The table
Snooker is played on a rectangular table, 6 feet by 12 feet
(about 1.83m by 3.66m), with six pockets, one at each corner and
one in the middle of each long side. At one end of the table (the
baulk end) is the so-called baulk line, which is 29 inches from the
baulk cushion (the short cushion at the baulk end). A semicircle of
radius 11½ inches, called the D, is drawn behind this line, centred
on the middle of the line. The cushion on the other side of the
table is known as the top cushion.
Because of the large size of regulation snooker tables, smaller
tables are common in domestic situations and other situations where
space is limited. These are often around 6 feet in length, and all
the dimensions and markings are scaled down accordingly. The balls
used are sometimes also scaled down, and/or reduced in number (in
the case of the reds) such that the longest row of balls in the
rack is omitted.
The balls
Snooker balls, like pool balls, are typically made of phenolic
resin, but are smaller than regulation pool balls. Regulation
snooker balls are 52.5 mm (approximately 2-1⁄8 inches) in diameter,
though many sets are 52.4mm (2-1⁄16 in.) Some recreational sets are
as large as 2-1⁄4 in., while miniature sets also exist, for
half-size home tables. There are fifteen red balls, six "colour"
balls (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black), and one white
cue ball. The red balls are not numbered, though the six colour
balls often are, especially in the US, and can easily be mistaken
at first glance for pool balls (the design is similar, but the
numbering does not match pool's scheme).
At the beginning of a frame, the balls are set up in the
arrangement shown. The six colours (a term referring to all balls
but the white and the reds) are placed on their own spots. On the
baulk line, looking up the table from the baulk end, the green ball
is located where the "D" meets the line on the left, the brown ball
in the middle of the line, and the yellow ball where the "D" meets
the line on the right. This order is often remembered using the
mnemonic God Bless You, the first letter of each word being the
first letter of the three colours. At the exact centre of the table
sits the blue ball. Further up the table is the pink ball, which
sits midway between the blue spot and the top cushion, followed by
the red balls, arranged in a tightly-packed triangle behind the
pink (the apex must be as close as possible to the pink ball
without touching it). Finally, the black ball is placed on a spot
12.75 inches from the top cushion.
Objective
The objective of the game of snooker is to strike the white cue
ball with a cue in the direction of other object balls and to pot
these object balls in one of the six pockets. This must be done
according to the rules of the game, which are described below. By
potting object balls points can be scored. The player who scores
most points wins the frame, and the player who wins most frames
wins the match.
A snooker match
A snooker match usually consists of an odd fixed 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 because he is too far behind in score to
equal or beat the score of the other player.
A match ends when one of the players has won the majority of the
set number of frames and the other player can therefore not equal
this. For example, when a match consists of 19 frames, the match
ends when one of the players has reached 10 frames.
Game play
At the beginning of each frame the balls are set up by the
referee as explained. This will be followed by a break-off shot, on
which the players take turns. At the break-off, the white cue ball
can be placed anywhere inside the D, although it is common for
players to start by placing the ball on the line, between the brown
ball and either the green or yellow ball.
Players take turns in visiting the table. When one player is at
the table, the other cannot play. A break is the number of points
scored by a player in one single visit to the table. A player's
turn and break end when he fails to pot a ball, when he does
something against the rules of the game, which is called a foul, or
when a frame has ended.
When a player strikes the white, it can only first hit certain
object balls. If the white first hits another ball, this is
considered a foul. The ball or balls that can be hit first by the
white in a certain stroke are called the ball(s) "on" for that
particular stroke. The balls "on" are the only balls that can be
potted by a player. The player receives points for this. If another
ball is potted, this is considered a foul.
The game of snooker generally consists of two phases. The first
phase is the situation in which there are still red balls on the
table. In the first phase, at the beginning of a player's turn, the
balls "on" are all remaining red balls. The player must therefore
attempt to first hit and pot one or more red balls. For every red
ball potted, the player will receive 1 point. When a red has been
potted, it will stay off the table and the player can continue his
break. If no red has been potted or a foul has been made, the other
player will come into play.
In case one or more red balls have been potted, the player can
continue his break. This time one of the six colours (yellow,
green, brown, blue, pink and black) is the ball "on". Only one of
these can be the ball "on" and the rules of the game state that a
player must nominate his desired colour to the referee, although it
is often clear which ball the striker is playing and it is not
necessary to nominate.
When the nominated colour is potted, the player will be awarded
the correct number of points (yellow, 2; green, 3; brown, 4; blue,
5; pink, 6; black, 7). The colour is then taken out of the pocket
by the referee and placed on its original spot. If that spot is
covered by another ball, the ball is placed on the highest
available spot. If there is no available spot, 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. If there
is no room this side of the spot, it will be placed as close to the
spot as possible in a straight line towards the bottom cushion,
without touching another ball.
