Before you can run a pool tournament, you need to answer one basic question: what game are you actually playing? "8-ball" and "9-ball" aren't the only options, and the game you pick changes the pace, the skill ceiling, and how fair the night feels to a mixed room of players.
One thing before you dive in: this page assumes zero background. If you've never run a tournament before and terms like "race to 5" or "handicapped" mean nothing to you yet, that's exactly who this is written for. Every term gets explained the first time it shows up.
Long Race Formats (8-Ball, 9-Ball, 10-Ball)
First, a term you'll see everywhere in pool: a "race to" a number just means a match isn't decided by one single game — it's decided by whoever wins that many individual games first. A "race to 5" means the first player to win 5 games takes the whole match, even if it takes 8 or 9 games total to get there because both players are winning some along the way.
- Games used: Standard 8-ball, 9-ball, or 10-ball (the classic pool games most people already picture when they think "pool")
- Win condition: First player to reach the target number of game wins
- Typical race length: 5 (casual) to 9+ (finals, high-level events)
- Table time: Scales directly with race length — a race to 9 can easily take twice as long as a race to 5
Good for: Any serious, competitive event where you want the better player to actually win more often than not. A short race (race to 5) leaves more room for a lucky streak to decide things — fun for a casual night. A long race (race to 9 or more) smooths out luck, so the more consistent player tends to come out ahead — which is why televised pro finals usually race longer than early rounds do.
Director's note: Don't run every round at the same race length. Shorten early rounds and lengthen the semifinal and final — it keeps your schedule realistic without cheapening the rounds that matter most.
Handicapped Tournaments
A handicap is just a way of giving a weaker player a head start so a match is closer, the same idea as in golf or bowling. In pool, instead of every player needing to win the same number of games, each player gets a skill rating — a number that estimates how good they are, based on a system like Fargo Rate or the APA's Equalizer. The number of games or points needed to win gets adjusted based on that rating, so a stronger player has to win more than a weaker one to take the same match.
- Requires: A trusted rating system (Fargo, APA skill level, or a system you build yourself)
- Example: A player rated Skill Level 6 needs to win 5 games; a player rated Skill Level 4 only needs to win 3 games — same match, same table, adjusted target
- Applies to: Any race-format game (8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, etc.)
Good for: Mixed-skill rooms — leagues, bar tournaments, anywhere beginners and advanced players are competing side by side. Without a handicap, the room's best player wins every single week and everyone else eventually stops showing up.
Director's note: Handicapping only works if players trust the rating behind it. It also opens the door to sandbagging — a player deliberately playing worse than they're capable of so they get rated lower and have an easier time winning. Most leagues treat this as a serious violation. Be ready to make judgment calls on borderline cases.
If you're setting up handicaps for the first time, our FargoRate guide walks through where those ratings actually come from.
Tiered Entry
This one isn't a game or a scoring rule at all — it's about the entry fee (the money a player pays to sign up for the tournament). Instead of adjusting how many games someone needs to win, you adjust what they pay to get in. Higher-rated players pay more, lower-rated players pay less, and then everyone plays the exact same games straight up, with no handicap at all.
- Requires: A rating system to sort players into fee groups (called "tiers" or "bands")
- Example: A 9-ball event with extra prize money added by the organizer split entry into three skill bands based on Fargo rating — 600 and above, 500 to 599, and 499 and under — with each band paying a different entry fee
- Applies to: Any straight (non-handicapped) event
Good for: Directors who want the event to feel fair without touching the games themselves, or who want to build a bigger prize pool by charging stronger players more.
Director's note: This makes the buy-in feel fairer, but it won't make a weaker player any more likely to actually win a match — they're still playing straight pool against a stronger opponent, just for less money. If your real goal is competitive matches for lower-rated players, handicapping does that job better. Tiered entry is about access and prize pool size, not about closing the skill gap on the table.
One Pocket
Each player (or team) is assigned one specific corner pocket at the far end of the table — their "own" pocket. You can only score by knocking a ball into your own pocket. The other five pockets on the table are neutral, meaning if a ball goes in one of those, it doesn't count for anyone and just gets placed back on the table (called "spotting" the ball).
- Players: 2, or 2 teams
- Balls used: A standard full rack — 15 numbered balls plus the white cue ball
- Win condition: First to legally pocket 8 balls into your own pocket
- Shot calling: None required — you don't have to announce which ball or pocket you're going for, as long as it ends up in your own pocket, it counts
Good for: Experienced players and side events at bigger tournaments. It's often nicknamed "the chess of pool" because it rewards defense and patience over pure shot-making — a genuinely different test than the rotation games (like 9-ball) most players already know.
