Ballbreakers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ballbreakers was a pocket billiards gameshow that started on Game Show Network on July 18th, 2005. The hosts are Sal Masekela, Ewa Mataya Laurance, and Adrianne Curry. GSN has cancelled the show as of 2006.
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[edit] Play
The show features four people that play games of nine ball against one another for bets. At the beginning of the show, each contestant is given $5,000 to use in betting.
[edit] First round
During warm-ups, a player is selected for control of the table. They decide who to play against for the first game. The minimum bet in the first round is $1,000 per game. The first round continues until all players have played at least once, at which point the two players with the least money are pitted in an elimination round.
[edit] Side betting
Any player with money is allowed to place a side bet on the current game, even one of the competing players. Anything can be bet on: who will win, whether a particular ball will be made or missed, whether one player will 'run out the table', anything is fair game. All side bets are in $500 increments, but the bettor must find a taker for it to be official.
[edit] Elimination round
The two players with the smallest bankrolls play one game to survive. Whoever has the smaller bankroll is all-in, and the opponent puts in an equal amount. The winner of the game survives to move on to the next round, and collects their fair share of the money. If the "all-in" player moves on, that means some leftover money is in contention. The winner of the "Table Control" game collects all of the money.
[edit] Second round
In round two, minimum bets are $2,000, and the challenged player cannot back down. The challenged player can either accept the stakes or raise. Side bets are still $500 and up, and the winner of the first game plays against the other player in the round. After two games, the two low scorers play in the Elimination game.
[edit] Final round
In the final round, the two remaining players play for all of the money. The first three games are 'all-in' affairs; if the player with more money can win any of them, the show is over and the $20,000 is won. If the round goes three games with no player having all $20,000, the fourth game is played for all of the cash, no matter how much each player has.
