Eight Ball

• Rack all of the balls (except the blank cue ball) in the triangular rack with the 8 ball in the center. Place the triangle so that the apex is seated on the quarter-sized mark on the table, facing the far end of the table. Once the balls are correctly aligned, remove the rack, leaving the balls in their triangular orientation. Place the cue ball on the far side of the table, anywhere between the diamonds closest to the end of the table, and the end of the table. Using the pool cue, hit the cue ball to "break" the triangle. If the breaker pockets a stripe, he or she must then continue to only pocket stripes until there are no more. The other player takes solids. A player's turn lasts as long as he keeps pocketing his appropriate balls (stripes or solids). Once all of a player's balls are pocketed, he or she must pocket the eight ball, calling first which pocket it will land in. Once the eight ball is pocketed in a correctly called pocket, the game is won. Sinking the eight ball any earlier, or landing in an incorrectly called pocket ends the game and the other player wins.
  
  

Nine Ball

• Rack only the solid balls (1-8) and the 9 ball, with the nine ball in the center. The balls should form a diamond shape, leaving the bottom corners of the rack empty. The break is performed the same as in eight ball, except now players must always hit the lowest number ball on the table first. Hitting a higher number ball than the lowest on the table directly with the cue ball before first hitting the lowest number results in a "scratch." A scratch means the other player gets to place the cue ball wherever he or she wishes on the table. The ultimate goal of the game is to sink the 9 ball. The player who sinks it automatically wins. Players can go up through the numbers, sinking them all until the 9, or can choose to use a lower number ball as an intermediary between the cue and the 9, trying to sink it early in the game. Turns last until a player does not sink a ball.
  
  

Straight Pool

• Rack all the balls as in Eight Ball, with the 1 and 5 ball in the bottom corners of the triangle. All other balls are placed randomly, including the 8 ball. All balls in straight pool must be sunk into a pocket that is called before being shot by the player. Straight pool is played to a certain agreed upon number, with each ball representing one point. If the agreed upon goal is 20 points, then a player wins once he or she has sunk 20 balls. If the ball lands in a pocket uncalled, then the point does not count. Straight pool may require the players to re-rack the balls multiple times. Play continues until one player reaches the goal number of points.