What happens if a billiards player behaves badly or plays too slowly?
A · Advanced · Fouls and conduct · 4 of 5For offensive language, gestures, unsporting conduct or refusing to play on, the referee warns the player that a repeat will cost the game. A second offence loses the game, and a third the match. Taking an abnormal time over strokes is time wasting, with the same ladder. A serious offence can lose the game or match at once.
How it works
- Unsporting conduct: offensive language or gestures, wilful or persistent unsporting behaviour, or refusing to continue.
- First offence: a warning that a further one will cost the game.
- Second: the game is awarded to the opponent, with a warning about the match where it is a match of several games.
- Third: the match is awarded to the opponent.
- Serious enough: the referee may award the game or the match at once.
- Final: the referee's decision to award a game or match cannot be appealed.
- Time wasting: an abnormal amount of time over a stroke or its choice, or a non-striker's actions. The same ladder applies.
- Forfeit to points: the offender loses all points scored and the opponent wins by the full target to nil.
- Concession: a player may concede, but it is void if the opponent chooses to play on.
- The non-striker: must stay out of the striker's line of sight and keep still.
The glossary has the unsporting conduct, the time wasting, the concession, the referee, the game and the match.
Tricky cases
A player swears once at the table. Is the game lost?
Not usually. The first offence brings a warning. A referee who judges it serious enough may award the game or match at once.
A game played to points is forfeited for conduct. What is the score?
The offender loses all points scored, and the opponent wins by the agreed number of points to nil.
Can the referee tell a player how far behind they are?
No. The referee may not answer any question about the difference in scores.
Can a player be penalised for the opponent's distracting movements?
The non-striker is the one who must stay out of the line of sight and avoid distracting the striker. Their actions can count as time wasting.
Why the rule exists
Billiards is a game of long concentration, and the rules protect the player at the table from distraction and gamesmanship. The step-by-step ladder gives a player a chance to stop before a game is lost, while letting the referee act at once on something serious.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First offence | Warning | WPBSA Billiards 4.1(a); 4.2(a) |
| Second | Game awarded | WPBSA Billiards 4.1(b); 4.2(c) |
| Third | Match awarded | WPBSA Billiards 4.1(c); 4.2(d) |
| Serious offence | Game or match at once | WPBSA Billiards 4.1(d) |
| Forfeit to points | Target to nil | WPBSA Billiards 4.3(a) |
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 4. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the association's rule book, which covers snooker and English billiards together.