First of two videos in which Barry demonstrates scenarios where the rules of the game can come into question. This video talks about the 'touching ball' and 'free ball' rules.
The player potted a red and then he plays a foul on a color. The ref calls a miss and the opponent tells him to play again. In that case the next ball on is a color. Now the player potts the black and the break starts with 7. After that he pots the remaining 14 reds with 14 blacks and finally the colors so the break is 7+14x8+27=146. He has only potted reds and blacks and the colors.
Nop. If he potted a red there it shouldn't be called foul and a miss. Or if he missed in the next shot he has 1 point form the first shot and he also can't have 146.
@@jolly1881 Yes, it's my mistake Levi and You are surely right. It was very late when I was writing the comment. Huge congratulations from me to pultz and you of course to :)
You missed 1 point barry about the free ball rule. You can snooker behind the nominated free ball when only the pink and black balls remain on the table.
Although this is very unlikely to happen, because when a player is snookered behind the black after a foul by his opponent he would probably ask him to play again.
Thank you, very helpful. You explained that after a foul, where there is a cluster of reds, there is no further requirement to be able to see both sides of any single red. (At 2m40s onwards). As you show the setup, the pink is in the centre and the outer reds are clearly visible. What if several colours were in the way, so that if all the reds were missing except the right-hand-most as you show them, and one or more colours are partly in the way. For clarity all the reds are actually present.
Excellent and clear information Barry. This is basically just what I've been wanting to see. These situations haven't been 100 % clear for me but this video cleared everything up very well, thanks a lot.
It has surprised me that ,,touching ball'' exists on the coloured balls, not only on the reds. Always thaught only on the reds. This video is absolutely a mind - opener to dig into the thin side of the snooker rules. Still great videos, Barry!
100k wow remember not that long ago was 15k when subscribed. I play league snooker and its mad how many people dont fully understand the free ball rule. Concrats on 100k. Enjoy your snooker people.
Very Good Barry. Though might have been worth making the point that the only time you CAN lay a snooker directly behind the nominated free ball is when only pink and black remain on the table - so if a player fouls and leaves you snookered you can nominate black as the free ball and roll up behind it.
Hi Barry love your videos keep it up. I have a question regarding the freeball situation. Only the 6 colours remaining and I have a freeball after my opponent fouls and snookers me on the yellow behind the black. I nominate black as my freeball and try to play a safety shot to put the black safe on a cushion. Unfortunately I under hit the shot and the black only partially covers the yellow so my opponent can hit the yellow about half ball. Is this a foul because he can’t hit both sides of the yellow or is it a legal shot because he’s not actually snookered fully. Thanks
Hi Barry. I was snookered behind the green, and I accidentally hit the green with the cue ball first, then another ball hit the black ball in. Am I correct in saying this is a 4 point foul. Thanks Matthew D'Souza
Barry please could you clarify whether you have to necessarily verbally nominate a colour ball in a free ball situation? For example black is over green pocket, pink on its own spot with blue on black spot and player misses blue and white lands on brown spot. Foul and free ball is awarded. If the player now opts for free ball and lines up shot towards black intending that as free ball but does not verbally declare that they have nominated the black as free ball because it should be obvious to opponent/ referee that black is being taken as free ball - then in such obvious case is it a foul or not?
Barry, have enjoyed all your videos, explanation of rules & tips. I think the answer to the poser is: Player A makes a red & commits a foul playing a colour, leaving a free ball situation. Player B plays a colour as free ball followed by pink. Then he goes on to make 14 reds & 14 blacks followed by the colours. That makes a break of 146.
Baray, I have a question. I don't know if this has ever happend, but what happens if a player gets in a situation where the cushion and other (illegal to hit) balls surrounds the cue ball completely? Would the player automatically lose the game due to unlimited foul and miss?
Where that situation appears, the referee should take the attempt of hitting that ball on (where is in the fact impossible to hit for example by surrounding of balls not on) as a good enough, not to call the miss rule, because he has the law to do that when the player gives his the best to achieve the hard snookered ball. More of that the referee could do that only when the player is trying to achieve (that impossible) ball on with the power and angle that it's good enough to try to achieve the ball on. It would happen also where the difference of points between the players would be higher than the points to get form the table, so it's naturally the miss would stop. So it's at least for that two reasons it shouldn't be an "unlimited foul and miss". Hope it helps :)
Hello Barry, what if a foul was called and the next player cannot hit either extremities of the remaining red because the cue ball will hit another color ball first which is sitting right behind the red. Is that a free ball?
Hi Barry, I have a question for you. I have seen a number of videos on TH-cam about "controversial" calls made by referees,. Where the referee says that the player can see the object ball, but both players will disagree and argue that there should be a free ball. I have seen the same scenario but in a different situation where, for example, say the player has just potted a red by the black spot, has gone into the pack but the split has not worked out kindly. There will be a shot where the player can see a color but it will not be clear on the first and second shot. Now here is my question, on these videos I have seen some calls where the player has to be able to see both edges of the ball, where in other cases they won't have to be able to see both edges, but rather just full ball? When and where is the call different, what is the rule that makes it so in some situations it's the extreme side, then others it is only full ball? I hope I made sense.
Domain. After a foul shot a player can be awarded a free ball if he cannot see both extremities of a ball on. The full ball situation applies to the miss and caution rule, He will receive a caution after the second miss if he can see a ball on full ball.
Barry I like all your videos and I watch them all when I can and its really impressive that you now have 100k subscribed, as a Referee myself I have looked at all this rules video and what you say is fully correct, there is one comment I wanted to make, it the cue ball is touching an on ball and the striker plays away without moving it then it is a fair stroke and not a foul, but, if the on ball rocks due to a defect in the cloth or from the cue ball resting on it, then as long as the referee is sure the cue tip or hand or cue did not touch the on ball, that is he must be sure the on ball was not fouled, sometimes the strikers bridge hand can have pressure on the cloth too, so then he will not call it as a foul due to the small movement, I watch touching balls very closely and there are times that the on ball moves a small amount due the the pressure from the cue ball touching it being released, this does happen so the referee must be sure that the on ball did not move due to being fouled. it he is sure he should not say 'Foul" This does not happen with tight new cloth but it happens a lot when the cloth gets older and has divots in it. N
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach I just wanted to point out that it is not automatically a foul if the ball the cue ball is touching moves when the striker plays away from it, the referee still has to be sure it was fouled by the strikers hand or underside of his cue, if it moved and it was not fouled by the striker and the referee thought it moved due to a defect in the cloth, then its not a foul, the referee has to look closely to be sure either way, I did not want the readers to think it was always a foul if it moves, very best regards. N
Hey Barry! Wanted to ask what happens if a ball is nominated as free ball and the actual object ball is played? Say the brown is on the edge of the pocket and I've free ball on the yellow. Can I nominate the brown and hit the yellow in order to pot the brown? If it's legal are there any scoring issues like those you talked about in the video?
Hi Barry. I need your help in a scenario. The cue ball is on the edge of the pocket and nearly 20 seconds later it got dropped in the pocket without being hit by the player. Now cue ball should come to the "D" or will be placed on the same edge?
Boy was this a brain teaser but I think I figured it out. Player A breaks and hits the blue ball (5 points) leaving the cue ball in a free ball snooker position of which Player B pots a nominated colour (1 point) and follows through and sinks the black (7 points). In that exchange 13 points was scored while a further maximum break (147 points) remains on the table. During the clearance break Player B while on the reds for some reason or another pots 2x double reds and therefore reduces maximum blacks of a further 15 (105 points) to 13 blacks (91 points) The colours remain a standard 27 point clearance. So 13 points right at the beginning of the frame + 15 reds (15 points) + 13 blacks (91 points) + all the colours 27 points equals 146. 🙂 You are a great coach Barry Stark! 👍 ✅ 🙂
Hi Barry. You know the Rory mcloud free ball. The vid on you tube what's your opinion. I'm having problems trying to explain that for the cue ball to hit the edge of the green it needs to pass it kind of. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
FAKHRUL. You are right, I have seen John Higgins, Kyren Wilson, Graeme Dott all show their ignorance of certain rules, I am sure there are others that I have not mentioned.
I've got one more question about touching ball scenario: the ball on is yellow(for example) , position of the yellow is right in the jaws, cue ball touched the yellow. We must play from the yellow, but can we pot it from the cushion or with another colour? Pretty rare situation, never thought about it... Thanks
Thanks for your video! I have a free-ball related question. You showed us that if I nominate the green and then pot a red (with or without the green), it's okay and I get the points and can go on with my break. But what if the opposite happens? Let's say I'm partially snookered on the red by the yellow, and the green is in the jaws of the pocket. Let's also assume I can see enough of that red that I can send it towards the green. So is it a valid shot if I nominate the green, then hit the red, the red hits the green, which goes in? Thanks!
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Interesting question, never thought about it. Barry, you say it's illegal, but if I nominate green on free ball (while there is a red ball left on the table) then green becomes red, is not it? why can't I plant red (that is green but in this situation gets red) with another red, which is partially seen? If free ball occurs while only colors left that play would clearly be a foul, but in the situation described it seems a little strange.
When you have a free ball you must nominated the ball you are playing, the rule says you must nominate or indicate to the satisfaction of the referee what ball you are playing. Barry did not say it but he did it, that is when you nominated a free ball then you must hit it with the first contact of the cue ball, in the situation you suggest, you say nominate the green as a free ball but you hit the red first, that is a foul as you did not hit the nominated ball with the first contact, the rule also says you cannot nominate the on ball as the free ball too. So for a few reasons what you suggest will be a foul. N
Hi Barry. Have a question that I should know but don't. When the balls have been racked and ready to start the frame. Is the pink ball touching the red at the point or is there a space? Thank you.....Sal : )
Ps: LOVING the tutorials! And would love to see the black market of rules. The ones so unlikely and so unknown. For example I never knew before today that two players on the black and one of them being 7 points behind. If the player in-front fouled to level up the scores that it would then be a re-spotted black.
Hi Barry, I have a scenario which came up today when playing, I wonder if you can help clarify what should have happened? After potting the second to last red ball the player then snookered his opponent behind the black ball as there was no potting shot on. The snooker was successful and left the cue ball touching the black ball. The opponent stepped up to take his shot and declared that he only had to hit away as it was a touching ball. In this situation does the opponent still have to try to hit the red ball as well as hitting away from the black? Or does it suffice for him to simply hit away and not touch any other ball? Thanks.
Hi Barry, I have a question about the snooker rules . I snookered my friend the other day , but he has no intention to save it ,he just hit the ball anyhow to lose 4 points . We didn’t play the game like we see on tv that you have to put the cue ball back on when you miss the shot . We just play shoot again or get a free ball . My question is : Can he do that ? What kind of Penalty will he get . Please advice ,
Jackie. That would be considered a deliberate foul and should be considered a foul and a miss, the rules are just the same for amateurs and professionals alike. The fact that you and your friend do not play the miss rule is your decision but the game should still be played in the correct spirit and if your friend persists in doing this then he should forfeit the frame.
Thank you!! I'm an American that just bought some 2 1/4" snooker balls to play on 9ft table. Fouls are the biggest questions I get at the local billard hall and the documentation can be a bit confusing. Thats for the clarification!
Thank you for all the information that you have provided, it has been very useful in a lot of ways. I just wish that snooker was more popular here in the states, especially in Arizona. I grew up with the game from back home, and it's hard to,find a snooker table to play on out here.
I don't know how foul points cummulates. So I have to pot a red, it goes in, but the cue ball hits the yellow and goes in with the cue ball. How many points my opponent receives? Sorry for bad explanation
Hi, can you please tell me the role. Situation is I need to play the red ball butt cue ball touches the red and I called a free ball and played the cue ball away from the red without moving it but parallel I want safe the red so when I played a shot and cue ball move on table and touch the any colour directly or indirect (after touching cushions) without disturbing the red which were play on, is it foul ot not?
Another great video, thank you Barry. This has really helped me understand the free ball a lot, as it can cause quite a bit of debate when i'm marking a game in my local league. I shall take this information into those match nights. Once again thank you very much Barry and I really enjoy watching your videos, as they have helped me with my own game and I always look out and look forward to the next video.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Could I also ask, as daft a question as this may seem but, does the free ball rule apply when only pink and black are left on the table after a foul has been committed and both sides of the pink can't be seen? If so, again a daft question, but can you roll up to the black or would that be a foul too? I only ask because i've seen from various sources that the roll up behind the free ball rule and a foul doesn't apply in this instance, I just wanted to know your understanding of that particular scenario.
Hi Barry, I have a question regarding the first scenario. You in both cases had a color on, and I understand that either nominating the pink or green works. But what if the reds are on (opponent hits the reds, misses and leaves you in the given situation)? You must still hit a red? Can't nominate pink in this occasion, as the reds are on right?
You are right. If the reds are on and the cue ball is touching a color, you must hit a red first. In that case a ref wouldnt call "touching ball" because touching ball can only be called on ball that is on or a ball thats possible on.
Vladan. Yes, the free ball situation only arises if you are snookered on a ball that is on, in this case the reds. So in the scenario shown I would have to be snookered on the reds, then I would nominate the pink or green as the free ball.
