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5-pin online: rules of Italian billiards
Five-pin (Italian: 5 birilli) is the most popular discipline of Italian billiards: a pocketless table of 2.84 × 1.42 m, three balls (white, yellow and a red one called the pallino) and five pins set in a cross at the centre. The rules follow the Italian federation (F.I.Bi.S.).
The goal
You win by reaching the agreed score first (on 8pool: 50 points). Points come from knocking down pins and hitting the red ball. Each player always uses their own ball (white or yellow) and you shoot in turn, one shot each.
A legal shot
Your ball must hit your opponent's ball first, directly or off one or more cushions, without first touching the red ball or knocking pins. Then your opponent's ball (or yours, after hitting the opponent's) knocks down pins or hits the red ball.
Scoring
| Event | Points |
|---|---|
| Each side pin | 2 |
| Centre (red) pin with other pins | 4 |
| Centre (red) pin alone | 10 |
| Red ball hit by the opponent's ball | 3 |
| Red ball hit by your ball (after the opponent's) | 4 |
Fouls and free ball
A foul (missing the opponent's ball, touching the red or the pins first, a ball off the table...) gives your opponent 2 points, plus any points made on the shot, and they play with a free ball.
On 8pool the table is simulated with real ball and cushion physics (spin, sliding, rolling), so the shot depends on power and on where you strike the ball.
See also: goriziana (9 pins), 8 ball.
Play now, free in your browser
8pool is a free online billiards game. The rules here are a summary: the game applies some of them in a simplified form.