Forget to spot a ball?

[ajrack]

What is the best way to handle the problem of forgetting to spot a ball?
...snooze you lose...
...spot it when you remember...
...spot it at the end of the current inning...

I now use a rule, in my tournaments, that I call "The Kane Rule"...named after Tres Kane, a good player in Phoenix....
"If you forget to pocket a ball and then remember later...YOU NOW MUST SPOT TWO BALLS!!!!"
almost no one now forgets...and not much of an advantage to "remember" later for any special benefit...to either player...

[NH Steve]

It's generally accepted that 'scratches still have to be paid' -- but sometimes arguments can come up over when to spot the ball, because it can effect the game! Grady's Rules, used in his Legends tournaments, say balls should be spotted after both players have shot once.

The OnePocket.org rules (http://onepocket.org/one_pocket_pool_rules.htm) are similar to Grady's rule:

8.4 If any owed balls, or balls that have fallen into a neutral pocket are forgotten and later remembered, then instead of being spotted after the current shooter’s inning, they are spotted after the end of the next player’s inning, unless there are no balls left on the table, in which case they are all spotted immediately. In any case, any owed balls are not forgiven, but still must be paid. Note, playing ‘snooze you lose’ is the rare exception in house rules; it is by no means the standard rule, and it should only be accepted when it is clearly and mutually agreed on by both players before play begins.

In practice, players often agree to spot the 'slept' ball or balls before they have both shot again, whenever they both agree that the spotting won't affect play. A note to that effect could be added to the OnePocket.org rules...