Situation: During my opponent’s turn, they got distracted and stroked an object ball instead of the cue ball. It wasn’t intentional. Do we put the balls back, or is it ball-in-hand?

It depends on whether the cue ball was touched. Hitting a ball other than the cue ball is treated as accidentally moved balls. Accidentally moved balls must be replaced, unless any of the accidentally moved balls make contact with the cue ball. If accidentally moved balls make contact with the cue ball, it is a ball-in-hand foul, and no balls get replaced.

• Cue ball NOT touched: the opponent places the moved ball(s) back where they were, as close as possible, and the same player continues shooting.
• Cue ball touched: it’s ball-in-hand for the opponent, and all balls stay where they stopped.

Rule: Official Team Manual (OTM) page 50-51 “Accidentally Moved Balls”: https://media.poolplayers.com/TMRB/Team-Manual-English.pdf

This section also covers:

• Balls moved between shots vs. during a shot
• Object balls that hit a bridge, cue stick or pocket marker
• When another ball stops where the moved ball used to be

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.