8 Ball Strike Review [2024]: I Played 16 Cash Tournaments

What I learned from playing: 

• 8 Ball Strike is a pool game app developed by Avia. It's available in the Apple App Store and Samsung Galaxy Store. If you download apps from the Google Play store, we like Cash Giraffe for playing games to earn money.
• You can win money by playing cash tournaments. But despite winning or placing second in half the tournaments I entered, I basically broke even with the game. You can choose between tournaments with larger prize pools but higher entry fees and tournaments with smaller pools and lower entry fees.
• 8 Ball Strike lets you withdraw funds via PayPal or Venmo. You can't redeem bonus cash, and you can only withdraw funds as whole numbers.
• You have to be 18 to play for money, and not all U.S. states allow cash tournaments.

What is 8 Ball Strike?

Platform	4.2 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.
Developer	Aviagames Inc. (Pocket7Games)
Compatible systems	iOS, Samsung
Types of in-game currency	Coins Bonus cash
Minimum entry fee (for cash tournaments)	$1 (can be lower with coin combos)
Minimum cash deposit	$5
Minimum withdrawal amount	$5
Withdrawal fee	$1
Withdrawal methods	PayPal/Venmo (or as a refund to your original payment method)
States that prohibit cash tournaments	Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and U.S. territories
Game modes	Cash tournaments Coin tournaments

Is 8 Ball Strike legit? 

Yes, 8 Ball Strike is a legit app where you could win real cash. We verified its legitimacy by playing it and cashing out.

This game app has 4.8-stars on the iOS App Store and 5 stars on the Samsung Galaxy Store, as well as tens of thousands of ratings from active users. 8 Ball Strike is not currently available on the Google Play store.

How to play 8 Ball Strike

If you’ve always loved playing pool at bars or pool halls, then 8 Ball Strike gives you the same classic game on your phone or tablet. Just like with real-life billiards, you have to strategize which balls to hit into which pockets, how to make trick shots, and how to score the most points. Plus, with this game, you can compete in cash tournaments against other online players (as long as they’re allowed in your state).

While the game board looks like a typical pool setup, there are two game mechanics you need to learn for 8 Ball Strike:

1. Aiming the pool balls
2. Controlling how hard you hit the white ball with your cue

In the game, you’ll select which pool ball you want to aim for and direct your shot toward whichever pocket (or other pool ball) you want to hit. That’s the easy part. After that, you’ll pull back the cue icon at the bottom of the screen to control how hard you want to hit the white ball.

This was the trickiest element for me to master because, even if you aim perfectly, you’ll mess up your shot if the impact is too hard or too soft. And each time you miss sinking a ball into a pocket, you’ll lose one white cue ball. If you use up all three of your cue balls, then it’s game over.

There are a couple of other elements you have to consider for 8 Ball Strike as well:

1. Pocket multipliers: Each pocket will multiply the points you get (based on the number on the pool ball).
2. Triple-shot perks: When you sink three balls in a row, the game lets you choose one of three bonus options. Which one you choose will influence your overall score.

At the end of the game, the pool player with the highest number of points wins first place (and potentially a cash prize).

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My gameplay experience with 8 Ball Strike

I played 16 cash tournaments in 8 Ball Strike, plus a bunch of free coins tournaments for practice. I spent more time on practicing this game than I do on most cash game apps I play, and I highly recommend you do the same if you’ve never played virtual pool before.

While most cash gaming apps, like Solitaire Cash and Bingo Cash, are for fairly simple games, I found 8 Ball Strike a bit more complicated to learn, mostly because of the impact aspect. While aiming was easy and I caught on quickly, figuring out how much impact to use on my virtual pool cue was tricky at first.

After enough practice, knowing how much impact to use started to feel like second nature. But just like with real pool, it’s still easy to mess up and sink the white ball accidentally, or hit the target ball too hard and spin it off course. Hitting the ball too gently to make it into the pocket was less of an issue for me, but it also happened occasionally.

