Snooker rules and refereeing
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    • EASB Referees “Rules” Quiz: January 2011 (questions without answers) >
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  • 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
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    • Re-spot the cueball after a Miss
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  • So you don't like the call; now what?
  • Some information on the Equipment
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    • 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
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So who gets to take top scorer on the wood/brass score board:

The player who goes on top in the first frame stays on top throughout the game.

If there is a score sheet the player on the left goes on top regardless of who breaks. 
 
Most leagues have the convention that the home player is on top, again regardless of who breaks - in this case any spectators know which player represents which team or club.
 
Here in Canada, there is a commonly held belief that the player who breaks off in each frame goes on top. 
This leads to all sorts of confusion. 
I am sure that this perversion of the rules was implemented by hustlers who can then screw up the score in the middle of a frame and escape a costly defeat, so don't do this!