Billiard game. Eight ball In the United States, the most commonly played game is 8-ball.

On the professional scene, 8-ball players who are on the International Pool Tour are the highest paid players in the world [citation needed]. In the United Kingdom the game is commonly played in pubs and it is competitively played in leagues.

The most prestigious tournaments including the World Open are sponsored and sanctioned by the International Pool Tour. Rules vary widely from place to place. Pool halls in North America are increasingly settling upon the International Standardized Rules.

But tavern 8-ball, typically played on smaller, coin-operated tables and in a "winner controls the table" manner, can differ significantly even between two venues in the same city. The growth of local, regional and national amateur leagues may alleviate this confusion eventually.

The goal of 8-ball is to claim a suit (stripes or solids), pocket all of them, then legally pocket the 8-ball, while denying your opponent opportunities to do the same with their suit, and not sinking the 8-ball early by accident.