Pool game rules:

8-Ball Rules:

1. Aim of the game
The game is played with a cue ball (the white ball) and fifteen object balls, numbered 1 through 15: 1-7 (solid colors), 9-15 (stripes) and 8-ball (black).

One player must pocket balls of solid colors, while the other player the striped ones. The player pocketing his group first and then legally pocketing the 8-ball wins the game.

2. Opening break
The balls are racked in a triangle with the 8-ball in the center of the triangle, the first ball of the rack on the foot spot, a stripe ball in one corner of the rack and a solid ball in the other corner.
The game begins with the cue ball in hand behind the head string.
Any ball can be hit first by the cue ball
The break is legal when neither the cue ball nor the 8-ball is pocketed, and either one of the numbered balls is pocketed or one of them is driven to the rail.

3. Choice of group
If no numbered ball is pocketed by the opening break then the table remains open and the opposing player is next.
Open table means that the group of balls a player has to pocket is not decided yet. It is legal to hit any solid or stripe or 8-ball first while the table is open.
The choice of group is determined when a player legally pockets a solid or stripe ball at open table. He selects his group by the one he pockets.
After the groups are assigned on all shots the shooter must hit a ball of his group first and pocket any ball(s) of his groups.

4. Play & Win
A player is entitled to continue shooting until he fails to legally pocket a ball of his group.?It is no foul if he fails but then the opposing player is next.
A player has to complete one shot in 60 seconds, otherwise a foul is called, and incoming player gets cue ball in hand.
When all balls of a players group are pocketed then the 8-ball has to be pocketed in any pocket.

5. Fouls
The cue ball does not hit a ball of the players group first.
The cue ball is pocketed.
None of the balls is driven to the rail.
The shot is not completed in 60 seconds.
If a shot is foul the opposing player gets the cue ball in hand. This means that the player can place the cue ball anywhere on the table (does not have to be behind the head string).

6. Losing the game
A player loses when he pockets the 8-ball and

not all of the balls of his group are pocketed.
the hit is a foul.

9-Ball Rules:

1. Aim of the game
The game is played with nine object balls numbered one through nine and a cue ball (the white ball).
The aim is to pocket the 9-ball with a legal shot. On each shot the first ball the cue ball contacts must be the lowest-numbered ball on the table, but the balls need not be pocketed in order.

2. Opening break
The object balls are racked in a diamond shape, with the one ball at the top of the diamond and on the foot spot, the 9-ball in the center of the diamond, and the other balls in random order.
The game begins with the cue ball in hand behind the head string.

3. Play & Win
A player is entitled to continue shooting until he fails to legally pocket a ball. It is no foul if he fails but then the opposing player is next.
A player has to complete one shot in 60 seconds, otherwise a foul is called, and incoming player gets cue ball in hand.
If the 9-ball is pocketed by a foul shot then the 9-ball is respotted.

4. Fouls
Bad hit - If the first object ball contacted by the cue ball is not the lowest-numbered ball on the table.
No rail - If no object ball is pocketed and neither the cue ball, nor any numbered ball hits the rail.
Scratch - The cue ball is pocketed.
Timeout - The shot is not completed in 60 seconds.
After a foul shot the incoming player has the cue ball in hand; he can place it anywhere on the table (not necessarily behind the head string).

5. Losing the game
If a player fouls three consecutive times on three successive shots without making an intervening legal shot he loses the game.


 
Snooker Rules

1. Aim of the game
Snooker is played with fifteen object balls that are not numbered and are solid red (called reds), six object balls of other colors that are not numbered (called colors in snooker) and a cue ball (called the white ball).
The aim of snooker is to pocket the balls legally according to the rules and to score a greater number of points than the opponent.
Point values for object balls: red-1, yellow-2, green-3, brown-4, blue-5, pink-6, black-7.

2. Opening break rules
The game of Snooker begins with the cue ball in hand in the Half Circle (so the starting player can place the cue ball anywhere inside the Half Circle).
The rules for the opening break are the same as when one of the players gets the right to strike.
3. Game Rules
A player who gets the right to strike has to hit one of the red ball first.
Each shot has to be completed in 60 seconds, otherwise a foul is called.

A strike, when the next legal object is a red ball, is legal when:
The white ball is not potted.
The white ball hits a red ball first.
Only red balls are potted.
Otherwise the strike is a foul.
When the strike on the red ball is legal:

If no red ball is potted then the opposing player is next.
When a red ball is potted then the player gets as many points as the number of red balls he has potted. The strikers next legal object is a colored snooker ball (see next point rules).

