Is there a limit on repeating the same shot in billiards?
A · Advanced · Playing the game · 2 of 5A player may make no more than fifteen hazards in a row without a cannon, and no more than seventy-five cannons in a row without a hazard. The referee calls "Ten hazards" and "Seventy cannons" as warnings. Going past either limit is a foul. The red also moves to a different spot after repeated pots from the same one.
How it works
- Hazards: pots and in-offs, singly or together.
- Fifteen in a row: the limit on consecutive hazards not combined with a cannon.
- "Ten hazards": the referee's call after ten.
- Seventy-five in a row: the limit on consecutive cannons not combined with a hazard.
- "Seventy cannons": the referee's call after seventy.
- A missed call: if the referee forgets, the striker still gets five more after the call.
- Asking: the striker may ask how many have been made.
- After the fifteenth hazard: an opponent's ball that is off the table is placed on the middle of the baulk-line.
- Breaking the run: a stroke that combines a hazard and a cannon resets both counts.
The glossary has the limit on hazards, the limit on cannons, the hazard, the cannon, the spotting the red and the break.
Tricky cases
A player pots the red fifteen times running and then pots it again. What happens?
A foul. More than fifteen consecutive hazards is a foul.
Does a shot that is a pot and a cannon count towards either limit?
No. The limits are on hazards not combined with a cannon and on cannons not combined with a hazard. A combined shot breaks both runs.
The referee forgets to call "Ten hazards" until the twelfth. How many more may the player make?
Five more after the call.
Can the player ask how many cannons they have made?
Yes. The referee tells the striker on request.
Why the rule exists
A skilled player can repeat one shot almost for ever: potting the red off its spot, or nursing the balls along a cushion with tiny cannons. The limits force variety into a break and keep the game a test of all-round skill.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hazards | 15 in a row; warning at 10 | WPBSA Billiards 3.11 |
| Cannons | 75 in a row; warning at 70 | WPBSA Billiards 3.10 |
| Exceeding either | Foul | WPBSA Billiards 3.15(k); 3.15(l) |
| Red potted repeatedly from the Spot | Moved to the Centre Spot | WPBSA Billiards 3.9(b) |
From the rule book
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, Official Rules of the Games of Snooker and English Billiards (May 2022 update), English Billiards part, English Billiards Section 3 Rules 9, 10, 11 and 15. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the association's rule book, which covers snooker and English billiards together.