how to play

Bob did a fine job of explaining the basics of the Game. I have known more than a few players who have been playing and watching Snooker for decades and are still rather fuzzy on some of the Rules so don't feel bad. A couple resources for you:

First, a well put together video from SnookerCanada:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwSGdl_JgNg

Or if you prefer the written word, Canadian professional referee Jim Jack has a fine write up here:
http://www.rulesofsnooker.com/snooker-for-beginners.html

A couple follow up points to your original post:

Snooker does have a number of variations, mostly used in casual, social play (though there is the odd "alternate rules" professional tournament), but they are all subservient to the main Game as described by Bob.

You can think of the "frames" of Snooker the same as the games of the World Series....each frame is really only worth one "point" whether you win the frame by a score of 72 to 71 or you win it by a score of 100-0. Just like you need four wins to take the World Series, you need the majority of frames to win a match. (Number of frames in any particular match depends on the tournament and the stage of the tournament with the World Championship currently having the longest final match at the Best of 35 frames.)

As long as there are two or more balls on the table, then the losing player is entitled to continue play. There is no such thing as a forced concession. Bob is correct that it is generally common courtesy to concede a frame for expediency when several snookers are required, especially in casual and social play. Professionally, there is no shortage of examples of a player requiring 4 snookers and yet winning the frame in the end. It happens, but not often.

The frame is "officially" finished in one of two circumstances (beside aforementioned "concession"): 1) If the Black is the only ball left on the table and the difference in scores is greater than seven points, the frame is over...a player is not allowed to play on attempting "snookers" unless at least two balls are on the table. 2) If the Black is the ONLY ball remaining on the table, then the next score or foul ENDS THE FRAME (unless the scores are then exactly equal, in which case there are special rules for a "re-spotted Black"--you can easily look up video for that rare occurence). After that score or foul occurs (whether or not the Black still remains on the table), the player then having the highest point tally is officially the winner of that frame (whether or not he is the one who actually scored or fouled the Black--sidenote: Never, ever call it the 8-ball...its name is the Black and its value is 7. This is perhaps my greatest pet peeve regarding new or uninformed players).

Complete official Rules of Snooker are freely available and can be found here:
http://www.wpbsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/official-rules-of-the-game.pdf

If you are going to be selling tables, it is good that you are boning up on the Game like this. Any questions, feel free to ask.

H-town snooker.............................

beneath_the_sur said:

Thanks Bob

Just noticed the table looks like its heated, it does seem like fast playing conditions
I like it, will be paying more attention now because of this world snooker 2017 stream

I would like to play it a few times, there's a club close to me, I imagine it will get a bit old picking the balls back on the table and keeping score

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There are some snooker rooms in Houston. Just Google it. I think there's 4 or 5 spots with good equipment and players that will get you going.

Bob Jewett said:

The first attempt of every inning must be a red until there are no more reds. The exception is when your opponent has fouled and left you snookered in which case you can declare any color to be a red for your first shot of the inning.

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No snooker in Snooker?

.

Another rule I didn't know is that if you snooker your opponent, and they attempt to make contact with a red, but hit a color first, they are charged a penalty of the colored's value. For example, blue would be 5 points for you. Not only that, but you could make them shoot again from the original snookered position, after the referee replaces the cue ball, and any disturbed ball(s) to their original position(s). That is one way you could get back into contention in a game you are behind.

You call and play one color only. So if you pot a red and then nominate the blue then the cue ball must contact blue first and the blue is the only legal ball that can be potted. How it goes down and in which pocket doesn't matter.

beneath_the_sur said:

Can you not do combos of different colors?
What if another ball falls even if you strike the correct color first

Can you make carom-kiss shots?

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No combos on colors, only on reds. Reds are kind of "don't care which one, just pot one".
If you need to play a red, and you pot it, and additionally a color by accident, then it's a foul already; vice versa, too.
No caroms for colors, you need to nominate your color, hit that one first AND pot that one AND nothing else.

Rather easy I think
Cheers,
M

beneath_the_sur said:

Yes its straight forward shot making
Nothing fancy cause its just high precision
Which takes a bit of the fun away for me but i can tell thats what they designed it for with rounded pockets
Just shoot it in

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Au contraire! You will need to watch a lot more snooker my friend in order to understand. The "fun" of snooker is unparalleled control of the White ball which is what makes it appear that there is "nothing fancy" about the pots. Everybody, even a novice, will make an incredibly difficult pot on occasion, just as everyone will make the occasional twenty foot putt or chip in from off the green on the golf course. But nobody, not even a professional snooker player, can make a difficult pot, followed by a difficult pot, followed by a difficult pot, etc. The beauty of the mastery of the game is to make it look easy while anyone who has ever swung a cue over a snooker table knows that it is not.

If your desire is fancy shotmaking, then by all means, continue to play on equipment with buckets mounted beneath the corners and straight cut cushions to funnel in the balls.

beneath_the_sur said:

Look dont take that post the wrong way
But lile i said it is just looks high precision shot making
And position play to me, that in itslef is very interesting to watch and i was not attempting to condecend
But i do miss the banks and kiss shots and stack reads of pool games , but im srill posting in this area because i want to understand and play it soon

Now your referring me to keep playing pool well your not paying much attention then because im a carom player
Just take a look at the avatar and sig

The game that has no holes of any size where you must use imagination with knowledge to succeed
Pocket games the objective is in 6 locations on the table with 15 or more balls to put in them

Carom you have 3 balls and straight rails:thumbup:

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All meant in good humor. :smile:
Respect for 3 Cushion...far more difficult game than the Snooker. 3C doesn't thrill me as Snooker does, but that is just personal preference. There are those who argue that playing Snooker somehow requires more cognitive skills than the Pool games in general. They're wrong. It is primarily habit and repetition for all of the cue sports. I can attest that no one need be a rocket surgeon nor a brain scientist to play any of the games, but it does help to have a few of the synapses firing on occasion. Agonizing through watching a player "think" about which shot to play for a minute or more puts me on the verge of reaching for a rope to loop over the rafters.

If you want to learn the game of Snooker, follow the advice of other local players at your own peril. It is usually misleading, though there is sure to be the occasional gem. The best resource that I can advise is to go back to old video from decades ago; Ray Reardon and Steve Davis are worth their weight in gold for instruction. Most local players believe that they are best to learn the game in watching the modern professionals but the problem is that if you wish to emulate the modern players, you need to be able to afford to dedicate 6 to 8 hours a day every day to learning the game. Most can't. Emulating modern players is generally wrong for club players. Unless club players can commonly run half-centuries or better, professional style safety shot choices make for long, tedious, dull frames, not good snooker. Far better to have a bit of fun, pot a few balls, try to assemble a decent break on occasion and not get bogged down in the tedious safety play in an effort to prevent intimidating breaks of "1" by your opponent.

Jump shots
You are not allowed to jump over ANY part of an intervening ball to hit the ball ON.
...However, you can jump over any ball AFTER you hit the ball on.