A strike, when the next legal object is a color ball, is legal when:
The white ball is not potted.
If there are still red balls on the table then one of the colored balls is hit by the white ball first.
If there are no more red balls on the table then the colored ball with the lowest points is hit first.
Only the ball that was hit first by the white ball is be potted.
Otherwise the strike is a foul.
When the strike on the colored ball is legal:

If no ball is potted then the opposing player is next.
When a colored ball is potted then the players points increase by the point value of the potted colored ball. The strikers next legal object is a red ball. If there are no more red balls on the table, the next legal object is the ball with the lowest points.

4. Snooker Fouls
If a hit is a foul then the other player gets penalty points:

4 points if the white ball is potted.
4 points if time limit is exceeded (60 seconds/shot)
If the white hits the wrong ball first then the value of this ball.
If the wrong ball is potted first then the value of this ball.
When a hit results in more fouls then the opposing player gets the points of foul with the highest value.
Penalty points have a minimal value of 4.

After committing a foul the incoming player may

play the ball(s) as they lie
request to pass the shot and let the offending player play the stroke again (without returning to the original position)

5. Game over rule
When the only ball left on the table is the black one and

The black ball is potted by the next legal shot.
The next hit is a foul.
Playoff: If the scores are equal after potting the last ball, the black ball is respotted and the player on plays again from the D. The first foul or pot ends the game.
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The rules of chess

Chess is a game, played by two players. One player plays with the white pieces, and the other player plays with the black pieces. Each player has sixteen pieces in the beginning of the game: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns.

The game is played on a chessboard, consisting of 64 squares: eight rows and eight columns. The squares are alternately light (white) and dark colored. The board must be laid down such that there is a black square in the lower-left corner. To facilitate notation of moves, all squares are given a name. From the view of the white player, the rows are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; the lowest row has number 1, and the upper row has number 8. The columns are named, from left to right, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h. A square gets a name, consisting of the combination of its column-letter and row-number, e.g., the square in the lower left corner (for white) is a1.

Alternately, the players make a move, starting with the white player (the player that plays with the white pieces.) A move consists of moving one of the pieces of the player to a different square, following the rules of movement for that piece - there is one special exception, named castling, where players move two pieces simultaneously.

A player can take a piece of the opponent by moving one of his own pieces to the square that contains a piece of the opponent. The opponents piece then is removed from the board, and out of play for the rest of the game. (Taking is not compulsory.)

At the start of the game, the position of the pieces is as follows.

Thus, at the second row, there are eight white pawns, at the seventh row, there are eight black pawns. At the first row, from left to right, we have a: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook. Note that the queens start of squares of their own color, with a dark square in each players left hand corner.

Movement of the pieces

Rook

The rook moves in a straight line, horizontally or vertically. The rook may not jump over other pieces, that is: all squares between the square where the rook starts its move and where the rook ends its move must be empty. (As for all pieces, when the square where the rook ends his move contains a piece of the opponent, then this piece is taken. The square where the rook ends his move may not contain a piece of the player owning this rook.)

Bishop

The bishop moves in a straight diagonal line. The bishop may also not jump over other pieces.

Queen

The queen has the combined moves of the rook and the bishop, i.e., the queen may move in any straight line, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Knight

The knight makes a move that consists of first one step in a horizontal or vertical direction, and then one step diagonally in an outward direction. The knight jumps: it is allowed that the first square that the knight passes over is occupied by an arbitrary piece. For instance, white can start the game by moving his knight from b1 to c3. The piece that is jumped over is further not affected by the knight: as usual, a knight takes a piece of the opponent by moving to the square that contains that piece.

Pawn

The pawn moves differently regarding whether it moves to an empty square or whether it takes a piece of the opponent. When a pawn does not take, it moves one square straight forward. When this pawn has not moved at all, i.e., the pawn is still at the second row (from the owning players view), the pawn may make a double step straight forward. For instance, a white pawn on d2 can be moved to d4.

When taking, the pawn goes one square diagonally forward.

There is one special rule, called taking en-passant. When a pawn makes a double step from the second row to the fourth row, and there is an enemy pawn on an adjacent square on the fourth row, then this enemy pawn inthe next move may move diagonally to the square that was passed over by the double-stepping pawn, which is on the third row. In this same move, the double-stepping pawn is taken. This taking en-passant must be done directly: if the player who could take en-passant does not do this in the first move after the double step, this pawn cannot be taken anymore by an en-passant move.

