Quick start: how to play in 60 seconds
- Reds are potted for 1 point each. After potting a red, the same player must then try to pot a colour.
- A potted colour is worth its value (yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7) and is respotted after being potted, as long as reds remain on the table.
- The break continues — red, colour, red, colour — until the player misses, fouls, or there are no reds left.
- Once all 15 reds are gone, the six colours must be potted in strict ascending order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black. This time, each stays down once potted.
- The frame ends when the last colour (black) is potted or the balls are cleared, and the player with more points wins.
- A foul hands your opponent penalty points (a minimum of 4) and usually ends your turn — see Fouls below.
Equipment and setup
Snooker needs more room and a bigger table than pool, which is why club tables come in a full 12-foot size.
- A 12ft x 6ft table (a full-size table; smaller tables exist but a WPBSA-regulation table is the standard)
- A cue ball (white) and 15 reds plus 6 colours: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black
- One cue per player, plus a rest, spider or extended cue for awkward shots
- Chalk for the cue tip
- A triangle (rack) to set up the reds
Objective
Score more points than your opponent in the frame by potting balls in the correct order — reds and colours alternately, then the six colours in strict sequence — while using fouls and safety play to control when your opponent gets a chance at the table.
A match is usually played as the best of a set number of frames (the club's Monday and Saturday handicap events are single frames or short races — ask at the desk for the format on the night).
Setting up: the break-off
The 15 reds are racked in a tight triangle behind the pink spot, with the frontmost red touching the pink. The six colours sit on their own fixed spots: yellow and green on the baulk line either side of the brown, brown in the middle of that line, blue on the centre spot, pink between the reds and the black spot, and black nearest the top cushion.
The cue ball is played from anywhere inside the baulk area (behind the baulk line) for the first shot of the frame, known as the break-off. Most players break softly off a cushion into the side of the pack, aiming to avoid leaving an easy pot while probing the reds open.
The turn sequence
Once reds are on the table, the break alternates: pot a red (1 point), then nominate and attempt a colour of your choice. If you pot the colour, it's respotted on its own spot and you go back to a red. This continues for as long as you keep potting and reds remain.
If you pot a red but then miss the colour, or foul, your turn ends and your opponent comes to the table — any points you scored during your visit stay on the scoreboard.
When the last red has been potted along with its follow-up colour, the six colours must then be taken in strict ascending order of value: yellow (2), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6), black (7). From this point, each colour stays down once potted rather than being respotted.
Ending the frame
The frame ends the moment the black is potted (assuming the scores aren't level — see below) or when a player concedes because they can no longer catch up.
If the scores are tied after the black is potted, the black is respotted and the players lag (or the referee decides who breaks) for one final, sudden-death shot at just the black.
Scoring: ball values
A break is the running total of points scored in one visit to the table without missing. The maximum possible break is 147 — 15 reds each followed by the black (15 × 8 = 120), then the six colours in order (2+3+4+5+6+7 = 27) — achieved only a handful of times a year even at professional level. Jimmy White has made one himself, at the 1992 World Championship, the first left-hander to do so at the Crucible.
- Red — 1 point
- Yellow — 2 points
- Green — 3 points
- Brown — 4 points
- Blue — 5 points
- Pink — 6 points
- Black — 7 points
Fouls and penalties
A foul happens when you hit the wrong ball first, miss everything, pot the cue ball, pot a ball out of sequence, or fail to hit any object ball, among other things. The minimum penalty is 4 points; fouls involving the highest-value ball on the table (or a colour worth more than 4) award that ball's value instead — so fouling with the black on the table costs 7.
Penalty points are added to your opponent's score, not subtracted from yours, and your turn ends immediately. Your opponent then chooses whether to play the resulting position as it lies or ask you to play again from where you left the balls.
