Pool format
Speed pool: rules and how to play
Clear the table as fast as you can. The clock is the only opponent.
| Players | 1–8 |
|---|---|
| Length | 2–5 minutes a turn |
| Equipment | Full or short rack, and a timer |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
The object of the game
The fastest time to clear an agreed set of balls.
Setting up
- Rack an agreed number of balls — nine is a good bar length, fifteen for strong players.
- Everyone gets one attempt. Time starts on the break.
The rules
Any ball, any pocket, as fast as you like
No rotation, no calling. The only thing that matters is the clock stopping when the last ball drops.
A scratch costs time
Standard penalty is five or ten seconds added, plus the time lost retrieving the cue ball.
House variants
This is a folk game with no governing body, so the version below is the common one and these are the variants you will meet. The only real mistake is not saying which you are playing before the first break.
Elimination rounds
Slowest player each round is out. Turns a solo game into a bracket without any brackets.
How a night of this actually runs
It takes 1–8 and runs about 2–5 minutes a turn, which is the number that decides whether it suits your room more than any rule in it does. You need full or short rack, and a timer, and it sits at a intermediate level — so think about whether the weakest player in the room will still be enjoying it an hour in.
Compared with three strikes, the format this site is built around: that one takes any number of players, keeps everybody in the room for roughly two hours, and needs nothing but a rack and a way to count lives. Most of the games on this site are better as the game inside a night than as the shape of the night itself.
Is it any good in a bar?
Loud, fast and very watchable — easily the most spectator-friendly game in this list. Terrific as a tiebreaker or a side event, exhausting as a whole night.