Pawns that reach the last row of the board promote. When a player moves a pawn to the last row of the board, he replaces the pawn by a queen, rook, knight, or bishop (of the same color). Usually, players will promote the pawn to a queen, but the other types of pieces are also allowed. (It is not required that the pawn is promoted to a piece taken. Thus, it is for instance possible that a player has at a certain moment two queens.)

King

The king moves one square in any direction, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. There is one special type of move, made by a king and rook simultaneously, called castling: see below.

The king is the most important piece of the game, and moves must be made in such a way that the king is never in check: see below.

Castling

Under certain, special rules, a king and rook can move simultaneously in a castling move.

The following conditions must be met:

• The king that makes the castling move has not yet moved in the game.
• The rook that makes the castling move has not yet moved in the game.
• The king is not in check.
• The king does not move over a square that is attacked by an enemy piece during the castling move, i.e., when castling, there may not be an enemy piece that can move (in case of pawns: by diagonal movement) to a square that is moved over by the king.
• The king does not move to a square that is attacked by an enemy piece during the castling move, i.e., you may not castle and end the move with the king in check.
• All squares between the rook and king before the castling move are empty.
• The King and rook must occupy the same rank (or row).

When castling, the king moves two squares towards the rook, and the rook moves over the king to the next square, i.e., blacks king on e8 and rook on a8 move to: king c8, rook d8 (long castling), whites king on e1 and rook on h1 move to: king g1, rook f1 (short castling).

Check, mate, and stalemate

Check

When the king of a player can be taken by a piece of the opponent, one says that the king is in check. For instance, the white player moves his rook to a position such that it attacks the black king, i.e., if black doesnt do anything about it, the rook could take the black king in the next move: we say that the white rook gives check. It is considered good manners to say check when one checks ones opponent.

It is not allowed to make a move, such that ones king is in check after the move. If a player accidently tries to make such a move, he must take the move back and make another move (following the rules that one must move with the piece one has touched.)

Mate

When a player is in check, and he cannot make a move such that after the move, the king is not in check, then he is mated. The player that is mated lost the game, and the player that mated him won the game.

Note that there are three different possible ways to remove a check:

1. Move the king away to a square where he is not in check.
2. Take the piece that gives the check.
3. (In case of a check, given by a rook, bishop or queen: ) move a piece between the checking piece and the king.

Stalemate

When a player cannot make any legal move, but he is not in check, then the player is said to be stalemated. In a case of a stalemate, the game is a draw.

Other rules

Resign and draw proposals

A player can resign the game, which means that he has lost and his opponent has won.

After making a move, a player can propose a draw: his opponent can accept the proposal (in which case the game ends and is a draw) or refuse the proposal (in which case the game continues).

Repetition of moves

If the same position with the same player to move is repeated three times in the game, the player to move can claim a draw. (When the right to make a certain castling move is lost by one of the players between positions, then the positions are considered to be different.
One case where the repetition of move occurs is when a player continues to give check forever.

50 moves rules

If there are have been 50 consecutive moves of white and of black without

• any piece taken
• any pawn move

then a player can claim a draw.

Touching pieces

When a player touches one of his own pieces, he must, if possible, make a legal move with this piece. When a player touches a piece of the opponent, he must, if possible, take this piece.

Chess clocks and time

Often, players play the game with chess clocks. These clocks count the time that each player separately takes for making his own moves. Additional rules are then used, saying how many (possibly all) moves must be made before a player has used a certain time for his moves.

Other rules

There are other rules, telling what should happen in special occasions, like that players started the game with a wrong setup, etc. These are not so important for friendly games; for details, again see the official rules of chess.
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The Rules of Darts

Description

By far the most commonly used design of darts board today is the clock or trebles board and that is the only board that will be considered in these instructions.  A good board should be made from vegetable fibre and is called a bristle board.  The pattern on the board is delineated by wire and hue.   It consists of a circle of 20 segments numbered from 1 to 20 in a seemingly random fashion.  At the centre is a small black circle called the bullseye and, surrounding that, a thin red ring called the 25 ring.  The segments spread out from this ring broken only by the treble ring about half way to the edge and double ring which marks the rim of the circle.  So, for instance, if a dart lands in the segment marked 14 and is within the treble ring, a treble 14 has been scored.

Each player has 3 darts which are front-weighted, flighted, weapons a few inches long with a sharp point.

The board is placed so that the middle of the bullseye is 1.73m (5 feet, 8 inches) above the ground.  Players should stand behind a raised horizontal block called the oche (pronounced okky) 38 mm (1 1/2 inches) high, although any mark on the ground will do for casual play.  The front of the oche should be 2.37m (7 feet, 9 and 1/4 inches) from the front of the board.

