Snooker Rules And Terms: Scoring, Fouls And How The Game Works
Snooker scoring and the red-colour sequence explained, with fouls, free balls, the miss rule, re-spotted blacks and the terms used in commentary.
Snooker is a points game played with one white ball, fifteen reds and six colours. Players use that white cue ball to pot the ball required by the rules: usually a red ball followed by a colour, until the reds are gone, then the colours in order. The higher score wins the frame.
Most of the complications come from what happens when that sequence goes wrong. A foul gives points to the opponent, a free ball depends on the position left after a foul, and a miss requires a separate judgement from the referee. At BCP, our sports explainers cover the playing rules, the main snooker terms and the separate rules used to settle bets.
Snooker Scoring: What Each Ball Is Worth
A snooker table has six pockets. Both players use the same white ball to strike the object balls, meaning the reds and colours. The white has no scoring value and must not be potted.
| Ball | Points for a legal pot |
|---|---|
| Red | 1 |
| Yellow | 2 |
| Green | 3 |
| Brown | 4 |
| Blue | 5 |
| Pink | 6 |
| Black | 7 |
The ball on is a ball the player is permitted to hit first. At the start of a normal turn while reds remain, a red ball is on. After legally potting a red, the player chooses a colour. A ball’s value does not make it legal to play at any time: striking the black ball first when a red is on is a foul.
The governing detail is set out in the WPBSA Rules of Snooker and English Billiards. The same basic scoring sequence underlies professional matches and ordinary club play.
How A Frame Is Played
The Break-Off And The Red-Colour Sequence
The frame begins with the reds arranged in a triangle and the colours on their designated spots. The opening player plays from inside the D, the semicircle at the baulk end. That first shot is the break-off.
A legal scoring pot keeps the player at the table. After a red, the next shot is at a chosen colour; after that colour, the player returns to a red. Potted reds normally stay off the table, while colours are re-spotted during this part of the frame.
For example, red, black, red, blue scores fourteen points: one plus seven, then one plus five. If the player fails to score without fouling, the turn ends and the opponent plays from the position left. A legal safety shot can therefore end a turn without adding any points.
The cue ball’s final position matters throughout. Potting a red leaves a choice of colours, but a player who finishes awkwardly may have to attempt a difficult shot or play safe.
What Happens After The Last Red?
A colour can still follow the final red as part of the same break. That colour is re-spotted. The remaining colours must then be played in ascending order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black.
During that final clearance, a legally potted colour stays down. The six colours are worth twenty-seven points altogether. The final black usually ends the frame, although a tied score can require a re-spotted black.
Breaks, Centuries And The 147 Maximum
A break is the points scored through successive legal pots in one visit to the table. It is not the same as a player’s frame total, which can include several visits and penalty points awarded after an opponent’s fouls.
A century break is a break of at least 100. Two visits of fifty points do not make a century, even though they contribute the same amount to the frame score.
The standard maximum break is 147: fifteen reds each followed by a black produce 120 points, then the final six colours add twenty-seven. That calculation assumes the usual fifteen-red sequence. A free ball before the first red is potted can allow a break above 147, so 147 is not an absolute ceiling in every possible situation.
A clearance means potting the remaining balls. It need not be a century or a maximum: clearing the last few colours at the end of the table is still a clearance, and clearing all the balls in one visit is the fullest form of that idea.
Fouls And Penalty Points
A foul awards points to the opponent. The normal penalty is at least four and can be seven, depending on the infringement and the balls involved. Points are added to the opponent’s score, rather than subtracted from the offender’s.
Common examples include hitting a ball that is not on first, pocketing the cue ball, failing to hit a ball on, or moving a ball with a hand or clothing. A push stroke or playing while balls are still moving can also be a foul shot.
| Example | Penalty |
|---|---|
| White goes into a pocket while a red is on | 4 points to the opponent |
| Black is struck first when a red is on | 7 points to the opponent |
| Failure to hit the blue when blue is on | 5 points to the opponent |
Several infringements in one stroke do not normally mean adding separate penalties together; the highest applicable penalty is used. The referee identifies the infringement and announces the value.
Can You Move The White After A Foul?
Not after every foul. If the white remains on the table, the incoming player generally faces the position left, with the option to require the offender to play again. A foul-and-miss call can provide a further option to have the balls replaced.
If the cue ball is pocketed or forced off the table, it is played from in-hand within the D. That is a restricted placement area, not permission to put it anywhere on the table. The distinction is easy to miss when coming to snooker from another cue sport.
Snookers And The Free-Ball Rule
A player is snookered when a ball not on obstructs the direct path to the balls on under the rule’s visibility test. If both extreme edges of at least one ball on can be reached directly without such obstruction, the player is not snookered. A cushion itself is not a snookering ball.
A free ball is available when a foul leaves the incoming player snookered. The referee calls it; it does not arise merely because the next shot is difficult or because the opponent has committed a foul.
The incoming player choosing to play may nominate another ball as the ball on. Its scoring value becomes that of the ball it represents. If the black is nominated as a red and potted, it scores one point, is re-spotted and can be followed by a colour.