I think I got it Barry! Player one breaks off. Player B pots a red and snookers himself from every couleur. He decides to swirl around a red to hit the black but misses it. Foul and miss called and player A says "try it again, buddy". So, player B tries it again and flouks it miraculously off a red (7). He then pots every red with blacks (112) and clears the coulors (27). Total break : 146! :-)
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Could this also happen if player A breaks and sinks a red and the black? It would be a seven point foul and then if player B comes and clears the table all reds and Blacks totalling 139 but the seven would be added to the break as well making it 146? Just thought it would make for a simpler explanation.
Hi Barry, I have a question regarding 2014 World Championship final played by Selby and O'Sullivan. At the end of frame 13, Ronnie pots the red, but also fouls the green into the other corner pocket. Selby is awarded 4 for the foul and gets a free ball. Why is Selby then awarded 2 points when he potted the brown as his free ball? He then goes on to play the yellow and the yellow is not respotted. I thought that you play a free ball (which is essentially a red), then any colour and then proceed with the order of colours?
Lukas. I don't recall the incident but when Ronnie potted the red it must have been the last red, the red would stay down so the next ball on would be the yellow. Because all the reds have been potted the brown is classed as a yellow and therefore Selby is awarded two points for potting the brown. The brown is re-spotted and the colours are potted in their normal sequence.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thank you so much for explaining! That must mean the same rule applies for a free ball when no reds are on the table? For instance a player is snookered on a foul and the lowest ball on is the brown. The player nominates the blue as his free ball and pots the blue, will the blue then count 4 instead of 5? The blue gets respotted and the brown must be potted next?
Lukas. Spot on, just takes a little thinking and you get there. Well done. Lets have a little fun though in the same scenario, What happens if he pots the blue as his free ball but also pots the brown in the same shot?
Lukas. You are right in saying that the blue gets re-spotted but I am afraid that the player will only score four points. The reasoning behind this is that there is only one brown in a set of snooker balls.
Hi Barry, 1 red left. I have a free ball. I nominate blue. I roll to the blue and snooker behind the brown. The snooker is full ball behind the brown. But if you moved the brown out the way u can see 2/3 of the red as the blue was in the way. Ie if you took the brown out the way it wasn’t a snooker behind the blue I nominated . Have I fouled ?
Sir...Your tutorials and technical approach towards this wonderful game is fabulous. It helps alot to improve my game. There is a request about the rules of colour balls spotting if the spots are not vacant. Especially the pink and black.
NICKO. Great that you like the videos. If a coloured ball is potted and its own spot is occupied it will be spotted on the highest spot available. If all spots are occupied, the colour shall be placed as near its own spot as possible, between that spot and the nearest part of the top cushion. In the case of the pink and black, if all spots are occupied and there is no available space between the spot and the nearest part of the top cushion, the colour shall be placed as near to its spot as possible on the centre line of the table below the spot.
Macaco. Although you don't play you are surely a fan of the game, I believe that the greater the understanding then the greater the enjoyment. Thanks for your comment.
Do you have any videos that explain in which scenario does a player get a free ball ? Like what are the circumstances that allows a person to have a free ball?
@Barry Stark Snooker Coach what about when the cue ball is potted i have seen many videos in pro scene when player do get a free ball from that and some times they dont thats why i was very confused by that
Regarding free balls - if my opponent were to foul but leave the cue ball angled in the jaws of a pocket so that I couldn't see a red and was in fact completely snookered, would I have a free ball? After all, the only thing stopping me from hitting a red is a cushion, which usually is not enough reason to give a free ball
The DonkeyCow. I am afraid Aidan is wrong, you do not have a free ball option, you are not snookered. The only two options you have are to play the shot yourself or to ask your opponent to play again.
Hey Barry, we had a situation whereby que ball was touching the black but was snookered on the reds. Reds the ball thats on. If I missed the reds would it have been a foul 7 as I was touching the black (black did not move) or foul 4 because missed the red.
4 points. You are not judged to have hit the black unless it moves. Something missing from the video is that if the black moves as a result of a defect with the table (like rolling into a hole in the cloth) then this is not a foul either. This would usually move towards the cue ball.
Hello Sir Barry Stark. I'm from Malaysia. I have a question to ask. How about a player got a touching ball between green and pink. Does the player have to tell the referee if he wants to hit the green ball? What if he wants to hit the green ball but does not tell the referee to hit the green ball and when he hits the cue ball, the cue ball hits the pink first. Is the foul counted 4 or 6? Hope I can get the answer. Thank you.
Mohamad. First of all the player must tell the referee which ball he intends to hit, in this case the green, if he does not tell the referee the referee will always assume he intended to hit the highest ball, in this case the pink ball so six points will be awarded against him. Which ever ball he nominates neither ball must move otherwise again it will be classed as a push shot. Out of interest, if he nominated the pink and the green moved it would still be a foul against the pink because that is the ball he nominated and six points would be awarded against him.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach So what if the player wants to hit the pink ball, and he does not tell the referee to hit the pink ball. Unfortunately, the cue ball did not hit the ball. So, how many points will be awarded to his opponent? Either 4 or 6?
Nice 'poser' Barry, But is this considered the same visit? Player A breaks, Player B scores 1 point and fouls (end of break) by default, the play then passes to Player A, who decides to put Player B back in play. From a professional record and statistics point of view, if a player is asked to play again, is it classed as the same visit?
Hi Barry, lets assume that i come to the table and i see that the cue ball is touching a red ball, in that case i decided to just release the cue ball, but there is a colour ball in front, and the cue ball hits the colour ball. In this scenario what does happen? Is it considered to be a foul or is it still a legal shot?
Its not a foul, as the cue ball was touching the red and the referee would have said 'touching ball' too, so as the striker was on a red then its legal to just play away from the red, if you then hit a colour after you played away from the red, then that's not relevant as many times the cue ball hits a colour after hitting a red and that's never a foul, Ronnie O'Sulivan used this situation very well in a game and I tried to find a link but its not easy to find, he was touching a red and on a red too and there was anouther red over a top pocket with the black in the way so he could not pot that red directly, but as he was playing away from the red he was touching then he hit the black and pushed it over to pot the red over the top pocket, then he potted the black, so a perfect use of the touching ball rule, I think he went on to get a good break too. N
Hi Barry, in a situation of a touching ball, if the ball on is the ball the white ball is touching and it can be potted, can i play it to pot it directly? Does the rule that says the touching ball cannot move still stand?
@barry stark, Sir the opponent made a foul and snookered himself behind a colour ball while trying a red, so now it is a free ball for me and I nominate pink as a free ball (which carries 1 point).. But when I am trying to pot the pink I made a foul so will my opponent be awarded with 4 points or 6 points? Kindly clear my doubt sir.. Regards, Ashwin
146 on for a 147 break but does a ronnie o'sullivan and pots pink twice unless 1 red went in from the break cheers Barry! I need the answer now love your videos I'm going to the Sheffield Snooker academy this 6th December for the snooker experience looking forward to it hope it improves my game.
The answer to your question is - player A breaks off and makes a foul on the pink , then the player B comes to the table and clears up with a 147 only to go in off in the final black .so his final break is 146
Hi ..I wanted to know how much points is awarded to your opponent when m playing a red ball...I hit the red first but the cue ball cannons into the pink and goes in off..is it 4 points or 6
Usman. I understand that there may be a language problem but I am sorry that I cannot quite understand your question, please try again and I will try to answer.
I am still bit confused about the touching ball. If I play away from the ball and it doesn't move does it matter which direction I hit the cue ball. Obviously not towards where it's touching but any other direction.
Paul. As long as the ball doesn't move you can play in any direction but you will find that the only way you can guarantee this is to play away from it.
Hi Barry, Thank you so much for your videos. It's helped me to understand more about this wonderful game. Just a question about this same video please - how can you pot a yellow while nominating green as your free ball, when there are no reds. Thank you 🙏
ilovesnooker. The situation would be that all the reds have been potted. The ball on is the yellow but your opponent has played a FOUL SHOT and has left you snookered on the yellow, you are now entitled to a free ball. Lets say the yellow is over the pocket but you are snookered on it, you can now nominate any of the other balls as your free ball, lets say the green. You can legally pot the yellow by playing the green onto it, the green was your nominated free ball.
what if i pot the black from its spot and all other 5 spots are coverd and black spot as well(coverd with cue ball) where should black will go.. i mean where i have to place the black ball... please clearify this one for me...
Aamir.The black ball will be placed below its own spot and as close to that spot as possible without touching another ball. It must also be in line with the brown, blue, pink and black spots.
Hello from the USA. If that was me playing for real, I would choose to sink the green ball in that first scenario you presented. In the second scenario, I mistakenly thought you may possibly have a free ball because the pink ball is where it is, assuming the reds are the balls "on." If you say it is not a free ball, however, it is not a free ball.
Barry, If a player has a free ball and doesn't nominate which ball he/she chooses to play, is this a foul? Is it a foul even if it is obvious which ball is being played at?
Andrew. A player must always nominate the ball he/she is intending to hit in a free ball situation otherwise a foul will be called and the maximum points of seven will be awarded to the opponent.
Thanks Barry, I agree. Often it is obvious which colour is being played and the local referee I asked said that the player didn't have to nominate. The particular situation we had was a free ball snookered behind the yellow. The green was played and it was obvious that the player was going for the green. He hit the green and the cue ball ended up completely snookered behind the brown. I thought this should be a foul and a free ball,but the local referee said otherwise. I guess at lower levels a bit of leeway with the rules is and maybe should be, applied.
Hello! I would like to know, I had situation that i got a free ball, made snooker with a pink(as my choosen free ball) ball on one red ball and with a yellow on another red ball! Is this a correct shoot? Sorry for my english 🙃
If your shooting say, the green, you hit it but it accidentally either banks into another pocket or goes off of another color into the pocket you wanted it to, does it still count, or is it a foul or just a lost turn? Also do you have to call which pocket you plan to put an on ball into, or do other reds or flukes with same color hit go in the not called for pocket still count?
paul. Sorry for late reply. I have been on holiday. On your first question, it is a fluke but it counts and you are still at the table. On the second question, at snooker you do not have to nominate the pocket only the ball when it is not obvious or when asked to do so.
With the way the balls are set up at the 4 min mark where u replace the black with the red, if there is another red ball a few inches behind the red ball which is next to the black, a few inches to the right of the screen, wud that be a free ball? So basically the red behinds left side wud be blocked by the red next to the black. Hope to get an answer coz this scenario caused a lot of debate in a frame with my friends today.
Hannan. If I am interpreting what you say correctly it is the red ball and not the black ball that is preventing you from hitting the left extreme edge of the red ball that is on. As I have said in the video, you cannot have a free ball if a ball on is the only thing preventing you from hitting the edge of another ball that is on, a free ball is not awarded. So in the case you describe it is not a free ball.
Thanks, Great video as usual. Regarding snookering behind a nominated free ball: example one red left, ( Player A ) goes in off. White in the D, the last Red is half ball behind the Pink. ( Player B ) rolls the nominated free ball up too cover the other half of the red, Not a foul shot ?, does it have to be a FULL BALL snooker behind the nominated free ball to be a foul. This is the great thing about Snooker so many options and scenarios. Thanks again.
Tony. If you try to roll up to a free ball in an attempt to snooker your opponent but you leave half of the ball on visible that is still a foul. The nominated free ball is considered to be the snookering ball because it is the first ball between the cue ball and the object ball.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks for the reply, To be a foul does it need to be a full ball snooker behind the nominated free ball. I only ask as this did happen in a league game a few weeks back. He didnt roll up behind the free ball but rolled the free ball Too the red, probably 6ft away from the white, the argument was if the Pink which was not the nominated free ball was not there half the red would be visible so therefore not a foul. I suppose it is a question off how much of the object ball would need to be covered by the nominated free ball to make it a foul. Sorry for the question at the time people were googling and have tried to look through the rules online . Thanks
If a player misses a yellow (didn't touch it), the opponent pots the green as a free ball, does he need to pot the yellow because of coloured position (in this scenario are no reds on the table), or can he choose a colour first, and then obligated go to the yellow ball? And in a coloured position, what's the value of the free ball? 1 point or the least coloured ball? I got a discussion about that with my friend, when we have snookered at my home.
B. If I am reading what you say correctly the green is the free ball he will receive two points. The green will be re-spotted and the player must now play the yellow and then the colours in sequence.
Hi Barry, my guess to your scenario is that player A breaks off and flukes a red into a pocket AND fouls on the black by also accidentally potting it. This gives player B a start of 7. 14 reds left, 14 blacks and all the colours with the initial 7 from the foul shot adds up to 146.
Regarding free ball - Let's say i got a free ball when there are still two reds available at table (of course snookered). Say i tried to pot yellow, but missed it. Now the situation is that one red is snookered by the yellow and the other one by some other color (assuming they were at different sides of table). Will it still be a foul because i somewhat snookered my opponent behind the yellow or will it not be a foul because the other red is snookered by some other color not the yellow?
Hi barry Opponent snookered me behind a pink with it being a touching ball Yellow to hit and i missed it without touching another ball How many points does he get And is he allowed to let me retake my shot ?