Because only one of the colours is the ball "on", it is a foul
to first hit multiple colours (and reds) at the same time, or pot
more than one colour (or red).
If a player fails to pot a ball "on", it being a red or
nominated colour, the other player will come into play and the
balls "on" are always the reds, as long as there are still reds on
the table.
The alternation between red balls and colours ends when all reds
have been potted and a colour potted after the last red. All six
colours have then to be potted in the correct order (yellow, green,
brown, blue, pink, black). Each becomes the ball "on" in that
order. During this phase, when potted, the colours stay down and
are not replaced on the table, unless a foul is made when potting
the colour and the colour is respotted.
When the colours have been potted, the frame is over and the
player who has scored most points has won it (but see below for
"The End of Frame" scenarios).
Fouls
A foul 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 is ended
and he will receive no points for the foul shot. The other player
will receive penalty points.
Common fouls are:
first hitting a ball "not-on" with the cue ball
potting a ball "not-on"
potting the white (in-off)
hitting another ball than the white with the cue
making a ball land off the table
touching a ball with something else than the tip of the cue
playing a "push shot" - a shot where the cue, cue ball and object
ball are in simultaneous contact
playing a "jump shot", which is where the cue ball leaves the bed
of the table and jumps over a ball (even if touching it in the
process) before first hitting another ball
playing a shot with both feet off the ground
Whereas in other games, such as pool, if the cue ball is touched
with the tip of the cue when it is in baulk after being potted then
a foul is committed, in snooker if the cue ball is touched with the
tip after being potted and in the D, a foul is not committed as
long as the referee is satisfied that the player was only
positioning the ball, and not playing, or preparing to play, a
shot.
When a foul is made, the other player will receive penalty
points. Penalty points are at least 4 points and at most 7 points.
The number of penalty points is the value of the ball "on", or any
of the "foul" balls, whichever is highest. When more than one foul
is made, the penalty is not the added total — only the most highly
valued foul is counted.
Not hitting the ball "on" first is the most common foul. Players
can make life difficult for an opponent by making sure that they
cannot hit a ball "on" directly. This is called "laying a snooker"
or putting the other player "in a snooker".
Since players receive points for fouls by their opponents,
snookering your opponent a number of times in a row is a possible
way of winning a frame when potting all the balls on the table
would be insufficient for you to win.
If a player commits a foul, and his opponent considers that the
position left is unattractive, he may request that the offender
play again from that position.
If a foul has been committed by not hitting a ball "on" first,
or at all, and the referee judges that the player has not made the
best possible effort to hit a ball "on", and neither of the players
are in need of snookers to win the frame, then "foul, and a miss"
is called. In this instance the other player may request that all
balls on the table are returned to their position before the foul,
and the opponent play the shot again. (In top class play, this will
usually require only the cue ball and a couple of other balls to be
moved.) It should be noted that this rule is often applied less
stringently, if at all, in amateur matches.
When a player leaves an opponent unable to hit both lateral
extremities of at least one ball "on" after a foul, the opponent
will receive a free ball. This means any colour can be nominated
and played as the ball "on". The number of points for potting the
free ball is not the worth of the nominated ball but of the
original ball "on". For example, if the ball "on" is a red, and the
free ball is a pink, the player will receive one point for potting
the pink. After potting the free ball as a red, a player can
nominate and pot a colour as usual.
The end of a frame
A frame normally ends in one of five ways:
A concession, when one player gives up due to being too far behind
to have a realistic chance of winning the frame (usually when at
the snookers-required stage).
When the pink is potted and the difference between the players'
scores is more than seven points. The frame is over and, while the
striker may pot the black (for a clearance break, for example), no
further shots are necessary.
The black is potted AND the seven points scored puts one player
ahead.
A foul on the black AND the seven-point penalty puts one player
ahead. It is sometimes wrongly assumed that play continues after a
foul on the black if there are then less than seven points in the
scores. This is not the case: the player who has made such a foul
has lost the frame.
If, however, the black is fouled or potted and the resulting seven
points bring the scores level, the black is respotted. Play
continues from in-hand, with the players tossing a coin for the
choice of playing first or making the opponent play first. Potting
or fouling a respotted black ends the frame.
There are two much rarer ways to end a frame:
A player will forfeit a frame due to a failure to hit a ball
"on" three times in a row (provided the player was not snookered,
in which case the player has as many opportunities as is
required).
Should a player refuse to take his turn at any stage, the referee
would have the right to declare the frame over.