The physical colour of the nominated ball does not determine its value on that stroke. A free ball is also not an extra turn that can be saved for later.
Foul And A Miss: What The Referee Is Deciding
A miss concerns whether the player has tried to hit a ball on to the best of their ability. Missing a pot after making legal first contact is not a foul and a miss.
After a foul-and-miss call, the opponent can ask for the offender to play again from the original position, with the balls replaced. The opponent can instead play from the position left or require the offender to play from there. The penalty points still count.
The rule includes qualifications, including circumstances where penalty points are needed or contact with a ball on is impossible. It is therefore misleading to describe it as an automatic replay whenever someone fails to escape a snooker.
Does Three Misses Mean Losing The Frame?
Only in the specified circumstances. The frame-loss sequence applies when a full-ball contact is available, the player repeatedly fails to hit a ball on from the original position, and the referee has issued the required warning.
Three unsuccessful escapes from an obstructed snooker do not automatically lose the frame. The availability of a full-ball contact and the warning are essential to understanding the rule.
Touching Ball, Re-Racks And A Re-Spotted Black
Touching Ball
If the white finishes touching a ball on, or one that could be on, the referee can call touching ball. The striker must play away without causing that ball to move. Where the touching ball is on, that can satisfy the required contact without the white having to hit it again.
A touching ball that is not on does not give the same permission. The player must still make a legal stroke at a ball on. The referee can clarify which balls are touching before the shot.
Re-Rack
A re-rack restarts a frame after a stalemate. The referee offers an immediate restart; if a player objects, play can continue for a stated period to see whether the position changes. If the stalemate remains, the scores are cancelled and the balls reset. The same player breaks off again.
It is not an extra frame added to the match score. It is the restart of the frame already in progress.
Re-Spotted Black
When the final black’s first pot or foul leaves the frame scores level, and aggregate points are irrelevant, the black is re-spotted. The players draw lots for the choice of who plays next, and the cue ball is in-hand in the D.
The first pot or infringement then decides the frame. The draw does not decide the winner, and the reds do not return. A re-spotted black is a tie-break within the frame.
Frames, Matches And Snooker Terms In Commentary
A match is commonly played over a stated best-of number of frames. In a best-of-eleven match, the first player to six frames won takes the match. A 6–0 result and a 6–5 result both complete that format; eleven is the maximum, not the required number played.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Deciding frame | The last possible frame when the players are level, such as 5–5 in a best-of-eleven |
| Safety | A defensive shot intended to leave the opponent a difficult next position |
| Baulk line | The line across the table at the end containing the yellow, green and brown spots |
| The D | The semicircle from which in-hand shots are played |
| Re-spot | Return a colour to a position prescribed by the rules |
| Frame ball | Commentary shorthand for a pot that would leave the opponent needing penalty points to catch up |
| Snookers required | The points available through ordinary pots are insufficient; the trailing player needs penalty points too |
| Rest | A cue support used when the white ball cannot be reached comfortably with the hand alone |
The difference between points and frames is fundamental. Winning one frame by a large margin does not normally carry that lead into the next. Each completed frame adds one to the match score.
The same playing rules apply at the major events. Match lengths depend on the tournament and round.
| Event | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| UK Championship | 28 November–6 December 2026 | York Barbican |
| Masters | 10–17 January 2027 | Alexandra Palace |
Snooker Rules Questions
What Is A 147 Called?
A 147 is the standard maximum break: fifteen reds with fifteen blacks, followed by all six colours in order. It is scored in one visit. An exceptional free-ball situation can allow a break above that standard maximum.
What Are 100 Points Called?
At least 100 points scored in one visit is a century break. A frame total of 100 from several visits is not a century. Penalty points from an opponent’s fouls add to the frame score, not to the scoring break.
Is There A Three-Foul Rule In Snooker?
The frame-loss rule needs repeated failures from the original position when full-ball contact is available, plus the referee’s warning. It does not automatically apply to three failed escapes from an obstructed snooker, or to any three fouls during a frame.
How Snooker Betting Markets Differ
bet365 lists separate snooker rules for Match Betting, Handicap Betting and Total Frames. Each market asks a different question about the result.
Match Betting concerns the match winner. A frame handicap adjusts a player’s frame total for settlement, while Total Frames concerns how many frames are played against the stated line. Neither should be confused with the points scored within an individual frame.
For a hypothetical best-of-eleven match, 6–4 is ten frames played. That result supplies the frame count; whether a Total Frames selection wins depends on the line accepted. It is not a statement of a current market or price.
bet365’s Snooker Sports Rules treat incomplete matches differently by market. For Match Betting, the player progressing or awarded victory is deemed the winner after a match starts but is not completed. Handicap Betting and Total Frames are void on retirement or disqualification. Changed or incomplete frame formats also void those markets unless the outcome is already determined. Market availability varies.
The BCP bet calculator deals with the arithmetic of stakes and returns. Registration information and our bonus code BET247 sit in the separate bet365 bonus guide.
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