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Pool Score Counter

Short answer

A pool score counter keeps each player’s score: points ball by ball in 14.1 straight pool, or racks won in an 8-ball, 9-ball or 10-ball race. This one applies the foul rules too: two points off for a breaking foul, sixteen for a third foul in a row, and the re-rack after every fourteen balls.

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Lag for the break14.1 straight pool, WPA rules: a point a ball, first to 100
Player A0Fouls in a row: 0
Player B0Fouls in a row: 0
Breaks first:

Player A 0–0 Player B

Lag, then tap who breaks first. The opening break must pocket a called ball, or drive the cue ball and two object balls to a rail.

Straight pool score sheet for this game
PlayerScoreBallsInningsHigh runAverageFouls
Player A0000—0
Player B0000—0
Racks won in this match
PlayerRacksRace toBreak and runs
Player A050
Player B050

In straight pool, tap who breaks, then Ball +1 for each ball pocketed, Miss or safety when the turn ends without a foul, and Foul for a foul. Use Breaking foul only for an opening break that fails its requirements. In a race, tap Won the rack under the winner; in 9-ball and 10-ball, tap Foul and Legal shot to keep the three-foul count. Ctrl+Z undoes.

This keeps the score and the foul count; it does not referee. It cannot see whether a ball was called, a break was legal or a foul happened, so it scores what you tap. It is not a league or tournament scoresheet, and it does not score snooker, carom billiards or the APA’s 9-ball points system.

Counting balls is the easy part; a rail counter on the table does that. What it cannot do is know that a breaking foul costs two and is not one of the three, that the third foul in a row costs sixteen, or that a ball pocketed earlier in the inning cleared the count. This counter does, under WPA or BCA rules, and scores rack races with alternate or winner breaks.

In straight pool (14.1 continuous), each ball legally pocketed on a called shot scores one point, fouls subtract points, and after fourteen balls the rack is rebuilt so play is continuous. In 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball the unit is the rack, and a match is a race to a set number of racks.

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Key facts

Online pool score counter at a glance
DetailAnswer
PriceFree, no sign-up, no ads
Games14.1 straight pool (WPA or BCA rules), 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball races
Straight pool scoringA point a ball; first to the target, 10 to 1,000 points
Breaking foul−2, not one of the three fouls; take the table or break again
Three fouls in a row−16 in all, count reset, then re-rack and re-break (or the BCA choice)
Foul countPer player, cleared only by that player’s own legal shot
Re-rackBalls down in the rack, with the 15th-ball case handled
Score sheetScore, balls, innings, high run, average and fouls
RacesSeparate race per player, alternate or winner breaks, hill and hill-hill
Rack fouls9-ball and 10-ball: a third foul in the rack loses it; 8-ball has no such rule
Where data goesNowhere. Local storage in this browser only
Official recordNo. It scores what you tap and does not referee

How to keep score in straight pool with the counter

Pick the game once, then tap what the table did.

  1. Choose the game

    14.1 under WPA or BCA rules, or an 8-ball, 9-ball or 10-ball race. Set the points to win, or each player's race and the break rule.

  2. Name the players

    So the call, the score sheet and the warnings read properly.

  3. Tap who breaks first

    After the lag. In straight pool the counter then waits for the opening break.

  4. Score the break

    Ball +1 if a called ball dropped, Legal break if it did not, Breaking foul if the break failed its requirements, then the incoming player's choice.

  5. Tap each ball, miss and foul

    Ball +1 for each ball pocketed, Miss or safety when the turn ends cleanly, Foul for a foul. The counter swaps the shooter and keeps each player's foul count.

  6. Re-rack when it says so

    After the 14th ball it tells you to re-rack 14. If the 15th dropped on the same shot, tap 15th ball too.

Where a pool score counter gets used

Any table without a scoreboard, and any match where the fouls are argued about.

  • Straight pool practice and matches

    Score to 100, or whatever you agree, with the high run and average kept for you.

  • Home tables with a broken rail counter

    The beads count balls; this also counts the fouls and the re-rack.

  • League nights

    A handicapped race with winner breaks, and who is on the hill.

  • 9-ball and 10-ball sets

    Racks, break and runs, and the two-foul warning before a rack is lost.

  • Pool halls and bars

    A phone on the rail instead of chalk marks on a board.

  • Settling rules arguments

    What a breaking foul costs, and whether a third foul is really the third.

