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Bank Pool – WPA Rules of Play
These provisional rules for Bank Pool should be read and interpreted as an extension of WPA Rules of Play. Bank pool is played with either nine or fifteen object balls and a cue ball. The player who scores the required number of bank shots wins the rack. Matches are to a given number of racks.
11.1 Determining the Break
The player who wins the lag chooses who will break the first rack (see 1.2 Lagging to Determine Order of Play). Subsequent breaking order is determined by tournament protocol.
11.2 Rack at Bank Pool
In short rack bank pool, nine balls are racked in a diamond shape as for nine ball. The winning score is five. In full rack bank pool, fifteen balls are racked in a triangle shape as for eight ball and the winning score is eight.
11.3 Break Shot
The cue ball is in hand behind the head string. On the break, if no object ball is pocketed, at least four object balls must be driven to one or more rails. If the breaker fails to do this, the break is illegal and the opponent may take the balls in position or require the breaker to break again. If any ball is pocketed on a legal break, the breaker's turn continues.
11.4 Continuing Play
The shooter's turn continues until they fail to pocket a valid bank, foul, or the rack is won by the shooter reaching the required score. The incoming player shoots from the position left by the previous player except after a scratch when the cue ball is in hand behind the head string.
11.5 Valid Bank Shots
For a bank shot to be valid, the player must indicate the object ball, one or more cushions in order that the ball will contact, and the pocket the object ball will go into. Incidental cushion contacts on the two rail sections adjoining the target pocket as the ball enters the pocket are not counted as cushion contacts for or against the shooter.
In addition, the following requirements must be met. The cue ball must contact the called ball before it contacts any other ball or any rail. The called ball must not contact any other object ball or the cue ball a second time. The object ball must not contact uncalled rails except for the incidental contact mentioned above. There must be no foul during the shot.
If the cue ball contacts the called ball and either a cushion or another object ball at nearly the same time, and it cannot be determined which was struck first, it will be assumed the called ball was struck first.
11.6 Scoring
Each valid bank shot counts one point for the shooter. Any additional ball pocketed on the shot does not count and is spotted after the shooter's turn.
If there is no score keeper or other scoring system, it is recommended that the score be kept as follows. The balls scored by each player are used as physical markers for the score in two corresponding storage locations. When a foul occurs, one of the fouler's scored balls is spotted as the one-point penalty in addition to any other balls that need to be spotted at that time. If a player has no ball to spot for a foul, a marker is placed to indicate a ball is owed. If the player later scores balls, they are spotted to cancel any owed balls.
11.7 Spotting Balls
Balls are spotted if they have been pocketed other than as a valid bank or are driven off the table. Balls are also spotted as a penalty for a foul or to pay for previous fouls (owed balls) as described above. (See 1.4 Spotting Balls.) Spotting is usually done at the end of the shooter's turn, but if the shooter clears the table and has not reached the required score, all balls to be spotted are spotted at that time and the shooter continues shooting.
11.8 Forgetting to Spot Balls
If a ball is not spotted when it should be and is later noticed, it will normally be spotted when each player has had one full turn after the discovery. Alternatively, if both players agree, the ball will be spotted immediately.
11.9 Standard Fouls
Standard fouls are penalized by the loss of one point, balls are spotted as necessary, and play passes to the opponent. The cue ball remains in position except as noted below. The following are standard fouls at Bank Pool:
- 6.1 Cue Ball Scratch or off the Table. The cue ball is in hand behind the head string.
- 6.3 No Rail after Contact
- 6.4 No Foot on Floor
- 6.5 Ball Driven off the Table
- 6.6 Touched Ball
- 6.7 Double Hit / Frozen Balls
- 6.8 Push Shot
- 6.9 Balls Still Moving
- 6.10 Bad Cue Ball Placement
- 6.11 Bad Play from Behind the Head String. For a foul under the second paragraph of 6.11, the cue ball is in hand behind the head string for the incoming player.
- 6.12 Cue Stick on the Table
- 6.13 Playing out of Turn
- 6.15 Slow Play
11.10 Serious Fouls
For 6.14 Three Consecutive Fouls, the penalty is loss of the current rack. For 6.17 Unsportsmanlike Conduct, the referee will choose a penalty appropriate given the nature of the offense.
11.11 Stalemate
If a stalemate occurs (see 1.12 Stalemate), all 15 balls will be reracked as for the start of the game, and the players will lag to see who has the next shot. Any markers for owed balls will be preserved and positive partial scores from the abandoned rack will be carried over to the rerack. (Those partial scores should be written down as there will not be object balls to use as physical markers for them.)
This scorekeeper: Use Bank Made to count each successful bank during the current player's turn. When the turn ends on a Miss, the accumulated banks are added to their score. If the turn ends on a Foul, the banks are discarded and their score is decremented by 1. When a player reaches 5 (short rack) or 8 (full rack), they win the rack. The first player to win the required number of racks wins the match.