Seven Ball

Billiards is a varied game of competition that can be played any number of ways, one being seven ball. The game of seven ball is a fast-paced billiards game that requires a lot of skill and a little bit of luck, like most games. With only seven balls being on the table there is little need for the game to go on for an extended period of time, making the game even more of a quick finish is the fact that six of the seven balls need not go in any particular pocket.

The first step to having a successful and competitive game of seven ball is to rack the balls according to the rules. In seven ball the balls are to be placed in a circle with the one ball being in front and two through six being counterclockwise from that spot. The seven ball is placed in the center of the circle and, when the breaking shot is made, it must legally pocket one ball or be re-racked for the opposing shooter to break.

In seven ball billiards the balls have no point value and the object is to legally pocket the seven ball. However, after the opening shot the two opposing shooters must choose a side of the table to attempt to shoot the seven ball into. So, either player is able to shoot balls one through six into any open pocket, but once the seven ball is left it must go into the pocket on the side that he/she declared after the opening break.

The shooter, on any shot except the final seven ball, must first contact the lowest numbered ball on the table before a shot is considered legal. However, if the opening shooter pockets the seven ball on the opening break, after first contacting the one ball, it IS enough to declare the opening shooter the winner of the game even though they had not declared a side of the table to pocket the ball yet.

One of the beauties of seven ball is that you can play it when you have two players of unequal skill. The player with less experience may have four possible pockets in which to hit the seven ball while the more experienced player may have only two possible holes. If you choose to play seven ball just for the speed of the game you can agree to be able to pocket the seven ball on any of the six holes.