Straight pool is played to a specific number of points agreed on prior to the match's start, with each pocketed ball being worth one point to the shooter. Play then continues with the cue ball shot from where it rested and the fifteenth ball from where it rested prior to racking. After the initial rack, the balls are played until only the cue ball and one object ball remain on the table's surface. They can warp or become uneven more quickly, requiring adjustments to ensure a level playing surface. Coloured ball racking positions must be remembered with care, as each time a coloured ball is potted, it is immediately replaced to its starting position, which occurs multiple times per frame, whereas reds are not returned to the table's surface after being potted. In nine-ball games where a handicap is given by one player being spotted a ball, some tournament venues enforce a rule that the spotted ball must be racked as one of the two balls in the row directly behind the 1 ball. 1⁄16 inches (52 mm) in diameter, the latter being the same size as the balls used in snooker and English billiards.

Sometimes interchangeable with scratch, though the latter is often used only to refer to the foul of pocketing the cue ball. It is played using a cue stick, one white ball (the cue ball), fifteen red balls and six colours: a yellow (worth two points), green (three points), brown (four points), blue (five points), pink (six points) and black ball (seven points). Further up the table is the pink ball, which sits midway between the blue spot and the top cushion, followed by the red balls (one each), placed in a tightly-packed triangle behind the pink. The game is played with 7 solid red balls, 7 solid yellow balls, and a black eight ball. Traditionally, the 1 ball is placed on the rack’s right corner, and the 5 ball on the left corner from the racker's vantage point to maximize contrast between the corner balls and the background, as the 1 and 5 are the brightest colored balls, however, what is billiards the world standardized rules do not require this. Table tennis balls, guitar picks, and some photographic films have fairly low esterification levels and burn comparatively slowly with some charred residue. However, after several missions and flights, it proved not to have the desired explosive properties in a near vacuum environment.

A number of rules have developed which detail what must be done when one or both of the cue ball and fifteenth object ball are either in the rack area at the time an intragame rack is necessary, or are in such close proximity to the intragame racking area, that the physical rack cannot be used without moving the one or the other. Intragame racking employs a separate set of rules from those in place at the game's start. Such rules are detailed on the following chart (note therein that the kitchen refers to the area behind the table's head string). If you want to hit a ball that’s slightly behind another ball, you can master "swerve" (which we discuss below) to develop this highly important skill. The cue ball, as always, is white. You can also transfer English from the cue ball to the object ball when done right. Your opponent can put the ball anywhere on the table. Finally, the black ball is placed on a spot 12.75 inches from the top cushion on a full-size table. If there is no available spot, it is placed as close to its own spot as possible in a direct line between that spot and the top (black end) cushion, without touching another ball.

Some players (most often amateurs) place the balls in numeric order but for the 9 ball; from the top of the triangle down and from left to right, i.e., the 1 on the foot spot, followed by the 2 then 3 in the second row, and so on. In nine-ball, the basic principles are the same as detailed in the eight-ball section above, but only balls 1 through 9 are used; the 1 ball is always placed at the rack's apex (because in nine-ball every legal shot, including the break, must strike the lowest numbered ball first) over the table's foot spot, and the 9 ball is placed in the center of the rack. British-style eight-ball pool, an originally British variant, also favoured in many Commonwealth countries, and parts of Continental Europe, with amateur and professional leagues. It is often mistaken for Kelly pool, a game that is totally different from bottle pool. Because of this, it is possible for a game to end with only one of the players having shot, which is known as "running the table" or a "denial"; conversely, it's also possible to win a game without taking a shot; such a scenario may occur if the opposing player illegally pockets the 8 ball on any shot other than the break (such as sinking the 8 ball in an uncalled pocket, knocking the 8 ball off the table, sinking the 8 ball when a player is not yet on the black ball, or sinking both the 8 ball and the cue ball off a single shot).