Snooker rules are a bit different from rules of
pocket billiard games such as pool, 8-ball, etc. Here you can learn
how to play snooker and learn about the differences between playing
snooker and playing pool. For snooker glossary of terms, click here.
Snooker is usually played on a special billiard
table that has narrower cushions than those you can find on a standard
pool table. The 15 object balls used in a snooker game are not
numbered. They are divided into two groups of 6 red colored balls and
6 solid, unnumbered balls of different colors.
The goal of the snooker player is to score a bigger
number of points than his opponent.
Each snooker ball has different point value:
Red: 1
Yellow: 2
Green: 3
Brown: 4
Blue: 5
Pink: 6
Black: 7
Players receive points for each red or colored ball
which was potted by them. In addition, the players receive points for
their opponent's fouls. For example, if a player double hit a cue
ball, his opponent would earn 4 points.
Game Rules
The play begins with the player who won the lag or
lot prior to the start of the game. If the first striker contacts a
ball legally, he may continue striking until he fails. If the first
striker fails in contacting a legal object ball on the first strike,
it is a foul.
According to snooker rules, the incoming player,
the player who strikes after the first striker, gets the reds as his
object balls, also known as ball on. If a player pots a color ball
while his ball on is a red, it is a foul. It goes both sides: if a
player pots a red ball while his ball on is a color, it's a foul.
In addition, if a player whose ball on is red, if
the cue ball first contacts a color ball, it is a foul. After scoring
a red ball, the striker must rotate between the color balls and the
red balls throughout his play.
As long as there are red balls on the table, every
potted colored balls are spotted, placed at the same position as at
the beginning of the game, before the up coming stroke. When all the
reds are potted, the colors become the striker's balls on, starting
from the ball with the lowest value and rising. From now on, the
colors are no long being spotted.
The snooker game ends when there are no longer
balls on the table. The winner is the player who had scored the
highest number of points.
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