by Introduction: What is a 9-ball Rack?
A 9-ball rack is a pool game. There are 9 balls in the rack, and you try to make the best possible combination of shots for the points you get.
The game is played with a cue ball, one white ball, one orange ball, one red ball, seven other colored balls in total; with a target called either “solids” or “stripes”.
The object of the game is to use your cue ball to make shots that enable you to legally pocket one of these balls, or more commonly a combination of them. The values (points) given for making different shots, and how they work, is shown to the right.
How to set up 9 ball rack – easy steps
This is the most popular pool game ever. It is easy to learn but difficult to master.
Setting up a nine ball rack can be quite challenging and frustrating. A lot of people have tried and failed, but now you don’t need to worry about that anymore! This guide will teach you how to set up a nine ball rack in easy steps.
1. Unrack the Balls
There are a few ways to do this, but here is the most common way: split up your solids and your stripes so that they are both in one row at opposite ends of the rack. Then place one of each color in their own triangle shape, like this:
With all balls racked, rack the cue ball on one of the back corners (left or right).
2. Break!
To break, use a hard hit. If you’re not comfortable with this, don’t worry – it gets better the more you play.
3. Make Your Shot
You can shoot at either set of balls in an alternating pattern, or any other pattern you choose. The point values are shown to the right (stripes and solids).
Here’s a short list of where to make your shots:
1) If you want to make sure you don’t scratch, try shooting for one of these:
2) If there is only one ball left on the table, you can shoot it directly.
5) If there are no balls left on the table at all, you can play for a “safety”.
6) Or, if you are playing an alternating pattern of 7 or 11 shots, then whichever ball is closest to the center stripe. Make sure that the cueball is not touching any of the object balls.
4. Keep Shooting!
To keep shooting, you need to continue making your shots. After each shot, rack up the balls again. It’s that simple!
If you are playing for an alternating pattern, be sure to keep track of how many stripes or solids you have hit – i f you need to go back and get the balls you missed, do so.
Keeping score is easy: for each stripe or solid shot you make, you get one point. If your opponent fails to make a ball on their next turn, you gain two points (one for making the ball, another for winning the game).
5. Keep Rack!
Continue making your shots until you have run out of balls to shoot, or until your opponent wins. Then rack up the balls again and play another game.
The winner is the one who wins most of the games.
Conclusion
A lot of people have trouble setting up their own 9 ball rack because there are a lot of steps involved. Hopefully, this article has shown you how easy it is to set up your own rack. With your new nine ball rack ready for use, all you need to do is play more often and improve!
