Roman,

We play to a bastardized version of the rules at:

http://www.arseweb.com/rupe/pool/uk_rules.html

However, in the UK, in pubs, since you have to pay per play, there are various 'house rules' that prolong a game of pool, and people can opt-in or opt-out of these rules by agreement. Pub rules include:

1. When on the black, no free shot if other player fouls.

2. Can only shoot forward from the baulk when re-placing the cue ball on the table.

3. Cannot move cue ball following a foul.

4. Must nominate a pocket for the black - get it in the wrong pocket and default the game.

5. No re-rack following a foul on break, unless no balls have gone down.

These just make the game go on for longer, so you get your 50 pence's worth.

Another point: in the UK we play pool with red and yellow balls. In the US generally pool is played with spots and stripes, with numbers, and there are all sorts of US rules to do with nominating which ball and which pocket to play, but I don't know the details.

Funnily enough we do have a set of US 8-balls at work, so perhaps I should start people playing with them in order to make the games last longer [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Anyway, back to the table ... oh, damn, it's the weekend ... down to the pub instead, then [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Cheers,

Nick Wilkinson.
IsoCalc.com