How To Play Snooker: Tips For Beginners

Snooker is one of the popular billiards games It is quite similar to how to play pool. It is an alternative form of billiards, which is played on a green baize-covered table with six pockets lining the table circumference. Now if you are a beginner, you must be thinking about how to play snooker?

The goal of the snooker is to hit the pack of colored balls in the right order by using a thin wooden cue into the sink. Sounds easy, right? You have to hit the colored balls to score more points than the rival player. However, it is not that easy; snooker games need a lot of concentration and the angle of accuracy.

There are so many snooker rules that make it harder to master this game. If you learn the basic rules and the angle of accuracy, then you will be able to play other forms of billiards like a pool. In snooker, points are scored by hitting the balls into the pocket in the right order using a number sequence.

What is snooker?

The snooker game is a popular billiards game that originated from the British Army officers. It is played on the green baize-covered table and marking, which is used in English billiards. This game is played with 22 balls, and it is struck with one white ball ( the cue ball ). These balls are categorized with points.

Ball Points:             

15 Red Balls – 1 point each

One Yellow Ball – 2 points

One Green Ball – 3 points

One Brown Ball – 4 points

One Blue Ball – 5 points

One Pink Ball – 6 points

One Black Ball – 7 points

Players first have to pocket all the red balls after those colored balls.

Snooker Rules

• If a player legally pockets the ball, then he/she qualifies as a striker to continue at the table. 
• On all the shots, the player ( striker ) must follow the suitable requirements. However, it is not mandatory to cause the strike ball or object ball to contact the corner or drop in the pocket after the strike ball has contacted a legal ball. If the striker fails to contact a legal ball, then it counts as foul.
• Strikes have to pot all the red balls, as long as the red balls are on the table.
• If any red ball is pocket on a shot, then it will count as legally potted balls.
• A player gets the red ball as “ball on” if he/she hits the strike ball first in a way that it contacts the red ball. If the player fails to do so, then it is count as a foul.
• After the player has scored the red ball at first, then he/she can target the color balls, as long as red balls remain on the table. The player must take his play between red balls and other colored balls.  
• If the player strikes and goes for the red ball, but instead of the red ball, he/she pots other color balls, then it counts as foul.
• The same goes for the color ball; if the player goes for a color like yellow instead and instead of that, he/she pots the brown color ball, then it counts as foul.
•  Players is not allow to use jump shots in English snooker. If the player purposely causes the cue ball to jump by any means, then it will count as foul.
• While the red ball remains on the table, each pocketed color is seen before the next stroke. After spotting the color (yellow, green, or brown), if the player plays while the ball is improperly spotted, the shot will be considered foul. However, if the player plays two shots after such an error without being noticed or announced by the opponent. Then he is free of penalty and continues to play and score normally.
• If there is no red ball remaining on the table, then the player goes for the color ball in ascending numerical order (like yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, and black 7). These legally pocketed colors are not seen after each is potted, these potted balls remain off the table. The black ball 7 is exceptional in the case of a tie score.

Foul In Snooker

How to play Snooker?

This game begins with one striker taking the cue ball in hand and placing it anywhere inside the D and trying to hit one or more of the red balls on a starting break-off shot. The strategy for this shot requires placing the cue ball on the D line between the brown and yellow or yellow and green ball. This shot takes turns between players in a successive time frame.

Only one striker visits the table at a time, the number of points is by the striker in one single visit. If the player’s turn ends when he/she fails to pocket the ball or the player does something that is against the rules, then it will be counted as foul. 

Final Words:

So now you have understood how to play snooker? It is just like golf or any other sports that require a basic skill, and this is really satisfying and worth sticking at. You have to do a little bit of practice, and you can be really good at this game. It is an amazing game to play with friends. Billiards is really a pleasant game. You may find yourself addicted to this game. Moreover, if you love to do skating then check out figure skating tips and tricks. If you find this information useful, feel free to comment below this section.