Director's note: It's slower and more strategic than what most casual players are used to, and newer players often find it confusing at first, since there's no "next ball" to aim for like there is in 9-ball. Better suited to a dedicated division or advanced side event than mixed into a beginner-friendly night.
Bank Pool
A bank shot means hitting the object ball into a cushion (the rubber-lined rail around the table) first, so it bounces off the rail and into a pocket — rather than just knocking it straight into the pocket. In Bank Pool, every single ball has to be pocketed this way. Straight-in shots don't count, and neither do combinations (hitting one ball into another ball to sink it). Players also have to "call" — announce in advance — which ball and pocket they're aiming for.
- Players: 2, or 2 teams
- Balls used: A standard full rack — 15 numbered balls plus the cue ball
- Win condition: First player to legally bank a set number of balls, typically decided per event (races of 5 for casual play up to higher counts for pro finals)
Good for: Advanced players and dedicated events — this is a specialist game, not something to spring on a casual weeknight crowd. A good addition to a multi-game series that wants to test one specific skill.
Director's note: Because every single ball has to be banked, matches take real time to play out. Budget your schedule generously — both players and spectators need patience for this one.
3-Ball
Just 3 object balls (regular numbered pool balls) plus the cue ball, racked into a tiny triangle. Each player gets their own separate rack — not a shared table — and tries to pocket all 3 balls using as few shots as possible.
A quick term: a "stroke" in pool just means one shot — every single time you hit the cue ball counts as one stroke, whether or not it actually pockets anything.
- Players: Any number, taking turns one at a time (more than 5 players starts to get unwieldy)
- Balls used: 3 object balls plus the cue ball
- Scoring: Every stroke counts as one point on your scorecard, whether it pockets a ball or not; fouls (rule violations, like scratching — accidentally pocketing the cue ball) add penalty points
- Win condition: Lowest total score wins — like golf, where fewer strokes is better
- Match length: Rarely more than 5 minutes
Good for: Fast, high-volume events. Since each player shoots their own separate rack instead of sharing one table in real time, nobody's at a disadvantage for going second.
Director's note: There's more luck involved here than in a full rack of 9-ball, since pocketing multiple balls right on the break has a huge effect on such a short game. That's part of the fun for a casual night — but it's not the format to pick if you want the most skilled player to reliably win.
7-Ball
A rotation game (meaning you have to hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table first, in order) like 9-ball, but using only 7 object balls instead of a full rack, racked in a hexagon shape with the 7-ball sitting in the center.
The "money ball" is a term for the one ball that decides the entire game — the ball you actually have to pocket to win, similar to the 8-ball in 8-ball or the 9-ball in 9-ball. In 7-Ball, that's (unsurprisingly) the 7-ball.
- Players: 2
- Balls used: 7 object balls plus the cue ball
- Win condition: Balls 1 through 6 can go in any pocket, in order (lowest number first). The 7-ball (the money ball) has to be called — meaning you announce which pocket you're aiming for — and pocketed there to win
- Match length: Fast — often 3 minutes or less per game
Good for: Fast-paced play and building player confidence. With fewer balls on the table, even intermediate players clear the whole rack far more often than they would in 9-ball.
Director's note: Scratching (accidentally pocketing the cue ball) on the 7-ball, or sinking it in the wrong pocket, is an instant loss for that game — a sharper, more punishing ending than 9-ball has. Make sure players know this rule before the money ball is in play.
Kelly Pool
A secret-ball rotation game, sometimes called Pea Pool. Before play starts, each player draws a numbered marker — called a "pea" or "pill" — from a narrow-necked shake bottle. Whatever number you draw secretly assigns you the matching numbered ball on the table, and you're the only one who knows it. Nobody announces their number; the whole game is built around not giving it away.
- Players: 2 to 15, though 4 to 6 is the sweet spot for keeping it moving
- Balls used: A standard full rack (15 numbered balls) plus the cue ball
- Setup: Peas are shaken in a bottle and drawn blind — no shake bottle on hand? A cloth over the balls works as a stand-in, with numbers picked and recorded blind
- How it works: Like other rotation games, you have to hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table first on every shot — but the ball you're actually trying to sink is your own secret number, whenever it becomes legally available
- Win condition: Be the player who legally pockets your own secret ball. (Some scored versions award points for pocketing your own ball versus an opponent's, and deduct for missing entirely — but the simple win-by-pocketing-your-own-ball version is the more common one to run.)
