How to Play Bumper Pool: The Ultimate Guide

Bumper pool consists of either a rectangle or octagon shaped table that has cloth and rails much like a regular pool table. Bumper pool tables are much smaller than traditional pool tables. The table has bumpers that are round and can be used to bounce the pool balls. Usually there are two bumpers at each end of the table along with a scoring pocket in between them. Additionally, there will be other bumpers in the middle of the table creating a barrier between each half of the table. Bumper Pool can be played with two or four players.

Bumper Pool Game Setup – Before You Start

Each player or team of two players start on one half of the table. There are typically a set of five red and five white pool balls with one of each color balls having a dot on it. This ball is your starter ball and should be placed in front of your home pocket. Your home pocket is randomly decided on, but each pocket will have either a red or white rim inside it. This indicates which color balls are supposed to be shot at that pocket. If you are the player starting with the white pocket, you would setup the red balls on your side, two on the right of the pocket and bumpers, two on the left and the ball with the dot in front of your pocket. All ten pool balls should be setup in this manner before you begin.

Bumper Pool – How to Play the Game

Once you have the table setup, to begin both players shoot the ball with the dot on it at the same time. They play by hitting the ball to the right off the rail in such a way as to try to make it into their “home” pocket off the bank. If both players sink their lead ball shots, they both hit another ball simultaneously. Each player must make this first ball before they can start shooting their other pool balls. After both players have made their initial shot, if neither of them made the lead dot ball, whoever is closest to their home pocket shoots first. If they make it, they go again. After that lead dot ball is made, a player can choose to hit any ball they have left on the table. A player can choose to shoot their ball anywhere on the table, even using their ball to hit the opponent’s ball to take them out of a shot or using a bumper to bump a ball in from an impossible angle.

Bumper Pool – A Few Funky Rules and How to Win

There are a couple rules that come up occasionally that need to be known. First, if a player hits their ball off the table, they are forced to place it in the middle of the table in between all the main set of bumpers. If you make a ball in your own pocket – the one you are supposed to be defending, your opponent gets to take any two of their remaining balls and pocket them. If you opponent only has 1 or 2 balls left on the table, they win the match. The winner of the game is the one who sinks all their balls in their home pocket (same color ring as their pool balls) first.