Hi Barry, great viedos, thanks for uploading them and please keep them coming! In the scenario from 5:05 - what if opponent played the shot as Alex Higgins on the pink vs Steve Davis in 1987 UK Championship? Theoretically this is still the cushion that covers the object ball. In that case Steve couldn't see the red at all - is this what makes it different to the case you've discussued? Many thanks
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Hello Barry, it's the shot from 3:30 th-cam.com/video/Xo0RYMP8F7k/w-d-xo.html What if this ball setup was a result of a foul from the opponent. From what you say I understand the free ball on black couldn't be declared, interesting problem! Using this occasion I'd like to ask another question: th-cam.com/video/y1sDiLapr0g/w-d-xo.html (first shot of the video) 1. What is your opinion on the fairness of the rule (people tend to agree the judge was right not calling a miss as white never left the bed of the table). Is it possible this would be addressed in the future to ensure advantage to the opponent in this situation? 2. What would happen if Graeme went even further and placed the white behind a colour ball and surrounded it with other colours with his hand for a very difficult snooker? Many thanks for your responses, looking forward to your videos coming!
@@kompot86 I remember the shot Alex played, he took advantage of being in the right place and he put the cue ball behind the cushion, he did hit the pink and not play a foul so Steve Davis had to play it himself and went very close to potting it off 3 cushions but he missed when he could have hit it off one cushion, no foul was played by Alex and it was just a clever stroke, not classified as being snookered either as you cannot be snookered by a cushion still Steve did have to hit it and missed, what Barry was saying regarding 5.05 is that even though a foul had happened and the striker was snookered on all the other reds near the pink, the one sitting on the cushion on its own cannot be called as being a snooker because of the cushion preventing the cue ball from hitting the red on its right hand thinnest edge, its not snookered so you cannot have a free ball in regard to that red, so no free ball due the the cushion getting in the way. N
@@billiardsandsnookervideosn8319 Thanks for the reply. I just think this would be a bit unfair to Steve if the white got where it ended up by a foul shot (it obviously didn't in this case, Alex played a legal shot off the pink). But I guess if Steve faced extremely difficult shot (i.e. more ball on the table) referee might not call miss if he missed that pink.
@@kompot86 Yes of course it would be unfair, snooker is unfair and all the time too as many things happen that are both good and bad luck so that is why the game has rules that are meant to be used regardless of if the situation were fair or unfair, as long as the rules cover it the rules get used, good luck for the striker is also bad luck for the non striker, that was a very clever stroke by Alex Higgins and he could do it due to his lucky opportunity, that is the balls were in the perfect position, but lets say that it got there by accident, Steve still had to hit the pink. Lets say it got there by a foul, in the past there was a rule that said that if the striker was angled on the on ball after a foul then the referee would pick the cue ball up and it would be in hand for the next player, that rule was removed as it was unfair and too harsh a penalty to add the the existing foul, the rules always allow the striker 2 normal options after a foul and in some case more options, but were he angled after a foul then he may play it himself or he can send the offender back to play the next stroke and sending the offender back in was regarded as being a good enough solution so the picking it up part was removed a long time ago still in your video Alex put it there on purpose. In regard to your foul and a miss comment, that rule says that the striker must hit the on ball if his ability means he can hit it so as player like Steve Davis can hit the pink then he must hit it and fair or unfair has nothing to do with it, so if he did not hit it every referee would say Foul and A Miss, I would too. N
if white ball touching ball with red and the situation is i got 1 red ball at the pocket. can i canon it with blue ball? with no other way to escape it the blue ball on the way of escaping it? is it legal or a foul?
Raja. Your explanation of the situation is not totally clear. If I understand you correctly a red is the ball on and the cue ball is touching a red. You must therefore play away from the red and you will be deemed to have hit it. The cue ball then hits the blue and either the blue or the cue ball knocks another red into the pocket. Both these shots would be legal and you would score one point and your break would carry on with a colour being the next ball you should play.
Sagar. I read and answer every comment myself. There is only two on the team myself and Phil my cameraman, my two finger typing is still slow but improving.
Hi Barry What about if white ball touches red ball can i hit the red ball or just play away And what happens if i hit the red ball accidentally or intentionally?? Thanks
Fun. If the cue ball is touching a red ball or indeed any ball the player must play away from that ball without moving it, if the player is responsible for the ball being moved accidentally or intentionally it will be regarded as a foul. Although the player in your scenario is playing away from the touching red ball, if that is the ball on he has the choice of nominating it as the ball he is hitting. If a red is not the ball on then he can nominate a colour and he will be deemed to have missed the red. However, he must always nominate which shot he is about to play.
Sir Can you please explain the free ball situation as mentioned below: Player A has 60 points and player B has 40 points, with all reds, yellow and green potted. Next ball is brown ball(which is near pink spot. Player A gives snooker behind black ball( which is near yellow spot) to Player B. While Attempting for brown he commits foul and a miss and the cue ball comes behind black again, hence Player A is awarded 4 points for a foul and gets a free ball option as well. Player A decides to nominate blue ball (which is near top cushion near D) as free ball. He hits the blue ball first and gets the cue ball behind Black ball. Is it a foul? as he snookered player B behind the same ball by which he was snookered before and how many points will be awarded(if its a foul)
rocking. Player B is twenty points behind when he attempts to hit the brown from a snookered position, there are only 22 points on the table and as a result of the four points being added after the foul player B will be 24 points behind, so a miss cannot be awarded. Player A nominates the blue ball as his free ball and snookers player B behind the black ball so it is not a foul. It would only be a foul if he snookers behind the ball he nominated as his free ball, by accident or design, in this case the blue ball.
Hello dear Barry I have a question about free ball. Let's say in this scenario, I was awarded a free ball and I nominate the pink as the free ball, and I try to snooker the last red, by putting the cue ball behind the black. and i achieved it , but only a little of red (let's say a quarter ball of red) is snookered by the black. and the pink ball obscures most of the red ball. to be more clear, cue ball is behind the black, and black is behind of pink, and red is behind of the red ball. In fact if the pink ball was not in this position, my opponent could see most of the red and only a quarter of the red ball was obscured behind the black. but now because of the pink ball which is the free ball, my opponent can't see any of the red balls. So my question is, am i committed a foul or not?
imagine the red ball is snookered by both black and pink(free ball). as a way half of the red is obscure by black and other half is obscure by the pink. and the black ball is a little closer to the cue ball and the pink is closer to red ball. is it foul or not? thanks Barry
Hi Barry! I have watched this video again, i just wondered what happened if one has a miss on the snooker when put in the the first time on the rule below. Does the player have a choice of another free ball before putting the fouling player back in again or if their is no complete view of the ball on as you show in your video. Thanks!! 12. Snookered After a Foul After a foul, if the cue-ball is snookered (see Section 2, Rule 17), the referee shall state FREE BALL. (a) If the player next in turn elects to play the next stroke: (i) he may nominate any ball as the ball on, but a free ball cannot be the ball on; (ii) any nominated ball shall be regarded as, and acquire the value of, the ball on except that, if potted, it shall then be spotted.
Paul. I am afraid I am a little confused by your explanation, you say at (i) that a free ball cannot be the ball on. But in a free ball situation the nominated free ball becomes the ball on.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Hi again Barry! lets try another way i miss after my first try to hit the ball when put in, can my opponent have another choice of a freeball before making me play again because i have fouled for a second time. Thanks!!
Paul. The simplest way I can put it is:- You are snookered, you try to hit the ball on, a foul and miss are awarded against you together with a free ball for your opponent. Your opponent does not take the free ball but has the balls put back and lets you try again. This time a foul and a miss are awarded against you but not a free ball because your opponent can see both sides of a ball on. His only options are to have the balls replaced and let you try again, or to play the shot himself. I hope that answers your question.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Great! Thanks Alot Barry i have got it now, is nice to know that rule. We just play the one miss and then a free ball because as a learner i might be stuck their for a while and my friend says i may lose interest in the game. He played it the short way in his local league when he use to play more and was not sure on the full rule either. Another thing please Barry why are dead straight pots hard if their is fair distance between the object and cue ball, is it because we use the cheaper balls i seem to hit the object Ball in the centre. Thanks Again!
Emo. When the cue ball ends up touching another ball the player must play away from that ball and it must not move. With your question I am assuming that a red is the ball on and if so the cue ball can hit any other ball on the table including a colour.
Dear Coach, a friend has asked of a situation where the cue ball is touching both a red and the pink. The red is ball on. How will the player play it? play away the red even if it brushes the pink or does he have to free the CB in a sense that he must play away on both, which might not be possible to do ??? Kindly let me know sir. thanks
Yes it's true. And player can just play from the red that is ball on without achieving any other red - and it would be a good stroke because the referee in this case is obligated to show only the red ball as "touching ball" even if there the cue ball touching both. This is situation where two touching balls forced different rules, so the most powerful is the red one as ball on. So it is not a foul when you play from the both without touching any other.
Alap. Firstly you must play away from that colour and it must not move. Lets say the cue ball is touching the blue you must play away from it and, A/ you MUST nominate the colour you intend to hit, this can be the blue or any other colour. B/In either case the blue MUST not move. Just to try to avoid any confusion for you, as long as you nominate which colour you are playing you can play away from the blue and be deemed to have hit it or indeed be deemed to have not hit it.
Hello, let's consider a situation in which there is just, say, pink and black on the table. Player A tries to hit the pink and misses completely. A foul is declared and player B comes to the table. He can see both extremities of the pink, but he can't actually hit the pink from one side, because the black is right next to the pink and slightly behind it, in such a way that the cue ball would always hit the black centrally before hitting the side of the pink. Is that a free ball?
Stick. Always a difficult one to judge but the correct answer is yes it is a free ball. There was an incident in this years English Open concerning Rory McCloud and Dave Gilbert on this very same issue.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach I literally posted this while watching that match live, and I was curious about your opinion on whether it was indeed a free ball or not.
Hi barry I was looking for to know, how many times can a 'foul and a miss' be called? And when it is not available? I have been looking for the answer from a quite long time over internet, but couldn't find it.. Plz help.. Thx
Theoretically unlimited times, according to the rulebook, until the points difference becomes equal or greater than points remaining on the table, when then no miss will be called. Except in the 6 red format, where a "ball in hand" (anywhere on the table) is awarded to the opponent after 5 calls. However in any scenario, if you can see a "ball on" full ball and miss it 2 times, you will be warned by the referee if you miss the 3rd time, the frame will be awarded to your opponent. Also in certain cases if the referee agrees that the player has made full effort to hit a ball on (usually after several attempts), the referee has the power to decide not to call a miss. So it is not actually a good shot to play a nearly-impossible-to-escape snooker XD
@@ryanang3771 you are surely right about "foul and a miss" rule, but as I know that rule is a little bit more difficult. There is one situation when your description of this rule won't work. The situation is where after the shot of a player the points difference between the players is equal to the all of the (maximum) points that the player can get from the table. In that case foul and a miss should be called once more. Why? Because foul and a miss rule shouldn't be called (in the fact of all it can be called all the time if the referee decides that the foul shots are made intentional) where the (minimum one) snooker is required. In my example snooker is no needed, because the player can win a frame without a snooker, in re-spotted black ball game. Foul and a miss rule is also a very tricky rule, where as like Barry said many professional and good players have a problem with some difficult situations. Here is an example to prove my words -> m.th-cam.com/video/dOtI98HLMfo/w-d-xo.html I will be appreciate for your opinion because I believe that is a very important detail in that case. If you agree with me I can tell you my method to ensure that we are good with foul and a miss rule with any situation that could happens on the table. Best Regards.
If you get a free ball situation and choose a colour ball and only pot that ball, are the points awarded to the value of the ball and what ball would you have to pot afterwards?
Gary. I take it that in the scenario you are describing there are red balls still on the table. Irrespective of the coloured ball you have chosen to play it has now become a red ball with a value of one point. The next ball you would have to play at is a colour and if you pot that you will receive the true value of that colour. i.e. Black 7. Blue 5. etc.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Yes that is what I mean thank you. I play with my dad every now and then and we're trying to follow the rules strict to make it as competitive as possible but this was the only one I was unsure of.
Had the first scenario happen tonight in our Snooker league. Player potted a red and white landed touching the pink. Referee called touching ball on the pink. The player did not nominate any colour and simply played the white off two cushions to leave a snooker. He did not make contact or come close to another colour and it seemed clear they were just playing away from the touching pink. You said you have to emphasize which colour you are playing to the ref, even if pink. So what happens in the above scenario where the player simply played the shot without saying anything after the touching ball is called. Is this down to referee discretion to decide if he was playing away or if they were trying to pot another colour. Am I right in thinking that if there is no nomination, the referee will have to assume they are playing the pink as its been called touching. Therefore the player can then play away or even hit another colour directly as the pink has been assumed to be the choice. The only thing they cant then do is pot another colour because they didnt nominate one. Or is it simply an immediate foul because he didnt nominate anything and the referee had no idea what he was playing??
I've just checked the World Snooker rules and it covers this. It actually says that if touching a colour the referee will call touching ball and then ask the striker to DECLARE which colour they are playing. So in my scenario its the referee at fault not the player because they didnt ask. However, the question still remains what should happen next as neither the referee or striker said anything before the shot was played.
Andy. I am a coach not a referee but I will clarify whose fault it is at my earliest opportunity. Assuming the referee has asked for a colour nomination and the player fails to give one, the penalty will always be the highest which is seven points away. I will check the other matter, but I believe the onus is on the player. There is a similar incident on TH-cam on this between Cliff Thorburn and Alex Higgins where Cliff nominates the green but the referee does not hear him so a foul is called and seven points given away.
What if there are just blue, pink and black on the table. the player potted the brown then the cue ball came to rest and touched the blue, and he did not know what to do next, I told him that he can hit the cue ball without moving the blue and it counts as hitting the blue. was it correct?