Common fouls
- Potting the cue ball (a 'in-off') — the opponent gets the ball-in-hand equivalent plus penalty points
- Hitting a colour first when a red was on and should have been played
- Failing to hit any ball, or hitting a ball that isn't 'on'
- Touching a ball with anything other than the cue tip on a fair stroke — hand, clothing, chalk or the rest
- Playing before the balls have stopped moving, or with both feet off the floor
Special situations
Free ball
If your opponent fouls and leaves you 'snookered' — unable to see any part of a ball you're on, in a straight line, from both sides of the ball nearest your cue ball — you're awarded a free ball. You may nominate any ball as if it were the ball you should have been on, and it takes on that ball's value if potted.
Re-spotted black
Covered under 'Ending the frame' above: when the scores are level after the final black is potted, the black returns to its spot for a decider, and the referee (or a coin toss/lag in a casual game) decides who plays first.
The miss rule
If a player fails to make a genuine attempt to hit the ball on — often a tactical dodge to avoid leaving a shot rather than a true miss — the referee can call 'miss'. The opponent may then ask for the balls to be replaced and the same player to play again, as many times as needed, rather than accept a bad position.
Touching ball
If the cue ball ends a shot touching another ball, the referee declares it a touching ball. The player must play away from it without appearing to push it, or nominate it as the ball on if it's a legal option; playing into it in the wrong direction is a foul.
Common variations
Six-red snooker
A shorter, faster format using only 6 reds instead of 15, popular for exhibitions and time-limited social play. The colours and scoring rules are unchanged; frames simply finish much sooner.
Handicap frames
In club and league play, weaker players are often given a head-start in points (a handicap) to even up the contest. The club runs Monday-evening and Saturday handicap competitions using handicaps published on Snookerz — ask at the desk to be added.
Glossary
- Break
- The running total of points scored in one uninterrupted visit to the table.
- Break-off
- The first shot of the frame, played from inside the baulk area.
- Frame
- One complete game of snooker, from break-off to the last ball potted or a concession.
- In-off
- Potting the cue ball — always a foul.
- Maximum break
- A 147 break: every red with the black, then all six colours in order.
- On
- Describes the ball(s) a player is legally allowed to hit first.
- Respot
- Returning a potted colour to its designated spot, done while reds remain on the table.
- Safety shot
- A shot played to leave the cue ball where the opponent has no easy pot, rather than attempting to score.
- Snooker
- A position where the cue ball cannot see any part of a ball on, in a straight line, because another ball blocks it.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if you pot the white in snooker?
Potting the white (cue ball) is always a foul, worth a minimum of 4 penalty points to your opponent — more if a higher-value ball was on at the time. Your turn ends and the cue ball is placed back in play, usually in hand for the opponent to play from the baulk area.
How many points is a snooker ball worth?
Reds are worth 1 point each. The six colours are worth 2 (yellow), 3 (green), 4 (brown), 5 (blue), 6 (pink) and 7 (black) points.
What is the maximum break in snooker?
147 points: all 15 reds potted with the black after each one (15 × 8 = 120), followed by the six colours in ascending order (2+3+4+5+6+7 = 27). It's the highest break possible in a standard frame.
What is the minimum foul in snooker?
4 points. Fouls are worth at least 4, or the value of the highest ball involved in the foul if that's higher — for example, fouling while the black is the only colour left on the table costs 7.
Do you have to hit a red first if reds are still on the table?
Yes — while any red remains on the table, the next legal ball to hit first is always a red, unless you've been awarded a free ball after your opponent's foul.
What is a free ball in snooker?
It's awarded when your opponent fouls and leaves you snookered on every ball you're on. You may then nominate any other ball to count as the ball on, and it scores as if it were that ball if potted.
How long does a frame of snooker take?
A casual club frame typically takes 20–40 minutes depending on how many safety exchanges happen; professional frames can run well over an hour. Six-red snooker (see Variations) is a much quicker option for a short session.
Rules summarised in our own words from the governing bodies below — always check with staff for the exact format on the night.