Snooker
Snooker is a sport that is played on a 12ft X 6ft table, similar to our pool tables in the United States, with some variations. There is a cue ball, but instead of the 15 multi-colored balls there are 21 balls. 15 are red, and 1 each of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black. Each ball has a point value. Red balls are worth 1 point, the yellow is 2, green is 3, brown is 4, blue is 5, pink is 6, and the black ball is worth the most at 7 points.
The game of Snooker starts with an odd but established number of frames. For example, 15, 17, and 19. If you beat your opponent in the all frames up until the first frame of the halfway point, you will be declared the winner. If you decided the game would be for 15 frames and you win the first 8, then you win because there is no possible way your opponent can win even if they win all the remaining frames.
A frame is over after all balls have been put into the pockets. The correct term for this is ‘pot a ball’. A competitor can yield a frame because they are not able to equal or beat the score of their opponent for that frame. A white cue ball is used to break the balls just as it is in regular pool. A person’s turn continues as long as he pots a ball. It is the next person’s turn when a shot is made and nothing is sank.
One important rule to remember in snooker, the break must hit the red balls and one goes into a pocket. If not, it is the other person’s turn. If a player does get a red ball into a pocket, they can go after the other colors. You must also call the color of the ball you’re trying to pocket prior to your shot. If you don’t or you sink another ball, you will not get any points.
Snooker, while very similar to pool, is an interesting game of skill. The more points you accumulate, the better your chances of winner are. A good strategy is to go after the higher scoring balls first. This not only increases your score, by eliminated your opponents opportunity of gaining those points.