- Shot calling: None required
Good for: Group nights with an odd headcount or a wide range of skill levels — since nobody knows anyone else's target ball, a newer player has just as much "cover" as a shark, and the bluffing element levels the field in a way skill-based games can't.
Director's note: The fun of this game lives entirely in the secrecy, so make sure players actually understand they shouldn't react, celebrate, or visibly aim at their own ball before it's their turn to go for it — new players often blow their own cover in the first round without realizing it. Also worth deciding upfront whether you're running the simple pocket-your-own-ball version or the scored version; they play differently enough that players should know which one before the pea bottle comes out.
Saratoga
A hybrid mixing 8-ball and 9-ball, played with only 13 balls instead of the usual 15 (the 7-ball and 15-ball are set aside and not used).
Quick reminder if you're new to pool terms: "solids" are the balls numbered 1 through 8 with a plain solid color, and "stripes" are the balls numbered 9 through 15 with a colored stripe around them — this is the same solids/stripes split used in regular 8-ball.
- Players: 2
- Balls used: 13 object balls (1–6 as solids, 9–14 as stripes) plus the cue ball
- Win condition: One player runs their solids in order (1, then 2, then 3, and so on), the other runs their stripes in order, and whoever clears their group first then pockets the 8-ball to win
Good for: Players who like 9-ball's "hit them in order" discipline but also like 8-ball's two-team-of-balls structure, without clearing a full 15-ball rack.
Director's note: Saratoga is a regional variant, and this is one common version of it — different leagues and regions sometimes run slightly different ball setups. If you run a Saratoga event, write down and share your specific rules in advance so there's no argument mid-match.
Straight Pool
One of the oldest and most respected games in pool — it was the game used for the World Championship for decades before 9-ball took over that role. All 15 balls are used, there's no suit and no numerical order to follow. Instead, players must call their shot — announce out loud which ball and which pocket they're aiming for before shooting — and only get credit if it goes exactly as called.
- Players: 2
- Balls used: All 15 object balls plus the cue ball
- Win condition: First to reach an agreed total number of points (1 point per legally pocketed, called ball)
- How the rack keeps going: Once 14 of the 15 balls are pocketed, the other 14 get racked again while the last remaining ball stays on the table — the player then has to pocket that ball in a way that scatters the new rack, and play continues without a break. This is why it's called "14.1 continuous."
Good for: Advanced players and traditional or legacy-style events. It's widely considered the deepest test of pattern play (planning several shots ahead) and precise position control (controlling exactly where the cue ball ends up after each shot) in all of pool.
Director's note: It's a slow, quiet game to watch if you're not already familiar with it — there's no built-in stopping point like a rack running out in 9-ball, so a skilled player can run 30+ balls in one turn. Great for a dedicated advanced division; not a good fit for a beginner-friendly or fast-paced night.
Cutthroat
A social game built specifically for 3 players (or 3 teams), using a standard rack with no suits or rotation order.
- Players: 3 (or 3 teams) — the classic setup, though it can flex to more with smaller ball groups per player
- Balls used: All 15 object balls plus the cue ball, split into groups (in a 3-player game, that's three groups of 5 consecutive numbers each)
- Win condition: Be the last player with at least one ball from your own group still on the table — you do this by pocketing your opponents' balls, not your own
Good for: Casual, social nights, especially when you have an odd number of players and standard head-to-head brackets don't divide evenly.
Director's note: There's a specific rule worth explaining upfront: if a player fouls while pocketing an opponent's ball, that ball gets put back on the table rather than staying pocketed. New players are usually surprised by this the first time it happens, so walk through it before the game starts.
Killer
A loose, high-player-count pub and party game, technically a variant of Straight Pool.
- Players: Any number — this is genuinely one of the few pool games built to handle a large group at once
- How it works: Every player starts with a set number of lives (typically 3 to 5). On your turn, you get one shot to try to pocket any ball. Miss, and you lose a life. Scratch (accidentally pocket the cue ball), and you usually lose an extra life.
- Win condition: Last player with at least one life remaining wins
Good for: Large, casual groups where the point is inclusion and fun rather than showcasing serious skill — everyone gets a turn, and it's easy to explain to complete beginners in under a minute.
Director's note: Because each turn comes down to one single shot, luck plays a much bigger role here than skill over the course of a game. This is a great social icebreaker format, not one to use if you want a genuinely competitive result.
