In snooker, the potting order is red, then colour, repeated until all reds are gone. After the last red and its following colour, the colours must be potted in this fixed order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black.
That one sentence solves most confusion. The trap is thinking snooker is always a single colour sequence. It is not. The frame has two phases: a flexible red-colour phase, then a fixed final-colours phase.
This guide explains exactly what is legal first, what happens after a colour is potted, why the last red has a special follow-up colour, and how to avoid the wrong-ball fouls that catch beginners.
Updated August 2026. Formal matches should follow the current WPBSA rulebook and referee decisions.
Quick Answer: What Order Do You Pot Snooker Balls In?
You pot a red first, then any nominated colour, then another red and another colour while reds remain. Once all reds are gone, you pot the colours in order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black. During the red phase, potted colours are re-spotted. In the final-colours phase, they stay down.
The Rule Is Easier If You Split the Frame in Two
Most beginners struggle because they try to memorise one long list. Snooker is easier if you treat the frame as two separate modes.
Phase one is the scoring loop: red, colour, red, colour. You keep returning to a red after each colour while at least one red remains on the table.
Phase two is the clearance: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black. This only starts after every red has gone and the player has taken the colour after the final red.
The phrase “ball on” means the ball, or group of balls, you are allowed to hit first. When reds remain, a red is normally on at the start of a visit or after a colour. After you pot a red, the colours become on for one shot.
While Reds Remain: Red First, Then a Colour
At the start of a normal frame, reds are on. A legal pot is usually a red. If you pot one, you score one point and earn the right to play a colour.
You do not have to pot yellow after a red. You may choose any legal colour, usually the black for seven points, pink for six, or blue for five if position allows. The chosen colour must be clear from the shot and, in formal play, may need to be nominated if it is not obvious.
If you pot that colour legally, it is returned to its spot while reds remain. Your next ball on is red again. This is why a break can be built from repeated red-black, red-pink or red-blue patterns.
Pro tip: do not think “red, yellow, green” at the start of a frame. Think “red earns a colour; colour sends you back to red.”
What Happens to Colours During the Red Phase?
Colours return to the table when potted before the final-colours clearance. A black potted after a red scores seven, then goes back on the black spot if that spot is available.
If its own spot is occupied, the colour is placed on the highest-value available spot. If all spots are occupied, it is placed as close as possible to its own spot without touching another ball. That detail matters in match play, but the beginner takeaway is simple: colours come back while reds remain.
That is the key difference between snooker and many pool games. In eight-ball pool, a potted object ball usually stays down. In snooker, colours are recurring scoring options until the red phase is over.
If you are practising this at home or in a club, a clean set of snooker balls helps because spots, colours and replacement positions become easier to recognise at speed.
After the Last Red: Why You Still Take One Colour
The last red does not send you straight to yellow. After potting the final red, you still get one colour in the normal way. That colour is re-spotted if potted legally.
Only after that final red-and-colour pair is complete does the fixed colour sequence begin. This is one of the most common beginner errors: potting the final red, then assuming yellow must be next immediately.
Example: one red remains. You pot the red, score one, then pot black, score seven, and the black is re-spotted. Now reds are gone and the final colours begin with yellow.
Final Colours: Yellow, Green, Brown, Blue, Pink, Black
Once the final-colours phase begins, the order is locked. Yellow is on first, then green, then brown, then blue, then pink, then black.
In this phase, a potted colour normally stays off the table. Pot yellow and it is gone. Green becomes the ball on. Pot green and brown becomes the ball on. The clearance continues until black is potted or the frame ends another way.
This final sequence is also where safety play becomes more visible. If the player cannot pot yellow safely, they may play a safety from yellow rather than attacking a colour out of order. Hitting blue first when yellow is on is not creative shot selection; it is a foul.
What Ball Must You Hit First?
The first contact rule is the practical heart of potting order. If red is on, you must hit a red first unless a special rule such as a free ball applies. If a colour is on after a red, you must hit the nominated or obvious colour first. If final colours have started, you must hit the lowest-value colour remaining first.
