Snooker Scoring Explained: Points, Breaks and the 147
Snooker scoring is easy once you see the pattern: reds are worth 1, colours 2 to 7, and fouls give your opponent 4 to 7 points.
Points per ball
Red 1 · Yellow 2 · Green 3 · Brown 4 · Blue 5 · Pink 6 · Black 7.
A maximum 147
Each red-and-black pair is worth 8 points. Fifteen of them is 120. Then clearing the colours is 2+3+4+5+6+7 = 27. 120 + 27 = 147.
Why the black is the break-builder’s friend
After every red, the black is the biggest prize (7 points) and sits close to the top cushion, so players aim to get the cue ball back there for the next red-black pair. Good position play matters more than any individual pot.
Foul penalties
| Situation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Foul on a red, or no ball hit | 4 |
| Hit or potted yellow / green / brown wrongly | 4 |
| Involving the blue | 5 |
| Involving the pink | 6 |
| Involving the black | 7 |
The penalty is the highest value of any ball involved in the foul, with a minimum of 4. The player who fouls also loses the rest of their break.
Century breaks and frames
A break of 100 or more is a “century”. In a frame, points come only from your breaks and your opponent’s fouls. A frame can be decided before the table is cleared: when the player behind needs more than the balls left on the table can give them, they concede. (Real matches often need snookers first: leaving the opponent unable to hit the ball on forces fouls that add points.)
Cue & Chalk tracks both players’ scores, the current break and your best break, and keeps a head-to-head record on your device. Read the full snooker rules or start a frame.