Seven-ball

Image:Seven-ball hex rack with black 7 ball.jpg

Seven-ball is a {{Cuegloss|Rotation|rotation}} pool game with rules similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven {{Cuegloss|Object ball|object balls}} as implied by its name, and play is restricted to particular pockets of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the game's invention in the early 1980s.{{cite book | last = Shamos | first = Michael Ian | year = 1993 | title = The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards | publisher = Lyons & Burford | location = New York, NY | pages = [https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000sham/page/206 206] | isbn = 1-55821-219-1 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000sham/page/206 }}

Rules

At the start of the game, balls one through seven are {{Cuegloss|Rack|racked}} in a hexagonal configuration, with the 1-ball placed at the rack's {{Cuegloss|Apex|apex}}, centered over the table's {{Cuegloss|foot spot}}, the 7-ball placed at the rack's center, and all other balls placed clockwise (see photo top right). Immediately following the {{Cuegloss|Break|break shot}}, the opponent must elect three pockets along one of the table's {{Cuegloss|Long rail|long rails}}, and the player who broke is automatically assigned the three pockets situated along the opposite long rail. Once that selection is made, balls 1–6 may be {{Cuegloss|Pocket|pocketed}} in any pocket in rotation, starting with the one, as the object ball. Balls pocketed via combinations off of the object ball are legal. The 7-ball must be pocketed in player's assigned side to be a legal win. Scratches on any object ball allow the opponent ball-in-hand, but the sunk ball remains potted. Scratching on the 7-ball is a loss. Pocketing the 7-ball in any other pocket than one on the called side is a loss.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXAgw3I7cbIC&q=Billiards%3A+The+Official+Rules+and+Records+Book+7+ball&pg=PA60 |title=Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book |pages=59–61 |date=2005 |publisher=Billiard Congress of America |isbn=9781592287444}}

A special 7-ball was designed for television matches by Charles Ursitti (billiards historian, referee and Willie Mosconi's one time manager) to more easily distinguish the 7-ball from the 3 on television. The ball adopts the {{Cuegloss|Stripes|stripe}} of the {{Cuegloss|9 ball|9-ball}} with the color of the {{Cuegloss|Solids|solid}} black {{Cuegloss|8 ball|8-ball}}, the "{{Cuegloss|Money ball|money balls}}" of their respective namesake games.

Image:Seven-ball diamond rack 1a.jpg

No special equipment is required for play; a regular set of pool balls and a nine-ball diamond rack turned sidewise are adequate.

The original informal incarnation of seven-ball led to a variant professional ruleset that enjoyed a brief heyday in the series Sudden Death Seven-ball, broadcast on the American cable TV network ESPN from 2000 to 2005.

Seven-ball

Rules

References

Further reading