You can pot more than one red in a single legal shot when reds are on, and each red scores one. But after reds are gone, you cannot choose between colours. The legal target is dictated by the sequence.
For a deeper explanation of the phrase, read what ball on means in snooker. It is the concept behind almost every potting-order decision.
Common Wrong-Ball Fouls
The simplest foul is hitting the wrong ball first. If a red is on and you strike the blue first, that is a foul. If yellow is on in the final colours and you hit green first, that is a foul.
Another common mistake is potting a colour when a red was on but failing to hit a red first. Even if the colour drops cleanly, the shot is illegal because the first contact was wrong.
A third mistake is forgetting that the colour after the final red is still part of the red phase. If that colour is potted legally, it returns before the final clearance starts.
For scoring consequences, use how snooker fouls are scored. Wrong-ball fouls normally carry at least four points, but higher-value balls can increase the penalty.
Worked Examples
Example 1: reds are still on. You pot a red, then choose black. Black drops and is re-spotted. Your next legal target is another red.
Example 2: reds are still on, but you miss the red and hit pink first. That is a foul because red was the ball on.
Example 3: you pot the final red. You may still play one colour. If you pot blue, blue returns to its spot. Then the final sequence starts with yellow.
Example 4: final colours have started. Yellow is on. You cannot pot blue first just because it is easier. You must play yellow first.
How the Order Creates Break Building
Potting order is not just a rules detail. It shapes how snooker breaks are built. High breaks depend on repeatedly potting reds and returning to high-value colours, especially black and pink.
A maximum 147 break is built by potting 15 reds with 15 blacks, then clearing yellow to black. That is why position from red to black, and black back to red, is so valuable.
Beginners should not chase maximum-break patterns immediately. A better first target is a repeatable three-shot pattern: red, easy colour, controlled cue ball back towards another red. Better snooker cues and reliable cue chalk help, but the real improvement comes from knowing the next legal ball before you play position.
How to Practise the Potting Order
- Place three reds around the pink and black area.
- Pot a red, then choose blue, pink or black.
- Replace the colour after each pot.
- Return to a red after every colour.
- When the reds are gone, clear yellow to black in order.
This drill makes the two phases physical. You stop memorising rules as text and start seeing the table as a sequence of legal choices.
If you play across cue sports, keep the rules separate. Pool patterns and snooker patterns reward different thinking. Browse broader cue sports equipment if you are setting up a practice space that handles both games.
Special Cases That Can Change the Normal Order
A free ball can temporarily change what you may nominate after a foul. It does not remove the underlying sequence; it lets another ball act as the ball on for one shot because the incoming player has been unfairly snookered after a foul.
Re-spots, touching-ball situations and foul-and-miss calls can also affect what happens next in formal play. The everyday order remains the same, but match situations can add procedural detail.
Useful next reads are what happens after you pot a red, why colours go back on their spots, free ball in snooker, foul and miss explained and basic snooker rules.
Sources Worth Checking
For formal wording and current match-rule detail, check the WPBSA rules page, World Snooker Federation rules guidance, EBSA rule clarifications and BCA snooker rules guidance.
Bottom Line
Snooker potting order is a two-phase system. While reds remain, pot red then colour and repeat. After the last red and its colour, clear yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black.
If you remember only one thing, make it this: colours are choices during the red phase, but they become a fixed order once the reds are gone.
FAQs
Do you always pot yellow after a red?
No. After a red, you may play any legal colour. Yellow is only first in the final-colours sequence.
What colour comes after the last red?
You still choose one colour after the last red. After that colour is completed, the final sequence starts with yellow.
Do colours go back on the table?
Yes, while reds remain. During the final-colours clearance, potted colours normally stay off.
Can you pot two reds at once?
Yes, if red is on and the shot is otherwise legal. Each potted red scores one point.
What happens if you pot the wrong colour?
If you hit or pot a ball that is not on, it is a foul. The penalty depends on the balls involved.
What is the final order of colours in snooker?
The final order is yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black.
