At the beginning of a frame, the balls are set up in the arrangement shown in the illustration.
The object balls are placed in a diamond-shaped configuration, with the 1 ball positioned at the front (toward the position of the breaking player), and the 9 ball placed in the center. The physical rack used to position the balls is typically triangle-shaped and capable of holding all fifteen object balls, although diamond-shaped racks that hold only nine balls are sometimes used. The placement of the remaining balls is generally considered to be random. However, in some handicapped tournaments, the ball being spotted to the lesser player must be one of the two balls placed behind the 1 ball at the apex of the rack. The placement of balls is expected to be precise, especially in league and tournament play; if any ball in the rack does not touch each adjacent ball, or if the rack is not "straight", or if the 1 ball is not resting precisely on the foot spot, the player assigned the break may demand a re-rack. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 12 July 2009 )
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