Snooker rules for beginners: understand a frame, starting with the first red
Learn ball values, the red–colour sequence and the final clearance, then follow a worked scoring example.
5 min read
RANK147 / ACADEMY
Learn.
Read the shot.
Understand the match.
Rules, rankings and table practice. Start with a question, work through an example, and take it back to the game.
The rules
RULESAfter a foul: points, respotting and replacement
Hitting the wrong colour does not reset the table. Separate colour respotting, cue-ball in-hand and referee-directed replacement.
5 min read
Snooker rules for scoring: centuries, points remaining, snookers required and the re-spotted black
What the scoring terms you hear on commentary mean: how a century is counted, how to work out points remaining, where “snookers required” comes from and why the black is re-spotted on a tie.
5 min read
Reading rankings
RANKINGSWhere ranking money comes from—and why winning can mean falling
A fictional ledger explains counting prize money, actual income, deductions and the difference between ranking lists.
6 min read
How a professional snooker season works: ranking events, qualifiers and tour cards
What makes up a season, what qualifiers and “held-over” matches are, and how players earn and lose a place on the professional tour.
6 min read
Watching a match
WATCHINGWatch beyond the pot: a match notebook
Follow the score, cue-ball position and safety choices. A few notes can explain why a player chose that shot.
4 min read
Reading match statistics: pot success, average break and shot time
What each of the nine statistics on a match page answers, how to read them together and where they mislead, with a real match worked through line by line.
6 min read
How to read a Rank147 event page: draw order, round names and the summary
How matches on an event page are ordered, what rounds such as Held Over and Last 32 mean, and how the route to the title, deciding frames and widest margin in the summary are worked out.
4 min read
How head-to-head records work: what they count and what they leave out
How the head-to-head record on match pages counts wins, draws and missing results, why a player’s different source IDs are merged, and what the record cannot tell you.
4 min read
2026/27 season so far: eight finals, seven champions
Who won each of the eight finals from the Championship League to the Northern Ireland Open: Jak Jones reached three and won two, Wuhan and Shenzhen produced all-Chinese finals, and Wu Yize leads the autumn century count.
7 min read
King of the decider? Kyren Wilson has won 9 of 10 this season
Of this season’s matches that went to a final frame, Wilson has won nine of ten, four of them after trailing. How much of that is skill and how much is luck?
7 min read
Table practice
PRACTICEStart Game147: aim, pull back for power and build a red–colour pair
Place the white in the D, aim with a mouse or touch, pull back to set the power, then learn the rules currently implemented.
4 min read
Introductory explanations with worked teaching examples. Rule and ranking references are provided; the relevant season's official documents and refereeing decisions take precedence.