Chicago
An old money-ball gambling game, built on rotation pool's "hit the lowest ball first" rule.
- Players: 2 (traditionally a gambling game between two players, historically popular with hustlers)
- Balls used: All 15 balls, with a set of "money balls" — commonly the 1, 5, 8, 10, 13, and 15 — set up as the ones that count for score, racked in specific starting positions. Exact money-ball sets can vary by region, so confirm the version your group plays before running it as an event.
- How it works: Balls must be hit in numerical order (like 9-ball), and a player keeps shooting as long as they keep legally pocketing a ball
- Win condition: Whoever pockets the most money balls by the end wins
Good for: Pool hall action and heads-up gambling games, more than structured bracket tournaments — it's a legacy format with real history, but it's not commonly run as an official tournament event today.
Director's note: Because it's an older, less familiar format to most modern players, expect to explain the rules in full before anyone plays. If you want to include it, treat it as a novelty or exhibition game rather than your main event.
Ring Games (General Concept)
A ring game isn't one specific game with its own rules — it's a format where 3 or more players share one table and rotate through turns, each putting money into a shared pot per rack (one full game with the balls racked up), with whoever wins that exchange collecting the pot. Instead of playing one opponent in a set race, players cycle in and out as balls are won and lost.
- Players: 3 or more, sharing one table in rotation
- Structure: Players take turns as the balls fall, rather than one player racing one opponent to a fixed number of wins
- As a tournament: Some directors turn this into a structured event by giving everyone the same number of chips (tokens representing entries or lives) at the start, redrawing table assignments and turn order on a schedule, and playing until someone's out of chips
Good for: Informal, social play among a small group who all want to be part of the same game, instead of splitting off into separate one-on-one matches.
Director's note: Ring games traditionally come from gambling among friends, not from a standard bracket. If you want to run one as an actual organized tournament, write your rules down clearly in advance — especially around fouls and safeties (a defensive shot where a player deliberately avoids pocketing a ball to leave their opponent in a tough spot). Most ring game arguments come from rules nobody wrote down ahead of time.
8-9-10 Ring Game
A ring game (see above) built on a rotation rack, where the 8-ball, 9-ball, and 10-ball are all worth something — either paying out equally, or on a scale, depending on the house rules — instead of just one single money ball.
- Balls used: A standard rotation rack; the 8, 9, and 10 carry the payout value
- Payout: Whoever pockets one of those three money balls collects from the table
Good for: A livelier, higher-variance version of a standard ring game, since there are three chances per rack to hit a scoring ball instead of just one.
Director's note: Whether the 8, 9, and 10 all pay the same amount, or pay different amounts, varies by house. Decide and announce this clearly before play starts.
Golf Ring Game
This version borrows its scoring straight from golf: lowest score wins, instead of whoever pockets the most balls.
- Scoring: Every shot counts as a stroke, the same idea as in 3-Ball above
- Win condition: Whoever finishes with the fewest total strokes across the session takes the pot
Good for: Groups who enjoy a format built around consistency and precision rather than pure speed at pocketing balls. A nice change of pace for a regular ring game crowd.
Director's note: Stroke-counting formats need everyone to agree on a clear way to track and call out the score as you go, so nobody's confused about who's actually ahead mid-game.
Bank Pool Ring Game
The ring game format (see above) applied to Bank Pool's rules — every ball has to be banked off a rail and players have to call their ball and pocket in advance — with multiple players rotating through one shared table instead of playing a straight one-on-one race.
- Rules base: Standard Bank Pool scoring (see the Bank Pool section above)
- Format: Rotating multi-player table, same setup as other ring games
Good for: Advanced players who already enjoy Bank Pool and want the social, multi-player energy of a ring game instead of a straight head-to-head match.
Director's note: This is a specialist, advanced-player format. Save it for a dedicated advanced division or a bigger multi-discipline event — not a casual beginner night.
How to Actually Choose
For a serious, competitive night, stick to long-race 8-ball, 9-ball, or 10-ball, and add handicapping if your room has a real mix of skill levels. For an event that wants to feel fair without changing the pool being played, tiered entry is worth considering, especially if you're trying to build a bigger prize pool. For variety nights or advanced player events, One Pocket, Bank Pool, 7-Ball, or Saratoga each test a genuinely different skill. For fast, social, high-energy action with a small group, 3-Ball or a ring game format keeps everyone shooting instead of standing around waiting.
Once you've settled on the game, the next decision is who's actually playing it — singles, doubles, or team play. That's covered in our Tournament Formats guide.
