How to Play Snooker: The Rules
1. Placing the balls: Before playing snooker the first rule is that the balls must be in the right place. The red balls must be placed in a triangle at the bottom of the table with the tip of the triangle touching the pink ball, for which there should be a spot about a quarter of the way up the table. The black ball is placed behind the reds on its own spot. The blue ball goes on the spot half way up the table and the remaining three are place in a line across the straight part of the D. From left to right as seen from the top of the table they should go - green, brown, yellow. A helpful way to remember this is with the phrase 'God Bless You'. Now you are ready to play snooker!
2. Points: There are two ways to earn points when you play snooker - potting and fouling.
Potting: When you pot you get points, when you foul your opponent does. When potting you must begin with a red. A red is worth 1 point, and once potted must not return to the table. Potting a red allows you to pot 1 colour, which are worth different points based on their colour:
- Yellow = 1 point
- Green = 2 points
- Brown = 4 points
- Blue = 5 points
- Pink = 6 points
- Black = 7 points
If you pot a colour you must place it back on its spot. If the spot is unavailable you must place it on the next closest value spot available. Once all the reds are potted, if neither player has conceded, the remaining colours must be potted in the above order.
Fouling: There are lots of fouls in snooker. The most common is caused by the 'miss rule' caused by one player 'snookering' the other (putting the white ball in a place where the opponent can't get to a ball they are allowed to pot). If the snookered player misses altogether the opponent is granted 4 points and can either put the ball back where it was to let the other player try again, or simply play on themselves from where the ball has stopped. If a player hits a ball they weren't supposed to, like a black instead of a red, the opponent is granted the value of that ball if it is worth over the standard 4 points. If you pot the white it is placed back in the D for the opponent to strike and they are awarded 4 points.
3. Winning: A player wins at snooker when their opponent concedes, or when all the balls have been potted and one player has more points. In the event of a tie the black ball is place on the bottom cushion of the table and the white in the D - the first player to pot the black wins the frame. No player is obliged to concede if there is a chance they can make up their point deficit through snookering their opponent.
How to Play Snooker: Top Tips
Some players are just naturally gifted, but there are a few simple things you can do to improve your game.
1. Stay still: When you line up a shot keep your head still, even after you have struck the ball wait a few seconds before getting up. This gives you a better chance of hitting the ball cleanly without making a silly error.
2. Push the cue through smoothly: Take care not to just jab at a ball or hit it too hard - snooker tables have very fine cloths and the balls travel much quicker than you might expect.
3. Tactics: Snooker is a game that rewards thinking. Don't take on every pot and end up leaving your opponent with a great chance to score - be selective and bide your time.
4. Get low: Aim down your cue like a rifle - if you stand staring down at it you might as well use a cricket bat for all the accuracy you will get.
5. Don't drink to much: A lot of people will tell you they play better when they're dunk. This is most likely because when they are drunk they are playing their even drunker friends. One or two beers aren't so bad but for best results, try water.
callum fraser - Callum Fraser is a student of English LIterature at Newcastle University. To supplement his student loan income he writes for Suite 101 ...
