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33Pool App · Casual Mode
The 33Pool app isn't in the App Store or on Google Play yet. This is a walkthrough of how casual mode will work once you download it, built from the app we're testing right now.
Ranked play hands you whoever the ladder picks. Casual is the opposite: you choose the person. Send a code, they type it in, and you're playing — whether they're across town or on the other side of the world.
The Handshake
There's no queue and no waiting to be matched. One of you hosts, the other joins, and the whole exchange takes about ten seconds.
Step 1
From the drawer at the bottom of the home screen, tap Casual — Play a friend. Choose whether you're on a 9ft Table or a Bar Box, so the match is recorded against the right equipment.
Then it's one of two buttons: Create a match code if you're hosting, or I have a code if your friend already sent you one.
Step 2
Hosting gives you a short code — something like 2ZKKM — with a countdown running against it, so a code you forget about expires instead of sitting around. Share code sends it through any messaging app on your phone.
Your screen then waits on waiting for your friend to join until they punch it in, and Cancel backs you out if plans change.
Step 3
On their phone it's I have a code, then the code you sent. The field uppercases as they type, so there's no fiddling with capitals.
The moment it lands they get Code accepted and the app starts getting you both to the table.
Step 4
Once you're joined up, casual stops being different. You both check in at your tables, both streams come up, and the phone turns landscape into the same match screen ranked play uses — their table full-screen with the live score over the top, and you keeping score while they shoot.
The only thing that carries the casual label from here is the badge in the corner.
What It Counts For
Casual isn't a throwaway practice mode with the numbers switched off. It's a real match that simply doesn't put your rank at risk.
Recorded
Casual records every statistic for both players, exactly as a ranked match does. Your run counts, your break counts, your history counts.
Untouched
The one thing casual doesn't move is your rating. The app marks the match UNRANKED · NO ELO from the moment you create the code, so nobody is unclear about the stakes.
Good for
Warming up before you queue, running a set against a regular opponent, or playing a friend in another country for no reason other than that you can.
Want your matches to move your world ranking instead? See how ranked play works.
The app is in internal testing now. It isn't in the App Store or on Google Play yet, and there's nothing to sign up for — when it's ready to play, you'll hear about it here.
Worth deciding now who you're sending that first code to.
Phoenix Ladder update
We are currently rolling out our platform and completing a short testing phase to ensure everything is ready for launch. We anticipate opening the platform sometime this month.
Please hold off on creating your online account just yet.
In the meantime, visit www.33pool.com/how-to-play to learn the rules and start practicing 33 Rotation. If you enjoy the game, we'd love for you to share videos of yourself playing to help introduce others to the sport and build excitement within the community.
Check back soon for announcements regarding the official launch and the start of Season 1. Thank you for being part of the future of competitive 33 Rotation.