Fouls in straight pool: what each costs and what clears the count

Straight pool is the one pool game scored ball by ball, so it is the one where fouls cost points, and the rulebooks are exact about how many. The guides at the top of a search, checked on 2026-10-02, are not. Cue Club International says an illegal opening break “is a foul — you lose one point”; the WPA rule is two. It and Pool Table Portfolio both give the three-foul penalty as 15 points without saying that the third foul also costs its own point, so the third foul takes 16. Neither says that a breaking foul is not one of the three, or what clears the count.

Fouls and penalties in 14.1 straight pool, WPA and BCA rules
What happenedPointsCounts toward three in a row?What follows
Standard foul (scratch, no rail after contact, and so on)−1YesThe other player shoots
Breaking foul: no called ball, and not the cue ball plus two object balls to a rail−2NoThe other player takes the table, or makes the breaker break again
Scratch on an otherwise legal opening break−1YesCue ball in hand above the head string for the other player
A breaking foul and a standard foul on the same shot−2NoTreated as a breaking foul (WPA 7.10)
Third standard foul in a row−1 and −15: −16Resets the count to 0WPA: all 15 re-racked and the offender breaks. BCA: the other player chooses that or the table as it lies

Sources: WPA Rules of Play, effective 2025-09-15, rules 3.13, 7.3, 7.7, 7.9, 7.10 and 7.11; the BCA straight pool rules. Scores can go below zero (WPA 7.7), and the counter shows them that way.

What clears the count

Three fouls in a row means three fouls by the same player without a legal shot in between (WPA 3.13). The opponent’s shots do not clear it: a player can foul, sit while the other player runs forty balls, and come back on one foul. What clears it is that player’s own next legal shot, and a ball pocketed earlier in an inning that then ends in a foul is a legal shot. So two innings that both end in fouls are not necessarily two fouls in a row. A player on two fouls must be warned when coming to the table, and without the warning a third foul counts only as a second; the counter gives the warning in its message line every time.

Seven innings for one player: what each costs and the foul count after it
InningWhat the player didPointsScoreFouls in a row
1Breaking foul on the opening break; the opponent takes the table−2−20: not counted
2Pockets 3 balls, then scratches+3 −101: the 3 balls cleared it first
3Fouls on the first shot−1−12: warned
4Pockets 2 balls, then misses+210
5Fouls−101
6Fouls−1−12: warned
7Fouls a third time−1 −15−170, then re-rack 15 and break

Innings 2 and 3 both end in fouls, yet the player reaches only two. A counter that counts innings ending in fouls would have given the warning an inning early. Tap the same sequence into the counter and it reaches −17 with the count back at 0.

The re-rack: fourteen balls, and where the 15th goes

Straight pool is “continuous” because the rack never runs out. When the 14th ball of a rack drops, play pauses, the 14 balls are re-racked with the apex spot left empty, and the same player shoots on, normally using the 15th ball to break the new rack open. The counter keeps the balls down in the rack (“Rack 3: 9 of 14 down”) so you know when the re-rack is due. Balls pocketed on a foul or a safety are spotted, so they do not count toward the 14.

Where the 15th ball and the cue ball go at a re-rack (WPA 7.8)
Situation after the 14th ballThe 15th ballThe cue ball
Neither ball in the rack areaStaysStays
Only the 15th ball in the rack areaHead spot, or the centre spot if the cue ball blocks the head spotStays
Only the cue ball in the rack area, 15th ball on or below the head stringStaysIn hand above the head string
Only the cue ball in the rack area, 15th ball above the head stringStaysHead spot, or the centre spot if it is blocked
Both in the rack areaAll 15 re-rackedIn hand above the head string
The 15th pocketed on the same shot as the 14thCounts a point; all 15 re-rackedStays, or in hand above the head string if in the rack area

The last row is why the counter has a 15th ball too key. That ball scores like any other ball pocketed on a legal shot, but all fifteen go back in the rack, so the next re-rack is still fourteen balls away rather than thirteen. The key is live only on the shot after the 14th ball.

8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball: races, breaks and three fouls

In 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball the score is racks, not balls, and a match is a race to a number of racks. The one free browser scorer for these, checked on 2026-10-02, counts racks and break and runs, and alternates the break; it has no winner-breaks option and no foul count. The fouls matter because the three-foul rule is not the same in every rack game.

How a rack is won, and what three fouls in a row do, by game (WPA rules)
GameThe rack is won byThree fouls in a rowWho breaks the next rack
8-ballLegally pocketing the 8 after your groupNo such rule (WPA 3.13)Alternate break
9-ballLegally pocketing the 9 on any shot, the break included, except a push outLoses the rack (5.8); the fouls must be in the same rackAlternate break
10-ballLegally pocketing the 10 on a called shot when it is the last ball; pocketed earlier it is spottedLoses the rack (6.10)Alternate break
APA leaguesAs each game’s APA rulesPer the APA rulesWinner breaks: the lag winner breaks first, then each rack’s winner

Sources: WPA Rules of Play rules 1.3, 3.13, 5.5, 5.8, 6.7, 6.8 and 6.10; the APA’s rule on lagging. Set Break to Winner breaks for an APA or bar-league match and the counter names the right breaker for each rack.

