Seven-ball
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Seven-ball is a contemporary rotation pool game with rules similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven object balls as implied by its name, and play is restricted to particular pockets of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the game's invention,[1] ca. the early 1980s.[citation needed]
[edit] Rules
At the start of the game, balls 1 through 7 are racked in a hexagonal configuration, with the 1 ball placed at the rack's apex, centered over the table's foot spot, the 7 ball placed at the rack's center, and all other balls placed randomly (see photo top right). Immediately following the break shot, the opponent must elect three pockets along one of the table's long rails. Once that selection is made, that player may only legally pocket (pot) balls in the selected pockets, and the player who broke is automatically assigned the three pockets situated along the opposite long rail.[1]
A special 7 ball was designed for television matches by Charles Ursitti (billiards historian, referee and Willie Mosconi's one time manager) to address the problem that the color of the 7 and 3 balls in a standard set of pool balls are nearly indistinguishable when viewed on a TV screen.[1] The ball adopts the stripe of the 9 ball with the color of the solid black 8 ball, the "money balls" of their respective namesake games.
The original informal incarnation of seven ball led to a variant professional ruleset that enjoyed a brief heyday[clarify] in the Sudden Death Seven-ball series of pro tournaments, broadcast on the American cable TV network ESPN.
[edit] Informal play
No special equipment is required for play in pool halls or home pool rooms. As illustrated to the left, a regular set of pool balls and a nine-ball-style diamond rack turned sidewise are adequate (eight-ball-style triangle racks are ineffective for this).
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Shamos, Michael Ian (1993). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards. New York, NY: Lyons & Burford, pp. 206. ISBN 1-55821-219-1.
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