How Snooker Points Are Calculated

Snooker is a complex and strategic game that requires a deep understanding of its scoring system. Points are awarded based on the type and order of balls that are potted during a player's turn. This article provides a detailed explanation of the scoring rules, helping players to maximize their scores and improve their overall game strategy.

Basic Ball Types and Their Points
1. Red Balls:  The game begins with 15 red balls on the table, and each red ball is worth 1 point when potted legally. Players alternate turns, pitting a red ball first. If a red is missed, or if a player attempts an illegal shot, no points are awarded for that red.

2. Colored Balls:  After the red ball is potted, the player must then aim for a color in ascending point values:

Yellow (2 points) Green (3 points) Brown (4 points) Blue (5 points) Pink (6 points) Black (7 points)
Once a color is potted, it is placed on its spot, and another red is attempted. This sequence (red, then color) continues until all the red balls have been potted. Then, the colored balls must be potted in ascending order of their point value.

Scoring Sequence and End of Frame
1. Scoring Sequence:  Players take turns, potting a red ball first, and then a color in order of ascending value. The sequence must be followed unless the player misses or commits an illegal shot. If a player fails to pot a valid ball (either a red or a colored ball), the turn is over, and play passes to the opponent.

2. End of Frame:  The frame concludes when all reds have been potted, and the colored balls have been potted in ascending order. The total score for a player is the sum of all the potted balls. This score determines the winner of the frame.

Fouls and Penalties
1. Fouls: If a player commits a foul, such as missing the target ball or failing to pot any ball, the opposing player is awarded points. A foul penalty is typically based on the value of the ball that the shooting player was intended to pot, or a minimum of 4 points.

2. Example of Fouls:  If a player attempts to pot a red ball but pots a black ball instead (which is an illegal shot), a foul is committed, and the opponent is awarded 7 points. If a player attempts to pot a blue ball but hits a green ball instead, a foul is again committed, but this time, the opponent is awarded 5 points.
 

Total Points and Maximizing Your Score
The total points a player scores in a frame is the sum of all the points gained from potted balls. Players must strategize their shots to maximize their score while avoiding penalties for fouls. For instance, if a player pots 5 red balls and 5 black balls in a sequence and no fouls are committed, the player would earn 35 points for the black balls, plus 5 points for the red balls, totaling 40 points.

Summary

Understanding how snooker points are calculated can significantly improve a player's performance. By following the outlined rules and avoiding fouls, players can strategically maximize their scores and increase their chances of winning frames. The complexity of the game makes strategic planning and quick decision-making crucial for success in snooker.

What are the basics of snooker?
The first shot (the break) involves a player hitting the white ball from the 'D' at the far 'baulk' end of the table into the group of 15 reds that form a triangle between pink and black.

Unless a red is potted, the opposing player plays the next shot.

A maximum break (a 147) is made up of 15 reds, 15 blacks, then each 'color'.

Although once rare, there have now been more than 200 maximum breaks achieved in professional competition, with six-time world champion Steve Davis making the first of these in 1982.

Two red balls cannot be potted from consecutive shots by the same player, or a 'foul' penalty will be called.

Players score one point for potting a red, after which they must nominate a color for their next shot. The black is worth seven points and is the most valuable color, followed by the pink (six), blue (five), brown (four), green (three) and yellow (two).

A break of red-black-red-black-red-black would therefore be worth 24 points.

When all reds are pocketed, players attempt to pocket the other balls in ascending numerical order.

The object of the game is to use the white - the cue ball - to pot the other balls in the correct sequence. When the last ball is off the table, the game, or 'frame', ends, and the player with the highest score wins.

A foul on the final black also automatically ends the frame, while a player may choose to concede a frame early if they consider themselves too far behind on the scoreboard.

A frame is the term used for each individual game. During the World Championship, matches are decided by the best of 19 frames (round one), 25 frames (round two and quarter-finals), 33 frames (semi-finals) and 35 frames (final).

In a match context, the term 'snooker' is used for when the cue ball is in such a position that a player does not have a clear sight of the ball they must aim for next.

A player must then plot a path around the table for the cue ball as they attempt to get out of this 'snookered' position.

Snooker Rules – How to Play the Right Way

Snooker is a popular billiards game that is similar to pool. The object of snooker is to score more points than the opposing player. Sounds simple right? Points are scored by pocketing balls in the correct order using a numerical sequence. Here’s all the Snooker Rules that you need to know!

Pool vs Snooker – What’s the Difference?
Many people confuse the two games or think that they are simply different names of the same game. The truth is, snooker and pool are two very different games. Pool is popular in the United States while Snooker is played more commonly in countries where Great Britain historically held colonial control. This includes areas like Europe, Canada, and the Middle East. Here’s the main differences between pool and snooker.

Snooker tables are larger (12’ x 6’) and taller than pool tables.
Snooker pockets are narrower.
Snooker balls are smaller, 2 1/8” in comparison to 2 ½” pool balls.
Snooker cues are 10mm while pool cues are 14mm.
The Rules of Snooker
Snooker is played with 15 red, 6 colored, and 1 cue ball. The goal is to pot a red ball first followed by a colored ball then red then colored, and so on and so forth. This red-colored sequence continues until all of the balls have been pocketed. If you fail to pocket the right ball, then it becomes the opposing player's turn. Add up the points using the values listed below to find out who the winner is.

