Real snooker

How to play and win at snooker, W.G. Clifford, 1938

“Short snooker” is useful on under-size tables, where the usual twenty-two balls are apt to crowd the available playing space. The usual plan is to arrange six red balls behind pink exactly as if the other nine balls were removed from the pyramid. Otherwise, you proceed as you do for the full game. The shortage of reds makes no difference except to the total possible score, a point worth noting should a friendly little handicap be arranged. Mention of handicaps reminds me that, unlike billiards, it is immaterial whether points are “owed” or “given” at snooker. The result is the same whichever way you do it.

“Volunteer snooker,” to be frank, appeals to those who relish “a bit of a gamble.” The balls are arranged as for ordinary snooker, and should you so desire there is nothing to prevent you from playing ordinary snooker throughout. You must take a red to begin with, then as usual you are “on” any colour you prefer. After taking this “free” colour, you may “volunteer” to pot any other colour you may think you can pocket instead of a red as in the ordinary game. Should you succeed, you score the value of the “volunteered” ball, but failure means that you forfeit the value of this ball. This conveys, very briefly, the main outline of “volunteer snooker.” Details cover pages of the official rules, a copy of which can be obtained through your newsagent or bookseller.

“Real snooker,” to my personal regret, lacks official recognition. To my knowledge it is the original game of snooker as played years before the official rules were framed and published. That is why I venture to call it “Real snooker.” It is played exactly as ordinary snooker in every respect until all the reds are pocketed.

Then comes the difference, in my opinion a big one. After potting yellow, in “real snooker” you are “on any colour” exactly as you were after taking a red. After taking that “free colour” you ate “on” green. Should you pocket green you ate “on any colour” once more, then brown, “any colour,” blue, “any colour,” pink and black. This carries the game to its logical conclusion; it is obviously a defect to allow you to take “any colour” after a red and stop you from so doing after pocketing a coloured ball when there are no reds to play at.

However, ordinary snooker has the sanction of usage, it is a very popular game as it stands and I am not crusading for “Real snooker” in place of it. But I happen to know that this game is much liked by the few who have tried it, so have ventured to mention it if but for the sake of variety.