Snooker rules and refereeing
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  • Rules you must understand as a player
    • The Break
    • Frame, Game or Match?
    • Who takes the top scorer
    • Keeping score
    • When is the Frame over?
    • Understanding the 'Miss'
    • Understanding the 'Three Miss Rule'
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  • How do I .....
    • Rack the balls
    • Respot the colour balls
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    • Referee’s Guide to Positioning by Steve Fletcher
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    • Calling the score
  • Variations of the game
    • The six -red game
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Simplified rules for beginners

Table at start of game: as depicted above. 
To remember the order of the colours in the "D" area, think of "G"od "B"less "Y"ou for Green, Brown, Yellow as you look at them from the end of the table.

Ball Terminology:
* Cueball - the white ball, the only ball that you may hit with the cue
* Red - red in color, there are 15 at the start of the game
* Colour - one of the six balls that are neither red nor white

Ball values:
Red - 1
Yellow - 2
Green - 3
Brown - 4
Blue - 5
Pink - 6
Black - 7

Snooker terminology:
Pot - to put a ball into a pocket (and have it stay there)
Foul - to do something against the rules
Snookered - to be unable to roll the cueball in a straight line and hit the ball chosen.
Ball ON - the ball you intend to hit with the cueball

Fundamentals:
1 - You hit the cueball so that it, in turn, hits another ball and hopefully pots it.
2 - You must not pot the cueball
When there are still red balls on the table:
3 - Your first shot on every turn must be to hit a red with the cueball
4 - If you pot that red (red is the ball ON), then you score 1 point and your next shot may be on any of the colours (be sure to say which one you have chosen). The red stays in the pocket.
5 - If you pot that colour (which is now the ball ON), then you score the value of the colour and your next shot must be a red. The colour goes back on its own spot. If it doesn't fit on its spot, then it goes on the highest valued spot available.
6 - If you fail to pot, or if you foul, then your turn is ended and your opponent gets to try
7 - continue with red-colour-red-colour until all reds are in the pockets
When all red balls are gone:
8. Balls are pocketed in this order - yellow(2), green(3), brown(4), blue(5), pink(6), black(7). They stay in the pocket.

Foul Rules:
1 - Once struck, cueball must make contact with ball ON first otherwise, foul is committed
2 - If your cueball does not hit anything on the table, your opponent may choose to take the shot or turn the table back to you
3 - If you commit a foul and your opponent is snookered on all balls ON, he may be allowed to select a freeball(any ball on the table). The freeball, for this shot only, becomes another ball ON and has the same value and is respotted if potted.
4 - If your cueball first hits a ball other than the ball ON, then the penalty is the value of the ball struck or 4 points, whichever is greater.
5 - If you pot a ball other than the ball ON, then you do NOT score the value of the ball ON but your opponent scores the value of the ball pocketed.
6 - If you touch any ball on the table at any time,then the penalty is the value of the ball touched or 4 points, whichever is greater.

The game ends when:
1. A player resigns because there are not enough balls on the table to make up for the opponent's score OR he does not have enough options to execute a good snooker to force the opponent into a foul.
2. All reds and ball colors are pocketed.

Winner:
- The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!