How to Keep Score in Snooker: Ball Values, Breaks and Fouls
Snooker scoring · Basics · Updated 2026-07-31
Snooker scoring follows one repeating pattern: pot a red (1 point), then any colour (2 to 7 points), then another red. While reds remain on the table, every potted colour is respotted. When the fifteenth red and its colour are gone, the six colours are potted in ascending order - yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black - and this time they stay off. Highest score when the black falls wins the frame.
Everything else in the scorekeeping - breaks, fouls, snookers required - hangs off that pattern. This guide walks through a full frame the way a marker would score it, with the exact numbers at every stage.
The ball values
| Ball | Points | On the table at the start | Respotted while reds remain? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | 1 | 15 | No - reds never return |
| Yellow | 2 | 1 | Yes |
| Green | 3 | 1 | Yes |
| Brown | 4 | 1 | Yes |
| Blue | 5 | 1 | Yes |
| Pink | 6 | 1 | Yes |
| Black | 7 | 1 | Yes |
Scoring a visit, step by step
- Red first: At the start of any visit while reds remain, the ball on is always a red. Potting one scores 1 point and the red stays off the table.
- Then a colour of your choice: After a red, the striker nominates any colour. Potting it adds its value - most players take the black (7) or pink (6) when position allows - and the colour is respotted.
- Repeat until you miss: Red, colour, red, colour. The running total of one visit is your break. Miss, and your opponent comes to the table; the balls stay where they lie.
- Clear the colours in order: Once the last red's colour is taken, the balls on are yellow, then green, brown, blue, pink and black, in strict order. Each now stays off. The final clearance is worth 27.
What counts as a break
A break is the total scored in one unbroken visit. Pot a red and a black six times in a row and you have a 48 break. The traditional milestones are 30, 50, the century (100) and the maximum (147) - a century means roughly 25 consecutive pots without a miss. Breaks are the standard measure of a player's game, which is why serious scorekeeping records them per visit rather than just totalling the frame.
Fouls, in brief
A foul awards penalty points to your opponent: a minimum of 4, or the value of the ball on, the ball first struck, or any ball potted in the foul - whichever is highest, capped at 7. Missing every ball, potting the cue ball, hitting a colour when a red is on, and touching a ball with anything other than the tip of the cue are the common ones. The fouled-against player may also have options - playing from where the balls lie, asking the offender to play again, or a free ball if snookered. The full penalty table is in our fouls guide.
A worked frame ending
Suppose you trail 38-62 with one red left. The red (1), a black with it (7), then the full clearance (27) offers 35 points - you can win 73-62 without needing a snooker, but only if you take a high colour with the last red. Take the yellow instead of the black and only 30 remain, and 68 is your ceiling. This is exactly the arithmetic a good scoreboard runs after every shot: points remaining, and whether the frame is still winnable on the table.
Tied frames and the respotted black
If the scores are level when the final black leaves the table, the black is respotted, the referee tosses for choice, and the cue ball is played from in hand. Next score or foul wins. It is rare enough that half the room will not know the procedure - the scoreboard should.
Score it once, correctly. Snooker Scoreboard₊ applies all of this for you: red-then-colour sequencing, fouls at their correct value, points remaining and snookers required after every shot, and a deep undo for the foul someone calls three shots late. Scoring is free and works offline. Learn more about Snooker Scoreboard₊.
Shortened frames
Club and league snooker is often played with 10 reds (maximum 107) or 6 reds (maximum 75) to fit more frames into a night. The scoring pattern is identical; only the red count changes. The 6-red format even has its own international events. If you keep score with an app, check it supports all three red counts - several popular ones are locked to 15.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to pot the balls in order in snooker?
Reds and colours alternate while reds remain, and you choose which colour to take after each red. Strict order only applies to the final clearance: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black.
What happens to a colour potted while reds are still on the table?
It is respotted on its own spot. Only reds stay off during this phase. Colours stay down only in the end-of-frame clearance.
Can you win a frame without potting a ball?
In theory, yes - entirely from penalty points. In practice a frame is won from a mix of breaks and fouls, which is why both are tracked separately on a proper scoreboard.
What is a good break for a club player?
A 30 break is a solid club standard, a 50 is genuinely good amateur play, and a century is exceptional at any level below professional. Tracking your average and high break is the honest way to watch improvement.