Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a baize-covered billiard table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each (the game is sometimes played with fewer red balls, commonly 6 or 10), and six balls of different : yellow (2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6), black (7). A player (or team) wins a (individual game) of snooker by scoring more points than the opponent(s), using the cue ball to the red and coloured . A player (or team) wins a match when they have achieved the best-of score from a pre-determined number of frames. The number of frames is always odd so as to prevent a tie or a draw.
The table Snooker is played on a rectangular snooker table with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. The table usually has a slate base, covered in green baize. A is drawn across the width of the table, from the cushion at one end. A semicircle of radius , called , is drawn behind this line, with its centre on the midpoint. The cushion at the other end of the table is known as the .
A regulation (full-size) table is ; because of the large size of these tables, smaller tables are common in homes.
The balls
Snooker balls, like billiard balls, are typically made of phenolic resin, and are smaller than American pool balls. Regulation snooker balls (which are specified in metric units) are nominally 52.5 mm (approximately inches) in diameter, though many sets are actually manufactured at 52.4 mm (about in). No weight for the balls is specified in the rules, only that the weight of any two balls should not differ by more than 0.5 g. There are fifteen , six (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black), and one white .
At the beginning of a frame, the balls are set up in the arrangement shown in the illustration. The six (all balls except the white and the reds) are placed on their own spots. The red balls are arranged in a tightly-packed triangle behind the pink, with the apex as close as possible to the pink but not touching it.
Objective The objective of the game of snooker is to strike the white with a cue so that it strikes the in turn and causes them to fall into one of the six pockets, called . Points are scored for potting balls legally, in accordance with the rules described below, or in the event of a foul committed by the opponent. The player who scores more points wins the frame, and the first player to win a set number of frames wins the match.
Match A match usually consists of a fixed, odd number of frames. A frame begins with setting up the balls as described above. A frame ends when all balls are potted, or when one of the players concedes defeat due to being too far behind on points to tie or beat the opponent's score.
A match ends when one player has won enough frames to make it impossible for the other player to catch up. For example, in a match of 19 frames, the first player to win 10 is the victor.
In most versions of snooker, there is no specified time limit for a player to take a shot. However, the referee may issue a warning at his/her discretion, then award the frame to the opponent if the player takes too long to act.
Gameplay
At the beginning of each frame, the balls are set up by the referee as explained. The frame begins with one player taking the cue ball , placing it anywhere on or inside the D and attempting to hit one or more of the red balls on an initial shot. A or may be used by either player at any time during a frame.
Only one player may visit the table at a time. A is the number of points scored in a single visit to the table. A player's turn and break end when they commit a foul, fail to pot a ball, or when a frame is complete.
The ball(s) that can be hit first by the cue ball are referred to as being for that particular stroke. The ball(s) "on" differ from shot to shot; if any reds are on the table, all of them are "on" for the first stroke of a player's turn. Potting a red allows the player to nominate one colour as "on" for the next shot and attempt to pot it. This alternation between reds and colours continues until a player either ends their turn by missing or committing a foul, or pots the last red and attempts (successfully or not) to pot a colour after it.
ColourValue 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points 6 points 7 points Each legally potted red ball awards one point and remains off the table until the end of the frame. The player continues their turn by nominating one of the six colours (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black) as the ball "on" for the next shot.
Potting the nominated colour awards further points (two through seven, in the same order as the preceding paragraph). The referee then removes the colour from the pocket and replaces it on the table in its original spot. If that spot is occupied (that is, if the ball cannot be placed on it without touching another ball), then the ball is placed on the highest available spot. If all spots are occupied, it is placed as close to its own spot as possible in a direct line between that spot and the top cushion, without touching another ball.
The alternation between red balls and colours ends when all reds have been potted and an attempt (successful or not) to pot a colour is made after the last red is potted, or when the last red is potted or knocked off the table due to a foul and is not replaced. The six colours have then to be potted in ascending order of their value (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black); each becomes the ball "on" in that order. During this phase, the colours are not replaced on the table after being legally potted, but any colour potted as the result of a foul is re-spotted.
After all six colours have been potted, the player with the higher score wins the frame (but see below for end-of-frame scenarios).
