NH Steve
Administrator
Our Official One Pocket Rules were adopted in 2005 and have served the One Pocket community very well for 15 years now. Most tournaments either use them directly or they use something that is essentially a knock off of our rules.
No, we are not trying to "change the game" with these rules! One Pocket has done a great job of remaining close to the same game for at least 80 years and maybe a lot longer, since it's inception has been lost in the fog of time.
In the beginning, our Official One Pocket rules were basically created by me with input from Grady, Freddy, various tournament directors and players, along with researching prior versions of One Pocket rules, and of course the conversations and votes we had here in the forum at that time. Based on how our onepocket.org rules have been received over the last 15 years, and in some cases how they have been copied lol, I feel pretty good about how they have contributed to the game. But as has been pointed out now and then over the years in forum discussions there are places in our rules that could be better written, and also over the years there are relatively new player concerns to be addressed -- such as what to do when a player makes a ball on the break.
So I am suggesting we work to complete an updated version that our membership would vote on. To get to that, I would like to pick an area of re-write for focus here in this thread and and eventually have individual ballots on those particular areas of concern -- such as what to do if a ball is pocketed on the break. For the actual writing I would like to invite Bob Jewett and Dennis Young to work with me. They both have a ton of rules experience. But rest assured, here in our forum via conversations and votes, our membership will have the last word.
Things that immediately come to my mind that have come up often over the last 15 years are:
Making a ball on the break -- shoot again, re-rack or score the ball but sit, or what else??
Frozen ball questions
Whole ball or base of the ball at the headstring? A lot of One Pocket people prefer the whole ball even though pools general rules clearly say base of ball
What constitutes a foul in terms of inadvertent object ball contact?
For anyone who has forgotten where our rules can be found, they are here:
So what do we need to address, starting from the top...
No, we are not trying to "change the game" with these rules! One Pocket has done a great job of remaining close to the same game for at least 80 years and maybe a lot longer, since it's inception has been lost in the fog of time.
In the beginning, our Official One Pocket rules were basically created by me with input from Grady, Freddy, various tournament directors and players, along with researching prior versions of One Pocket rules, and of course the conversations and votes we had here in the forum at that time. Based on how our onepocket.org rules have been received over the last 15 years, and in some cases how they have been copied lol, I feel pretty good about how they have contributed to the game. But as has been pointed out now and then over the years in forum discussions there are places in our rules that could be better written, and also over the years there are relatively new player concerns to be addressed -- such as what to do when a player makes a ball on the break.
So I am suggesting we work to complete an updated version that our membership would vote on. To get to that, I would like to pick an area of re-write for focus here in this thread and and eventually have individual ballots on those particular areas of concern -- such as what to do if a ball is pocketed on the break. For the actual writing I would like to invite Bob Jewett and Dennis Young to work with me. They both have a ton of rules experience. But rest assured, here in our forum via conversations and votes, our membership will have the last word.
Things that immediately come to my mind that have come up often over the last 15 years are:
Making a ball on the break -- shoot again, re-rack or score the ball but sit, or what else??
Frozen ball questions
Whole ball or base of the ball at the headstring? A lot of One Pocket people prefer the whole ball even though pools general rules clearly say base of ball
What constitutes a foul in terms of inadvertent object ball contact?
For anyone who has forgotten where our rules can be found, they are here:
Official One Pocket Rules
www.onepocket.org
So what do we need to address, starting from the top...
Unless clearly contradicted below, general pocket billiards rules of play and etiquette apply to One Pocket, and complete General Rules are available from the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).
Common ‘house rule’ variations are noted in this color.
1. Object of the game
One Pocket is a game for two players or two teams, where each player or team can only score into one of the two corner pockets on the foot end of the table, while the other player or team can only score into the other corner pocket at the foot end of the table. The other four pockets are neutral pockets, and any balls pocketed in a neutral pocket are spotted at the end of the shooter’s inning. There is no requirement to ‘call your shot’ in One Pocket, and no special order or significance to any numbered object balls. The first player (or team) to legally score eight balls into their own pocket wins the game, whether they pocket their game-winning ball by their own shot, or as a result of their opponent’s shot. The game may be handicapped either by agreement between players or as designated by a tournament director. Standard handicaps are created by adjusting the required winning score for either one or both players, either for all breaks or for specified player’s breaks.
Please note that with One Pocket’s long tradition of after hours play, many other creative variations in handicapping have been invented over the years. As long as all those involved agree before play begins, virtually everything is negotiable in after hours contests.