Intentional scratch ?'s

[Shag_Fu]

I have a question about intentional scratches: A ball is resting in the middle of opponents pocket. If I shoot that ball and scratch on the same shot does that ball spot up along with one of mine? Or is only if its is one of the last balls. I didnt see this covered in the rules section and am a little fuzzy on this one. Any help is always appreciated!

[NH Steve]

I have a question about intentional scratches: A ball is resting in the middle of opponents pocket. If I shoot that ball and scratch on the same shot does that ball spot up along with one of mine? Or is only if its is one of the last balls. I didnt see this covered in the rules section and am a little fuzzy on this one. Any help is always appreciated! It comes up (along with one of yours as a penalty for the scratch) at any point in the game. Of course if you don't have any balls yet, it means you'd owe one.

It's covered in rule 6.2:
"6.2 Any scratch or foul results in the end of the shooter’s inning, as well as a standard one ball penalty. All balls pocketed in the shooter’s pocket as a result of a stroke that includes a foul do not count for the shooting player and are to be immediately spotted, along with the standard one ball penalty. Also, any balls pocketed in the opponent’s pocket on a stroke that ends in either a pocket scratch or with the cue ball off the table are not to be counted for the opponent, and are to be immediately spotted. However, on a stroke when any other foul is committed (such as a push shot, double-hit or illegal ball contact), any balls scored into the opponent’s pocket are to stay down and be counted for the opponent."

Because the closer a player gets to their "out ball", the more vlauable each scored ball becomes, it can be good strategy to use that move anytime you safely can -- as long as you need more balls than your opponent. You wouldn't want to use it if you hold the lead though.