Billy Aardd's Club (NMT)
Cut Throat Tournament.
Rules of Play — Spring 1990.

Tournament's Strict Time Schedule

Please show up at least 15-minutes before your scheduled match time.

  1. Matches will last 1-hour and 15-minutes.

  2. 10-minutes before the match is scheduled to start (5-minutes after your showing up 15-minutes before the match) players will determine which segments they want to play by choosing a numbered card.

    The cards will be numbered from 1 to 4. The numbers on the cards are the order in which the players will select their "Round Robin" (RR) number for the match.   The "Round Robin" number is used to see which segments (games: a, b, c, or d) each player will play in.   (The number on the card is usually different than the RR-number chosen). 

             Segment       Players' RR numbers
       -------------------------------------
        a (blue)         1  vs  2  vs  3
        b (green)        4  vs  1  vs  2
        c (red)          3  vs  4  vs  1
        d (black)        2  vs  3  vs  4

    The segments are always played in the order: a, b, c, then d.

  3. The shooting order for the first match will be determined next. It will be done with a drawing of cards (1-3).

    Prior to the start of each game the players for that game will choose a card from a group of three cards.   The numbers on the cards reflect the shooting order for the game.   The player drawing card 1 will own balls 1-5 and shoot first, the player drawing card 2 will own balls 6-10 and shoot second, and the player drawing card 3 will own balls 11-15 and shoot third.   The shooting order will remain fixed for duration of the game.

  4. The player not in a game will be keeping score for that game.

  5. Games will last exactly 15-minutes.   No strokes will be accepted after the bell has rung.

  6. There will be 3-minutes between games to choose the shooting order for the next game, and rack the balls for the next game.

  7. The first shooter should be ready to break for the next game when the bell is rung (the start of the 15-minute period).

Cut Throat Rules.

House Cut Throat rules will be used with the exceptions noted below.

Calls Shots & Run Limits.

All shots, except the break, must be called (ball and pocket).   In Round #1 all players will be limited to a maximum 3-ball run.   In Round #2 all players will be limited to a maximum 5-ball run.   In all subsequent rounds there will not be a run limit.   (Note: When a player equals or exceeds the run limit their inning is over.   If they exceed it due to more than one ball dropping on a stroke they will receive credit for all balls legally pocketed on that stroke, and their inning will be over).

Game Over.

A game is over when time has expired, or a player scores 25 balls (note that this will exclude bonus balls as described in the "Out Player" rule below).

The "Out Player" rule.

When a player has all his balls shot off of the table they become the "Out Player (OP)".   The OP will loose an inning and then return to the game if the game is still going.   A game will be over when any player scores 25 balls for the game, or when the 15-minutes allotted for the game has expired.   If either of the two remaining players is put out before the OP comes back in the the remaining player will break a new rack and the other two players are back in.   If both players are still in when the OP is to return then the player who put the OP out will break a new rack.   (Note: If the player to break has reached the run limit the next player in the shooting order will break instead).

If two players are put out in the same inning the shooter will get 2 balls added to his score (this bonus is okay to exceed the run limit).

Safeties are Fouls.

Safety shots will be considered a foul.   The referee will determine if a shot is a safety or not.

Billy Aardd's Club, NMT, Socorro, NM.