Snooker is a well-known game of British heritage; it is played with plates on a table identical in size and markings to those used in snooker. The game first appeared in the 1870s as a pastime for troops, most likely in India. To play this game, you must have 22 snooker balls on a snooker table, including one white ball, 15 red balls, one yellow ball, one green ball, one brown ball, one pink ball, and one black ball. Each ball contains different points. Players attempt to place the red balls first, followed by the non red balls, scoring one point for each red and the value of the other balls' numbers. Snooker is an exciting game which is very popular among young people. 

Introduction

Do you ever play snooker? Or do you have a craze for the snooker game? Obviously, yes! because it is a game that young people play. Snooker is a game that both men and women play in vintage films because it exudes an allure that discourages people from playing it more than once. Well! Do you know snooker is India's cue support to the world? Do not you believe it? India was the birthplace of this trendy, sophisticated and strategic sport. British Army officers invented snooker in Jubbulpore, India, in the late 19th century.

It is a billiards game similar to the pool that is popular worldwide. To win at snooker, you must score more snooker points than your opponent. Sounds simple, right? It would help if you collected balls in the correct order to score points. Listed below are the snooker rules explained, which you need to know!

Pool vs Snooker – What is the Difference?

Many people mix up the two games or believe they are the same game with different titles. Snooker and pool are two wholly separate and distinct games. Snooker is more prevalent in nations where Great Britain once had colonial power than a pool, which is more commonplace in the United States. It encompasses regions including the Middle East, Canada, and Europe. The critical distinctions between pool and snooker are listed here. 

  • Pool: Six-pocket pool tables are used for this sport. You need 15 balls to play. However, some individuals only use nine. A player must remember the cue ball. Each player must pocket the first type of ball, known as the break, to win. The winner of the break shot will use a coloured or striped ball. Once you have pocketed all seven balls, you must pocket the number 8 victorious. Your opponent can also lose if he accidentally pots the eight ball. You can also win by knocking the eight ball off the table.

  • Snooker: The snooker table contains six pockets; however, it is often more prominent than a pool table. The snooker table’s pockets are smaller than the pool table. To play snooker, you require at least 15 balls. These are all red balls, yet none of them has a number. There are also six numbered object balls and one cue ball that you will need to play snooker. 

By these pool and snooker points, you get to know the exact difference between pool and snooker. Read below: 

  • Snooker tables are larger (12’  x 6’ ) and taller than pool tables. 
  • Pool table pockets are wider, and snooker pockets are narrower. 
  • Snooker balls are smaller, 2 1/8” compared to 2 ½” pool balls.
  • Pool cues are 14mm, while snooker cues are 10 mm. 

Snooker Rules Simplified for Beginners

Snooker is played with 15 red balls, 6 coloured balls, and one cue ball. It would be best if you placed a red ball first, then a coloured ball, then a red ball, then a coloured ball, and so on. Until all of the balls have been placed, this red-coloured sequence continues. If you do not successfully pocket the proper ball, it becomes the other player's turn. The winner is determined by adding the points up using the values stated below. You must hit a white cue ball with your cue to place additional balls in any of the six pockets. The snooker rules are explained: Read  below: 

Value 0f each ball in the snooker game 

  • Red ball = 1 Point
  • Yellow Ball = 2 Points
  • Green Ball = 3 Points
  • Brown Ball = 4 Points
  • Blue Ball = 5 Points
  • Pink Ball = 6 Points
  • Black Ball = 7 points

Understand the snooker terminology 

  • Pot: insertion of a ball into the snooker table’s pocket (and the ball must stay there.)
  • Foul: When players play the game intentionally or unintentionally against the equal official rules. 
  • Snookered: To be unable to hit the targeted ball straight on with cueball.
  • Ball ON: The cue ball target ball that wants to strike on. 

Fundamentals of the game, necessary snooker points 

  • You strike the cueball, and it hits another ball, hopefully potting it.
  • The snooker cueball must not be potted.
  • You must strike a red with the cueball as your initial shot every turn.
  • If you hit that red (where the ball is ON), you receive one point and may choose any of the colours for your subsequent shot (be sure to say which one you have chosen). Red is kept in the pocket.
  • If you hit that colour, which is currently the ball, you score that colour's value and must strike a red on your next shot if anything does not fit in its designated slot, it is over to the spot with the highest sticker price.
  • Your turn is over if you foul or does not pot, and the next player has the opportunity to play his turn. 
  • Continue until the reds are in the pockets when every red ball has vanished. 
  • The following balls are pocketed: yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6 and black 7. In the pocket, they remain. 

