How to Play California Cutthroat Racquetball
In racquetball, there are many different game types for players to choose from, especially when they're playing in a good-sized group. For instance, commons game varieties of racquetball include standard one-on-on play, doubles, cutthroat, and California cutthroat. California cutthroat is a particularly good game for groups of three who like the more open, energetic pace and feel of one-on-one racquetball. Here's how to play California cutthroat.
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Things You'll Need
- 3 Racquetball players
- Rackets for each player
- At least 1 racquetball
- Racquetball court
Instructions
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Playing California Cutthroat Racquetball
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1
Assemble three players.
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2
Determine the player who is going to serve first.
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3
Determine which player will sit out for the first point.
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4
Have the player who is sitting out stand in the far right, back corner of the racquetball court.
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5
Play the point just as if you were playing normal one-on-one racquetball.
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6
Establish the winner of the point.
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7
Have the winner of the point either resume serving, if they served the last point, or start serving if they received service on the last point.
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8
Have the loser of the point go and sit out the next point.
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9
Have the player who sat out the last point take the place of whoever lost the last point.
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10
Continue rotating players in and out of the racquetball game, depending on who wins each point.
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11
Play to 15 points to determine the game's winner.
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1
Tips & Warnings
If you have four players, you can still play California cutthroat by establishing a rotation, but it's probably best to just play doubles instead.
The player who is sitting out is considered out of bounds, so any points that are scored by one player hitting a shot into the right-rear corner of the court are played like a hinder, and are simply re-played.
The winner of the racquetball game in California cutthroat needs to win by two points.
If you're the player who is sitting out, use your racket to defend yourself from shots that head your way and be sure to remain aware of the gameplay going on to avoid injury.
If there's any doubt about a shot being impeded by the player who was sitting that point out, simply play it as a hinder and re-play the point.
- Photo Credit Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
