Mini Pool Table Games

Whether playing pool on a full-sized table or a mini table, the game remains the same. There are several popular pool games you can enjoy, some that use all 15 of the balls and others that use only a few of them. Of course, you can always make up your own games as well as variations on traditional games. Here are some traditional pool games to play on your mini table.

8 Ball

The game of 8 Ball is simple. If a ball goes into the hole after the break, the player who shot that ball then takes all the balls of that type, either stripes or solids. If both types go in, the player chooses. If the 8 ball goes in, rack 'em back up and break again. Otherwise, players take turns shooting until one of them pockets a ball, thus establishing which are his balls. Players take turns, attempting to knock in all of their balls. A player continues to shoot as long as he makes his shot. After a miss or scratch (where the cue ball goes in) play is passed to the other player. Once a player gets in all of his balls, he attempts to knock the 8 ball into a called pocket for the win.

9 Ball

In 9 Ball you set up the rack with only the balls numbered 1 through 9, placing the 9 at the back center of the diamond. With nine balls, the rack formation is a diamond, not a triangle. In making any shot, the first ball the cue ball must hit is the lowest-numbered ball on the table. So long as the lowest ball is hit first, any other ball is fair game for being pocketed. If a ball other than the lowest is hit first, that constitutes a foul and play is passed to the other player. The winner is whoever legally pockets the 9 ball.

Cutthroat

Cutthroat is played with the players. The first player to pocket a ball has the choice of which group of balls he wants as his. The groups are divided into the balls numbered from 1 to 5, those numbered from 6 to 10, and those numbered 11 to 15. The second player to pocket a ball chooses his group from the remaining two, leaving the third player with the last group. In this game, the object is to pocket the other players' balls. The one with the last ball(s) on the table wins.