your assigned balls (reds or yellows), then legally pot the black in a nominated pocket, before your opponent does the same. Potting the black out of turn, or in the wrong pocket, loses the frame immediately regardless of the score.
Break or start
The balls are racked with the black in the centre of the triangle and the pack alternating reds and yellows around it. Either player breaks (decided by lag, coin toss, or house custom); the breaker needs at least one ball to reach a cushion or a ball to be potted, or it's a foul.
Colours aren't chosen before the break. The first player to legally pot a red or a yellow — on the break or afterwards — is assigned that group for the rest of the frame, and their opponent takes the other.
The turn sequence
Play continues alternately, with each player staying at the table as long as they keep potting balls from their own group without fouling. A pot of the wrong group's ball, or of the black before your group is clear, ends your innings (and usually the frame — see Fouls).
There's no requirement to call which pocket a shot is going into (unlike American 8-ball) except for the final shot on the black, which must be nominated.
Scoring
Blackball doesn't keep a running points score — it's won or lost on clearing your group and then the black. Matches are usually races to a set number of frames (the club's Wednesday tournament plays best of 5).
Fouls and penalties
A foul is any illegal shot: hitting the wrong group first, potting the cue ball, potting an opponent's ball, jumping a ball off the table, or failing to hit any ball. The standard modern penalty is one shot to the opponent, played from anywhere on the table (ball in hand).
Two visits and the carry rule (older EPA / 'pub' rules)
Many pubs still play under older English Pool Association conventions, where a foul gives the opponent two visits to the table instead of one, intended to punish fouls more heavily on smaller tables where safety play is easy.
Under those rules, the 'carry' (or 'push-through') convention lets the second of the two visits carry forward any balls the player was already on a run with — in practice, if the opponent pots one of their own colour on the first of their two shots, they don't lose the extra visit, they simply continue their break as normal for a second consecutive turn's worth of shots.
Because house rules genuinely vary from pub to pub on exactly when the two-shot carry applies, check with staff or your opponent before the frame if you're not playing to a fixed league ruleset.
Loss-of-frame fouls
Some fouls are severe enough to lose the frame outright rather than just conceding a shot: potting the black early (before your group is cleared), potting the black in the wrong pocket, potting the black and the cue ball together, or jumping the black off the table.
Special situations
Two visits / free shot after a foul
Covered above — know which ruleset you're playing (modern one-shot or older two-visit) before the frame starts, since it changes how aggressively you should play safety near your own colours.
Playing the black
Once your group is clear, you must nominate a pocket for the black. If you're unsure whether all your balls are actually off the table (a ball can hide behind a cushion rail), ask your opponent or staff to confirm before you shoot — potting the black in error while an object ball remains loses the frame.
The stalemate rule
If both players agree the position is unplayable — most often the last red/yellow and the black are snookered together near a cushion with no safe shot available — the frame can be declared a stalemate and re-racked, rather than forcing repeated fouls. Check with staff on the night for how ties or stalemates are scored in any run tournament.
Common variations
One-shot vs two-shot foul rules
The single biggest source of pub arguments: some venues play a standard one-shot penalty for every foul, others still use the older two-visit EPA convention described above. Agree the ruleset before you rack up.
Call-pocket blackball
A stricter, more tournament-style variant where every shot on your own colours must be called, not just the black. Rare socially, more common in serious league play.
American 8-ball crossover
Visiting American players sometimes default to solids-and-stripes 8-ball habits (call every shot, no carry rule) on a UK table — see our American 8-ball rules page for the full comparison.
Glossary
- Blackball
- The common name for standard English/UK pool, after the black 8-ball that decides the frame.
- Carry
- Under two-visit house rules, continuing an in-progress run across the extra shot rather than losing it.
- Group
- Your assigned set of seven balls (reds or yellows) for the frame.
- Nominate
- Declaring in advance which pocket a shot — always required for the black — is aimed at.
- Push-through
- Another name for the carry convention in two-visit pub rules.
- Stalemate
- A position both players agree is unplayable, leading to a re-rack rather than repeated fouls.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between blackball and American 8-ball?
Blackball uses reds and yellows on a smaller table with tighter pockets and doesn't require every shot to be called (only the black). American 8-ball uses stripes and solids on a bigger table, and in most rule sets every shot must be called.
Do you have to call your shots in English pool?
No, not for your own colours — only the final shot on the black needs a nominated pocket. This is a key difference from American 8-ball, where calling shots is standard.
What happens if you pot the black too early in blackball?
You lose the frame immediately, regardless of how many of your own balls are still on the table.
What is the two-shot rule in pool?
It's an older EPA/pub convention where a foul gives the opponent two visits to the table instead of one. It isn't universal — many venues now play a single-shot penalty for every foul — so check before you start.
How many balls are there in English pool?
16 in total: 7 reds, 7 yellows, the black 8-ball, and the white cue ball.
Who chooses reds or yellows in blackball?
Nobody chooses in advance. Whichever player legally pots a red or yellow first — even accidentally, on the break — is assigned that colour for the rest of the frame.
Is jumping the cue ball off the table a foul in pool?
Yes. Any ball leaving the table, cue ball or object ball, is a foul, and if it's the black it can mean losing the frame outright.
Rules summarised in our own words from the governing bodies below — always check with staff for the exact format on the night.