Rules of “Pyramid”
1 Purpose of Game.
Whoever is first in scoring 8 pocketed balls - wins.
2 Used Balls.
The game is played with 16 balls; each of these can be used as a cue ball
or as an object ball. Balls used for games normally are marked, fifteen of
them are white and are numbered from 1 to 15 while the sixteenth ball differs
from the rest balls in color or special marking.
3 Playing Game.
A player may pocket any object ball with a cue ball or may pocket a cue ball
after it hits one or several object balls. Balls and pockets do not have to
be indicated or called. If a stroke is legal, i.e. performed correctly, each
pocketed ball is considered to be won by the player.
4 Playing Cue Ball.
Cue balls are to be hit only with the cue tip along the longitudinal axis
of the cue and the player must have at least one foot in contact with the floor
when striking a ball.
Cue tip must not strike the cue ball twice on the same stroke.
Push shots and pressing strokes are forbidden.
Push shot is a stroke when a player delays contact of the cue tip with the
ball and pushes both the cue ball and the object ball simultaneously.
Pressing stroke is a stroke made when two balls lying close to each other or
in contact with each other get "squeezed" into the pocket by a pressing movement
of the cue, or roll over to another position under the pressing action of the
cue.
A cue ball which is in contact with the object ball should be hit with the
cue tip at an angle of 45° or more to the straight line connecting the
two ball centers.
A cue ball lying close to an object ball is to be hit with the cue in the usual
way and at any desired angle to the straight line between the ball centers,
but without a push shot or a pressing stroke.
5 Positioning Balls and Starting Game.
At the beginning of the game the 15 numbered object balls are racked close
to each other at one end of the table in a triangular pyramid pattern, using
a triangle, with the front apex ball on the foot spot (i.e. with its lowest
point lying at the so-called 3rd point) and the base of the formed ball pyramid
being parallel to the foot rail.
The sixteenth (numberless) ball is used as a cue ball and is positioned in
the head (between the head string and head end rail).
A ball positioned on the head string is considered to be out of the head zone.
The game starts after a referee sets all the balls for making the opening break
shot.
6 Lagging for Break Shot.
The players stand on the opposite sides of the long string of the table and
take one ball each. At the referee's command they put the balls on the table
and shoot them from behind the head string to the cushion of the foot rail.
The right to make the opening break shot is gained by a player whose ball rebounds
from the foot cushion and stops nearest to the cushion of the head rail. A
player is considered to have lost the lag for break if his/her ball: hasn't
contacted the foot cushion; has fallen into a pocket or jumped out over a cushion;
has contacted the cushion of a side rail or entered opponent’s side of
the table.The lag for break starts again if both the opponents have lost it
or if both the balls have stopped at the same distance from the head cushion.
The winner of the lag for break gets the right either to make the opening break
shot himself (herself) or to concede it to his/her opponent.
In subsequent games the players alternate in performing the opening break till
the end of the match.
7 Opening Break Shot.
A player may perform the opening break shot from inside the head but is not
allowed to cross the head string.
The cue ball is considered committed into the game if it has been hit by a
cue tip.
The opening break shot should be made in such way that at least one of the
following conditions is met: after contacting of the cue ball with any of the
object balls:
-
any of the balls would be sent into a pocket;
- any of the balls would touch two rails.
All balls pocketed during the opening break shot are considered scored by
a player making opening break shot and the scored ball (balls) are considered
sufficient condition for continuation of the game by him/her.
If none of the requirements of the opening break shot is met, then the opponent
has the right:
- to accept position of the balls on
the table and continue the game;
- to position the balls in a triangular pyramid pattern and make opening break
shot himself/ herself;
- to make an opponent perform an opening break shot again.
8 Starting and Completing a Shot.
A shot starts the instant the cue tip touches the cue ball and terminates
after all balls on the bed of the table come to complete rest. A ball spinning
on the spot shall be considered mobile.
9 Opponent Entering the Game.
The opponent of the previous shooter enters the game after the previous shooter
has missed, i.e. failed to pocket a ball, or has committed an infraction of
the rules.
If the offending shooter is penalized, his/her opponent has the right to assess
the position of the balls and demand that the punished player continues the
game.
10 Rule for Making a Rearranging Shot.
A rearranging stroke is a deliberate non-scoring stroke rendering opponent’s
chances to score a ball with his next stroke to minimum. A rearranging stroke
is considered legal if as a result of it a cue ball hits an object ball and
makes one of the balls rebound from one cushion and touch another cushion or
moves any other ball until a direct contact with that other cushion.
