Scoring is the part of snooker that beginners nod along to and quietly do not follow. It is genuinely simple — six numbers and three rules — and understanding it changes how you watch the game as much as how you play it.
What each ball is worth
| Ball | Points |
|---|---|
| Red | 1 |
| Yellow | 2 |
| Green | 3 |
| Brown | 4 |
| Blue | 5 |
| Pink | 6 |
| Black | 7 |
There are fifteen reds and one of each colour, so the balls on the table at the start of a frame are worth 15 + 27 = 42 points if you only potted each once. The reason frames routinely go far higher is the respotting rule below.
Why colours come back out
While reds remain on the table, every colour you pot is returned to its spot. Only the reds stay down. So a player who keeps potting red-black, red-black is scoring eight points per pair while the black keeps reappearing.
This single rule is why snooker scores look so large. Fifteen reds paired with fifteen blacks is 15 + 105 = 120 points before you have touched the closing colours.
Breaks
A break is the number of points scored in one unbroken visit to the table. Miss, foul, or fail to pot, and the break ends there.
- A break of 20 or 30 is a solid amateur visit that will usually win you the frame's momentum.
- A break of 50 means you have strung together serious position play, not just potting.
- A break of 100 or more is a century — the benchmark that separates strong club players from everyone else.
Note the difference between a break and your frame score. You might make breaks of 18, 22 and 9 across three visits and hold a frame score of 49. Commentators talk about breaks; the scoreboard tracks the total.
The maximum: where 147 comes from
The famous maximum break is not an arbitrary number. It is exactly what the table is worth if you take the most valuable path through it:
- 15 reds × 1 point = 15
- 15 blacks × 7 points = 105
- All six colours at the end: 2+3+4+5+6+7 = 27
- Total: 147
To score it you must pot every single red, follow every single one with the black, and then clear all six colours without missing once. It is rare enough at professional level to still be news when it happens.
Fouls and what they cost
A foul awards points to your opponent. The penalty is four points minimum, or the value of the highest ball involved if that is more — so a foul involving the black costs seven.
| Foul | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Cue ball misses every legal target | 4 (or value of the ball on) |
| Cue ball potted (in-off) | 4 minimum |
| Hitting the wrong ball first | Value of that ball, minimum 4 |
| Potting a ball that is not on | Value of that ball, minimum 4 |
| Ball forced off the table | Value of that ball, minimum 4 |
| Touching any ball with hand, cue or sleeve | 4 minimum |
Because the minimum is four, a careless safety shot is expensive. Two sloppy fouls hand over eight points — the same as a red and a black, potted for free.
The free ball
If you foul and leave your opponent snookered — unable to hit any part of the ball they are on in a straight line — they get a free ball.
That means they may nominate any ball on the table and treat it as the ball they are on. If reds are on, they can nominate the black, pot it, and score one point for it — because it is counting as a red. The nominated ball is then respotted.
The practical lesson: a safety shot that leaves your opponent snookered by accident is not always a win. Leave them a clear but difficult shot instead.
The end of the frame
After the last red and the colour that follows it, the colours must be potted in ascending order — yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black — and they now stay down. There are 27 points in that closing sequence, which is why a frame is rarely over until it is over.
If the scores are level after the black is potted, the black is respotted and the players draw lots for who plays first. Next black wins.
Reading a frame like a player
Once the numbers are in your head, one question runs the whole game: how many points are still on the table? Count what remains, compare it to the gap in the scores, and you know instantly whether you should be attacking or playing safe.
If your opponent leads by 40 and only 27 points remain, potting alone cannot save you — you need fouls, which means safety play. That single calculation is the difference between hopeful potting and actually competing.
Practise the maths at the table. XD Arena runs four open tables set for 6, 10 or 15 reds, priced per frame — so a slow frame while you count the points out loud costs exactly the same as a fast one. See snooker at XD Arena →
Quick answers
Do I lose points for a foul?
No — your score is untouched. The points are added to your opponent's score.
Can I score a point for potting the black?
Yes, on a free ball, where the nominated ball counts as the ball you are on.
What is the highest possible break with a free ball involved?
Higher than 147 — a free ball early in the frame effectively adds an extra red and black. Those breaks are extraordinarily rare, which is why 147 remains the number everyone quotes.