Snooker rules and refereeing
  • Home
  • About Me
  • R.A.C.C.S. and Canadian Referees
  • How to become a referee
  • Beginners start here
    • Snooker for beginners
    • Getting started video
  • The Rules
    • The Official Rules as revised; November 2014
    • AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF SNOOKER AND BILLIARDS TO TAKE EFFECT ON AUGUST 12TH 2014
    • Snooker Rule Changes (2010) Explained by Referee Andy Yates
    • Question and Answers as agreed at a WPBSA Rules Meeting held on 27th June 2013.
  • Rules Quizzes
    • EASB Snooker referee quiz: (questions without answers) >
      • EASB Snooker referee quiz: (questions with answers)
    • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: October 2010 (questions without answers) >
      • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: October 2010 (questions with answers)
    • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: November 2010 (questions without answers) >
      • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: November 2010 (questions with answers)
    • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: December 2010 (questions without answers) >
      • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: December 2010 (questions with answers)
    • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: January 2011 (questions without answers) >
      • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: January 2011 (questions with answers)
    • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: February 2011 (questions without answers) >
      • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: February 2011 (questions with answers)
    • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: March 2011 (questions without answers) >
      • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: March 2011 (questions with answers)
  • Rules you must understand as a player
    • The Break
    • Frame, Game or Match?
    • Who takes the top scorer
    • Keeping score
    • When is the Frame over?
    • Understanding the 'Miss'
    • Understanding the 'Three Miss Rule'
    • Angled Ball (Pocket hook)
    • Seven Point Fouls
  • How do I .....
    • Rack the balls
    • Respot the colour balls
    • Re-spot the cueball after a Miss
    • Use the Ball Marker
    • Handle the rests and other furniture
    • Organise a tournament
  • So you don't like the call; now what?
  • Some information on the Equipment
    • The cue
    • The Balls
    • The Chalk
    • Videos about the table
    • The Cloth >
      • "Double Shaved"
    • The Spots
    • Scoring Software
    • Pocket Templates circa 1996
  • Guides for the Referee
    • Referees Best Practice by English Association of Snooker and Billiards
    • Referee’s Guide to Positioning by Steve Fletcher
    • Referees Guide to What to Say, and When to Say it by Clive A Brown, January 2012
    • Calling the score
  • Variations of the game
    • The six -red game
    • Snooker Shoot Out
  • English Billiards
  • Links to Videos
  • Other Links
  • Contact
Picture
We all love to play on well-maintained snooker tables, and universally abhor playing on tables that have inconsistencies such as:
-    slow, grabby cloth
-    inconsistent cushions
-    slates that roll off
-    dimples or craters underneath the spots so that the balls won't spot properly
-    pockets that reject balls hit right into their heart

Most of these problems, however, are caused by us, the referees and players who do through ignorance damage the playing surface.

Here are some of the ways we mess it up, and how to avoid doing so.