11 Special Cases of Sending a Ball to Side and Corner Pocket.
In all the cases of driving a ball to a side or corner pocket without scoring
a ball, when rearranging stroke requirements have not been met and when the
angle of hitting the pocket is sufficient (to be determined by a referee),
the stroke is considered legal and a player is not subject to penalty, if as
a result of the cue ball contact with the object ball, one of the balls.
- has contacted a pocket jaw;
- has contacted a cushion within the pocket zone of 68 mm (ball diameter)
from a pocket jaw along the cushion;
- has stopped within the scoring sector of the pocket at a distance not
exceeding two diameters of a ball (136 mm) from the edge of the pocket (measurement
is to be made to the center of the front surface of the ball stopped at the pocket).
If angle for pocketing a ball is insufficient (non-scoring zone, determined
by a referee), a rearrangement stroke is obligatory.
The shooter has a right to consult with the referee about sufficiency of the
angle at which the player intends to make the stroke.
12 Scored and Hanging Balls.
A ball is considered scored (pocketed) if as a result of a legal stroke it
drops into a pocket and remains there. A ball rebounded from a pocket into
the table bed is not considered scored and shall remain in game.
If a ball stops (hangs) in the mouth of a pocket and then drops into the pocket
before the end of the stroke (stoppage of all balls on the table), then such
a ball shall be considered scored and a player shall be entitled to the next
stroke.
If a ball stops (hangs) in the mouth of a pocket and then drops into the pocket
after all balls on the table bed have come to rest, normally as a result of
external force, such ball shall be replaced to its original position in the
mouth of the pocket.
13 Intentional Running of Object Balls Along a Rail.
Intentional running of object ball along a rail, irrespective of the type
of sending them this way, – directly by a cue ball or by other object
ball - is not permitted. A ball pocketed as a result of intentional running
of it along a rail shall not be considered as scored and shall be replaced
to the game positioning it on the foot spot, no penalty shall be applied for
such pocketing.
14 Jumped Balls.
Balls are considered to have jumped off the table, if they have stopped outside
the bed of the table. In addition, balls are considered to have jumped off
the table if they hit any object (cue, chalk, clothes, etc.) outside boundaries
of the table and return to the bed of the table.
If a jumped off ball comes into contact with any object (cue, chalk, clothes,
etc.) belonging to the player or his/her opponent outside boundaries of the
table, such shot shall not be considered a foul.
However, if a jumped off ball comes into contact with anything belonging to
the player or his/her opponent (cue, chalk, hand, clothes, etc.) within the
boundaries of the table then such shot shall be considered a foul and penalized.
A ball shall remain in game if a ball having hit any object within the table
boundaries (upper part of a rail, pocket’s rim, lighting fixture, etc.)
returns to the table bed on its own.
15 Slow Game.
If a player is consistently slow in planning and executing a shot and thus
impeding the progress of the game, then a referee (opponent) has the right
to impose a one minute time limit for that person between shots.
When this time limit procedure is imposed, a player is given one minute for
planning and performance of a shot. The countdown time starts when all balls
on the table come to full rest and it is kept by a referee using stopwatch.
10 seconds before elapsing of the time a referee makes a warning “ten
seconds left”.If a player within one minute period fails to make a shot,
the referee gives a command “Stop” and assigns the next shot to
the opponent while position of the balls on the table remains unchanged. An
offending player is subject to penalty.
16 Spotting Balls.
All illegally pocketed balls, balls jumped off the table and balls taken from
a player’s shelf as a penalty, shall be positioned on the foot spot.
If this spot is occupied by other ball, then the ball is to be put along the
long string between the foot spot and the foot rail as close as possible to
the interfering ball but not in direct contact with it.It is allowed to hit
and play with a ball that has been spotted immediately after the spotting.
17 Foul Penalties.
For each infraction of the rules a player gets the penalty in a form of a
ball taken from the fouling player’s shelf and replaced to the table.If
the player who has fouled, has no balls on his/her score, the penalty will
be affected after he/she pockets his/her first ball.
If during one shot several rules are violated, the player gets a single penalty
(loses one of his/her won balls).
Balls pocketed through infraction of the rules are not to be scored and shall
be spotted in accordance with the game Rules.
Penalties are applied in the following cases:
1) If the struck cue ball has contacted no object
ball;
2) If the struck cue ball has jumped off the bed of the table;
3) If any ball on the bed gets touched by or comes in contact with clothing,
mechanical bridge, chalk, etc.
4) If the cue ball is struck incorrectly;
5) If opening break shot is performed incorrectly;
6) If rearranging stroke is performed incorrectly;
7) If a player interferes with his opponent’s play by relocating a ball
(balls);.
8) If a player shoots before the previous shot is completed;
9) If time limit assigned to a player by a referee for slow play is exceeded.
