How to Play Snooker

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Snooker is a cue sport played on a large baize-covered table with 15 red balls, six coloured balls, and one white cue ball. Players alternate at the table, building breaks by potting reds and colours in a strict sequence, with every foul handing an advantage to the opponent. It rewards precision, patience, and positional thinking in equal measure.

Though most associated with dedicated snooker clubs and televised championships, a condensed version is a fixture in many pubs across the UK, played on smaller 6-foot or 7-foot tables. Whether played socially or seriously, the game has a satisfying depth that keeps players coming back to improve.

A little history

Snooker is widely documented as having developed among British Army officers stationed in India during the late nineteenth century. The word 'snooker' was British Army slang for a first-year cadet or inexperienced person, and was reportedly applied to the game as a mild insult toward poor players. Sir Neville Chamberlain is frequently credited with formalising early rules around 1875, though the precise details of the game's earliest evolution are unclear. The Billiards Association and Control Club standardised the rules in 1919, and the sport grew steadily in Britain throughout the twentieth century, with major professional tournaments establishing it as one of the country's most-watched televised sports from the 1980s onward.

Setting up

1. Place the pink ball on its spot, roughly midway between the blue spot and the top cushion.
2. Rack the 15 red balls in a triangle behind the pink, with the apex red touching or as close as possible to the pink without disturbing it.
3. Spot the black ball on its spot near the top cushion.
4. Spot the blue ball on the centre spot of the table.
5. Spot the brown ball on the centre of the baulk line (the straight line at the baulk end of the table).
6. Spot the green ball on the left of the brown (from the player's perspective standing at baulk) and the yellow ball on the right.
7. The white cue ball is not spotted; the player breaking off places it anywhere within the D (the semicircle behind the baulk line).
8. Decide who breaks first by lot, coin toss, or by both players playing the cue ball from baulk toward the top cushion, with the player whose ball returns closest to the baulk cushion having the choice.

How to play

1. The opening player plays the white from within the D to strike the pack of reds. There is no requirement to pot a ball on the break-off, but the cue ball must make contact with the reds.
2. On every shot, the striker must first hit a 'on' ball. At the start of play, and after any colour has been potted, the 'on' ball is always a red.
3. If the striker pots one or more reds on a shot, those reds stay down and are not re-spotted. The striker scores 1 point per red potted and must now nominate a colour as their next 'on' ball.
4. The striker nominates a colour by stating it (or it is obvious from their intended shot). They must then pot that nominated colour. If successful, they score the colour's value: yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7.
5. After a colour is potted in the red phase of the game (while reds remain on the table), that colour is re-spotted on its original spot. If the spot is occupied, it is placed on the highest available spot; if all spots are taken, it is placed as close to its own spot as possible toward the top cushion.
6. The striker continues their break, alternating between potting a red and then a colour, for as long as they pot the correct 'on' ball each shot. A missed shot, or a foul, ends the break.
7. When all 15 reds have been potted, the colours are played in ascending order of value: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black. During this phase, the colours are not re-spotted once potted.
8. A frame ends when the black is potted in the final-colours phase, or when one player concedes, or when a foul on the black results in a re-spot situation (see Winning section).
9. A foul occurs when the cue ball fails to contact the 'on' ball first, when the 'on' ball is not potted but another ball is potted, when the cue ball is potted (in-off), when a ball leaves the table, or when any other breach of cue conduct occurs. The opponent receives a penalty of at least 4 points, or the value of the 'on' ball or ball involved, whichever is higher.
10. After a foul, the incoming player may accept the table as it lies or ask the fouling player to play again from the same position (the 'play again' rule). The incoming player may also take the ball in hand within the D if the foul was an in-off or if the cue ball left the table.
11. A 'snooker' occurs when the cue ball is left such that the striker cannot hit any part of the 'on' ball directly. If a player is snookered following a foul by their opponent, they may nominate any ball as a 'free ball', which counts as the 'on' ball for that shot. If potted, it scores the value of the actual 'on' ball.
12. A player may not jump the cue ball over another ball intentionally. Striking the cue ball above centre and causing it to jump is a foul.

