SnookerQ Forum

As a learner, I find the play again rule quite frustrating and sometimes embarrassing. I understand the theory behind it in this instance, of helping to teach where to aim in a snooker, but I believed that SnookerQ was as close to the real game as possible. In a real game, I believe that if an opponent asks you to play again more than twice he will be warned by the referee, no more or he could forfeit. Is this correct ? If so why have I been made to play again 5 times out of an extremely hard snooker? Please educate me on the real rules, Snooker Q rules on the Play again rule ?
Hard sticks
Sacko7

Hi sacko7

The short answer is they can make you play again as many times as they like until you need snookers. Each shot would be a "foul and a miss" until the point where you need snookers then a miss cannot be called.

In the real game the referee will decide whether or not to call a "miss" based on how good your attempt was and/or how difficult the snooker was to get out of.

There is the main difference between the real game and the online game in that with the online game, there is no referee as such to determine how good your try was. Usually if you are playing a fair and reasonable opponent who can see you made a genuinely good effort but just missed, they might show you some sympathy and not put you back.

Unfortunately, there are also other opponents that will happily continue to put you back until you need snookers because they either a) don't understand the intention of the rule or b) are happy to take the win at all costs.

Don't be embarrassed mate just do your best it takes a lot of practice to learn the angles and how best to get out of tough snookers. Good question!!

The official name of that rule is "Foul And A Miss" and it is very accurately implemented in SnookerQ. The warning after two missed shots and the frame loss after the third miss, which sacko7 mentioned, are also part of this rule but they apply only if the ball on can be hit full in the face! In some situations, the correct shot can be to refuse that easy hit and try something more difficult because that trickier shot results in a better or safer situation. That's when you see the referee giving the warning to professional players after the second miss.

Another comment I'd like to add is that although it is up to the referee's discretion to decide whether the player tried his best to hit the ball or not, by calling a Foul or a Foul And A Miss, real referees in pro matches tend to call a miss 99.9% of the times when the correct object ball is not hit first. SnookerQ calls Foul And A Miss 100.0% of the times, so the difference is really very small.

The Foul And A Miss rule is the most complicated rule of the game and very few players know it to the finest details.

Wizard and Squaredcue I thank you for your intelligent and easy to understand explanation. Not thinking that there is no referee it is obvious your explanations are sound. Personally I won't use play again more than twice if I am ever in that situation, even if it costs me the frame. Snooker is a mind game, and I have let this part of the game frustrate me in the past. I hope this can make me a quality player in future and not a desperate one
Many thanks
Straight sticks
Sacko7