Tried hard really can’t work it out i guess my question is does player B come to the table 2 times, or he pots all reds and blacks in one visit. I know there has to be a free ball scenario involved, just can’t work out how lol
Hello Barry, thanks for this great video. I have one question on your thoughts on free-ball situation. There is only one red on the table and is tight on the cusion near the middle pocket. Close to that red is also a colour, say blue, which is also on the cusion between the red and middle pocket. Cue ball is on the other side of that middle pocket few inches from side cusion. According to the rules, this should not be a free ball as the first entity preventing to hit one edge of the red is the jaw of the middle pocket. Very rare one, but do you agree?
It would be a free ball, you are saying the blue is 'close to this last red' so if the blue was stopping the cue ball hitting the thinnest edge on that side then it is a free ball, I have photos of this situation and in some it is a free ball and in others its not, but you can't post photos on you tube, for it to not be a free ball then the blue has to be a full ball away from the red on the side the blue is on, its not a free ball because of the cushion on the cushion side but the free ball rule says you have to be able to hit the thinnest edge on 'both sides of any one on ball' so if the blue was closer than a ball width on the side it was on then it would be a free ball, not easy so demonstrate without a photo. If the cue ball and the red and blue are all on the same side of the table with the red in the middle and its only the cushion that is stopping the cue ball hitting the red so the blue is on the other side of the red, then its not a free ball but if the blue is to the side of the red and its the cushion stopping the cue ball from hitting one side but the blue is snookering it on the other side, then is is a free ball, its all down the where the blue is sitting. N
@@billiardsandsnookervideosn8319 I agree that it's hard to explain with words only without photo. However I am not sure you fully understood my question. I was trying to explain a situation where jaw of the middle pocket is involved, but not in a way the cue ball is angled by the jaw, but if you imagine a line from the cue ball to the edge of the red ball that is close to the cusion - the middle pocket jaw being the closest preventing entity - that way if you will be applying the rules literally, it should not be a free ball, because jaw is not counting towards snookering entity. I saw some tweet from Steve Davis commenting on this few years ago with a photo, but it might be hard to find it now. Maybe if Barry understands what I am pointing out it might be worth putting it on the video and explain, but I understand that this situation occurs once in a decade maybe :D
@@wise32man Let me say this, put the cue ball in the jaws of the middle pocket and the put a red down the rail and against it, put the blue on the other side of the red so the red is in the middle of the three balls, now as it is the round part of the cushion that is stopping the striker from hitting the on ball, after a foul this cannot be a free ball, even though you can't hit the red you cannot be snookered by a cushion either and the referee will not consider the cushion when he sights the lines to both thin edges of the red, the non offended should ask the offender top play the next stroke and the blue in this instance is not relevant. However, if you move the blue from the other side of the red and you put it beside the red so it is less than a ball away from the red, then as the blue is now stopping the cue ball from hitting the thinnest edge on one side of the red, then that will be a free ball, even if the cue ball cannot hit the blue too due to the cushion, that still will be a free ball, as I said I have some nice photos of this situation and in some it is a free ball and some it isn't, but I cant post photos on you tube. The thing to remember is that the referee does not regard the cushion as an obstruction when he sights the lines to the on ball so the cushion is not relevant, still I can't see how the non offender would ever play a free ball from that position as he would still ask the offender to play the next stroke. The rules require the referee to say 'free ball' if it is one, but the striker does not have to play it. N
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach I draw a diagram here. drive.google.com/file/d/1F85-C5NqcralNeEqbOlClaySpaWH63OZ/view?usp=sharing Now if you put this situation on the real snooker table, you will see that the snookering entity is in fact the middle jaw, not the blue ball.
If I nominate yellow ball as free ball and try to pot it and it rests in the way to the last red on the table, but yellow only covers half of the red and other half of the red ball is covered by another colour. Now is that a foul shot from me?
Thanks for your reply Barry. Adding to my first question is it still a foul if: (1) yellow is near the cue ball and other color is near the red. (2) other color is near the cue ball and yellow is near the red. (3) no other color covering the red and only yellow is covering half of the red mean not a snooker but can only hit one edge of the red. Thankfully waiting for an elaborated reply
Ok. I’m thinking outside the box on this one. I come to table and pot a beautiful red. Trouble is I snooker myself and play for black but foul. My opponent doesn’t see an advantage so puts me back in. I’m still at the table.. this time I manage to not only clip the black but it rolls along cushion and drops in. I’m guessing I already had a break of one which ended after the foul on the black and so I’m starting this break with 7 and not 8. If I now clear up I have 146... all I’ve potted are reds and blacks..
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks Barry, but the more I think about it the more confused I am, as wouldn't i not be going for the black again if the other player put me back in?
haider. I assume you mean that a foul has been committed and you have been left in the position where the cue ball is touching a red, I don't understand why a free ball has been awarded because a red will be the ball on, but you can now play away from the red and be deemed to have hit it, the fact that the cue ball strikes the yellow is unimportant and it is not a foul.
Hello Sir, big fan here. Very helpful video I must say. One clarification about the first scenario you explained. One of my friends explained me following and I accepted based on logic we discussed. Let's say that I have pot a red and cue ball has ended up touching the pink (first scenario that you explained in the video). In this case my friend explained me that I must release the ball away from pink. I can touch other red / colour but can not pot any other colour. Logic for this : When red ball is on and I end up touching the red, I am allowed to release the ball because cue ball has already touched one red (the ball on). With the same logic, when I end up touching pink in above situation, cue ball already touched the pink. So, potting some other colour is a foul. I accepted the suggestion based on the logic, please share your views on this. I know this is a long question due to detailed explanation, I hope the query is clear.
Nishant. Lets say I pot a red ball and the cue ball ends up touching the pink. I can now play away from the pink and be deemed to have hit it, I can also play away from it and be deemed to have missed it, in which case I can play for and pot another colour. In both cases I must tell the referee which ball I intend to hit, either pink or the other colour. If I do not tell the referee it will be assumed that I might have hit the black ball and seven points will be awarded to my opponent.
Hello sir... I have a question ! Here is the situation... player A is at the table clearing the 6 colours remaining to win the frame... but when he pots the brown the cue ball goes to the pink and now it is touching ball on the pink. So now he has to hit the blue without moving the pink. So here's my question.. what if the player playes the shot from the touching ball pink and missed the blue ball, how many points will the opponent be rewarded? The ball on is blue and the cue ball is touching pink so what will be the conclusion. Will the opponent be rewarded with 5 points bcoz of blue ball on. Or whether he will be awarded 6 point bcoz the cue ball is touching the pink ball? Please do let me know... Thank You ❤
Player A pots the 1st ball and when tries to pot the black makes a foul now its player B turn to play and pots all (7 points for foul+ 14 red balls + 14 times black + remaining colour balls i.e 7+14+98+2+3+4+5+6+7)=146..and also i have a question, in snooker the highest break is of 147 but i think if a player makes a foul ( in off)during the break then the opponent gets 4 point and if the opponent clears all the reds a attempted only black the then the highest break would be 151, so 147 would not be the highest break(4+147=151)?
1. what if only color balls are left to play and cue ball is touching black ball and its snooker on yellow ball, when player played the shot he couldn't touch yellow. what will happen in this case please suggest. 2. what if player needs to hit red ball and cue ball is touching a color ball higher thn 4 points and its a snooker and he didn't break the snooker, what will happen in this case please suggest.
mayank. 1/ He must play away from the black, if the black moves it is a foul and 7 points awarded to his opponent. If he plays away from the black legally but fails to hit the yellow, 4 points will be awarded to his opponent. If the attempt to hit the yellow is not good enough a miss can be awarded and the balls replaced. 2/ This is exactly the same, he must play away from the colour but still try to hit the red ball. If the colour moves while he is playing away from it that will be a foul and the relevant points awarded, black 7, pink 6, blue 5, anything else 4. If he plays away from the colour legally but fails to hit the red ball his opponent will be awarded 4 points and a miss can be called.
Robert. You will recall on the video I said that I had potted a red and the cue ball ended up touching the pink, therefore it would be six points away. The pink ball was not representing a red.
I've a case where a referee will call a touching ball on a colour. For example, the cue ball rolls up to the pink and there are still reds on the table, the referee calls a touching ball where the cue ball is resting on the pink and all reds are snookered by that pink. Next turn is my opponent and can referee give free ball or not???
Samsung. You have not made it clear if a foul shot has been committed or not, if the cue ball ends up in the position you describe as the result of a foul shot then yes, it is a free ball situation. If a foul has not been committed then no, it is not a free ball.
Hi Barry! thank you so much for your amazing explanation and made it clear. You are the best. I was always wondering ; how player can use the black ball to pot the Pink and then pot the black to win the match in case of he snookered and the Black ball and pink are the only colors left on the table. But you made it clear and thanks again. How about if only blue, pink and black balls left on the table and you have a free ball in that situation? Thanks
The player potted a red and then he plays a foul on a color. The ref calls a miss and the opponent tells him to play again. In that case the next ball on is a color. Now the player potts the black and the break starts with 7. After that he pots the remaining 14 reds with 14 blacks and finally the colors so the break is 7+14x8+27=146. He has only potted reds and blacks and the colors.
Wow! I did not think of that! Been turning my brain for half an hour now to find it out.. thankyou, I can go to sleep in peace now! :)
Nop. If he potted a red there it shouldn't be called foul and a miss. Or if he missed in the next shot he has 1 point form the first shot and he also can't have 146.
@@ploplos the 1 point he gets doesn't count on the break. As I can see it, it is right! ;)
pultz. You are correct, well done. He actually scores 147. but the break is 146.
@@jolly1881 Yes, it's my mistake Levi and You are surely right. It was very late when I was writing the comment. Huge congratulations from me to pultz and you of course to :)
You missed 1 point barry about the free ball rule. You can snooker behind the nominated free ball when only the pink and black balls remain on the table.
Jimmy's. Very true, I should have mentioned it.
Well thats a great point , thank you jimmy sir
Although this is very unlikely to happen, because when a player is snookered behind the black after a foul by his opponent he would probably ask him to play again.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach it was only basic free ball discussed here Barry. I wouldn't lose sleep.
Plus if he snooker you with the pink behind the black but over the pocket . You can use the black as a free ball to knock the pink in .
Thank you, very helpful. You explained that after a foul, where there is a cluster of reds, there is no further requirement to be able to see both sides of any single red. (At 2m40s onwards). As you show the setup, the pink is in the centre and the outer reds are clearly visible. What if several colours were in the way, so that if all the reds were missing except the right-hand-most as you show them, and one or more colours are partly in the way. For clarity all the reds are actually present.
Congratulations on 100 000 subscribers! Your videos are a blessing to all of us!
Olavi. Many thanks, I am glad you like them.
7:45 if the ball is brown Covers only half of the red ball. Is it a foul?
Excellent and clear information Barry. This is basically just what I've been wanting to see. These situations haven't been 100 % clear for me but this video cleared everything up very well, thanks a lot.
Erno. My pleasure.
It has surprised me that ,,touching ball'' exists on the coloured balls, not only on the reds. Always thaught only on the reds. This video is absolutely a mind - opener to dig into the thin side of the snooker rules. Still great videos, Barry!
B. The rules can be complicated to a beginner.
100k wow remember not that long ago was 15k when subscribed. I play league snooker and its mad how many people dont fully understand the free ball rule. Concrats on 100k. Enjoy your snooker people.
Jimmy's. There are even pros who don't know all the rules, thanks for the congratulations.
Very Good Barry. Though might have been worth making the point that the only time you CAN lay a snooker directly behind the nominated free ball is when only pink and black remain on the table - so if a player fouls and leaves you snookered you can nominate black as the free ball and roll up behind it.
robert. Very true, should have mentioned it.
Hi Barry love your videos keep it up. I have a question regarding the freeball situation. Only the 6 colours remaining and I have a freeball after my opponent fouls and snookers me on the yellow behind the black. I nominate black as my freeball and try to play a safety shot to put the black safe on a cushion. Unfortunately I under hit the shot and the black only partially covers the yellow so my opponent can hit the yellow about half ball. Is this a foul because he can’t hit both sides of the yellow or is it a legal shot because he’s not actually snookered fully. Thanks
Hi Barry. I was snookered behind the green, and I accidentally hit the green with the cue ball first, then another ball hit the black ball in. Am I correct in saying this is a 4 point foul.
Thanks
Matthew D'Souza
@matt. Afraid not, you will always be punished for the highest award, in this case seven points.
Barry please could you clarify whether you have to necessarily verbally nominate a colour ball in a free ball situation?
For example black is over green pocket, pink on its own spot with blue on black spot and player misses blue and white lands on brown spot. Foul and free ball is awarded.
If the player now opts for free ball and lines up shot towards black intending that as free ball but does not verbally declare that they have nominated the black as free ball because it should be obvious to opponent/ referee that black is being taken as free ball - then in such obvious case is it a foul or not?
Insaan. In the case of a free ball the player must nominate the ball he intends to hit.
Barry, have enjoyed all your videos, explanation of rules & tips. I think the answer to the poser is: Player A makes a red & commits a foul playing a colour, leaving a free ball situation. Player B plays a colour as free ball followed by pink. Then he goes on to make 14 reds & 14 blacks followed by the colours. That makes a break of 146.
Hemant. Sorry wrong answer, If you remember reds and black are the only balls potted until the end and the colours are cleared.
