Snooker rules and scoring, explained simply

The balls and what they are worth

A set has 22 balls: the white cue ball, fifteen reds and six colours.

• Red: 1 point each. The fifteen reds start in a triangle in the top half of the table.
• Yellow: 2 points. The right-hand corner of the D, seen from the baulk end.
• Green: 3 points. The left-hand corner of the D, seen from the baulk end.
• Brown: 4 points. The middle of the baulk line.
• Blue: 5 points. Midway between the top and bottom cushions.
• Pink: 6 points. Midway between the blue and the top cushion, just below the front red.
• Black: 7 points. Near the top cushion, beyond the reds.

The D is the half circle on the baulk line, near the bottom cushion. The cue ball is played from inside it at the start of a frame and after it has been potted.

The order of play

Who plays first is decided by lot or agreement, and the first player changes each frame. A red is the first ball on. After potting a red, the player may play any colour. While reds remain, a potted colour goes back on its spot and a potted red stays off.

A turn ends when a shot scores nothing or a foul is made. The points scored in one turn are called a break.

After the last red and the colour that follows it, the colours are potted in order of value and stay off the table. With only the black left, the first pot or foul ends the frame, unless the scores are then level. A player may also concede a frame.

Fouls and penalty points

A foul gives the opponent at least four points. If the ball on, or the ball wrongly hit or potted, is worth more, that value is given instead, up to seven for the black. Several fouls in one shot cost only the highest penalty. The common fouls are:

• missing every ball with the cue ball;
• hitting a ball that is not on first;
• potting the cue ball, known as an in-off;
• potting a ball that is not on;
• touching a ball in play with your body, clothing or equipment;
• playing while any ball is still moving;
• playing with both feet off the floor;
• a jump shot, where the cue ball passes over another ball;
• a push stroke, where the cue tip stays on the cue ball as it moves.

After a foul, the next player may play from where the balls lie or ask the player who fouled to play again.

A player must make their best attempt to hit the ball on. If the attempt is judged not good enough, the call is "foul and a miss", and the opponent may have the shot replayed, either from the new position or with every ball put back. In a match the referee makes this call; with no referee, the opponent does.

The free ball

If a foul leaves the next player snookered, a free ball is given. Snookered means that no ball on can be hit at both of its edges by a straight path. The player may then choose any other ball as the ball on. If potted, it scores the value of the ball on and is put back on its spot.

After a shot that scores nothing, it is a foul to leave the opponent snookered behind the free ball, except when only the pink and black remain.

Breaks and the maximum

A break of 100 or more is a century. The usual maximum is 147: fifteen reds, each followed by the black, for 120 points, then the six colours for 27.

A higher break is possible. If the opponent fouls and leaves you snookered while all fifteen reds are still on the table, a free ball taken as an extra red and followed by the black adds 8 points, for a maximum of 155.

Keeping score

To keep score at the table without signing up, open the free snooker scoreboard in your phone’s browser. It adds the points for you and keeps working if the signal drops.

The Bida Nào app keeps a snooker frame one visit at a time. The scorer enters each scoring visit as a break, and each foul on its own, so the penalty goes to the opponent. Visits that score nothing are not recorded, and your highest break is kept in your stats. A result counts once both players confirm it. Rated frames build a snooker BidaRate, a number from 2.0 to 10.0 kept separate from pool and Heyball. The snooker scoring page shows how it works.

Where to play snooker

As of 6 November 2026, Bida Nào lists 28 venues in Singapore with snooker tables, in 19 areas. They are named, by area, on the snooker page. In Malaysia, the Malaysia directory lists places to play pool and snooker across the country.