Winning and scoring

The player who scores the most points in a frame wins that frame. A match is typically played over an agreed odd number of frames, with the first player to win the majority taking the match. There is no fixed total required to win a frame; the winner is simply whoever has more points when all balls are cleared.

If scores are level after the final black is potted and the black is the last ball remaining, the black is re-spotted and both players play from baulk, with the first player to pot the black or cause a foul ending the frame immediately. In that situation, any foul concedes the frame to the opponent. The maximum possible score in a single frame is 147: potting all 15 reds each followed by the black (15 x 8 = 120), then clearing all six colours in order (2+3+4+5+6+7 = 27), giving 147 in total.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns which ball is 'on'. If a player pots a colour when they intended a red, or nominates one colour and clearly strikes another, it is a foul. The value of the penalty is always the higher of 4 points or the value of the ball that was 'on' or the ball that was struck or potted incorrectly. Where two balls of different values are both involved in a foul, the higher value applies. If a player pots both the 'on' ball and a ball that was not 'on' on the same shot, it is a foul and the incorrectly potted ball is re-spotted; the 'on' ball, if it was a colour in the colours phase, is also re-spotted.

Touching ball situations catch many players out: if the cue ball is touching another ball at the start of a shot, the striker must play away from that ball without causing it to move. If it moves, it is treated as having been struck and the usual rules apply. A miss is called when the referee (or the opponent in informal play) judges that the striker has not made a genuine attempt to hit the 'on' ball. The non-striker may demand the balls be replaced and the shot replayed. In social and pub play, the miss rule is often waived by mutual agreement, which is entirely acceptable provided both players agree before the frame starts.

How to win more often

• Think one shot ahead on position: potting a ball is only half the job. Leave the cue ball where it gives you a clear, central angle on the next 'on' ball rather than chasing a difficult pot from a poor angle.
• Attack the black as your colour of choice when reds are available. Seven points per colour versus two for the yellow keeps your break value growing and puts pressure on your opponent quickly.
• When your break stalls, leave the cue ball safe behind a cluster of reds or a colour so your opponent faces a long, difficult pot or must escape from a snooker. A safety that forces a foul is worth 4 points and a better position.
• Clear the colours in order during the final phase without rushing. Blue (5) and pink (6) are the balls where frames are most often won or lost; if you are behind, you need both, so keep a mental note of the points required before the black.
• In pub snooker on a smaller table, the balls are closer together and pockets are more generous, so focus on controlling the cue ball's pace. Heavy side-spin is harder to predict on a shorter cloth and is the quickest way to give away easy fouls.

Variations

Six-Red Snooker

Played with only six red balls instead of fifteen, reducing the frame length significantly. All other rules remain the same. This format is popular in pub settings where table time is limited, and it is used in some professional short-format tournaments. The maximum break is reduced to 75.

Pairs Snooker

Two teams of two players each compete in the same frame. Partners alternate shots within their team's turn rather than each team member completing a full break alone. This keeps all four players engaged throughout and is a sociable format for pub evenings. Standard scoring and foul rules apply to whichever player is currently at the table.

Killer (or Life Pool)

A multi-player format where each player has a set number of lives (typically three). Any player who fails to pot a ball on their visit to the table loses a life. The last player with lives remaining wins. Players can nominate any red or colour as their target ball, making positional play secondary to simply keeping your turn alive. Well suited to groups of three to six players sharing a pub table.

Points Snooker

Rather than playing complete frames, players agree on a set time limit or a target points total. Whoever reaches the agreed total first, or holds the highest score when time is called, wins. This is a practical adaptation for busy pubs where tables are booked in hourly slots, and it removes the need to play through the full colours sequence at the end of each frame.

Snooker: frequently asked questions