The rules / FRAME ARCHIVE
Understand a frame, starting with the first red
Learn ball values, the red–colour sequence and the final clearance, then follow a worked scoring example.
An introduction to standard fifteen-red snooker, based on the WPBSA 2024/25 rulebook. Special formats such as six-red snooker are outside this guide.
Three scores, three different questions
The match score counts frames won. The frame score measures points in the current frame. A break is the score built during one continuous visit. A large break does not necessarily mean a player leads the match.
Imagine a match at 3–2, a frame at 32–21 and a current break of 16. Read them separately: progress towards winning the match, the position in this frame, and what the current visit has produced.
Know the ball values
The white is the cue ball. A standard rack has fifteen reds and six colours. Potting the white does not earn pot points. Learn the values as a sequence rather than seven unrelated facts.
| Ball | Points | Memory aid |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 1 | The start of a red–colour pair |
| Yellow / green / brown | 2 / 3 / 4 | The three colours at the baulk end |
| Blue / pink / black | 5 / 6 / 7 | Increasing values towards the top end |
Build red–colour pairs
A normal new visit starts on a red while reds remain. A legal red pot is followed by a colour, then another red. Colours potted during this phase are respotted; reds normally stay down. The final red is still followed by a colour before the ordered clearance.
For practice, decide both what you want to pot now and what you hope to play next. An accessible colour that leaves a manageable next red can be more useful than chasing the highest value every time.
Read the final clearance
Clear yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black in order. Legal pots in this phase stay down. Together these colours are worth 27. Compare the deficit with the available points, not merely the number of balls.
Build the 147 calculation
Fifteen red–black pairs make 120; the final colours add 27. A 147 is one continuous break, not the sum of several visits. A special free-ball situation can allow a break above 147.
Start practice with one red and one colour, then aim for two pairs. After a miss, decide whether aim, power or position caused it. Change one variable on the next attempt so the result teaches you something.