Rule of the Week - Ball-In-Hand

November 12, 2024 7:24 PM

by San Diego APA

Rule of the Week - Ball-In-Hand

November 12, 2024 7:24 PM

by San Diego APA


Situation: A player is shooting at his ball. After shooting, the object ball it comes back off of the rail and hits the player’s cue before he can move. Is this a ball in hand (BIH) foul?

No, because the cue ball itself in this scenario wasn't altered in its path this just falls under accidentally moved balls. The object ball is left where it stops due to hitting the cue stick.

This Rule of the Week crosses two areas of the OTM, one being "Fouls" as this provides the only scenarios in which BIH can be occur. The second is "Accidentally Moved Balls" and what you do with the balls that are moved under various scenarios.

NOTE: A foul that is not called when it occurs cannot be called once the next shot has been taken.

When the question comes up regarding if something is Ball In Hand (BIH) please reference the following pages in the OTM as they cover ALL BIH scenarios (only exceptions are League Operator or National Office run events in which sportsmanship could lead to a BIH foul).
Rule: Official Team Manual (OTM) page 53-55 section 15k “Fouls”: https://media.poolplayers.com/TMRB/Team-Manual-English.pdf
Rule: Official Team Manual (OTM) page 49-50 section 15k “Accidentally Moved Balls”: https://media.poolplayers.com/TMRB/Team-Manual-English.pdf

This section also covers:
  • All other BIH scenarios
  • Scratching on the break
  • Doubles, 8-ball and 9-ball specific cases

You can submit a "Rule of the Week" to the league office:

  • Email to sandiego@apaleagues.com.
  • Email Subject Line must read “SDAPA Rule of the Week”
  • Clearly state the rule/situation and if you know where the answer is found please provide those details.


2025 Summer Tri-Annual (formally BLAST) Information
8/22/25 - 4:00 am
TRI-ANNUAL PLAYERS MEETING VIDEO (*Replacing the pre-Tr-Annual players meeting) TRI-ANNUAL DIGITAL GUIDE (As seen in the video above) TRI-ANNUAL SDAPA WEBPAGE (Eligibility, Rules, Brackets, Schedule and Roster Info) Other Key Links Summer Session Winners OTM Bylaws Event Tab *The player's meeting video includes example scenarios for illustrative purposes only. For official brackets, schedules, a
2025 Summer Lifetime Match Milestone Awards
9/9/25 - 12:59 am
Congratulations to the following players who have reached 500, 1000, 1500 (NEW THIS YEAR!), 2000, 2500 (NEW!) and NOW 3000 lifetime match milestones during the 2025 Summer Session! Players can pick up awards at the 2025 Summer Tri-Annuals (9-Ball on Sept 13-14, and 8-Ball on Sept 27-28, 2025 at Pockets), or email the league office at sandiego@apaleagues.com to coordinate a future event when you or
Adding a Player After the Start of League - Rule of the Week
9/8/25 - 5:00 pm
Situation: The team we are playing tonight just added a player to their roster using Scorekeeper, but we have already started the night. What if any options do we have? Players must be added to the roster no later than ten (10) minutes after the scheduled league start time. If you can’t get a player added due to a technical issue, just let your opponent know before the 10 min bylaw requirement. Ot