Snooker table. Balls on their spots in the starting position of the frame.
The aim of snooker is to pocket as many balls as possible in order to score points. Each ball is worth between one and seven points. Snooker is an intellectual game, with experienced players calculating the sequence of moves. They value the so-called “exits”, i.e. the correct placement of the cue ball for the next move, because simply scoring points is not enough. It is important to be able to make a series, i.e. to score several times in a row, to make exits and to think ahead.
Rules of Snooker
According to the rules, each ball has a point value: red balls have a value of one point, then the value increases: yellow – two, green – three, brown – four, blue – five, pink – six and black is the most valuable – seven. At the start of the game, 15 red balls and one coloured ball are placed on the table. The maximum number of points that can be scored is 147. A series of more than 100 points is called a “century”.
The game consists of an uneven number of frames, and the winner is the player who wins enough frames to keep the game going even if the other players lose. A frame is started with a break. It is made by hitting the pyramid of red balls. The player who makes the break places the cue ball anywhere in sector “D”. Before the first frame starts, a draw is made to determine who breaks first and then alternately. The red ball must be pocketed first, then one of the coloured balls, and so on. The reds remain in the pockets and the colours return to their places on the cloth. When all the reds have been pocketed, the coloured ones are pocketed in the order of their value.
If the next ball is not hit, the right to hit goes to the other player. A point must be scored by hitting the correct ball. If there is no hit, the referee records a miss and allows the ball to be hit again. A snooker situation is one in which the object ball cannot be seen because it is located behind the other balls.
End of game conditions
A frame finishes when:
The player concedes defeat.
Pink ball is pocketed, only black ball remains on the table and the advantage is more than 7.
The last black ball is pocketed, or a foul is committed during the game. The player with the most points wins.
Fouling can lead to forfeit. For example, missing an open target 3 or more times.
In case of a draw, black is placed in its position and hit from sector D until someone sends it into the pocket.