Bank the 8
Bank the 8 is played exactly like 8-Ball with one twist: the winning 8 ball has to be banked off a rail. It will not drop straight in, and that is the whole point of the game. Read the 8-Ball rules first – everything in them still applies here.
1. The rack and the break
- Rack all fifteen balls with the 8 ball in the center of the triangle and a solid and a stripe in the back corners.
- The breaker shoots the cue ball from behind the head string.
- A break is legal when at least four balls are driven to a rail or a ball is pocketed.
- Balls pocketed on the break are spotted, unless both players agree to leave them down.
2. The open table
The table stays open after the break. The first legal ball pocketed after the break assigns your group – solids or stripes. You may not assign your group and bank the 8 on the same shot.
3. Playing a shot
Once your group is assigned you must always contact your own group first, and the 8 ball is never a legal first ball until your group is cleared. The rest of the 8-Ball rules – calling your shot, combination shots, ball in hand after a foul – all still apply.
4. The banking shot
With your group cleared, the 8 ball is your only legal target, and the only legal way to pocket it is a bank:
- Call the 8 and the pocket you are banking it into. You do not have to name the rail.
- After the cue ball contacts the 8, the 8 must touch at least one cushion on its way to the pocket. One or two rails are fine.
- Caroming the 8 off another ball and in off a rail counts, as long as it touches a cushion first.
- A combination that starts with another ball and ends banking the 8 in is a foul – the 8 must be your first contact.
5. Missing the bank
If the 8 goes straight into the pocket instead of banking, the shot is illegal. The 8 is spotted and your opponent is awarded ball in hand. You do not lose the game – but you certainly do not get another shot at it.
6. Fouls
A foul is a loss of turn, and the incoming player gets ball in hand. You lose the game outright if you:
- Bank the 8 in and scratch on the same shot.
- Pocket the 8 without banking it, even on a shot where you also foul.
- Pocket the 8 before your group is cleared.
- Jump the 8 off the table on any shot other than the break.
7. Winning
Legally bank the 8 into a called pocket after your group is cleared and you take the pot. A direct shot at the 8 will not do it – find a rail.
8. House notes
Three fouls in a row is a loss. The Sagebrush is a call shot table, and the bartender's ruling during a tournament is final.