Rotation, sometimes called rotation pool or 61, is a pocket billiards game, requiring a standard pool table, <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">cue ball</dfn> and triangular rack of fifteen pool balls, in which the lowest-numbered <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">object ball</dfn> on the table must be always struck by the cue ball first, to attempt to <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">pocket</dfn> (<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">pot</dfn>) numbered balls for <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">points</dfn>.[1] Rotation is similar in many ways to nine-ball, but its scoring system is not unlike that of snooker and eight-ball.
As with nine-ball and other similar-format games, some attractions of rotation include performing unconventional or difficult shots to reach the correct ball, and quite often making risky attempts to score higher amounts of points by performing advanced shots such as <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">combination shots</dfn> (<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">plants</dfn>), <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">bank shots</dfn> (<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">doubles</dfn>) and <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">swerves</dfn>.
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The object of the game is to score the most points, by pocketing higher-scoring balls than the opponent(s). A <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">frame</dfn> (individual game) is won when a player or team reaches a number of points (usually 61) that makes it impossible for the opponent(s) to win.[1] A <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">match</dfn> may consist of multiple frames (e.g. a <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">race to 10</dfn>), or in multiple <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">rounds</dfn> of multiple frames (e.g. three rounds of best 2-out-of-three), as in other types of pool.
Points are scored by pocketing the object balls on the table; the number of points awarded is equal to the number printed on the ball pocketed; for example, pocketing the 4 ball scores the player 4 points. In a two-player or -team game, the frame is over when a player or team has 61 or more points, although frames tied (drawn) at 60 points can occur (in which case the player who last legally pocketed a ball is credited with a bonus point and declared the winner). More than two players or teams can play, with the winning score being recalculated (whatever number will mathematically eliminate other players from outscoring the leader).[1] For example, the 61-point mark is determined by taking the sum of the values of all fifteen balls, 120, divided by number of players, 2, to yield 60, then adding 1 to ensure a definite winner (other than in the event of a tie at 60, for which see above).
At the beginning of each frame, the balls are <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">racked</dfn> in a triangle as in eight-ball and other games using fifteen object balls, but in particular with the 1 ball at the front (apex) of the rack, on the <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">foot spot</dfn>, the 2 ball on the right rear corner (from the vantage of the racker) and the 3 ball at the left rear corner (as in kelly pool), and the 15 ball – the one with the highest value – in the center; all other balls are placed randomly, and all balls must be touching.[1] In informal British play, it is common to push the rack forward farther so that the 15 ball, still in the center of the rack, is resting on the foot spot. (See illustration at top of article.)
The primary rule of the game is that the lowest numbered object ball on the table at any time is the "<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">ball-on</dfn>" and must be struck first (including on the break shot – a side break is a foul), regardless of the player's intentions of which ball to actually pocket. Players may use the lowest numbered ball to pocket other (e.g. higher value) balls. Consequently, fifteen-ball not being a <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">call-shot</dfn> game, points are also counted if a ball is unintentionally but legally pocketed (a "<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">fluke</dfn>" or "<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">slop shot</dfn>"). A player's turn at the table continues until a shot fails to legally pocket a ball, a foul is committed, or the frame concludes.[1]
<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">Safety</dfn> play is rather strictly limited in rotation. If a player legally pockets a ball, that player must shoot again; unlike in many games, there is no provision for a called, intentional safety play that pockets a ball. Safeties that consist of simply using the cue ball to drive the ball-on to the closest <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">cushion</dfn>, without contacting another object ball in the course of the shot, are limited to only two such shots per player per frame. Other safeties are unlimited, provided that the lowest numbered ball is of course struck first and either at least two object balls move in the course of the shot, or the ball-on is driven to a cushion that is not the closest to it.[1]
If a <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">foul</dfn> is committed (other than a foul break or cue ball foul, as detailed below), the incoming opponent may either take the next shot or require the opponent to do so, with all balls as they lie in either case. If the exiting opponent's foul was <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">scratching</dfn> the cue ball into a pocket or off the table, the incoming player's shot is necessarily ball-in-hand, and must be taken from behind the <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">head string</dfn> (in <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">baulk</dfn>), although the incoming player may optionally require the fouling opponent to shoot again instead, with ball-in-hand behind the headstring). Shots taken from behind the head string must cause the cue ball to cross the head string; however, if the ball-on is behind the head string, the player with ball in hand (including a fouling player who has been forced to take the shot by the opponent) may optionally have that ball spotted on the foot spot before shooting. There is no point penalty for fouls Three consecutive fouls (i.e. on three consecutive turns at the table) by the same player is a loss of frame.[1]
Two-player <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">doubles</dfn> (or larger) teams compete by alternating teams and alternating players within each team. For example, if teams consist of players 1 and 2 versus players 3 and 4, and player 1 breaks, turns alternate in the pattern 1 (breaking), 3, 2, 4, 1, 3, 2, 4, etc. I.e., the ending of a player's turn at the table ends that team's turn at the table. As in individual competition, a player's turn at the table does not end until a foul is committed or the player fails to legally pocket an object ball (or the frame ends).