Baray, I have a question. I don't know if this has ever happend, but what happens if a player gets in a situation where the cushion and other (illegal to hit) balls surrounds the cue ball completely? Would the player automatically lose the game due to unlimited foul and miss?
Where that situation appears, the referee should take the attempt of hitting that ball on (where is in the fact impossible to hit for example by surrounding of balls not on) as a good enough, not to call the miss rule, because he has the law to do that when the player gives his the best to achieve the hard snookered ball. More of that the referee could do that only when the player is trying to achieve (that impossible) ball on with the power and angle that it's good enough to try to achieve the ball on.
It would happen also where the difference of points between the players would be higher than the points to get form the table, so it's naturally the miss would stop. So it's at least for that two reasons it shouldn't be an "unlimited foul and miss". Hope it helps :)
Sagar. Piotr. has answered the question for me.
Hello Barry, what if a foul was called and the next player cannot hit either extremities of the remaining red because the cue ball will hit another color ball first which is sitting right behind the red. Is that a free ball?
Hi Barry, I have a question for you. I have seen a number of videos on TH-cam about "controversial" calls made by referees,. Where the referee says that the player can see the object ball, but both players will disagree and argue that there should be a free ball. I have seen the same scenario but in a different situation where, for example, say the player has just potted a red by the black spot, has gone into the pack but the split has not worked out kindly. There will be a shot where the player can see a color but it will not be clear on the first and second shot. Now here is my question, on these videos I have seen some calls where the player has to be able to see both edges of the ball, where in other cases they won't have to be able to see both edges, but rather just full ball? When and where is the call different, what is the rule that makes it so in some situations it's the extreme side, then others it is only full ball? I hope I made sense.
Domain. After a foul shot a player can be awarded a free ball if he cannot see both extremities of a ball on. The full ball situation applies to the miss and caution rule, He will receive a caution after the second miss if he can see a ball on full ball.
Ah right gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.
Wonderful video Sir, we really need all this knowledge, really appreciate!!!!! Keep up your excellent work!!!!!!
George. I will keep trying. Many thanks.
Barry I like all your videos and I watch them all when I can and its really impressive that you now have 100k subscribed, as a Referee myself I have looked at all this rules video and what you say is fully correct, there is one comment I wanted to make, it the cue ball is touching an on ball and the striker plays away without moving it then it is a fair stroke and not a foul, but, if the on ball rocks due to a defect in the cloth or from the cue ball resting on it, then as long as the referee is sure the cue tip or hand or cue did not touch the on ball, that is he must be sure the on ball was not fouled, sometimes the strikers bridge hand can have pressure on the cloth too, so then he will not call it as a foul due to the small movement, I watch touching balls very closely and there are times that the on ball moves a small amount due the the pressure from the cue ball touching it being released, this does happen so the referee must be sure that the on ball did not move due to being fouled. it he is sure he should not say 'Foul" This does not happen with tight new cloth but it happens a lot when the cloth gets older and has divots in it. N
billiards. Very true, thank you for pointing it out and I regret the omission.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach I just wanted to point out that it is not automatically a foul if the ball the cue ball is touching moves when the striker plays away from it, the referee still has to be sure it was fouled by the strikers hand or underside of his cue, if it moved and it was not fouled by the striker and the referee thought it moved due to a defect in the cloth, then its not a foul, the referee has to look closely to be sure either way, I did not want the readers to think it was always a foul if it moves, very best regards. N
Hey Barry!
Wanted to ask what happens if a ball is nominated as free ball and the actual object ball is played? Say the brown is on the edge of the pocket and I've free ball on the yellow. Can I nominate the brown and hit the yellow in order to pot the brown? If it's legal are there any scoring issues like those you talked about in the video?
Tudor. No you must hit the ball you nominate.
Hi Barry. I need your help in a scenario.
The cue ball is on the edge of the pocket and nearly 20 seconds later it got dropped in the pocket without being hit by the player. Now cue ball should come to the "D" or will be placed on the same edge?
NCy. The cue ball should be replaced back on the edge of the pocket and the play continued.
Boy was this a brain teaser but I think I figured it out.
Player A breaks and hits the blue ball (5 points) leaving the cue ball in a free ball snooker position of which Player B pots a nominated colour (1 point) and follows through and sinks the black (7 points).
In that exchange 13 points was scored while a further maximum break (147 points) remains on the table.
During the clearance break Player B while on the reds for some reason or another pots 2x double reds and therefore reduces maximum blacks of a further 15 (105 points) to 13 blacks (91 points)
The colours remain a standard 27 point clearance.
So 13 points right at the beginning of the frame + 15 reds (15 points) + 13 blacks (91 points) + all the colours 27 points equals 146. 🙂
You are a great coach Barry Stark! 👍 ✅ 🙂
Hi Barry. You know the Rory mcloud free ball. The vid on you tube what's your opinion. I'm having problems trying to explain that for the cue ball to hit the edge of the green it needs to pass it kind of. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Poma. I am sorry but I can't remember the situation and I don't seem to be able to find it again on TH-cam.
Its good to have such important rules information which most snooker players even some of international players dont know.
FAKHRUL. You are right, I have seen John Higgins, Kyren Wilson, Graeme Dott all show their ignorance of certain rules, I am sure there are others that I have not mentioned.
I've got one more question about touching ball scenario: the ball on is yellow(for example) , position of the yellow is right in the jaws, cue ball touched the yellow. We must play from the yellow, but can we pot it from the cushion or with another colour? Pretty rare situation, never thought about it... Thanks
I don't see any problem to play the cue ball from the yellow to the cushion (even the same cushion or jaw where the yellow ball is) and pot it.
Ko. Both would be okay.
Thanks for your video! I have a free-ball related question. You showed us that if I nominate the green and then pot a red (with or without the green), it's okay and I get the points and can go on with my break. But what if the opposite happens? Let's say I'm partially snookered on the red by the yellow, and the green is in the jaws of the pocket. Let's also assume I can see enough of that red that I can send it towards the green. So is it a valid shot if I nominate the green, then hit the red, the red hits the green, which goes in?
Thanks!
I wondered the same. Is it even allowed to still hit a red when you nominated a free ball or would it be a foul?
Gabor. You cannot nominate the green and then hit the red, you must hit the ball you nominate first.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Interesting question, never thought about it. Barry, you say it's illegal, but if I nominate green on free ball (while there is a red ball left on the table) then green becomes red, is not it? why can't I plant red (that is green but in this situation gets red) with another red, which is partially seen? If free ball occurs while only colors left that play would clearly be a foul, but in the situation described it seems a little strange.
When you have a free ball you must nominated the ball you are playing, the rule says you must nominate or indicate to the satisfaction of the referee what ball you are playing. Barry did not say it but he did it, that is when you nominated a free ball then you must hit it with the first contact of the cue ball, in the situation you suggest, you say nominate the green as a free ball but you hit the red first, that is a foul as you did not hit the nominated ball with the first contact, the rule also says you cannot nominate the on ball as the free ball too. So for a few reasons what you suggest will be a foul. N
@@billiardsandsnookervideosn8319 ok it makes sense, thx.
Hi Barry. Have a question that I should know but don't. When the balls have been racked and ready to start the frame. Is the pink ball touching the red at the point or is there a space? Thank you.....Sal : )
kyotosal. The red should be as close to the pink ball as possible without actually touching it.
Thank you Barry. Glad I go that cleared up.........Sal : ) @@BarryStarkSnookerCoach
Ps: LOVING the tutorials! And would love to see the black market of rules. The ones so unlikely and so unknown. For example I never knew before today that two players on the black and one of them being 7 points behind. If the player in-front fouled to level up the scores that it would then be a re-spotted black.
Hi Barry, I have a scenario which came up today when playing, I wonder if you can help clarify what should have happened? After potting the second to last red ball the player then snookered his opponent behind the black ball as there was no potting shot on. The snooker was successful and left the cue ball touching the black ball. The opponent stepped up to take his shot and declared that he only had to hit away as it was a touching ball. In this situation does the opponent still have to try to hit the red ball as well as hitting away from the black? Or does it suffice for him to simply hit away and not touch any other ball? Thanks.
still have to try to hit the red ball as well as hitting away from the black, and of course the black should not move
Chris. He certainly does have to try to hit a red ball and of course the black ball must not move.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks for the reply Barry, it is much appreciated. Love your vids, keep up the awesome work.
@@راهنمايبرتربورس Thank you for clarifying this situation , much appreciated
Hi Barry,
I have a question about the snooker rules . I snookered my friend the other day , but he has no intention to save it ,he just hit the ball anyhow to lose 4 points . We didn’t play the game like we see on tv that you have to put the cue ball back on when you miss the shot . We just play shoot again or get a free ball . My question is : Can he do that ? What kind of Penalty will he get . Please advice ,
Jackie. That would be considered a deliberate foul and should be considered a foul and a miss, the rules are just the same for amateurs and professionals alike. The fact that you and your friend do not play the miss rule is your decision but the game should still be played in the correct spirit and if your friend persists in doing this then he should forfeit the frame.
Thank you!! I'm an American that just bought some 2 1/4" snooker balls to play on 9ft table. Fouls are the biggest questions I get at the local billard hall and the documentation can be a bit confusing. Thats for the clarification!
Zachary. Yes, the way the rules are written take some digesting.
Thank you for all the information that you have provided, it has been very useful in a lot of ways. I just wish that snooker was more popular here in the states, especially in Arizona. I grew up with the game from back home, and it's hard to,find a snooker table to play on out here.
Snooker in california has got a small group there especially in San Jose & Fremont. (google it) Hope this answers your question as best as I can.
James. You never know, soccer is catching on, it may happen at snooker.
I don't know how foul points cummulates.
So I have to pot a red, it goes in, but the cue ball hits the yellow and goes in with the cue ball.
How many points my opponent receives? Sorry for bad explanation
Pendek. Foul, you don't receive any points and your opponent receives four points.
Hi, can you please tell me the role. Situation is I need to play the red ball butt cue ball touches the red and I called a free ball and played the cue ball away from the red without moving it but parallel I want safe the red so when I played a shot and cue ball move on table and touch the any colour directly or indirect (after touching cushions) without disturbing the red which were play on, is it foul ot not?
@asadali. Please see below.
Another great video, thank you Barry. This has really helped me understand the free ball a lot, as it can cause quite a bit of debate when i'm marking a game in my local league. I shall take this information into those match nights.
Once again thank you very much Barry and I really enjoy watching your videos, as they have helped me with my own game and I always look out and look forward to the next video.
Stephen. Glad to be of help.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Could I also ask, as daft a question as this may seem but, does the free ball rule apply when only pink and black are left on the table after a foul has been committed and both sides of the pink can't be seen? If so, again a daft question, but can you roll up to the black or would that be a foul too? I only ask because i've seen from various sources that the roll up behind the free ball rule and a foul doesn't apply in this instance, I just wanted to know your understanding of that particular scenario.
Hi Barry, I have a question regarding the first scenario. You in both cases had a color on, and I understand that either nominating the pink or green works. But what if the reds are on (opponent hits the reds, misses and leaves you in the given situation)? You must still hit a red? Can't nominate pink in this occasion, as the reds are on right?
You are right. If the reds are on and the cue ball is touching a color, you must hit a red first. In that case a ref wouldnt call "touching ball" because touching ball can only be called on ball that is on or a ball thats possible on.
Vladan. Yes, the free ball situation only arises if you are snookered on a ball that is on, in this case the reds. So in the scenario shown I would have to be snookered on the reds, then I would nominate the pink or green as the free ball.
I think I got it Barry! Player one breaks off. Player B pots a red and snookers himself from every couleur. He decides to swirl around a red to hit the black but misses it. Foul and miss called and player A says "try it again, buddy". So, player B tries it again and flouks it miraculously off a red (7). He then pots every red with blacks (112) and clears the coulors (27). Total break : 146! :-)
Musique. Correct, well done.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Could this also happen if player A breaks and sinks a red and the black? It would be a seven point foul and then if player B comes and clears the table all reds and Blacks totalling 139 but the seven would be added to the break as well making it 146? Just thought it would make for a simpler explanation.
@@tatukuitunen8417The penalty points from a foul are counted separately, they aren't part of the break of the next player.
Hi Barry,
I have a question regarding 2014 World Championship final played by Selby and O'Sullivan.
At the end of frame 13, Ronnie pots the red, but also fouls the green into the other corner pocket. Selby is awarded 4 for the foul and gets a free ball. Why is Selby then awarded 2 points when he potted the brown as his free ball? He then goes on to play the yellow and the yellow is not respotted. I thought that you play a free ball (which is essentially a red), then any colour and then proceed with the order of colours?
Lukas. I don't recall the incident but when Ronnie potted the red it must have been the last red, the red would stay down so the next ball on would be the yellow. Because all the reds have been potted the brown is classed as a yellow and therefore Selby is awarded two points for potting the brown. The brown is re-spotted and the colours are potted in their normal sequence.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thank you so much for explaining!
That must mean the same rule applies for a free ball when no reds are on the table?
For instance a player is snookered on a foul and the lowest ball on is the brown. The player nominates the blue as his free ball and pots the blue, will the blue then count 4 instead of 5? The blue gets respotted and the brown must be potted next?
Lukas. Spot on, just takes a little thinking and you get there. Well done. Lets have a little fun though in the same scenario, What happens if he pots the blue as his free ball but also pots the brown in the same shot?
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks again for the reply!
