Snooker game play
Objective
The objective of the game of snooker is to strike the white cue ball with a cue in the direction of other object-balls and to pot these object balls in one of the six pockets. This must be done according to the rules of the game, which are described below. By potting object balls points can be scored. The player who scores most points wins the frame, and the player who wins most frames wins the match.
A Snooker Match
A snooker match usually consists of an odd fixed number of frames. A frame begins with setting up the balls as described above. A frame ends when all balls are potted, or when one of the players gives up because he is too far behind in score to equal or beat the score of the other player.
A match ends when one of the players has won the majority of the set number of frames and the other player can therefore not equal this. For example, when a match consists of 19 frames, the match ends when one of the players has reached 10 frames.
Gameplay
At the beginning of each frame the balls are set up by the referee as explained. This will be followed by a “break-off” shot, on which the players take turns. At the break-off, the white cue ball can be placed anywhere inside the “D”, although it is common for players to start by placing the ball on the line, between the brown ball and either the green or yellow ball.
Players take turns in visiting the table. When one player is at the table, the other cannot play. A “break” is a number of points scored by one player in one single visit to the table. A player’s turn and break end, when he fails to pot a ball, when he does something against the rules of the game, which is called a foul or when a frame has ended.
When a player strikes the white, according to the rules of the game the white can only first hit certain object balls. If the white first hits another ball, this is considered a foul. The ball or balls that can be hit first by the white in a certain stroke are called the ball(s)-on for that particular stroke. The balls-on are the only balls that can be potted by a player. The player receives points for this. If another ball not-on is potted, this is considered a foul.
The game of snooker generally consists of two phases. The first phase is the situation in which there are still red balls on the table. In the first phase, at the beginning of a player’s turn, the balls “on” are all remaining red balls. The player must therefore attempt to first hit and pot one or more red balls. For every red ball potted, the player will receive 1 point. When a red has been potted, it will stay off the table and the player can continue his break. If no red has been potted or a foul has been made, the other play will come into play.
In case one or more red balls have been potted, the player can continue his break. This time one of the six colours (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black) is the ball “on”. Only one of these can be the ball “on” and the rules of the game state that a player must nominate his desired colour to the referee although often it is clear which ball the striker is playing and it is not necessary to nominate.
When the nominated colour is potted, the player will be awarded the correct number of points (Yellow, 2; Green, 3; Brown, 4; Blue, 5; Pink, 6; Black, 7). The colour is then taken out of the pocket by the referee and placed on its original spot. If that spot is covered by another ball, the ball is placed on the highest available spot. If there is no available spot, it is placed as close to its own spot as possible in a direct line between that spot and the top cushion, without touching another ball. If there is no room this side of the spot, it will be placed as close to the spot as possible in a straight line towards the bottom cushion, without touching another ball.
Because only one of the colours is the ball “on”, it is a foul to first hit multiple colours (and reds) at the same time, or pot more than one colour (or red).
If a player fails to pot a ball “on”, it being a red or nominated colour, the other player will come into play and the balls “on” are always the reds, as long as there are still reds on the table.
The alternation between red balls and colours ends when all reds have been potted and the second phase begins. In this phase, all colours have to be potted in the correct order (yellow, then green, then brown, then blue, then pink, then black). They also become the ball “on” in that order. During this phase, when potted, the colours stay down and are not replaced on the table, unless a foul is made when potting the colour and the colour is respotted.
When all colours are potted, the frame is over and the player who has scored most points has won the frame. When only the black remains, the difference in score is more than the 7 points the black is worth, and the striker decides that the 7 points of the black are of no value to him or his break, the frame is also ended. When a foul is made on the black, the frame also ends.
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
