Snookeris acue sportthat is played on a green baize-coveredtablewithpocketsin each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular (full-size) table is 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m). It is played using acueand 22snooker balls: one whitecue ball, 15red ball worth one point each, and six balls of differentcolours: yellow (2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6) and black (7).A player (or team) wins aframe(individual game) of snooker by scoring more points than the opponent(s), using the cue ball topotthe red and coloured balls. A player wins a match when a certain number of frames have been won.
Snooker, generally regarded as having been invented inIndiabyBritish Armyofficers, is popular in many of the English-speaking andCommonwealth countries, with top professional players attaining multi-millionpoundcareer earnings from the game. The sport is now increasingly popular inChina.
Equipment
Chalk:The tip of the cue is 'chalked' to ensure good contact between the cue and the cue-ball.
Cue: A stick, made of wood or fibreglass, the tip of which is used to strike the cue-ball.
Extension:A shorter baton that fits over, or screws into, the back end of the cue, effectively lengthening it. Is used for shots where the cue-ball is a long distance from the player.
Rest:A stick with an X-shaped head that is used to support the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at normal extension.
Rest head adaptor: An attachment that slips onto a conventional rest head to make a spider or just to give a slightly different bridge.
Hook rest: Identical to the normal rest, yet with a hooked metal end. It is used to set the rest around another ball. The hook rest is the most recent invention in snooker.
Spider: Similar to the rest but with an arch-shaped head; it is used to elevate and support the tip of the cue above the height of the cue-ball.
Swan: (or swan-neck spider)This equipment, consisting of a rest with a single extended neck and a fork-like prong at the end, is used to give extra cueing distance over a group of balls.
Triangle/Rack: The piece of equipment is used for gathering the red balls into the formation required for the break to start a frame.
Extended rest: Similar to the regular rest, but with a mechanism at the butt end which makes it possible to extend the rest by up to three feet.
Extended spider: A hybrid of the swan and the spider. Its purpose is to bridge over large packs of reds. Is less common these days in professional snooker but can be used in situations where the position of one or more balls prevents the spider being placed where the striker desires.
Half butt: Usually housed underneath the side of the table, the half butt is a combination of a table length rest and cue which is rarely used unless the cue ball needs to be struck in such a way that the entire length of the table is the actual obstacle.
Ball marker: A multi-purpose instrument with a 'D' shaped notch, which a referee can (1) place next to a ball, in order to mark the position of it. They can then remove the ball to clean it; (2) use to judge if a ball is preventing a colour from being placed on its spot; (3) use to judge if the cue ball can hit the extreme edge of a "ball on" when awarding a free ball (by placing it alongside the potentially intervening ball).
Snooker
History
Equipment