Red ball = 1 Point
Yellow Ball = 2 Points
Green Ball = 3 Points
Brown Ball = 4 Points
Blue Ball = 5 Points
Pink Ball = 6 Points
Black Ball = 7 points

You can decide who goes first by tossing a coin. If there is a tie, you can break this tie by flipping a coin and re-spotting (explained below) the black ball. The player who wins the coin toss has the choice of going first or deferring to allow the opposing player to initiate the tie breaker. The player who pots the black ball wins.

Set the rack by placing 14 red balls in a pyramid with the pink ball at the point and the black ball behind the pyramid. The blue ball is placed in the middle of the table. The brown, yellow, and green balls are placed in a line across from the pyramid. Refer to the diagram below to see how to set up a snooker game.

Foul Balls
Jump shots are illegal in snooker. If you pot the incorrect ball in the wrong sequence then this shot is considered a foul. It then becomes the opposing player's turn and no points are scored. Foul red balls are left off the table but foul colored balls are re-spotted on the table.

Re-spotting Balls
Color balls are placed in the same position that they were in at the beginning of the game. If this spot is occupied by another ball, the ball is placed on the spot of the highest value color that is vacant. If all of these positions are occupied, snooker rules state that you are to place the re-spotted ball as close as possible to its original starting position on a straight line between its spot and the nearest point on the top cushion.

What is Snooker in an 8 Ball Pool?
Snooker is a term used to describe a certain scenario. Snooker is when there is no direct path between the cue ball and the ball you’re trying to hit. In order to make this happen, you’ll usually have to make a kick shot where the cue ball bounces off one or more rails before it actually hits the targeted ball.

Play snooker with a set of 15 red balls, 6 colored balls, and a white cue ball. Arrange the balls in their starting spots on a snooker table. Alternate between shooting at red balls and colored balls with the cue to earn points. Each color is worth a different number of points between 1–7.
After all the red balls have been pocketed, shoot the colored balls in ascending point order. Whoever has the most points when there are no more balls wins the game.

Earn points for shooting balls into the table’s pockets in the correct order.
In snooker, players strike a white cue ball to hit the red or colored balls into the pockets in the corners and sides of the snooker table. Players must alternate between hitting the red balls and the various colored balls with each shot, and each ball color has a point value that adds to their score. By the end of the game when all the balls have been pocketed, the player with the most points becomes the winner.[1]
Even though snooker looks similar to pool or billiards, it has some slight differences. A snooker table is larger than a standard pool table, but the balls and pockets are smaller to make it a little more challenging.

1. Rack the red balls in a triangle on the pyramid spot.
Arrange the 15 red balls inside of a snooker rack so they form a triangle. Position one of the points of the triangle on the pyramid spot located on one end of the table. Remove the rack carefully so the balls stay tightly packed together.
Snooker balls are slightly smaller than standard pool balls, which makes them a little more challenging to hit and line up shots.

2. Place the colored balls on their matching spots on the table.
Snooker tables are slightly larger than standard pool tables and have specific starting places marked for each of the 6 colored balls. Place the pink ball on the pink spot just in front of the racked red balls, and put the black ball on the spot a few inches behind them. Set the blue ball in the spot at the center of the table. Then, place the green, brown, and yellow balls on their matching spots along the baulk line on the opposite end of the table.[2]
Even though a snooker table is a little larger than a regular pool table, the pockets are smaller so it’s a bit more difficult to sink a ball.

3.  Flip a coin to determine the first player.
Snooker is typically a 2-player game, but you can play with 4 people split into teams of 2. Flip a coin or use any other method of choosing who will start the game and play their first turn, also known as a “break.”

4, Replace colored balls on their spots after they’re potted.
Once a red ball has been potted, it stays off of the table for the rest of the game. Whenever a colored ball goes into the pocket, whether it was “on” or incorrectly hit as a foul, the ball gets replaced on its matching spot on the table.
If another ball is in the way or already on a spot for a colored ball, then place the colored ball on the colored spot of the next highest point value. For example, if the green ball was potted but another ball got knocked onto the green spot, place the green ball on the brown spot instead.
If all of the spots are occupied, just place the ball as close as possible to its starting position.

5. Switch players whenever someone misses a shot or commits a foul.
As soon as a player takes a shot without hitting or potting the “on” color, their turn immediately ends. The player earns all of the points from the balls they potted during their turn, and the next player starts their turn with the red balls “on.” Common fouls in a game of snooker are:
Hitting a ball other than the cue ball with the cue
Hitting a ball that’s not “on” first with the cue ball
Hitting the cue ball more than once during a stroke
Hitting a ball while any ball on the table is still moving
Hitting a jump shot so the cue ball leaves the table
Pushing the cue ball after initially hitting it
Playing out of turn
In competitive snooker games, an opposing player may be rewarded penalty points after you commit a foul.

Win a game by earning the most points after the last ball gets potted.
After the black ball gets potted at the end of the game, add up the points that each player earned throughout the game. Whoever received the most points from potting balls and earning penalty points is the winner!
If you want to play a competitive match of snooker, reset the table and play another match. Whoever does the best for 2 out of 3 games or 3 out of 5 games is considered the winner.[6]
If a player doesn’t think they can catch up to the other person’s score, they may concede the game earlier.
If the scores are tied, the black ball is placed on the table on its starting spot. Players take turns shooting the cue ball at the black ball. The first player that can pot the black ball is the winner.

The game ends when:  A player resigns because there are not enough balls on the table to make up for the opponent's score OR he does not have enough options to execute a good snooker to force the opponent into a foul.
All reds and ball colors are pocketed.
Winner:
The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!