Awesome! Potting the blue and the brown will score the player 8 and only the blue gets respotted?
Lukas. You are right in saying that the blue gets re-spotted but I am afraid that the player will only score four points. The reasoning behind this is that there is only one brown in a set of snooker balls.
Hi Barry, 1 red left. I have a free ball. I nominate blue. I roll to the blue and snooker behind the brown. The snooker is full ball behind the brown. But if you moved the brown out the way u can see 2/3 of the red as the blue was in the way. Ie if you took the brown out the way it wasn’t a snooker behind the blue I nominated . Have I fouled ?
Sir...Your tutorials and technical approach towards this wonderful game is fabulous. It helps alot to improve my game.
There is a request about the rules of colour balls spotting if the spots are not vacant. Especially the pink and black.
NICKO. Great that you like the videos. If a coloured ball is potted and its own spot is occupied it will be spotted on the highest spot available. If all spots are occupied, the colour shall be placed as near its own spot as possible, between that spot and the nearest part of the top cushion. In the case of the pink and black, if all spots are occupied and there is no available space between the spot and the nearest part of the top cushion, the colour shall be placed as near to its spot as possible on the centre line of the table below the spot.
I don't play snooker, but this was both entertaining and educative. Really well explained.
Macaco. Although you don't play you are surely a fan of the game, I believe that the greater the understanding then the greater the enjoyment. Thanks for your comment.
Do you have any videos that explain in which scenario does a player get a free ball ? Like what are the circumstances that allows a person to have a free ball?
Leo. A free ball is given to you when your opponent commits a foul shot and as a result you are snookered on any ball that is on.
@Barry Stark Snooker Coach what about when the cue ball is potted i have seen many videos in pro scene when player do get a free ball from that and some times they dont thats why i was very confused by that
Regarding free balls - if my opponent were to foul but leave the cue ball angled in the jaws of a pocket so that I couldn't see a red and was in fact completely snookered, would I have a free ball? After all, the only thing stopping me from hitting a red is a cushion, which usually is not enough reason to give a free ball
You would have a free ball option. But you would also have the option of putting your opponent back in to play the shot from the jaws.
this is exactly what i was thinking when he was explaining about the cushion. what happens if you were left angled
The DonkeyCow. I am afraid Aidan is wrong, you do not have a free ball option, you are not snookered. The only two options you have are to play the shot yourself or to ask your opponent to play again.
You have to be snookered to get a freebal. And you can only be snookered by a ball - not by a cushion. So you wont get a freeball in that case.
@@pultz666 ah okay!. Cheers
Hey Barry, we had a situation whereby que ball was touching the black but was snookered on the reds. Reds the ball thats on. If I missed the reds would it have been a foul 7 as I was touching the black (black did not move) or foul 4 because missed the red.
4 points. You are not judged to have hit the black unless it moves. Something missing from the video is that if the black moves as a result of a defect with the table (like rolling into a hole in the cloth) then this is not a foul either. This would usually move towards the cue ball.
Hello Sir Barry Stark. I'm from Malaysia. I have a question to ask. How about a player got a touching ball between green and pink. Does the player have to tell the referee if he wants to hit the green ball? What if he wants to hit the green ball but does not tell the referee to hit the green ball and when he hits the cue ball, the cue ball hits the pink first. Is the foul counted 4 or 6? Hope I can get the answer. Thank you.
Mohamad. First of all the player must tell the referee which ball he intends to hit, in this case the green, if he does not tell the referee the referee will always assume he intended to hit the highest ball, in this case the pink ball so six points will be awarded against him. Which ever ball he nominates neither ball must move otherwise again it will be classed as a push shot. Out of interest, if he nominated the pink and the green moved it would still be a foul against the pink because that is the ball he nominated and six points would be awarded against him.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thank you for your feedback and knowledge sharing Sir 🌟
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach So what if the player wants to hit the pink ball, and he does not tell the referee to hit the pink ball. Unfortunately, the cue ball did not hit the ball. So, how many points will be awarded to his opponent? Either 4 or 6?
Nice 'poser' Barry, But is this considered the same visit? Player A breaks, Player B scores 1 point and fouls (end of break) by default, the play then passes to Player A, who decides to put Player B back in play. From a professional record and statistics point of view, if a player is asked to play again, is it classed as the same visit?
Believe. No t would not be classed as the same visit and any break would start when he is asked to play again.
Hello..
I have a one question after play the free ball with green to yellow. After potting both ball green ball spot but yellow ball spot or not?
@mobeen. I hope I am interpreting your question correctly. Yellow is the ball on so it stays down while the green ball is re-spotted.
Hi Barry, lets assume that i come to the table and i see that the cue ball is touching a red ball, in that case i decided to just release the cue ball, but there is a colour ball in front, and the cue ball hits the colour ball. In this scenario what does happen? Is it considered to be a foul or is it still a legal shot?
Its not a foul, as the cue ball was touching the red and the referee would have said 'touching ball' too, so as the striker was on a red then its legal to just play away from the red, if you then hit a colour after you played away from the red, then that's not relevant as many times the cue ball hits a colour after hitting a red and that's never a foul, Ronnie O'Sulivan used this situation very well in a game and I tried to find a link but its not easy to find, he was touching a red and on a red too and there was anouther red over a top pocket with the black in the way so he could not pot that red directly, but as he was playing away from the red he was touching then he hit the black and pushed it over to pot the red over the top pocket, then he potted the black, so a perfect use of the touching ball rule, I think he went on to get a good break too. N
Utkarsh. No need for me to answer this one as billiardsand snooker below has answered it for me.
Hi Barry, in a situation of a touching ball, if the ball on is the ball the white ball is touching and it can be potted, can i play it to pot it directly? Does the rule that says the touching ball cannot move still stand?
notold. William has answered the question correctly for me.
Thanks William and Barry!
@barry stark,
Sir the opponent made a foul and snookered himself behind a colour ball while trying a red, so now it is a free ball for me and I nominate pink as a free ball (which carries 1 point).. But when I am trying to pot the pink I made a foul so will my opponent be awarded with 4 points or 6 points? Kindly clear my doubt sir..
Regards,
Ashwin
Ashwin. As the pink has become a red ball due to the free ball situation your opponent will be awarded four points.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach
Thank you sir..
146 on for a 147 break but does a ronnie o'sullivan and pots pink twice unless 1 red went in from the break cheers Barry! I need the answer now love your videos I'm going to the Sheffield Snooker academy this 6th December for the snooker experience looking forward to it hope it improves my game.
The answer to your question is - player A breaks off and makes a foul on the pink , then the player B comes to the table and clears up with a 147 only to go in off in the final black .so his final break is 146
@@cavansaldanha770 Nope. You dont count fouls of the other player into your break. It only counts toward your score ;)
😂 😂 😂 😂
No that's not right if 1 red went in off the break...... Think Kevin! 😂
Player B has 1 handicap and starts off - 1 😂 clever me
Hi ..I wanted to know how much points is awarded to your opponent when m playing a red ball...I hit the red first but the cue ball cannons into the pink and goes in off..is it 4 points or 6
Gyurmee. The points awarded are always from the first ball hit, in this case it is the red ball so the award is four points.
Thank you...so is it still 4 points if the ball on is the red and I miss the red and first hit the yellow and then the black?
If the cue ball is kiss(touching) with a red.. can it be possible that I can play a color and pot a red with the color i am playing? Is it a foul?
Usman. I understand that there may be a language problem but I am sorry that I cannot quite understand your question, please try again and I will try to answer.
I am still bit confused about the touching ball. If I play away from the ball and it doesn't move does it matter which direction I hit the cue ball. Obviously not towards where it's touching but any other direction.
Paul. As long as the ball doesn't move you can play in any direction but you will find that the only way you can guarantee this is to play away from it.
Does it have something to do with potting 2 reds at the same? You could still have 14 blacks and 1 more when clearing the colors.
scotty. Sorry no, keep thinking.
Hi Barry,
Thank you so much for your videos. It's helped me to understand more about this wonderful game.
Just a question about this same video please - how can you pot a yellow while nominating green as your free ball, when there are no reds. Thank you 🙏
ilovesnooker. The situation would be that all the reds have been potted. The ball on is the yellow but your opponent has played a FOUL SHOT and has left you snookered on the yellow, you are now entitled to a free ball. Lets say the yellow is over the pocket but you are snookered on it, you can now nominate any of the other balls as your free ball, lets say the green. You can legally pot the yellow by playing the green onto it, the green was your nominated free ball.
what if i pot the black from its spot and all other 5 spots are coverd and black spot as well(coverd with cue ball) where should black will go.. i mean where i have to place the black ball... please clearify this one for me...
Aamir.The black ball will be placed below its own spot and as close to that spot as possible without touching another ball. It must also be in line with the brown, blue, pink and black spots.
Hello from the USA. If that was me playing for real, I would choose to sink the green ball in that first scenario you presented.
In the second scenario, I mistakenly thought you may possibly have a free ball because the pink ball is where it is, assuming the reds are the balls "on." If you say it is not a free ball, however, it is not a free ball.
Barry, If a player has a free ball and doesn't nominate which ball he/she chooses to play, is this a foul? Is it a foul even if it is obvious which ball is being played at?
Andrew. A player must always nominate the ball he/she is intending to hit in a free ball situation otherwise a foul will be called and the maximum points of seven will be awarded to the opponent.
Thanks Barry, I agree. Often it is obvious which colour is being played and the local referee I asked said that the player didn't have to nominate. The particular situation we had was a free ball snookered behind the yellow. The green was played and it was obvious that the player was going for the green. He hit the green and the cue ball ended up completely snookered behind the brown. I thought this should be a foul and a free ball,but the local referee said otherwise. I guess at lower levels a bit of leeway with the rules is and maybe should be, applied.
Hello! I would like to know, I had situation that i got a free ball, made snooker with a pink(as my choosen free ball) ball on one red ball and with a yellow on another red ball! Is this a correct shoot? Sorry for my english 🙃
The situation that you describe is okay and legal.
If your shooting say, the green, you hit it but it accidentally either banks into another pocket or goes off of another color into the pocket you wanted it to, does it still count, or is it a foul or just a lost turn?
Also do you have to call which pocket you plan to put an on ball into, or do other reds or flukes with same color hit go in the not called for pocket still count?
paul. Sorry for late reply. I have been on holiday. On your first question, it is a fluke but it counts and you are still at the table. On the second question, at snooker you do not have to nominate the pocket only the ball when it is not obvious or when asked to do so.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanx a lot
With the way the balls are set up at the 4 min mark where u replace the black with the red, if there is another red ball a few inches behind the red ball which is next to the black, a few inches to the right of the screen, wud that be a free ball? So basically the red behinds left side wud be blocked by the red next to the black.
Hope to get an answer coz this scenario caused a lot of debate in a frame with my friends today.
Hannan. If I am interpreting what you say correctly it is the red ball and not the black ball that is preventing you from hitting the left extreme edge of the red ball that is on. As I have said in the video, you cannot have a free ball if a ball on is the only thing preventing you from hitting the edge of another ball that is on, a free ball is not awarded. So in the case you describe it is not a free ball.
Thanks, Great video as usual. Regarding snookering behind a nominated free ball: example one red left, ( Player A ) goes in off. White in the D, the last Red is half ball behind the Pink. ( Player B ) rolls the nominated free ball up too cover the other half of the red, Not a foul shot ?, does it have to be a FULL BALL snooker behind the nominated free ball to be a foul.
This is the great thing about Snooker so many options and scenarios.
Thanks again.
Tony. If you try to roll up to a free ball in an attempt to snooker your opponent but you leave half of the ball on visible that is still a foul. The nominated free ball is considered to be the snookering ball because it is the first ball between the cue ball and the object ball.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks for the reply, To be a foul does it need to be a full ball snooker behind the nominated free ball. I only ask as this did happen in a league game a few weeks back. He didnt roll up behind the free ball but rolled the free ball Too the red, probably 6ft away from the white, the argument was if the Pink which was not the nominated free ball was not there half the red would be visible so therefore not a foul.
I suppose it is a question off how much of the object ball would need to be covered by the nominated free ball to make it a foul. Sorry for the question at the time people were googling and have tried to look through the rules online . Thanks
If a player misses a yellow (didn't touch it), the opponent pots the green as a free ball, does he need to pot the yellow because of coloured position (in this scenario are no reds on the table), or can he choose a colour first, and then obligated go to the yellow ball? And in a coloured position, what's the value of the free ball? 1 point or the least coloured ball? I got a discussion about that with my friend, when we have snookered at my home.
B. If I am reading what you say correctly the green is the free ball he will receive two points. The green will be re-spotted and the player must now play the yellow and then the colours in sequence.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Ok, thank you! (Yeah, you red it right).
Sir if player have to play brown when only colours are remaining and there is a touching ball on brown then what to do..?
Gaurav. The player must play away from the brown, the brown must not move but he/she will deemed to have hit the brown.
Hi Barry, my guess to your scenario is that player A breaks off and flukes a red into a pocket AND fouls on the black by also accidentally potting it. This gives player B a start of 7. 14 reds left, 14 blacks and all the colours with the initial 7 from the foul shot adds up to 146.
The foul points do not equate to a break, however nice try.
Foul point is count on break
Lukas. Sorry your are wrong, the foul does not count as part of the break.
