Snooker Ball Values: Colours and Points Chart

Snooker ball values are: red 1 point, yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6 and black 7. The white is the cue ball and scores nothing. There’s a neat trick hidden in those numbers — a colour’s value is also its place in the final clearance, so once the reds are gone you take them lowest to highest, yellow through black.

Learn the values and you’ve learned half of snooker. They tell you what each pot is worth, which colour to chase for a big break, and the exact order to clear the table at the end.

The values at a glance

Ball	Points	Position on the table
Red (x15)	1	Racked in a triangle behind the pink
Yellow	2	Right corner of the D (baulk line)
Green	3	Left corner of the D (baulk line)
Brown	4	Centre of the baulk line
Blue	5	Centre spot of the table
Pink	6	Pyramid spot, just below the middle
Black	7	Its own spot, near the top cushion

The white cue ball has no value; you strike it to pot the others. The 15 reds are collectively worth 15 points, and one of each colour adds another 27.

Value doubles as the clearance order

Here’s the detail that makes the values easy to remember: the point value is also the order in which the colours must be potted at the end of a frame. Once all 15 reds are gone, you clear the colours in ascending value:

• Yellow (2) → Green (3) → Brown (4) → Blue (5) → Pink (6) → Black (7).

So the cheapest ball is taken first and the most valuable last. That single rule ties the whole endgame together — you never have to memorise a separate sequence.

Re-spot vs stay down

There’s one wrinkle worth knowing. While reds remain on the table, a potted colour is re-spotted — returned to its own marked spot — so it can be taken again after the next red. This is why players can keep taking the black (7) after every red to build a score. Once the reds are gone, the colours are potted in order and stay down. The two-phase behaviour is the engine behind every break, including the 147 maximum.

Why the values matter for strategy

Because reds are worth only 1, the skill isn’t in potting reds — it’s in the colour you take with each one. Taking the black (7) instead of the yellow (2) after a red is a five-point difference on every single red, and over a full break that’s the gap between a modest visit and a century. Higher-value colours also sit in tougher positions, so choosing the black repeatedly demands better cue-ball control. The values quietly turn potting into a running strategic decision.

If you want to see how those points accumulate into breaks and frames, our how snooker scoring works guide walks through the maths, and snooker rules explained covers the potting order and frames in full.

Put the values to use

Next time you watch, keep the chart in your head and you’ll follow the scoreboard instantly — a red-and-black is 8, a red-and-pink is 7, and a full clearance of colours is 27. If you’re picking up a cue yourself, our how to play snooker guide shows how to set the colours on their spots and take your first visit.

The short version: red 1, yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7 — the white scores nothing, colours re-spot until the reds are gone, and the value of each colour is also the order you clear them in at the end.