Section 5: Rules of Play
Description of the Game (Section 3, Rule 1). Each player uses the same White cue-ball; there are 21 object balls — 15 Reds, each valued 1 point, and 6 colours (Yellow 2, Green 3, Brown 4, Blue 5, Pink 6, Black 7). For the first stroke of each turn, while Reds remain on the table, Red is the ball on, and Reds and colours are potted alternately: after a Red is potted the same player continues and may pot a colour of their choice, which is then scored and re-spotted, after which the next Red becomes on. This alternation continues until all Reds are off the table, whereupon the six colours become on in the ascending order of their value — Yellow, Green, Brown, Blue, Pink, Black — and, once potted, remain off the table for the remainder of the frame (Section 3, Rule 1(b)–(h); Section 2, Rule 10).
Mode of Play (Section 3, Rule 3). The order of play is determined by lot or mutual agreement, with the winner choosing who plays first; that order must remain unaltered throughout the frame except that a player may be asked to play again by their opponent following any foul. The player or side who plays first must alternate for each frame during a game.
Playing from In-hand (Section 3, Rule 5; Section 2, Rule 9). The cue-ball is "in-hand" before the start of each frame, whenever it has been potted, forced off the table, or when the Black is re-spotted under the tied-frame procedure. While in-hand, the cue-ball must be contacted by the tip of the cue from a position on or within the lines of the D, though it may then be played in any direction.
Snookers and the Free Ball (Section 2, Rule 17; Section 3, Rule 12). The cue-ball is "snookered" when a direct stroke in a straight line to every ball on is wholly or partially obstructed by a ball, or balls, not on. If, after a foul, the cue-ball is snookered, the referee calls FREE BALL: the non-offending player may then nominate any ball as the ball on, and that nominated "free ball" acquires the value of the actual ball on if potted.
Foul and a Miss (Section 3, Rule 14). The striker must, to the best of their ability, endeavour to hit the ball on (or a ball that could be on) after a potted Red or nominated free ball. If the referee considers this obligation was not met, they call FOUL AND A MISS, and the non-offending player may require the offender to replay the shot from the original position, or may play on from the position left by the failed attempt.
Play Again (Section 3, Rule 13). Once a player has requested that their opponent play again following a foul, or a Miss, that request cannot be withdrawn; the offender, asked to play again, may change their mind about which stroke to play and which ball on to attempt, and scores any balls they legally pot.
Jump Shots and Push Strokes (Section 2, Rules 19–20). A push stroke — where the cue tip remains in contact with the cue-ball after it has begun moving, or momentarily contacts it as it contacts an object ball — is a foul, as is a jump shot in which the cue-ball passes over any part of an object ball other than in specified legal circumstances (e.g., legitimately jumping after first hitting a touching ball).
Stalemate (Section 3, Rule 17). Where the referee considers, or either player indicates, that a position of stalemate exists, the referee offers the players the option to re-rack. If no player objects, play continues with the proviso that the position must change within a stated period (commonly three strokes per side); if it does not, the referee nullifies the frame's scores and resets the balls.
Variants. Section 3, Rule 19 provides for "Six Reds Snooker," a shortened variant played under the standard Rules with modifications including a maximum of five consecutive FOUL AND A MISS calls before a Warning is issued.