Regarding free ball - Let's say i got a free ball when there are still two reds available at table (of course snookered). Say i tried to pot yellow, but missed it. Now the situation is that one red is snookered by the yellow and the other one by some other color (assuming they were at different sides of table). Will it still be a foul because i somewhat snookered my opponent behind the yellow or will it not be a foul because the other red is snookered by some other color not the yellow?
The ball that is the closest to the cue ball is definitely snookered. So the question is which ball is closest to your cue ball?
Abdul. Not a foul because you have not snookered your opponent with the yellow.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks mate
Hi barry
Opponent snookered me behind a pink with it being a touching ball
Yellow to hit and i missed it without touching another ball
How many points does he get
And is he allowed to let me retake my shot ?
@tahach. Provided the pink did not move he would get four points. A foul and a miss can be called and your opponent can have the balls replaced.
What about the same case but this time i'm on the blue
Does he get 5 points ?
Hi Barry, great viedos, thanks for uploading them and please keep them coming!
In the scenario from 5:05 - what if opponent played the shot as Alex Higgins on the pink vs Steve Davis in 1987 UK Championship? Theoretically this is still the cushion that covers the object ball. In that case Steve couldn't see the red at all - is this what makes it different to the case you've discussued?
Many thanks
kompo. I am afraid I do not recall the position you mention but the rules state that you cannot be snookered by a cushion.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Hello Barry, it's the shot from 3:30
th-cam.com/video/Xo0RYMP8F7k/w-d-xo.html
What if this ball setup was a result of a foul from the opponent. From what you say I understand the free ball on black couldn't be declared, interesting problem!
Using this occasion I'd like to ask another question:
th-cam.com/video/y1sDiLapr0g/w-d-xo.html
(first shot of the video)
1. What is your opinion on the fairness of the rule (people tend to agree the judge was right not calling a miss as white never left the bed of the table). Is it possible this would be addressed in the future to ensure advantage to the opponent in this situation?
2. What would happen if Graeme went even further and placed the white behind a colour ball and surrounded it with other colours with his hand for a very difficult snooker?
Many thanks for your responses, looking forward to your videos coming!
@@kompot86 I remember the shot Alex played, he took advantage of being in the right place and he put the cue ball behind the cushion, he did hit the pink and not play a foul so Steve Davis had to play it himself and went very close to potting it off 3 cushions but he missed when he could have hit it off one cushion, no foul was played by Alex and it was just a clever stroke, not classified as being snookered either as you cannot be snookered by a cushion still Steve did have to hit it and missed, what Barry was saying regarding 5.05 is that even though a foul had happened and the striker was snookered on all the other reds near the pink, the one sitting on the cushion on its own cannot be called as being a snooker because of the cushion preventing the cue ball from hitting the red on its right hand thinnest edge, its not snookered so you cannot have a free ball in regard to that red, so no free ball due the the cushion getting in the way. N
@@billiardsandsnookervideosn8319
Thanks for the reply. I just think this would be a bit unfair to Steve if the white got where it ended up by a foul shot (it obviously didn't in this case, Alex played a legal shot off the pink). But I guess if Steve faced extremely difficult shot (i.e. more ball on the table) referee might not call miss if he missed that pink.
@@kompot86 Yes of course it would be unfair, snooker is unfair and all the time too as many things happen that are both good and bad luck so that is why the game has rules that are meant to be used regardless of if the situation were fair or unfair, as long as the rules cover it the rules get used, good luck for the striker is also bad luck for the non striker, that was a very clever stroke by Alex Higgins and he could do it due to his lucky opportunity, that is the balls were in the perfect position, but lets say that it got there by accident, Steve still had to hit the pink. Lets say it got there by a foul, in the past there was a rule that said that if the striker was angled on the on ball after a foul then the referee would pick the cue ball up and it would be in hand for the next player, that rule was removed as it was unfair and too harsh a penalty to add the the existing foul, the rules always allow the striker 2 normal options after a foul and in some case more options, but were he angled after a foul then he may play it himself or he can send the offender back to play the next stroke and sending the offender back in was regarded as being a good enough solution so the picking it up part was removed a long time ago still in your video Alex put it there on purpose. In regard to your foul and a miss comment, that rule says that the striker must hit the on ball if his ability means he can hit it so as player like Steve Davis can hit the pink then he must hit it and fair or unfair has nothing to do with it, so if he did not hit it every referee would say Foul and A Miss, I would too. N
if white ball touching ball with red and the situation is i got 1 red ball at the pocket. can i canon it with blue ball? with no other way to escape it the blue ball on the way of escaping it? is it legal or a foul?
Raja. Your explanation of the situation is not totally clear. If I understand you correctly a red is the ball on and the cue ball is touching a red. You must therefore play away from the red and you will be deemed to have hit it. The cue ball then hits the blue and either the blue or the cue ball knocks another red into the pocket. Both these shots would be legal and you would score one point and your break would carry on with a colour being the next ball you should play.
If I'm trying to play a tough hand shot and any part of my dress touches the ball is it a foul ???
king. Yes I am afraid it is a foul.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach thank you 🙌
Barry, do you read the comments yourself or someone from your team does that for you?
Sagar. I read and answer every comment myself. There is only two on the team myself and Phil my cameraman, my two finger typing is still slow but improving.
Sir I wanted to ask if the red balls are open and only one red is blocked will this be a free ball too
Sajida. No, you cannot have a free ball if you are snookered on one red ball but can see other red balls.
Hi Barry
What about if white ball touches red ball can i hit the red ball or just play away
And what happens if i hit the red ball accidentally or intentionally??
Thanks
Fun.
If the cue ball is touching a red ball or indeed any ball the player must play away from that ball without moving it, if the player is responsible for the ball being moved accidentally or intentionally it will be regarded as a foul. Although the player in your scenario is playing away from the touching red ball, if that is the ball on he has the choice of nominating it as the ball he is hitting. If a red is not the ball on then he can nominate a colour and he will be deemed to have missed the red. However, he must always nominate which shot he is about to play.
Sir Can you please explain the free ball situation as mentioned below:
Player A has 60 points and player B has 40 points, with all reds, yellow and green potted. Next ball is brown ball(which is near pink spot. Player A gives snooker behind black ball( which is near yellow spot) to Player B. While Attempting for brown he commits foul and a miss and the cue ball comes behind black again, hence Player A is awarded 4 points for a foul and gets a free ball option as well. Player A decides to nominate blue ball (which is near top cushion near D) as free ball. He hits the blue ball first and gets the cue ball behind Black ball. Is it a foul? as he snookered player B behind the same ball by which he was snookered before and how many points will be awarded(if its a foul)
rocking. Player B is twenty points behind when he attempts to hit the brown from a snookered position, there are only 22 points on the table and as a result of the four points being added after the foul player B will be 24 points behind, so a miss cannot be awarded. Player A nominates the blue ball as his free ball and snookers player B behind the black ball so it is not a foul. It would only be a foul if he snookers behind the ball he nominated as his free ball, by accident or design, in this case the blue ball.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks a lot for your quick reply.. cleared my confusion .. Thanks u so much once again
Hello dear Barry I have a question about free ball. Let's say in this scenario, I was awarded a free ball and I nominate the pink as the free ball, and I try to snooker the last red, by putting the cue ball behind the black. and i achieved it , but only a little of red (let's say a quarter ball of red) is snookered by the black. and the pink ball obscures most of the red ball. to be more clear, cue ball is behind the black, and black is behind of pink, and red is behind of the red ball. In fact if the pink ball was not in this position, my opponent could see most of the red and only a quarter of the red ball was obscured behind the black. but now because of the pink ball which is the free ball, my opponent can't see any of the red balls. So my question is, am i committed a foul or not?
In the scenario you mention the black is considered to be the snookering ball not the pink, so you have not committed a foul.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach how can i send a photo or video for more clarification?
imagine the red ball is snookered by both black and pink(free ball). as a way half of the red is obscure by black and other half is obscure by the pink. and the black ball is a little closer to the cue ball and the pink is closer to red ball. is it foul or not? thanks Barry
Hi Barry! I have watched this video again, i just wondered what happened if one has a miss on the snooker when put in the the first time on the rule below. Does the player have a choice of another free ball before putting the fouling player back in again or if their is no complete view of the ball on as you show in your video. Thanks!!
12. Snookered After a Foul
After a foul, if the cue-ball is snookered (see Section 2, Rule 17), the referee
shall state FREE BALL.
(a) If the player next in turn elects to play the next stroke:
(i) he may nominate any ball as the ball on, but a free ball cannot be the
ball on;
(ii) any nominated ball shall be regarded as, and acquire the value of,
the ball on except that, if potted, it shall then be spotted.
Paul. I am afraid I am a little confused by your explanation, you say at (i) that a free ball cannot be the ball on. But in a free ball situation the nominated free ball becomes the ball on.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Hi again Barry! lets try another way i miss after my first try to hit the ball when put in, can my opponent have another choice of a freeball before making me play again because i have fouled for a second time. Thanks!!
Paul. The simplest way I can put it is:- You are snookered, you try to hit the ball on, a foul and miss are awarded against you together with a free ball for your opponent. Your opponent does not take the free ball but has the balls put back and lets you try again. This time a foul and a miss are awarded against you but not a free ball because your opponent can see both sides of a ball on. His only options are to have the balls replaced and let you try again, or to play the shot himself. I hope that answers your question.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Great! Thanks Alot Barry i have got it now, is nice to know that rule. We just play the one miss and then a free ball because as a learner i might be stuck their for a while and my friend says i may lose interest in the game. He played it the short way in his local league when he use to play more and was not sure on the full rule either.
Another thing please Barry why are dead straight pots hard if their is fair distance between the object and cue ball, is it because we use the cheaper balls i seem to hit the object Ball in the centre. Thanks Again!
I thought I knew these rules perfectly, yet I decided to watch this video. Guess that was the right choice...
Alien. They can be a little confusing at times.
What the case if touching ball with red , does we have to just play safe and don't touch another color or the cue ball can touch any color?
Emo. When the cue ball ends up touching another ball the player must play away from that ball and it must not move. With your question I am assuming that a red is the ball on and if so the cue ball can hit any other ball on the table including a colour.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach thanks coach .
Dear Coach, a friend has asked of a situation where the cue ball is touching both a red and the pink. The red is ball on. How will the player play it? play away the red even if it brushes the pink or does he have to free the CB in a sense that he must play away on both, which might not be possible to do ??? Kindly let me know sir. thanks
Q.M. I am afraid the player must play away from both balls and they must not move during the stroke.
Yes it's true. And player can just play from the red that is ball on without achieving any other red - and it would be a good stroke because the referee in this case is obligated to show only the red ball as "touching ball" even if there the cue ball touching both. This is situation where two touching balls forced different rules, so the most powerful is the red one as ball on. So it is not a foul when you play from the both without touching any other.
What if i pots a red and then next shot is touching ball with a color is we play away from that color or we must hit that color?
Alap. Firstly you must play away from that colour and it must not move. Lets say the cue ball is touching the blue you must play away from it and, A/ you MUST nominate the colour you intend to hit, this can be the blue or any other colour. B/In either case the blue MUST not move. Just to try to avoid any confusion for you, as long as you nominate which colour you are playing you can play away from the blue and be deemed to have hit it or indeed be deemed to have not hit it.
Hello,
let's consider a situation in which there is just, say, pink and black on the table. Player A tries to hit the pink and misses completely. A foul is declared and player B comes to the table. He can see both extremities of the pink, but he can't actually hit the pink from one side, because the black is right next to the pink and slightly behind it, in such a way that the cue ball would always hit the black centrally before hitting the side of the pink.
Is that a free ball?
Stick. Always a difficult one to judge but the correct answer is yes it is a free ball. There was an incident in this years English Open concerning Rory McCloud and Dave Gilbert on this very same issue.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach I literally posted this while watching that match live, and I was curious about your opinion on whether it was indeed a free ball or not.
Hi barry
I was looking for to know, how many times can a 'foul and a miss' be called? And when it is not available?
I have been looking for the answer from a quite long time over internet, but couldn't find it.. Plz help.. Thx
Theoretically unlimited times, according to the rulebook, until the points difference becomes equal or greater than points remaining on the table, when then no miss will be called. Except in the 6 red format, where a "ball in hand" (anywhere on the table) is awarded to the opponent after 5 calls.
However in any scenario, if you can see a "ball on" full ball and miss it 2 times, you will be warned by the referee if you miss the 3rd time, the frame will be awarded to your opponent.
Also in certain cases if the referee agrees that the player has made full effort to hit a ball on (usually after several attempts), the referee has the power to decide not to call a miss. So it is not actually a good shot to play a nearly-impossible-to-escape snooker XD
@@ryanang3771
Thx.. So that means a player can be left requiring snooker by 'foul and a miss' rule..
Deepak. Ryan knows what he is talking about and has answered your question for me. He should become a referee.
@@ryanang3771 you are surely right about "foul and a miss" rule, but as I know that rule is a little bit more difficult. There is one situation when your description of this rule won't work. The situation is where after the shot of a player the points difference between the players is equal to the all of the (maximum) points that the player can get from the table. In that case foul and a miss should be called once more. Why? Because foul and a miss rule shouldn't be called (in the fact of all it can be called all the time if the referee decides that the foul shots are made intentional) where the (minimum one) snooker is required. In my example snooker is no needed, because the player can win a frame without a snooker, in re-spotted black ball game. Foul and a miss rule is also a very tricky rule, where as like Barry said many professional and good players have a problem with some difficult situations. Here is an example to prove my words -> m.th-cam.com/video/dOtI98HLMfo/w-d-xo.html
I will be appreciate for your opinion because I believe that is a very important detail in that case. If you agree with me I can tell you my method to ensure that we are good with foul and a miss rule with any situation that could happens on the table.
