Snooker scoring explained: points, fouls and frames

The balls are easy to count, until someone fouls, asks for a free ball, and the score jumps by seven. Snooker scoring is simple at heart: pot a red, pot a colour, repeat, and don't hit the wrong ball first.

In short

Reds are worth 1 point. The colours are worth 2 (yellow) to 7 (black).

While reds are on the table, you pot a red, then a colour, then a red, and so on. Then the colours go down in order, yellow to black.

A foul gives your opponent at least 4 points, or more if a higher-value ball was involved.

1. How many points is each snooker ball worth?

Under the official rules of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), a game uses 22 balls: the white cue ball, plus 15 reds and six colours.

Ball	Points
Red (×15)	1
Yellow	2
Green	3
Brown	4
Blue	5
Pink	6
Black	7

You always strike the white. The other balls score when you pot them, as long as they're the right ball at the right time.

2. How does a snooker break work?

A break is the run of points you score in one visit to the table.

While there are still reds on the table:

Pot a red (1 point).
Then pot any colour you choose. The WPBSA calls this the "ball on".
The colour comes back to its spot on the table.
Pot another red, then another colour, and so on.

If you miss, your visit ends and your opponent comes to the table.

Once the last red has gone, you pot one more colour after it. Then the colours must be potted in ascending order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black. These stay down once potted.

3. What is a maximum break?

A maximum break is 147.

That's every red followed by the black, then all the colours:

15 reds × (1 + 7) = 120
yellow to black: 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 27
120 + 27 = 147

You'll see it on television now and then. Down the club, a break of 30 is something to be pleased with. Most frames are won by steady scoring and safe play, not big breaks.

4. How many points are left on the table?

This tells you whether you can still win the frame.

While reds remain, multiply the reds left by 8 (a red and a black each time), then add 27 for the colours.

5 reds left: 5 × 8 + 27 = 67 points available
No reds left, all colours: 27
Only pink and black left: 13

If your opponent is ahead by more than what's left, you'll need them to give away foul points. That's when you'll hear "needs snookers".

5. What counts as a foul in snooker?

The WPBSA rules list many fouls. The common ones in club play are:

Hitting the wrong ball first, such as a colour when you're on a red.
Missing everything with the cue ball.
Potting the white (an "in-off").
Potting a ball that wasn't the ball on.
Touching a ball with your hand, clothes or the cue.
Playing with no foot on the floor.

6. How many points is a foul?

The WPBSA rules say most fouls cost 4 points, unless a higher value applies. Some fouls cost the value of the ball on, or the value of the ball concerned if that's higher. Certain fouls cost 7 points.

The points go to your opponent. They aren't taken off your score.

Some worked examples, using that rule:

You're on a red and miss everything: 4 points to your opponent.
You're on a red but hit the black first: 7 points.
You're on the pink and hit the blue first: 6 points (the ball on is worth more).
You're on the yellow and pot the white: 4 points (the minimum applies).

7. What happens after a foul?

Your opponent chooses. Under the WPBSA rules they can:

play from where the balls are, or
ask you to play again from the same position.

If the foul leaves them snookered, they may be able to take a free ball (see below). And if the referee calls a miss, they can also ask for the balls to be put back where they were and make you take the shot again.

8. What is a free ball in snooker?

A snooker is when the cue ball can't hit the ball on in a straight line because another ball is in the way. The WPBSA rules say a cushion can't snooker you; only a ball can.

If a foul leaves you snookered, you can nominate a free ball. That means picking another ball and treating it as the ball you're on.

For example, you're on a red but snookered after a foul. You nominate the blue as a free ball. If you pot it, it counts as a red (1 point) and you then go on to a colour as normal.

9. What is a miss in snooker?

The WPBSA rules define a miss as the cue ball failing to hit the ball on (or a nominated free ball) first.

At professional level, the referee calls "foul and a miss" if they think you didn't make a good enough attempt to hit it. Your opponent then gets the foul points and the extra option of having the balls put back.

In casual club games, players often agree to go easy on the miss rule. Agree before you start.

10. How is a frame won?

A frame usually ends when the last ball, the black, is potted. The player with more points wins.

Under the WPBSA rules, a frame can also end when:

a player concedes
only the black is left and one player leads by more than 7
there's a foul on the final black

If the scores are level after the black, it's put back on its spot and the players have a re-spotted black: the first pot or foul wins it.

A match is a set number of frames, such as best of 7 (first to 4).

Do I need an app for this?

Keeping score in snooker means adding up breaks and foul points, often while chatting and chalking a cue. Club scoreboards with sliding markers work well. Pen and paper works too.

For other games, see how to score darts 501 and padel scoring explained.

How Reptyl helps

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Each sport keeps its own rules. Snooker is scored as snooker, and pool has its own modes: English, 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball or straight pool.
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Open sessions. No race to a number of frames. Play for two or three hours and end it when you stop.
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Quick answers

What is the minimum penalty for a foul in snooker?

4 points, given to your opponent. It's more if a higher-value ball was involved, up to 7.

What does "on" mean in snooker?

The "ball on" is the ball you're allowed to hit first: a red when it's your turn on reds, a colour you've chosen after a red, or the next colour in order at the end.

How many points is a free ball worth?

It's worth the same as the ball you were on. If you were on a red and pot the free ball, it counts as 1 point and you go on to a colour. If you were on the brown at the end of the frame, it counts as 4.

What happens if the score is tied in snooker?

The black is re-spotted, and the players take it in turns. The first pot or foul decides the frame.

Want a scoreboard everyone can read? See Reptyl Scoreboard

Sources

WPBSA: Official Rules of the Games of Snooker and English Billiards (PDF)