Because only one of the colours can be "on" at any given time, it is a foul to first hit multiple colours at the same time, or pot more than one colour (unless a has been awarded .
Touching ball If the cue ball comes to rest in direct contact with a ball that is on or could be on, the referee shall declare a "". The striker must "play away" from that ball without moving it, but is not required to hit any other ball because the touching ball is on. If the object ball moves, it is considered a and a foul is called. No penalty is incurred for playing away if:
The ball is on. Example: Striker pots a colour, making the reds on for the next shot, and the cue ball comes to rest touching one of them. The ball could be on and the striker nominates it as on. Example: Striker pots a red, cue ball comes to rest touching the green, and the striker declares that ball as on. The ball could be on, and the striker nominates another ball as on and hits it first. Example: Striker pots a red, cue ball comes to rest touching the green, and the striker declares the black as on and hits it first.
If the cue ball is touching another ball which could be on (e.g. touching a colour when the striker must pot a red, or vice versa), a touching ball is not called, and the striker must play away from it and hit a legally nominated object ball. Where the cue ball is simultaneously touching several balls that are on or could be on, the referee shall indicate that each and every one of them is a touching ball; the striker must therefore play away from all of them.
The striker scores no points for balls potted as the result of a foul. Depending on the situation, these balls will either remain off the table; be returned to their original spots; or be replaced in the positions they occupied before the foul shot, along with any other balls that were moved during the shot. For details on such situations, see Fouls below.
If any reds are still on the table and a player fails to legally pot a ball that is on, whether a red or a nominated colour, the opponent will come to the table and the reds will be on. If a player's turn ends with no reds on the table, and in such a way that none of them must be replaced due to a foul, the opponent's turn will begin with the lowest-value colour on the table as being on.
Fouls A (or ) is a shot or action by the striker which is against the rules of the game. When a foul is made during a shot, the player's turn ends, and no points are awarded for any balls potted on that shot. Common fouls are: Failing to hit any other ball with the cue ball. First hitting a ball "not-on" with the cue ball. Potting a ball "not-on". Potting the cue ball (). Touching any object ball with anything but the cue ball. Touching any ball before all balls have come to a complete stop. Hitting the cue ball more than once on the same shot. Making a ball land off the table. Touching the cue ball with anything other than the tip of the cue. Playing a Playing a – a shot where the cue ball leaves the bed of the table and jumps over any part of a ball before first hitting another ball. Playing a shot with both feet off the ground. The player may lean over the table and/or support a portion of their weight on it, but at least one foot must remain in contact with the ground. When a player commits a foul and the cue ball remains on the table, the opponent may either play from the resulting position or request the offender play again. If the cue ball is potted or leaves the table, the opponent receives it "in-hand" and may then place it anywhere on or within the "D" for the next shot.
Potting two or more balls in one shot is not an automatic foul, as when the reds are "on", two or more of them may be legally potted in the same shot and are worth one point each. In the following shot, the player may only nominate and attempt to pot one colour.
Should a cue ball be touched with the tip while "in-hand", i.e. when breaking-off or playing from the "D" after being potted or knocked off the table, a foul is not committed as long as the referee is satisfied that the player was only positioning the ball, and not playing a shot or preparing to play one.
The following fouls award seven points to the opponent when committed:
Playing at reds, or a free ball followed by a red, in successive strokes Failing to declare which ball is "on" when requested to do so by the referee After potting a red or free ball nominated as a red, committing a foul before nominating a colour Using a ball off the table for any purpose Using any object to measure gaps or distance
Any other foul awards points to the opponent equal to the value of the ball "on", the highest value of all balls involved in the foul, or four points, whichever is highest. If multiple fouls are committed in one shot, only the penalty for the highest-valued foul is scored. The penalty for a foul is thus no lower than four points and no higher than seven.
A common defensive tactic is to play a shot that leaves the opponent unable to hit a ball "on" directly. This is most commonly called "ing" one's opponent, or alternatively "laying a snooker" or putting the other player "in a snooker".
Because players receive points for fouls by their opponents, repeatedly snookering one's opponent is a possible way of winning a frame when potting all the balls on the table would be insufficient to ensure a win or tie. This portion of the frame is known as the "snookers-required" stage.
Free ball