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501 and 301

Most professional matches are 501 up.  This is the simplest of games.   Each player starts with a score of 501 and takes turns to throw 3 darts.  The score for each turn is calculated and deducted from the players total.  Bullseye scores 50, the outer ring scores 25 and a dart in the double or treble ring counts double or treble the segment score.  The objective is to be the first player to reduce the score to exactly zero, the only caveat being that the last dart thrown must land in a double or the bullseye. 

If a player reduces the score to 1 or goes below zero, the score is bust, that turn ends immediately and the score is returned to what it was at the start of that turn.  e.g. if a player has 32 to go out and the first dart is a 16, the second is a 15, the player is bust and the score is returned to 32.  So on the last turn, it is not necessary to throw all 3 darts - a player can win with the first or second dart of the turn.

Because a player who misses a targeted double is likely to score the single of that segment, good players attempt to leave themselves with a repeatably bisectable number such as 24 or most ideally 32 - double 16. So for instance, if a player has double 16 left, and hits a 16, he has double 8 left and if he then hits an 8 he has double 4 left and so on - this is advantageous because no extra darts need to be thrown in order to reduce the score to an even number... It so often happens that people reduce their score to 1 (typically while aiming for double 1), some people play a very unofficial rule called splitting the 11. This rule says that when the score is reduced to 1, instead of going bust, the player must split the 11 by throwing a dart between the two numbers forming the number 11 on the edge of the board. This is tricky.

301 is played in exactly the same way but players start the game with 301.  Some games require a double to start scoring as well as to finish the game. 

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Around the Clock

A popular game played for fun is Around the Clock.  In this, each player takes turns to throw 3 darts and is required to throw a dart in every segment starting from 1 up to 20 and then to finish with the 25 and bullseye.  Players must start with 1 and cannot proceed to the next number until a dart has been successfully thrown at the current target segment.  Doubles and trebles are ignored.  First player to hit all the targets and then finish with the bullseye wins.

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Cricket

There are a number of games played with a darts board that are based around other pub games and this is the most common of them.  Each player takes turn to throw 3 darts as per usual. 

To start, players toss a coin to decide who bats first.  The batting player starts and, during each turn, attempts to score as many points as possible using the usual 501 scoring system.  When the batting player scores more than 40 points in a turn, the number of points above 40 is added to that players score.  e.g. If the batting player scores 58, 18 points (runs) are added to that players score.  Otherwise the batting player scores nothing. 

The opposing player is deemed to be bowling and this player aims only at the bullseye.   The bowling player scores 2 wickets for the bullseye and 1 wicket for the 25 ring.   Players take turns until the bowling player throws a dart that scores the 10th wicket.  At that point, the roles are reversed and the other player has an innings (turn to bat).  The game should end when both players have played two innings each at which point the player with the highest score has won the match.

If the batting player should land a dart in the bullseye or 25 ring, the batting player loses a wicket or two accordingly.  If the bowling player throws a dart which does not land in the board, 20 extras are awarded to the batting side.

For less skilled players, the game can be made easier in a variety of ways.  Here are some suggestions:

• Each innings consists of less wickets e.g. 4.
• The target for a wicket can be changed to be the segments 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20.
• The batting players scores the absolute amount each turn rather than the amount beyond 40.

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Killer

This is the most popular game for large groups and is good swift fun. There are variations but this is the basic game.

To begin, an order of play is decided, and each player throws one dart bad-handed (left-handed players throw right-handed and vice-versa) at the board to decide their number. Obviously, if a dart misses or hits a number that is already allocated, the player retries. Each player is allocated a set number of lives (usually 5) and is generally required to put a small stake into a pot. It is a good tactic to avoid being adjacent to somebody elses number.

Players start by taking turns to aim at their allocated number, scoring a life for each dart that hits it, 2 lives for a double and 3 lives for a treble. Once a player has scored 5 lives, that player is a killer until somebody else deducts one or more lives from his score. However, a player must get EXACTLY 5 lives to become a killer, if he overshoots, then his score is deducted by the amount exceeded. For instance, if a player is on 4 lives and hits a treble of his number, the first of the 3 lives scored takes the player to 5 but the remaining 2 lives are deducted - so the end result is a score of 3 lives.

Once a player is a killer, they aim at any of the other players numbers. Each time they do, the appropriate number of lives is deducted from the victimised players score. When a player is reduced to below 0, that player is out of the game. For instance if a player has 1 life and a killer hits that players numbers double, that players score is reduced to -1 and he is out of the game.

The final player left in the game is the winner and collects the pot.

