Know what to do in case of a scratch or foul. This means that the player can place the cue ball anywhere on the table to take his or her next shot.

Foul penalty: Opposing player gets the cue ball in hand.

When the table is open, it is legal to hit a solid first in order to make a stripe or solid.

Open table: The table is 'open' when the choice of groups (stripes or solids) has not yet been determined.

Your opponent now has the chance to shoot from his or her chosen spot at the top of the table. If you scratch, remove one of your sunk balls from a pocket and place it back in the center of the table.

Scratch: When a player accidentally knocks the cue ball into a pocket.

Rail: The bank along the side of the pool tabletop.

'Pocketing' is the act of knocking one or more numbered 'object' balls into a pocket. There are six pockets: one in each corner, and one at the midpoint of each long side.

Pocket: The baskets along the rim of the pool table.

The 'object balls' are the balls that you are trying to knock into the pockets.

Object balls: The striped and solid balls numbered 1-15.

If you aren't sure what something means, ask a veteran pool player to clarify. Reference the terms as you learn to play. Pool is rich with unique terminology that can be difficult for new players to understand.

Place a stripe ball in one back corner of the rack, and a solid ball in the other corner. Put the 1-ball at the point of the triangle, facing the break. Set the 8-ball in the center of the triangle.The 'food spot' is located at the exact midpoint of the foot string line. If the 'head string' marks the 1/4 point from the head of the table to the foot, then the 'foot string' is an imaginary line that marks the distance 3/4 of the way from the head to the foot. Place the point of the triangle three-quarters down the length of the table, at the 'foot spot': the dot on the tabletop that corresponds to the head spot.Then, when you are ready to play, remove the racking frame so that only the balls remain. Make sure that the rack is laterally centered along the foot string. Arrange the rack at the opposite end of the table from the head spot, with one corner of the triangle facing the break. Find the triangular pool rack and place the 1-15 balls inside.

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