One problem I ran into

Game mechanics aside, the 8 Ball Strike app worked well overall. But there was one really annoying problem with playing this game on my iPad. Because the cue impact bar is right above the bottom of the screen, I would regularly accidentally swipe back to my iPad’s home screen and out of the game.

When this happened, the game usually paused, and I could pick it back up where I left off. But occasionally, the game still registered the swipe as a cue shot, and it would completely mess up one of my hits. If nothing else, it was a distracting and frustrating snag to encounter during play.

Tips for scoring points

The most important things you can do to score the most points are to control your cue shots effectively and strategize how you score. If you can master what level of impact to use and sink balls into the pockets with the highest points multipliers, then you’re well on your way to 8 Ball Strike domination.

Take advantage of the pocket edges

To aim the pool balls effectively, you should take advantage of the fact that the corners slope inward toward the hole. Even if you can’t hit a ball straight-on into the pocket, you can usually angle the ball to hit one of the sloped edges and essentially be funneled in.

Prioritize balls that show the full trajectory

Depending on which ball you hit and its distance from the pocket, you can see either part of how a ball will track toward the pocket, or you can see the entire trajectory of where the ball will go depending on how you aim.

If you can’t see the entire trajectory, then you have to guess and try to see where the ball will ultimately end up. It’s easier to aim accurately if you can see the entire track of where the ball will go.

Take sure hits over the highest multipliers

It’s tempting to always try to aim for the pockets with the highest multipliers, but if the hit to get that pocket is really difficult, then you risk losing more cue balls and running out the clock.

It’s better for your overall points score to sink more balls you know you can get in rather than spend a lot of time and wasted cue balls trying to get one ball into the highest-multiplier pocket.

Choose a three-shot perk based on how your game is going

8 Ball Strike offers three-shot perks (which are essentially three bonus options you can choose from) every time you sink three balls in a row.

There’s no hard-and-fast answer as to which bonus you should choose. You should make the decision based on how that individual game is going. For example, if you’re on your last cue ball, then you should choose to get an extra one. Alternatively, if you’ve scored a lot of trick shots, then you can choose the trick shot bonus.

How much money can you make?

I saw cash prizes of up to $17 for a single game in 8 Ball Strike, but you’re unlikely to consistently make that much on cash tournaments. For one thing, the tournament with a $17 first-place prize has an entry fee of $7. Winning 3rd place would get you an $8 win, but anything below that and your net profit is in the red.

I essentially broke even on 8 Ball Strike. I deposited $5 into the game and got a generous $10 in bonus cash (a form of in-game currency) as part of a promotional deal. Of the 16 cash tournaments I played, I won first or second place in 8 of them. That’s a 50% win rate, which is below average for me and basically makes it a coin toss as to whether or not I’m making money on any given game.

On games where I won third through sixth place, I still won small amounts of money. But since they were less than the entry fee, those games were ultimately a net loss.

I stuck to Pro-League cash tournaments, which have a $1 entry fee and a $5.70 overall prize pool. I recommend sticking with the low-stakes tournaments for pretty much any gaming app you want to play. While high prize pools look tempting, they also come with higher entry fees. It’s too easy to lose more money than you make when you pay super-high entry fees.

How to withdraw cash

8 Ball Strike issues withdrawals either through PayPal/Venmo or as a refund to your original payment method (meaning a credit/debit card or Apple Pay). Other Avia gaming apps (the same platform 8 Ball Strike is on) have issued my refund (or cashout) within one day, although Avia’s terms of service specify it can take up to 15 days to process withdrawals.

At the end of my time playing 8 Ball Strike, I had a total balance of $16.26. That sounds really good, considering I only deposited $5 of real money, but that total doesn’t account for bonus cash.

How bonus cash works

Bonus cash is an in-game currency the game gives you for free through various rewards or as a bonus depositing real money. Most gaming apps give you around $2 or $3 in bonus cash for a minimum deposit, but 8 Ball Strike gave me a generous promotion that included $10 of bonus cash for depositing $5.

