Scratch on the Break
Settling bar arguments since 2014
You are here because somebody told somebody else that they lost a game of pool when they scratched on the break.
Answer the following questions to determine who actually lost.
Question 1 of 2
Question 2 of 2
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Go back to your game. Maybe skim the rules below on your way out — future you will thank us.
NOBODY LOST.
Your opponent didn't lose. You are an idiot. You should apologize for not knowing the rules.
A scratch on the break is a foul, not a loss. You get the cue ball in hand behind the head string and play continues. That's it. That's the entire punishment — in every major rule set on the planet.
Whoever taught you otherwise made it up.
OK, THIS ONE'S REAL. (MAYBE.)
Congratulations — you've stumbled into the one break-shot scenario where somebody might actually lose.
APA rules (the ones your bar league probably uses): pocketing the 8‑ball and scratching on the break is a loss of game. Your opponent lost. Unlucky for them — they probably would have whooped you anyway.
WPA / BCA world rules: still not a loss. The 8 gets spotted (or the rack is broken again — your call), and you shoot with ball in hand behind the head string.
So before you start celebrating, agree on whose rules you're playing under.
The exact rules, from the people who write them.
The world governing body of pool.
World Standardized Rules, 8‑Ball, Rule 3.3 "Break Shot": a scratch on the break is a foul — the incoming player takes cue ball in hand behind the head string. Even pocketing the 8 while scratching isn't a loss: the 8 is spotted or re‑racked. Rule 3.8 "Losing the Rack" lists every way to lose a game, and scratching on the break is not one of them.
Read WPA Rules of Play (Rule 3.3 & 3.8) →North America's governing body — publishes the World Standardized Rules for the US.
Same ruling: foul, ball in hand behind the head string, nobody loses. The BCA's official rulebook is the WPA World Standardized Rules.
BCA Rules & Specifications →If your league night says "BCAPL" on the flyer, these are your rules.
Scratch on the break: ball in hand behind the head string. 8‑ball on the break: spotted or re‑racked — not a win, not a loss.
CSI Official Rules of Play →The world's largest amateur league — a.k.a. "the rules at your bar."
Scratch on the break: a foul. Ball in hand behind the head string. Not a loss. The only way anyone loses on the break in the APA: pocket the 8‑ball and scratch on the same shot.
APA: Breaking → APA: After the Break →