Snooker

Objective and legal balls

At the start of a frame, legal balls are reds. After pocketing a red, you must play a color. Colors are respotted until all reds are gone; then colors are potted in value order.

Frame start and flow

Players break off from the D. Tactical safety exchanges are common early in frames, followed by break-building when a scoring chance appears.

Scoring basics

Reds are 1 point; colors are worth 2 to 7 points. During the colors-only endgame, each color is potted once in sequence: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black.

Common fouls

A foul gives penalty points to the opponent (minimum 4, or higher depending on the ball involved).

• Failing to hit a legal ball first.
• Potting or contacting a wrong ball.
• Cue ball in-off (scratch).
• Touching balls or committing a push/double hit.

Winning the frame

The player with more points when all balls are legally completed wins the frame. Concessions can occur when required snookers make comeback impossible.

House-rule note

Snooker has precise officiating details. If no referee is present, agree on foul-call standards before the frame.