(This post was originally published March 07, 2006)
I play pool (billiards) in a American Poolplayers Association (APA) league here in San Diego and developed a couple of supplemental 9 Ball scoresheets to assist in the scorekeeping task.
Keeping score in 9 Ball matches involves tracking balls pocketed, innings, dead balls and defensive shots…quite a bit to keep track of, but not too bad if you pay attention. Both teams playing in the match keep score and should compare their results after each rack to make sure they both agree. If the scores are different, it causes delays in the match while “who pocketed what” is figured out. It also can cause the players in the match some undo distraction and a break in their rhythm while it is sorted out.
These score sheets should help out in these types of situations. I wouldn’t recommend using them all of the time (it usually isn’t necessary), but if your opposing team is always messing up the score it might be a good idea to pull them out. They can also be handy for training newer players to keep score accurately as it sort of forces them to track every ball. There are a couple of different formats, hopefully you find them useful.
This is a sample of the third format.
- First format (ball markings only, 5 matches per page)
- Second format (also has spaces to mark defensive shots and innings. 3 matches per page)
- Third format (same as above but with 5 matches per page, not too much extra space for writing, but it may be just enough)
All of the scoresheets are available in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel format. You can grab all of the files in one handy package here: 9Ball_Details_All.zip
If you find these score sheets useful or have any feedback, please contact me via the social media or email links at the bottom of this page.