Best Regards.
so the video clearly shows , a miss can be called even when the points are equal until the player require snookers to get back in the game..Thx
If you get a free ball situation and choose a colour ball and only pot that ball, are the points awarded to the value of the ball and what ball would you have to pot afterwards?
Gary. I take it that in the scenario you are describing there are red balls still on the table. Irrespective of the coloured ball you have chosen to play it has now become a red ball with a value of one point. The next ball you would have to play at is a colour and if you pot that you will receive the true value of that colour. i.e. Black 7. Blue 5. etc.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Yes that is what I mean thank you. I play with my dad every now and then and we're trying to follow the rules strict to make it as competitive as possible but this was the only one I was unsure of.
Had the first scenario happen tonight in our Snooker league. Player potted a red and white landed touching the pink. Referee called touching ball on the pink. The player did not nominate any colour and simply played the white off two cushions to leave a snooker. He did not make contact or come close to another colour and it seemed clear they were just playing away from the touching pink. You said you have to emphasize which colour you are playing to the ref, even if pink. So what happens in the above scenario where the player simply played the shot without saying anything after the touching ball is called. Is this down to referee discretion to decide if he was playing away or if they were trying to pot another colour. Am I right in thinking that if there is no nomination, the referee will have to assume they are playing the pink as its been called touching. Therefore the player can then play away or even hit another colour directly as the pink has been assumed to be the choice. The only thing they cant then do is pot another colour because they didnt nominate one. Or is it simply an immediate foul because he didnt nominate anything and the referee had no idea what he was playing??
I've just checked the World Snooker rules and it covers this. It actually says that if touching a colour the referee will call touching ball and then ask the striker to DECLARE which colour they are playing. So in my scenario its the referee at fault not the player because they didnt ask. However, the question still remains what should happen next as neither the referee or striker said anything before the shot was played.
Andy. I am a coach not a referee but I will clarify whose fault it is at my earliest opportunity. Assuming the referee has asked for a colour nomination and the player fails to give one, the penalty will always be the highest which is seven points away. I will check the other matter, but I believe the onus is on the player. There is a similar incident on TH-cam on this between Cliff Thorburn and Alex Higgins where Cliff nominates the green but the referee does not hear him so a foul is called and seven points given away.
In the touching ball scenario, why can't the pink ball move if it's the nominated colour?
@nynthes. This is because it will be classed as a push shot.
What if there are just blue, pink and black on the table.
the player potted the brown then the cue ball came to rest and touched the blue, and he did not know what to do next,
I told him that he can hit the cue ball without moving the blue and it counts as hitting the blue.
was it correct?
Dana. Spot on, he must play away from the blue and he will be deemed to have hit it. If the blue moves at all it is a foul.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thank you so much
Tried hard really can’t work it out i guess my question is does player B come to the table 2 times, or he pots all reds and blacks in one visit. I know there has to be a free ball scenario involved, just can’t work out how lol
robert. I will give the answer in due course, in the mean time keep thinking.
Hello Barry,
thanks for this great video. I have one question on your thoughts on free-ball situation. There is only one red on the table and is tight on the cusion near the middle pocket. Close to that red is also a colour, say blue, which is also on the cusion between the red and middle pocket. Cue ball is on the other side of that middle pocket few inches from side cusion. According to the rules, this should not be a free ball as the first entity preventing to hit one edge of the red is the jaw of the middle pocket. Very rare one, but do you agree?
It would be a free ball, you are saying the blue is 'close to this last red' so if the blue was stopping the cue ball hitting the thinnest edge on that side then it is a free ball, I have photos of this situation and in some it is a free ball and in others its not, but you can't post photos on you tube, for it to not be a free ball then the blue has to be a full ball away from the red on the side the blue is on, its not a free ball because of the cushion on the cushion side but the free ball rule says you have to be able to hit the thinnest edge on 'both sides of any one on ball' so if the blue was closer than a ball width on the side it was on then it would be a free ball, not easy so demonstrate without a photo. If the cue ball and the red and blue are all on the same side of the table with the red in the middle and its only the cushion that is stopping the cue ball hitting the red so the blue is on the other side of the red, then its not a free ball but if the blue is to the side of the red and its the cushion stopping the cue ball from hitting one side but the blue is snookering it on the other side, then is is a free ball, its all down the where the blue is sitting. N
@@billiardsandsnookervideosn8319 I agree that it's hard to explain with words only without photo. However I am not sure you fully understood my question. I was trying to explain a situation where jaw of the middle pocket is involved, but not in a way the cue ball is angled by the jaw, but if you imagine a line from the cue ball to the edge of the red ball that is close to the cusion - the middle pocket jaw being the closest preventing entity - that way if you will be applying the rules literally, it should not be a free ball, because jaw is not counting towards snookering entity. I saw some tweet from Steve Davis commenting on this few years ago with a photo, but it might be hard to find it now. Maybe if Barry understands what I am pointing out it might be worth putting it on the video and explain, but I understand that this situation occurs once in a decade maybe :D
Vojtech. I am afraid to answer this one correctly I would need to see a photograph or video.
@@wise32man Let me say this, put the cue ball in the jaws of the middle pocket and the put a red down the rail and against it, put the blue on the other side of the red so the red is in the middle of the three balls, now as it is the round part of the cushion that is stopping the striker from hitting the on ball, after a foul this cannot be a free ball, even though you can't hit the red you cannot be snookered by a cushion either and the referee will not consider the cushion when he sights the lines to both thin edges of the red, the non offended should ask the offender top play the next stroke and the blue in this instance is not relevant. However, if you move the blue from the other side of the red and you put it beside the red so it is less than a ball away from the red, then as the blue is now stopping the cue ball from hitting the thinnest edge on one side of the red, then that will be a free ball, even if the cue ball cannot hit the blue too due to the cushion, that still will be a free ball, as I said I have some nice photos of this situation and in some it is a free ball and some it isn't, but I cant post photos on you tube. The thing to remember is that the referee does not regard the cushion as an obstruction when he sights the lines to the on ball so the cushion is not relevant, still I can't see how the non offender would ever play a free ball from that position as he would still ask the offender to play the next stroke. The rules require the referee to say 'free ball' if it is one, but the striker does not have to play it. N
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach I draw a diagram here. drive.google.com/file/d/1F85-C5NqcralNeEqbOlClaySpaWH63OZ/view?usp=sharing Now if you put this situation on the real snooker table, you will see that the snookering entity is in fact the middle jaw, not the blue ball.
If I nominate yellow ball as free ball and try to pot it and it rests in the way to the last red on the table, but yellow only covers half of the red and other half of the red ball is covered by another colour. Now is that a foul shot from me?
waqas. Yes that is a foul.
Thanks for your reply Barry. Adding to my first question is it still a foul if: (1) yellow is near the cue ball and other color is near the red. (2) other color is near the cue ball and yellow is near the red. (3) no other color covering the red and only yellow is covering half of the red mean not a snooker but can only hit one edge of the red. Thankfully waiting for an elaborated reply
Ok. I’m thinking outside the box on this one. I come to table and pot a beautiful red. Trouble is I snooker myself and play for black but foul. My opponent doesn’t see an advantage so puts me back in. I’m still at the table.. this time I manage to not only clip the black but it rolls along cushion and drops in. I’m guessing I already had a break of one which ended after the foul on the black and so I’m starting this break with 7 and not 8. If I now clear up I have 146... all I’ve potted are reds and blacks..
Come on Barry.. where are you? Need that answer :)
Once u pot a red and make a foul and a miss on a color, u cannot go for color again. U need to go for red
Stuart. You are right, well done. He scores 147 but the break is 146.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thanks Barry, but the more I think about it the more confused I am, as wouldn't i not be going for the black again if the other player put me back in?
@@shoaibmms You are wrong. After foul and a miss you are back on the color again (it could be the same or the other color).
Is it compulsory to nominate a free ball even if it is an obvious ball?
ketan. Yes, a player must nominate or indicate to the satisfaction of the referee the ball he intends to hit.
Touching ball with red, nominated free ball, tried to play away from red, successfully done but cue ball collide with yellow, is it foul?
haider. I assume you mean that a foul has been committed and you have been left in the position where the cue ball is touching a red, I don't understand why a free ball has been awarded because a red will be the ball on, but you can now play away from the red and be deemed to have hit it, the fact that the cue ball strikes the yellow is unimportant and it is not a foul.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach touching red ball, playing away from it caught yellow, is it foul?
Can we play color in red touching ball situation?
Hello Sir, big fan here. Very helpful video I must say.
One clarification about the first scenario you explained. One of my friends explained me following and I accepted based on logic we discussed.
Let's say that I have pot a red and cue ball has ended up touching the pink (first scenario that you explained in the video). In this case my friend explained me that I must release the ball away from pink. I can touch other red / colour but can not pot any other colour.
Logic for this : When red ball is on and I end up touching the red, I am allowed to release the ball because cue ball has already touched one red (the ball on). With the same logic, when I end up touching pink in above situation, cue ball already touched the pink. So, potting some other colour is a foul.
I accepted the suggestion based on the logic, please share your views on this.
I know this is a long question due to detailed explanation, I hope the query is clear.
Nishant. Lets say I pot a red ball and the cue ball ends up touching the pink. I can now play away from the pink and be deemed to have hit it, I can also play away from it and be deemed to have missed it, in which case I can play for and pot another colour. In both cases I must tell the referee which ball I intend to hit, either pink or the other colour. If I do not tell the referee it will be assumed that I might have hit the black ball and seven points will be awarded to my opponent.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Understanding is quite clear now. Thank you, Sir.
Hello sir... I have a question !
Here is the situation... player A is at the table clearing the 6 colours remaining to win the frame... but when he pots the brown the cue ball goes to the pink and now it is touching ball on the pink. So now he has to hit the blue without moving the pink. So here's my question.. what if the player playes the shot from the touching ball pink and missed the blue ball, how many points will the opponent be rewarded? The ball on is blue and the cue ball is touching pink so what will be the conclusion. Will the opponent be rewarded with 5 points bcoz of blue ball on. Or whether he will be awarded 6 point bcoz the cue ball is touching the pink ball? Please do let me know... Thank You ❤
Hissan. The player is aiming at the blue so the penalty would be 5 points not 6, obviously if he moves the pink the penalty would be 6 points.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach thank you Sir. Thanks alot 💕
Player A pots the 1st ball and when tries to pot the black makes a foul now its player B turn to play and pots all (7 points for foul+ 14 red balls + 14 times black + remaining colour balls i.e 7+14+98+2+3+4+5+6+7)=146..and also i have a question, in snooker the highest break is of 147 but i think if a player makes a foul ( in off)during the break then the opponent gets 4 point and if the opponent clears all the reds a attempted only black the then the highest break would be 151, so 147 would not be the highest break(4+147=151)?
155: Foul with a free ball (red +1), then black +7, then 147.
Rahul. Points awarded as a result of a foul do not count towards a break.
Hey Berry, Thanks for uploading that Video. This is very very useful for us.
Glad it was helpful!
1. what if only color balls are left to play and cue ball is touching black ball and its snooker on yellow ball, when player played the shot he couldn't touch yellow. what will happen in this case please suggest.
2. what if player needs to hit red ball and cue ball is touching a color ball higher thn 4 points and its a snooker and he didn't break the snooker, what will happen in this case please suggest.
mayank. 1/ He must play away from the black, if the black moves it is a foul and 7 points awarded to his opponent. If he plays away from the black legally but fails to hit the yellow, 4 points will be awarded to his opponent. If the attempt to hit the yellow is not good enough a miss can be awarded and the balls replaced.
2/ This is exactly the same, he must play away from the colour but still try to hit the red ball. If the colour moves while he is playing away from it that will be a foul and the relevant points awarded, black 7, pink 6, blue 5, anything else 4. If he plays away from the colour legally but fails to hit the red ball his opponent will be awarded 4 points and a miss can be called.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach Thank you so much coach, that's exactly I wanted to know. :)
In the first scenerio if you move the pink is it not only four away as it was representing a red
Robert. You will recall on the video I said that I had potted a red and the cue ball ended up touching the pink, therefore it would be six points away. The pink ball was not representing a red.
I've a case where a referee will call a touching ball on a colour. For example, the cue ball rolls up to the pink and there are still reds on the table, the referee calls a touching ball where the cue ball is resting on the pink and all reds are snookered by that pink.
Next turn is my opponent and can referee give free ball or not???
Samsung. You have not made it clear if a foul shot has been committed or not, if the cue ball ends up in the position you describe as the result of a foul shot then yes, it is a free ball situation. If a foul has not been committed then no, it is not a free ball.
@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach foul shot is not commited
Hi Barry! thank you so much for your amazing explanation and made it clear. You are the best.
I was always wondering ; how player can use the black ball to pot the Pink and then pot the black to win the match in case of he snookered and the Black ball and pink are the only colors left on the table. But you made it clear and thanks again.
How about if only blue, pink and black balls left on the table and you have a free ball in that situation?
Thanks
martin. With blue pink and black on the table you revert back to normal free ball rules.
Thank you so much. Have a great day!