Three consecutive fouls by a team player disqualifies that player for the remainder of the frame (i.e., if player 3 were disqualified in the above example, then subsequent play order would be 4, 1, 2, 4, 1, 2, etc.) Balls that were legally pocketed by the disqualified player are not spotted.[1]
Informally, team play can also be conducted in <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">scotch doubles</dfn> format. However, the disqualification rule does not apply, and three consecutive fouls by the team are a loss of frame (otherwise, the team with the hypothetically disqualified player would have an advantage, in no longer having to coordinate two players).
Due to having to always hit the lowest ball or a specifically numbered ball, forms of rotation are often used to develop particular skills while shooting pool.
The variation called simple rotation does not count the value of the balls for a score but requires ascending numerical order in which the balls must be struck. The purpose of the game is to have pocketed the most balls, while still having to always hit the lowest ball on the table. The frame ends when one player has pocketed eight or more balls.
A combination of eight-ball and rotation, eight-ball rotation requires that each <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">suit</dfn> (<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">group</dfn>), <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">solids</dfn> versus <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">stripes</dfn> (or <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">reds</dfn> vs. <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">yellows</dfn> in blackball-style ball sets), must be pocketed in their numerical order, aside from the <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">8 ball</dfn> (<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">the black</dfn>), which is the <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">frame-winning ball</dfn>. Eight-ball rotation is racked with the 8 ball in the center, not the 15, and the game does not count the numerical value of the balls for a score; the frame can only be won by legally pocketing the 8 (and a foul while attempting to do so is a loss of frame). This variation is appropriate for team as well as individual competition.
In specific rotation or strict rotation, the ball's numbered value is counted for a score, but the order of balls pocketed must be sequential (and not simply struck first as in the standard game). If the lowest ball on the table is struck but a higher ball ends up being pocketed – such as in a combination shot – then that higher ball must be <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">spotted</dfn> back on the table after the shot (including after the break); this is not a foul. If the lowest-numbered ball is hit first but not pocketed, and another ball is spotted this ends the shooters turn. If the lowest-numbered ball is hit first and is pocketed along with another ball, that other ball is spotted immediately, and the shooter's turn continues The restrictiveness of this game makes it in some senses similar to one-pocket and bank pool, and it is more difficult in this respect than regular rotation, though potentially less challenging in other ways, e.g. by essentially forbidding combination shots and <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">caroms</dfn> (<dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">cannons</dfn>).
In the Philippines, rotation pool is popular, especially among advanced players, although 8 Ball, 9 Ball, and increasingly, 10 Ball, is widely played.[2]
Due to the popularity of other pool games (such as nine-ball, eight-ball, straight pool, etc.), rotation is hardly seen as a game for competition in some countries. However, this form of pool is a norm in the cue sport events of the South East Asian Games and the Asian Games.
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