Snooker Table Layout: Where Every Ball Goes
A snooker table looks plain, but every mark on it has a job. Knowing the layout makes the rules, especially respotting, much easier to follow.
The baulk line and the D
Near one end of the table is the baulk line, with a semicircle called the D marked on it. After a foul that sends the cue ball into a pocket, and at the start of a frame, the cue ball is placed in the D and shot from there.
The three baulk colours
On the baulk line, from one side to the other: green, brown and yellow. Brown sits in the middle of the line, with green and yellow either side. (Remember it as “God Bless You”: Green, Brown, Yellow.)
The rest of the colours
- Blue on the centre spot, in the middle of the table.
- Pink on the pyramid spot, just in front of the red triangle.
- Black on its spot, near the far cushion, behind the reds.
The reds
Fifteen reds fill a triangle, with the front red touching the pink and the point towards the pink spot. In Cue & Chalk the whole layout is placed for you.
Respotting
When a colour is potted while reds remain, it is placed back on its own spot. If another ball is on the spot, the real rule puts the colour on the highest-value free spot. Cue & Chalk respots potted colours while reds remain, and respots the black on a tied frame.
| Colour | Spot |
|---|---|
| Yellow, Green, Brown | On the baulk line |
| Blue | Centre |
| Pink | Pyramid |
| Black | Black spot |
Next, read the snooker rules or set up a frame.