In snooker, players use one white cue ball to pot 15 reds and six colours in a set order: a red, then a colour, repeated until the reds are gone, then the colours in order from yellow to black. Reds are worth 1 point and the colours 2 to 7, and the player with the higher score at the end of the frame wins it.
Everything here comes from the WPBSA Official Rules of the Games of Snooker and English Billiards, the Official World Rules revised September 2024, plus the WPBSA updates note effective August 2024, as of November 2026. I've stuck to snooker and left English billiards out. It's written for anyone picking up a cue at a club or watching on TV and wondering why the score jumped by four.
Snooker in one paragraph
Snooker is usually played by two players, though more can play as sides. Both use the same white cue ball. The person about to play is the striker, and a referee controls the game. You keep playing while you keep potting. Miss, and your opponent comes to the table. Win more frames than your opponent, out of an agreed number, and you win the match.
The table, the balls and the cue
| What | Official World Rules figure |
|---|---|
| Playing area | 11 ft 8 and a half in by 5 ft 10 in (3569 mm by 1778 mm) |
| Pockets | Six: one in each corner and one in the middle of each longer side |
| Baulk-line | 29 in (737 mm) from the face of the bottom cushion |
| The D | A semi-circle in baulk with a radius of 11 and a half in (292 mm) |
| Ball size | 52.5 mm across |
| Cue length | Not less than 3 ft (914 mm) |
A set of balls is 15 reds, one each of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black, and the white cue ball.
Setting up a frame
- Rack the 15 reds in a tightly packed triangle, with the apex red as close to the pink spot as possible without sitting on it, and the base of the triangle parallel to the top cushion.
- Put each colour on its own spot.
- Decide the order of play by lot or any way you agree. The winner chooses who plays first, and who goes first alternates each frame.
- The first player plays from in-hand: the cue ball is placed on or within the lines of the D and can be played in any direction.
How a turn and a break work
Your first target is always a red. Pot one and you play again, this time nominating a colour of your choice. Pot that colour and it's scored, then spotted back on the table. You keep alternating red, colour, red, colour for as long as you keep potting.
A break is the number of pots you make in successive strokes in one turn. Once you fail to pot, your turn ends, and the next player plays from wherever the cue ball came to rest.
Once all the reds are off the table, the order changes. The colours are then potted in ascending order of value, yellow first and black last, and each one stays off the table once it's potted. Before that point, a potted colour always comes back.
Ball values and how the score adds up
| Ball | Points |
|---|---|
| Red | 1 each |
| Yellow | 2 |
| Green | 3 |
| Brown | 4 |
| Blue | 5 |
| Pink | 6 |
| Black | 7 |
Points from your own pots go to you. Points from your opponent's fouls go to you too, as penalty points. The frame is won by the player with the highest score, or by the player the frame is conceded or awarded to.
Fouls, penalty points, free ball and miss
Here's the rule beginners miss most often. A foul never gives your opponent fewer than 4 points. The penalty is the value of the ball on or the ball concerned, whichever is higher, with 4 as the floor, and some fouls are worth 7. So a careless foul while you're on a red, worth just 1, still hands your opponent 4.
A few fouls come up again and again:
- Failing to hit the ball on first, whether you hit the wrong ball or nothing at all.
- Having both feet off the floor when you strike the cue ball.
After a foul, the non-offender chooses. They can play on from the position left, or ask the offender to play again, either from the position left or, after a foul and a miss, from the original position.
A miss is when the cue ball fails to make first contact with a ball on. If the referee judges that the striker didn't try to hit it, they call foul and a miss, which is what lets the opponent put the balls back and make you try the shot again.
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The cue ball is snookered when a direct straight line to every ball on is wholly or partly blocked by a ball that isn't on. If the cue ball is snookered after a foul, the referee calls free ball, and the next player may nominate any ball as the ball on. One catch: a cushion can't snooker the cue ball, so being tight to a cushion never earns a free ball.
The final black, a tied frame and conceding
When the black is the only ball left, the first pot or foul ends the frame. If the scores are then level and aggregate scores don't matter, the black is re-spotted, the players draw lots for who plays next, and that player plays from in-hand. The first pot or foul after that ends the frame.
Conceding has rules too. A player shouldn't concede a frame while someone still needs penalty points, and doing so counts as unsporting conduct. A concession that's offered and accepted can't be taken back.
My verdict: what to learn first
I'd start with the ball values and the red, colour, red rhythm, then learn the 4-point minimum foul, because that one rule explains most of the scoreboard swings you'll see on TV. After that, free ball and the miss rule make much more sense.
I'd skip the exact table measurements and the finer foul list until you're playing in a club league with a referee. If you want something quicker for the pub, my darts rules are quick to pick up, shuffleboard suits a mixed group, and if you'd like to practise cueing on your phone first, here are some free billiards games.
Frequently asked questions
How many balls are used in snooker?
A set is 15 reds, six colours (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black) and a white cue ball.
What are the points values in snooker?
Red 1, yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6 and black 7.
What is a foul in snooker worth?
At least four penalty points to the opponent, or the value of the ball on or ball concerned if higher, up to seven.
What is a free ball in snooker?
After a foul, if the cue ball is snookered, the referee calls free ball and the next player may nominate any ball as the ball on.
What happens if the scores are level on the final black?
The black is re-spotted, the players draw lots for who plays next, the next player plays from in-hand, and the first pot or foul ends the frame.