There’s a catch though: You can’t withdraw bonus cash. And even worse, when you withdraw real money, you have to forfeit all of your remaining bonus cash. This is very common for paid games that include bonus cash, but it's still a kicker.

I had $5.30 in real money eligible for withdrawal. But I would have had to lose $10.96 in bonus cash, which I could instead use to pay entry fees and potentially win more real cash from tournaments. So I opted not to withdraw the funds.

Even if I had withdrawn the money, 8 Ball Strike charges a $1 processing fee, and you can only withdraw whole numbers. So I would’ve only been able to cash out $4.

8 Ball Strike reviews and complaints

8 Ball Strike gets generally positive reviews on the App Store and Samsung Galaxy Store, which matches my experience as well. The game was fun to play, and the app didn’t have any major bugs or slowdown issues.

Many users emphasize the importance of practice time for this game. App Store user Mickeys’Jules said, “Once I practiced enough that I actually started winning challenges and earning money … not only did the game become a whole lot more interesting, it’s a game that I can’t put down.”

Some people have complained about losing money after an initial winning streak, which is a risk with any cash gaming app. App Store user Rockstarjeff said, “I would win with an 800 [score] one time and the next I would lose with a 1,600+ [score]”

I experienced similar unpredictability as far as what type of score would win a tournament. In one match, I won first place with a score of 874, and in another game, I got fifth place with a score of 1,130. How you rank depends on how well the other players perform compared to you.

8 Ball Strike FAQ

8 Ball Strike alternatives

8 Ball Strike requires particular skills to position the cue and angle it toward the correct pool ball and pocket. This game might not be for you if you find hand-eye coordination difficult or you don’t generally enjoy playing pool.

If you’re still interested in playing other mobile games that may reward you with cash, consider the following legit game apps.

Pool Payday

Since we don't recommend Avia games, and that includes 8 Ball Strike, Pool Payday is a better option for anyone who wants to get paid to play billiards. This app, available in the Apple App Store and Samsung Galaxy Store, lets you compete in tournaments to earn cash. You can pay real money or use the in-game currency to enter, like 8 Ball Strike, but there are more game modes to choose from. This includes offline and practice modes, brackets, leagues, and more. Consider this app over 8 Ball Strike for a legit pool game with multiple ways to play and earn cash.

Download Pool Payday | Read our Pool Payday review.

Bubble Cash

A bubble shooter is another skill-based game you might like if you're good at virtual billiards. Bubble Cash is one of the most fun bubble shooters we've tested because it's easy to pick up (and even easier to keep playing), and it's much less complicated than 8 Ball Strike. It's compatible with iOS and Samsung devices, and it's developed by Papaya, which offers a variety of cash games we've liked, including Solitaire Cash and 21 Cash. But though Bubble Cash has the potential to be more enjoyable than 8 Ball Strike, we found it tough to win the cash tournaments. Only consider this one if you're more about the game than the earnings.

Download Bubble Cash | Read our Bubble Cash review.

Cash Giraffe

If you’re looking for a mobile game you can play on an Android phone, consider the Cash Giraffe platform. This app rewards you for trying various games and apps. Once you download the Cash Giraffe app, you can select a game to download and start playing.

The app will track your time in each game and award you points. The more you play, the more you could potentially earn. Players can redeem points for gift cards or cash via PayPal, and there are multiple games to choose from, including arcade, casino, strategy, and adventure.

Download Cash Giraffe | Read our Cash Giraffe review.

Bottom line

If you can master the game mechanics, then 8 Ball Strike is a fun and engaging game to play. And if you think you’re good enough, then you can try to win cash tournaments against other pool players in the app.

Even though I was able to make some money through this game, the requirement to forfeit all my bonus cash upon withdrawal made me not want to cash it out. But other Avia games I’ve played have issued legitimate cash-outs via PayPal, so I’m not concerned that 8 Ball Strike is a scam.

If you want more reliable ways to make some extra income on the side, then explore other options to make money online.

4.2

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.

Engaging, challenging gameplay

Real cash prizes available (in most states)

Reasonable entry fees

High-quality app with no apparent bugs or glitches