If you are in the mood for big-timing your pool playing friends, set up the table for a traditional game of snooker and see if anyone can keep up. It has a white cue ball and 15 red balls and one each of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black that have specific point values attached to each. Winning frames and enough frame to win a match is the goal but the rules of snooker and much different from the rules of billiards and to play a legitimate game it is important to follow a few tips.
Most games begin with a break-off shot with the shooter lining the cue ball on the line between brown ball and either the green or yellow. The reds are set up as traditional billiard balls would be, in a triangle near the opposite end of the table, only in snooker the black is lined up behind the reds in front of the top cushion, the pink is placed just ahead of the red triangle tip and the blue is sitting in the center of the table.
On the line by the cue ball are the green, brown and yellow balls. Each player gets a turn at the table to try to score enough breaks, points scored by that player during a single sitting. A players turn ends when he fails to pot a ball.
The balls that can be hit first by the white are called "on" balls and are in play for that particular stroke. A red ball, if potted must be followed by a color, and so on until the break ends. Only "on" balls may be potted, if a ball not "on" is potted, it is a foul. Other terms common in snooker include "touching balls", "push shots", "nominated object balls" and "in hand" so it's a good idea to become familiar with the terminology.
Snooker balls are typically made of phenolic resin, but are smaller than pool balls. Regulation snooker balls are nominally 52.5 mm in diameter though many sets are actually manufactured at 52.4 mm. Some snooker sets may include balls that are the same size as pool balls, 57.2 mm, but generally snooker balls are slightly smaller in diameter.
There are also a number of fouls to be familiar with before you take on an opponent in snooker. Some of the more common fouls include failing to his any other ball with the cue ball, potting the ball not "on", making a ball land off the table, playing a shot with both feet off the ground and potting the white ball. Some of the rules are similar to pool while others are a result of the unique rules of snooker.
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