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Texas Holdem Rules

Up to 10 players are sitting at a table. If you have selected Side View, you will see avatars representing the players, plus an additional one representing the dealer. In front of one of the players is a button with a D on it. This is called the dealer button. The dealer button moves one position to the left before each hand. This button originates from when players in the group took turns to deal the cards. In our poker room, there is a virtual dealer (shown in side view) who does the actual dealing (sitting in the middle of the left hand side of the table, behind the chip tray). The virtual dealer does not participate in the game in any way other than dealing cards.

The Game Cycle
The Game Cycle progresses as follows (examples shown are for limit poker):

Blinds

First, the two players directly to the left of the dealer button (not the virtual dealer!) must post blinds, that is to place a bet before the cards are dealt. This is to stimulate action on every hand. Since the dealer button moves one position clockwise every hand, everyone has to post blinds at some point in the game. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the small blind, equal to half of the minimum stake (e.g. $2.50 for a $5/$10 game). The player to the left of the small blind posts the big blind, equal to the amount of the minimum stake (e.g. $5 for a $5/$10 game).

Pocket Cards

After the blinds, the first cards are dealt. Every player gets two cards face down. These are called pocket cards (also known as hole or down cards).

1st Betting Round

Betting begins with the player immediately to the left of the big blind and continues in a clockwise direction around the table. Every player can fold, call or raise. Raising is possible by the lower table stake ($5 in a $5/$10 game) only. Betting is explained in more detail below.

The Flop Cards

Now three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These cards are called the flop cards. These are community cards and can be used by all the players to make up their hand.

2nd Betting Round

Second round of betting follows. This is carried out exactly as the first betting round, but begins with the player who paid the small blind, or the first player on his left who is still in the hand.

3rd Betting Round - The Turn Card

After the second round of betting, a fourth community card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. This is called the Turn card. It is followed by a third round of betting, but now the minimum bet is the higher of the table stakes, in our example $10 in a $5/$10 game.

4th Betting Round - The River Card
Finally, a fifth and final community card is dealt. It is called the River card and is followed by a fourth and final round of betting.

Showdown

After the final betting round, the best five-card hand is determined. Both the pocket cards and the community cards can be used to make up a hand. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. Players can also split the pot if they have the same hand. In the rare case of the best hand consisting of community cards only, the pot is divided between all the players left in the pot at the showdown. If you see that you are losing, and do not want to show your cards, you can Muck, that is to give up your hand and lose the pot. Otherwise you can Show to compare your hand with others.

Start again

After a hand is completed and the pot taken by the winner, the dealer button is moved one player to the left, and the next hand begins.

Betting system

The player left of the big blind starts the betting round, betting order goes around the table clockwise. Everyone is betting according to what they think their hand will lead to.

Fold

If you dont like your cards, you can fold. If you have posted a blind, made a bet or raised a bet, you will lose that money. But you will not lose any more. After folding, you are out of the game until the next hand.

Check/Call

You can stay in the game by checking or calling. If no bet has been made before you, you can check without placing any money in the pot. If a bet has been made(this includes the blinds), you can call by placing the same amount in the pot.

Bet/Raise/Re-raise/Re-re-raise

If you think your hand is good enough, you can make a bet. If another player has already made a bet, you can raise it.

Bet amounts are fixed by the table stakes. For example, in a $5/$10 table, bets are $5 in the first two rounds and $10 in the last two. There can be one bet and three raises in each round (bet, raise, re-raise, re-raise). After three raises the betting round is capped and the next card is dealt (or, if it is the final betting round, the best hand is determined).

All-in
 
When a player runs out of chips during the course of a hand, he/she does not have to fold. Instead the player will be deemed to have gone ¡°All-in¡±. When you are all-in, you call all your chips and the pot is divided into the main pot and side pot. All subsequent chips are thereafter added to the side pot, and cannot be won by the all-in player.

At the showdown if the All-in player does not have a winning hand, both the side pot and the main pot go to the winning hand, as usual.

At the showdown if the All-in player has a winning hand, the main pot goes to the All-in player, and the side pot goes to the next best hand.

When several players go All-in, multiple side pots are created. The pots are divided according to hand and order in which the players went All-in. If a player not all-in at the showdown has the winning hand he wins all side pots and the main pot. If an all-in player has the best hand he/she wins the pot or pots that were collected until he/she went All-in. Any all-in player with a winning hand can only win the pot or pots they are involved in.

A Betting round continues until all players have folded or called the third raise, or until a bet has been called by all players (except the one who placed the bet) with no raise taking place. ¡¡