Snooker rules, for watching
Start with how a match works. Then the rules you see every few minutes, then the ones that change results.
Checked 14 October 2026
Settling an argument? Search all 18 rules
- How does a game of snooker work?
- How big is a snooker table, and where do the balls go?
- Who breaks off in snooker, and what if the wrong player does?
- What is the "ball on" in snooker?
- Where does a colour go back if its spot is taken?
- How does a snooker frame end, and what happens in a tie?
- How many points is a foul in snooker?
- After a foul, who plays next in snooker?
- When is a player snookered?
- What is a free ball in snooker?
- What is a "foul and a miss" in snooker?
- Is a jump shot legal in snooker?
- What happens when the cue ball is touching another ball?
- What happens if someone else moves a ball, or nobody can make progress?
- Can a snooker player lose a frame for their behaviour?
- What can a snooker referee tell the players?
- How do doubles and six-reds snooker differ from the standard game?
- How is the Snooker Shootout different?
Where these rules come from
| Tag | Document |
|---|---|
| WPBSA Snooker with section and rule, for example WPBSA Snooker 3.11(a) (Section 3 Rule 11(a)) | World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, Official Rules of the Games of Snooker and English Billiards (May 2022 update), snooker part. Read in full |
| WPBSA Snooker Shootout rule | The Snooker Shootout Competition Rules in the same book |
| WPBSA Billiards | The English Billiards part of the same book. Used for the comparison rows |
| R | "Why the rule exists", or a point reasoned from the rule, not stated in it |
| C | Common usage or general knowledge, not a rule |
| Not saved | A document that exists and is not in research/ |
Checked on 14 October 2026.
Not covered: WPBSA and World Snooker Tour tournament regulations, the International Billiards and Snooker Federation's own documents, the Indian federation's rules and referee procedure beyond the rule book. None is saved.