What if you accidentally fouled in the snooker game? Here are the foul rules 

  • A foul is made if the cueball does not contact the ball after being struck. 
  • Your opponent may decide to take the shot or turn the table back to you if your cueball misses anything on the table. 
  • Whenever you foul, your opponent may have the option of choosing a free ball, and they are then snookered on all balls ON (on any ball on the table). For the exclusive purpose of this shot, the free ball transforms into another ball ON with the same value and is respotted if it is potted. 
  • If your cueball strikes a ball other than the ball ON first, you will receive a penalty of either 4 points or the value of the ball you hit.
  • Unless you pocket the ball ON, you do not receive credit for the value of the pocketed ball; your opponent does.
  • You will receive a penalty of either 4 points or the value of the ball you touched, whichever is more significant if you feel any ball is on the table at any time.

When the game is at the endpoint

  • A player quits the game if there are not enough balls on the table to make up for the opponent's score OR if there are not enough choices to play solid snooker and draw a foul on him.
  • The ball colours and the reds are all pocketed.

The object of the Game

When you are playing snooker under equal official rules, there is only a straightforward objective you need to follow. Using snooker balls, the objective is to outscore your opponent in every frame. The game's goal is to score as many points against your opponents as possible by using the white snooker cue ball to pot the other balls in the right order. Players do this by hitting the white cue ball at the different coloured balls in a predetermined order to place them in the table's pockets.

Players & Equipment

Snooker is a one-on-one game with set rules regarding the size of the balls and table. The table is often composed of wood with a slate surface coated in green baise, spanning 12 feet by 6 feet and rising a little under 3 feet. The table has six pockets, two on each long side and one at each corner. From where the game begins, the baulk end is marked by a line that spans the table's width, 29 inches from the baulk cushion. The D, an 11.5-inch-radius semicircle with the baulk line as its diameter, sits in this centre.

The phenolic resin-made hard balls are around 2.7 inches in diameter (in metric units of 52.5mm). There are 15 red balls, one of each of the following colours: black, pink, blue, brown, green, and yellow, plus a white cue ball that is the only one the players may hit. Green, brown, and yellow are arranged in the order of their positions on the baulk line across the semi-circle, going from left to right. In the baulk cushion, the pink is in the middle and 1234 inches away from the black in the middle. Tables are arranged in blue at their centres. The 15 reds are arranged in a triangle with one red at the base.

The white ball, usually made of wood, is struck by the players using a cue. The white ball must be "not less than 3 feet in length and shall show no substantial departure from the traditional and generally accepted shape and form."

Conclusion.

In the end, all the balls had been potted except for the black. Since it is only fair to presume that a player would not miss a direct shot at this point, the game is over if the score difference is more significant than seven points, and the losing player cannot win. If not, the final ball is potted as usual. 

If a draw occurs, the black is re-spotted, and the cue ball is moved to the plate from anywhere in the D. To start the game, the players toss a coin to choose who goes first. Whoever pots the black wins the round. A player may resign from the game at any point during the game. It is usual for a player to quit when no more balls are left, and no snooker games are left to beat his opponent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to questions that must come to the player's mind before playing snooker English. 

1. What are the fouls in snooker?

Fouls, or infractions of specific rules, are punished by fines. Some examples of fouls include pocketing the cue ball ("scratching"), failing to hit any balls with the cue ball, having the cue ball strike an off-ball first, and pocketing two balls (other than two reds) in one motion.

2. How do you count points in snooker?

A player in the game of snooker can point to the score by potting coloured balls; each ball has a distinct point count. A red ball is worth one point, a yellow ball contains two points, a green ball is worth three points, a brown one contains four points, a blue ball has five points, a pink ball has six points, and a black ball is worth seven points. The more you pot balls, the closer you come to winning the match.

3. What happens if you sink 2 red balls in snooker?

When the reds are "on," it may legally pot two or more of them in the same shot, each worth one point. However, the player may only nominate and attempt to pot one colour the following time.

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