How Snooker Scoring Works: Points, Fouls and Snookers Required
Snooker scoring looks complicated from the outside, with commentators talking about “snookers required” and “the re-spotted black”. In fact it rests on a handful of simple rules. Once you know the ball values and the order of play, you can follow any frame and keep score at your own club.
Ball values
| Ball | Points | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 1 | 15 |
| Yellow | 2 | 1 |
| Green | 3 | 1 |
| Brown | 4 | 1 |
| Blue | 5 | 1 |
| Pink | 6 | 1 |
| Black | 7 | 1 |
The order of play
While reds remain on the table, a player must pot a red first. After potting a red, they nominate and pot a colour. The colour is then returned to its spot, and the player goes back to the reds. This alternation continues for as long as the player keeps potting. A turn at the table is called a break.
Once all fifteen reds have gone, the colours are potted in ascending order of value: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black. These stay down once potted. The frame ends when the black is potted, unless the scores are level.
The maximum break
Pot all fifteen reds with a black after each, then all six colours, and you score 15 x 1 + 15 x 7 + 27 = 147. That is the maximum break in normal circumstances. It is possible to exceed 147 if a free ball is awarded before any reds are potted, because the free ball acts as an extra red, which in theory allows 155. The first break over 147 in professional competition was Jamie Burnett’s 148, a 16-red clearance in qualifying for the 2004 UK Championship. For the story of 147s on snooker’s biggest stage, see our history of every maximum at the Crucible.
Fouls and penalties
Fouls give points to the opponent. The penalty is the value of the ball on, the highest value of any ball involved in the foul, or four points, whichever is greatest. So the minimum foul is four and the maximum is seven. Common fouls include:
- Missing the ball on entirely, or hitting another ball first.
- Potting the cue ball (an in-off).
- Potting a ball that is not on.
- Touching any ball with anything other than the cue tip.
- Playing a shot without at least one foot on the floor.
After a foul, the opponent chooses whether to play from where the balls lie or make the offender play again. Two special cases, the free ball and the foul and a miss, are explained in our guide to the free ball and miss rules.
Snookers required
“Snookers required” means a player is so far behind that even potting every remaining ball would not be enough to win. They need their opponent to concede penalty points, usually by laying snookers that force fouls.
How to work it out
Add up the points remaining on the table. With reds left, that is 8 points per red (red plus black) plus 27 for the colours. With only colours left, add the values of the remaining colours. Compare that total with the deficit:
- If the points remaining are greater than the deficit, the trailing player can still win without help.
- If they are equal, the frame could be tied and go to a re-spotted black.
- If they are less, snookers are required.
Example
Only the pink and black remain, so 13 points are left. Player A leads by 20. Player B needs at least 8 more points than the table offers, so they need snookers: at least two fouls worth 4 or more each, or a combination of fouls and pots.
The re-spotted black
If the scores are level after the final black is potted, the black is re-spotted. The players toss a coin, the winner chooses who plays first, and the cue ball is played from in hand within the D. The next score, whether by potting the black or by a foul, wins the frame.
Nominating a colour
After potting a red, you must nominate the colour you intend to pot next. In practice, the nomination is usually obvious from the shot you are playing, and referees do not ask players to declare it every time. You must declare it clearly if there could be any doubt, for example when two colours are close together. If you hit a different colour from the one you nominated, it is a foul.
Ending a frame early
Frames often end before the last black is potted. A player who needs snookers and does not believe they can get them will usually concede the frame, shaking hands with the opponent. At club level, conceding is a matter of etiquette; at professional level players normally only concede once they need snookers, and competition rules govern when a concession is allowed.
Matches, frames and sessions
A snooker match is played over a set number of frames, and the winner is the first to win more than half. A best-of-seven match is won by the first player to four frames. The longest professional matches, the later rounds of the World Championship, are played over several sessions across two or three days. The World Championship final is the best of 35 frames.
Scoring breaks and centuries
A break is the total scored in a single visit to the table. Breaks of 100 or more are known as centuries, and the number of centuries a player makes over a career is one of the main measures of their scoring ability. Many tournaments offer a prize for the highest break of the event, and some offer a special prize for a maximum.
Keeping score at your club
Most club tables have a scoreboard or a marker’s pad. Keep a running total rather than recording every pot, and announce the break verbally. For newer players, bestsnookercue has a simple primer on the basic rules of snooker, and training aids for practising the colours in its training collection.
Frequently asked questions
How many points are left on a snooker table?
At the start there are 147 points available: 15 reds with a black after each (120) plus the six colours (27). During a frame, count 8 points for each remaining red plus 27 for the colours. With only colours left, add their values.
What does snookers required mean?
It means a player is behind by more points than remain on the table. Even potting every ball would not win, so they need their opponent to foul, usually by laying snookers, to gain the extra penalty points.
What is the minimum penalty for a foul in snooker?
The minimum penalty is four points. The penalty is the value of the ball on, the highest-value ball involved in the foul, or four, whichever is greatest, so the maximum is seven points.
