What are the ways to place bets on snooker?
Snooker is a table game similar to billiards and the various pool forms. It is played on a large table measuring 12 feet in length and 6 feet in width. The table is covered in green cloth called baize, and it has six pockets, one in each of the four corners and two in the middle of the longest sides.
The game is played using a set of balls, which comprises the cue ball, which is white and that the players must hit with each of their shots using their snooker cue. Alongside the cue ball, there are 15 red balls (reds) and six other balls coloured yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black. These other six balls are collectively called the ‘colours’.
A player scores points by potting a red ball initially. Once they have potted a red ball, they can nominate any of the six colours to pot next. If they do that, they can then pot another red, then another colour and so on.
In the game, each red potted is worth one point. The six other colours potted also have their own points value which are:
- Yellow - 2 points
- Green - 3 points
- Brown - 4 points
- Blue - 5 points
- Pink - 6 points
- Black - 7 points
Once all the reds have been potted, players must then pot the remaining colours in ascending order of value, so yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and finally black.
Players chalk the tip of their cue in order to ensure that they don’t get mishits or miscues when striking the cue ball. If a player commits an illegal shot foul, then their opponent is awarded penalty points of between four and seven points (depending on the foul made).
The aim is to earn more points than your opponent and win the game. A game of snooker is called a ‘frame,’ and matches are made up of the ‘best of X frames’. For example, a best-of-11-frame match would see the first player to win six frames declared the winner.
The Snooker Season and Major Tournaments
The Snooker season runs from June to May each year, culminating with the World Championship Final in Sheffield. Alongside the men’s tour, there is a women’s tour and a seniors' tour, although betting and coverage of these events is limited compared to the men’s competitions.
There is also an extensive Q-Tour for players who have not received a card for the professional tour. The tour is split up into three types of events: a ranking event, for which a player can earn cash and ranking points that will move them up and down the snooker rankings; a non-ranking event, which can offer significant prize money but no ranking points; and, lastly, a standard event, which tends to be a sponsored event, usually in the Far East, and offers extensive prize money to players who choose to take part.
Ranking Events (17)
- June-July - Championship League
- August - European Masters
- September - British Open
- October - English Open, Wuhan Open, Northern Ireland Open
- November - International Championship, UK Championship
- December - Shoot Out, Scottish Open
- January - World Grand Prix, German Masters
- February - Welsh Open, Players Championship
- March - World Open
- April - Tour Championship
- April - May - World Championship
Non-Ranking Events (6)
- September - Shanghai Masters
- November - Champion of Champions
- January - The Masters
- January to March - Championship League
- March - World Masters of Snooker, World Mixed Doubles
Other Events (4)
- August - Huangguosho Open
- December - Macau Masters Event 1, Macau Masters Event 2
- May - Helsinki International Cup
The Top Snooker Players
Below is a list of some of the top snooker players today, listed by the countries from which they originate.
- England - Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Stuart Bingham, Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, Mark Selby, Ali Carter, Gary Wilson, Chris Wakelin, Joe O’Connor, Jack Lisowski, Kyren Wilson, Tom Ford, Robert Milkins, David Gilbert, Ricky Walden
- Scotland - John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Anthony McGill
- Ireland - Mark Allen
- Wales - Mark Williams, Jak Jones, Ryan Day
- China - Ding Junhui, Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, Cao Yupeng, Zhang Anda, Zhou Yuelong, Lyu Haotian
- Belgium - Luca Brecel
- Iran - Hossein Vafaei
- Australia - Neil Robertson
Popular Snooker Betting Markets
As with most types of sports betting, you can divide the different types of snooker betting markets into three types of bet.
1. Futures Markets
Futures markets refer to forthcoming tournaments where you can bet on which player will win the tournament or perhaps reach the final. These are longer term bets and you can place some futures bets well in advance of the tournament taking place.
A good example is the World Championship, for which betting on the winner can be available six to 12 months before the tournament starts.For major tournaments, bookmakers may also offer markets on players to score the highest break and whether a 147 will be made during the competition.
2. Pre-Match Markets
There will be a wide range of pre-match markets available for each match at all stages of the tournament. As you would expect with a pre-match market, there can be a broad choice of markets to bet on before the match starts. Some of the most popular bets include:
3. Match Winner
- Handicap Match Winner Betting
- Correct Score
- Highest Break
- Over/Under Points Bets
Obviously, the bigger the tournament, the more markets tend to be available. The same goes for matches at the end of tournaments. These games are higher profile and tend to attract more bets, so they have more markets available.
4. In-Play Markets
Snooker In-Play betting is one of the fastest emerging markets in the realm of snooker betting. The slower-paced nature of the game makes it an ideal starting point for people who want to start betting In Play, but don’t want to have to make snap decisions due to a fast-paced game.
You can find a whole host of snooker In Play bets available including who will win the current frame, who will win the match and by what score, which player will next make a break of over a set number of points (eg, 50 or 1000) and even whether there will be a 147 break scored in the match.
Which Bookmakers Offer The Best Snooker Betting?
Almost all top-quality sports betting sites will offer snooker betting, especially in parts of the world where it is a popular sport. That includes the UK, Europe, China, India and Australasia in particular.