Handicapped races

League matches are often uneven races: one player needs 5 racks while the other needs 3, set by their skill ratings. The counter takes a separate race for each player, says who is “on the hill” one rack from winning, and calls “hill-hill” when both are. In 9-ball and 10-ball it keeps each player’s fouls in the current rack, warns at two, gives the rack to the other player on the third, and starts every rack at zero. Tap Legal shot when a player makes a legal shot after fouling, because that is what clears the count.

Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet

Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.

Online pool score counter compared with the alternatives
FeatureThis online counterHandheld clickerCounter phone appPen and paperSpreadsheet
CostFree$5–$15Free with ads, or paidCost of paperSubscription
Anything to installNoBuy the deviceApp store downloadNoYes, or a web login
Several counts at onceUnlimitedOne per deviceUsually limitedYes, messyYes
Fix a miscountUndo and redoStart overSometimesCross it outEdit the cell
Counts by more than oneAny step sizeOne at a timeSometimesManual mathsYes
Below zeroYesNoRarelyYesYes
Keeps the count if you close itSaves automaticallyUntil you reset the dialYesIf you keep the paperYes
Works with no signalYes, after first loadYesYesYesOften not
Keyboard and shortcutsFullNoneNoneNonePartial
Sends your data anywhereNeverNeverOften, for accounts and adsNeverYes, to the cloud

Other counter types

The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.

Frequently asked questions

How does scoring work in straight pool?

Each ball legally pocketed on a called shot scores one point, and extra balls pocketed on the same shot score too. Fouls subtract points: one for a standard foul, two for a breaking foul, and sixteen for a third standard foul in a row. Scores can go negative. After fourteen balls the rack is rebuilt, and the first player to the agreed total, traditionally 100, wins.

What happens if you foul three times in a row in straight pool?

The third foul costs its usual point plus a 15-point penalty, so 16, and three fouls in a row cost 18 in total. The foul count goes back to zero. Under WPA rules all fifteen balls are re-racked and the player who fouled must break again under the opening-break rules. Under BCA rules the incoming player may choose that or take the table as it lies.

Does a breaking foul count as one of the three fouls?

No. Under WPA rule 7.11 only standard fouls count toward three in a row, and the BCA rules say the same. A breaking foul, an opening break that pockets no called ball and fails to drive the cue ball and two object balls to a rail, costs two points instead, and the incoming player chooses to take the table or make the breaker break again.

What resets the three-foul count?

The player's own next legal shot. The opponent's turns do not reset it, and neither does a breaking foul. A ball pocketed before fouling in the same inning is a legal shot, so it clears the count first. That is why two innings that both end in fouls are not always two fouls in a row. A player on two fouls must be warned before shooting.

What happens if you foul three times in 9-ball?

Under WPA rules, three fouls in a row by the same player without a legal shot in between lose the rack, and the three must come in the same rack. 10-ball has the same rule. 8-ball does not: the WPA rules say some games, such as 8-ball, do not include it. The shooter must be warned after the second foul for the third to count.

When do you re-rack in straight pool?

When the fourteenth ball of a rack is pocketed. The fourteen balls are racked with the apex spot left empty, the fifteenth ball stays where it lies unless it is in the rack area, and the same player continues. If the fifteenth ball dropped on the same shot as the fourteenth, it scores a point and all fifteen are re-racked.

Who breaks next in pool, the winner or the loser?

It depends on the rules being played. WPA rules alternate the break between players in rack games such as 9-ball, whoever won the last rack. The APA, and many bar leagues, play winner breaks: the lag winner breaks the first rack and the winner of each rack breaks the next. Choose either in the counter and it names the breaker.

How many points is a game of straight pool?

Whatever the players or the event agree before the game. The WPA rules say only that the first player to reach the required score wins. Traditionally the game is to 100 points, which is the counter’s default, while professional matches may go higher and practice games shorter. The counter accepts any target from 10 to 1,000 points, and keeps the high run either way.

Is this an official pool scoresheet?

No. It is a score counter for practice, league nights, home tables and following matches. It keeps the score, the foul count, the re-rack and the rack race in this browser and sends nothing anywhere. It cannot see the table, so it does not decide whether a ball was called, a break was legal or a foul happened; you tap what happened.

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