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A correct nine ball rack: the 1 ball at the apex centered over the foot spot, the 9 ball at center and all balls touching. In this example the remaining balls are racked in ascending numeric order from the 1 ball, but this is not required.

Nine-ball is a contemporary pocket billiards (pool) game, with historical beginnings rooted in the United States and traceable to the 1920s. The game may be played in social and recreational settings by any number of players (generally one-on-one) and subject to whatever rules are agreed upon beforehand, or in league and tournament settings in which the number of players and the rules are set by the sponsors. During much of its history, nine-ball has been known as a "money game" in both professional and recreational settings; but today, in major tournament settings, its reputation is untarnished.

In recent years, nine-ball has become the game of choice in Championship Tournament matches in the United States, basically because a series of games (the "match") proceeds quickly, lends itself well to the time constraints of television coverage, and tends to keep the audience engaged. The sports network ESPN has been, for several years, a major catalyst for the popularity of nine-ball and a major sponsor of championship play.

The game is played on a pocket billiards table with six pockets and with ten balls. The cue ball, which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments), is struck to hit one or more of the other nine balls (often referred to as object balls), each of which is distinctly colored and numbered 1 through 9. The object of the game is to pocket the 9 ball in a legal manner, subject to the rules in effect at the time.

The general rules played are fairly consistent and usually do not stray too far from the format set forth in the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) BCA World Standardized Rules for Nine Ball, which have merged with those of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). Although amateur leagues sometimes use as their standard the similar rules promulgated by the American Poolplayers Association (APA), the BCA/WPA rules are considered by most authorities to be the more correct and official source of rules.

In nine-ball, on all shots, a player must cause the cue ball to contact the lowest numerical ball on the table first before the cue ball strikes any other ball and subsequently contact a rail with either the cue ball, the object ball, or any balls contacted by the two (excepting when a push-out has been invoked; see "The push-out", below); otherwise a foul has been committed. This does not mean that object balls have to be pocketed in order; any ball may be pocketed at any time during the game, so long as the lowest numerical ball is contacted first. Because nine-ball is not a call shot game, the 9 ball itself can also be pocketed in this manner for a win (which necessarily means that legally pocketing the 9 on the break shot immediately wins the game).

Players alternate innings at the table, meaning play continues by one player until he or she misses, commits a foul, or pockets the 9 ball for the win. The penalty for a foul is that the player's inning ends and the opponent comes to the table with ball in hand, able to place the cue ball anywhere on the table prior to shooting.

Nine-ball is a relatively fast-paced game and is rarely played by the rack. Instead, players normally play a match (or race) to a set number of games, often five, seven or nine. The first player to win that set number of games wins the match.

The object balls are placed in a diamond-shaped configuration, with the 1 ball positioned at the front (toward the position of the breaking player), and the 9 ball placed in the center. The physical rack used to position the balls is typically triangle-shaped and capable of holding all fifteen object balls, although diamond-shaped racks are sometimes used. The placement of the remaining balls is generally considered to be random. However, in some handicapped tournaments, the ball being spotted to the lesser player must be one of the two balls placed behind the 1 ball at the apex of the rack. The placement of balls is expected to be precise, especially in league and tournament play; if any ball in the rack does not touch each adjacent ball, or if the rack is not "straight", or if the 1 ball is not resting precisely on the foot spot, the player assigned the break may demand a re-rack.

One person is chosen to shoot first, by breaking the rack. Usually this is determined by flipping a coin, or by lagging, especially in professional tournaments in the case of the latter, or it may be ruled by the authority in charge or the sponsor or the players themselves that the winner or loser of the previous game will always shoot first in the next rack. If the player who breaks fails to make a legal break (by contacting the one ball first and pocketing a ball or driving four or more object balls to a rail), the opponent can either demand a re-rack and become the breaker, or continue to play as if it had been an ordinary foul. If the breaker pockets a ball and commits no foul, it remains the breaker's turn. And again, if the breaker pockets the 9 ball on the break (without fouling), this is an instant win.

For much of its history nine-ball rules allowed participants to "push out" multiple times during a game, meaning any player could call a "push-out", and then hit the cue ball to any area on the table without being penalized by normal foul rules. This manner of playing nine-ball is considered "two-foul." However, once a push-out was called and executed, the incoming player had the right to shoot or give the inning back to the opponent. If the player shooting the resulting shot fouled, the other player would have ball-in-hand. Hence the name, "two-foul." "One-foul" became popular in the 1970s as play turned more aggressive for the early televised matches. This version of nine-ball awarded ball-in-hand on any cue ball foul. A rule variant, which started to sweep the sport of nine-ball in the mid-1980s, restricted the push-out option to once per game and only to the inning immediately following the break. This change profoundly affected the way the game was played. By about 1990 this new push-out rule had become ubiquitous and it and any additional rules appended to it were collectively referred to as "Texas Express" rules, so called because of the supposed state of origin and the speeding up of the game. Today, Texas Express push-out rules dominate the way nine-ball is played and is the variant incorporated into the official rules maintained by the BCA.

A player wins in nine-ball by pocketing the 9 ball at any time in the game in a legal manner, either by hitting it in with the cue ball or with a lower numbered ball in a combination shot. A player can also win by default if the opponent commits three successive fouls. However in most formats, including under BCA rules, the opponent must be told that he or she is "on two fouls" in order to lose by committing a third foul.

Seven-ball is a similar game, the primary difference being there are only seven object balls and the game is won by pocketing the 7 ball. This game is quite rare, primarily known because of ESPN's Sudden Death Seven-ball which aired in the early 2000s.

• The History of Billiards
• Sports history - Billiards

• List of WPA World Nine-ball Champions
• Glossary of cue sports terms
• Eight-ball
• Straight pool

• BCA World Standardized Rules for nine-ball
• Pro9 — Website detailing the many nine-ball tournaments held within the British Isles and beyond.

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