Freak rule situation...

[gulfportdoc]

Played a long session with a guy last night. At one point, he was going to shoot at a ball that was left on the lip of his pocket after I failed to knock it out. He was about 3 feet back on the diagonal. Just as he started to stoke through the cueball, the hanging ball fell into his hole. He couldn't stop his forward motion so he shot the cueball in the hole right after it. We were both shocked, and didn't quite know what to do. I told him it was a scratch, that the ball spots up along with another of his, and I get BIH in the kitchen. He was adamantly against that. He asked a couple of the other experienced players who all said they'd never seen that happen before!

I told him to go ahead and keep the ball but, since he did scratch, that I had BIH behind the line. He didn't like that either. Turns out he would have been the favorite in the game if he'd been allowed to continue; so I told him I'd agree to replaying the game. He agreed! So I sort of dodged a bullet...

Turns out I believe that the balls should have been replaced. I think that unusual situation is covered in the BCA "General Rules of Pocket Billiards", under rule 3.30, "Balls moving spontaneously". If the ball falls "by itself" after hanging in the pocket for more than 5 seconds, then the ball should be replaced, and any other moved during
the shot, including the cueball. It was a new one on me. If I hadn't been in the game, I'd have fallen down laughing!

Doc

 

[SactownTom]

Your final re-spotting the balls is what I would have ruled. Same for 8, 9 and 14.1.

General rules of play.

 

[Donovan]

Great story Doc! That has happened to me at a bar once playing 8-ball about 18 years ago. Of course there and then, you just plain lose, because no one really knows the rules half the time. I was determined not to lose the table the whole night, but the pool gods were out to get me (and possibly the weak floor.)