The quick version
Pot a red for one, then a nominated color for its value. Reds stay down; colors return to their spots until the reds are gone. A miss or foul ends your visit. After the last red and its color attempt, clear yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black in that order. Add pots and foul points; the higher total wins. Use the introductory foul procedure below throughout.
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Ask the venue to show the spots
Book a snooker table, not a numbered-ball pool table. Ask staff to demonstrate the rest and mark the six color positions. Looking from the D end: yellow goes on the right end of the baulk line, green on the left and brown at its center. Blue is at table center, pink on its marked spot between blue and the far cushion, and black on its spot nearer that far cushion. Rack six reds in a tight triangle just beyond pink, without touching it. The white starts anywhere inside or on the D.
Ball values are red 1, yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6 and black 7. Toss for the break. Announce that this is the six-red house frame below: it omits professional miss, free-ball and replay-from-original-position decisions. It is not the tournament Six Red ruleset.
Red, color, red, color
Open with a red
Use the cue tip to strike only the white. It must contact a red first. A legal red pot scores one and keeps you at the table. If several reds fall legally, score one each. A legal miss gives the opponent the position as it lies.
Choose the color
After a red, nominate one color before shooting. Contact that color first; potting only it adds its value and lets you shoot another red. Re-spot the color even if it was the attempt after the final red. A missed color ends your visit, and the next player starts on red if any remain.
Put colors back correctly
Use their own spots when free. If occupied, use the highest-valued vacant color spot. If all are occupied, place the color as near its own spot as possible on the centerline toward the black end, without touching another ball. If that is impossible, ask the venue helper to place it correctly rather than moving other balls.
Apply the friendly foul rule
Wrong first contact, missing all balls, a scratch, a ball off the table, potting a ball other than the ball on, touching a ball improperly, a push or double hit ends the visit. Award the opponent the greatest of four, the value of the ball on, or the highest involved ball. For this house frame the opponent then places the white anywhere on the table. Return colors to spots; reds stay down. No replay demand or free ball is used.
Clear the colors
Once all reds are gone and the last-red player's color attempt has ended, yellow is on. Then green, brown, blue, pink and black become on in order. Legally potted colors now stay down. A foul restores any illegally removed color and uses the same friendly penalty procedure.
Count points, not just the final pot
When only black remains, its first legal pot or foul ends the frame unless scores become equal. Higher score wins. For an equal score, re-spot black, toss for who plays first and put the white in the D; the first legal black pot wins and the first foul loses. A player can concede at any time, handing the frame to the other player.
Help the first game run smoothly
Before recording a foul, stop and name the ball that was on. That avoids confusing a missed pot with an illegal shot. Keep hands and cues off moving balls, use the venue's rest for long reaches and leave space for the other person's backswing. Try one unscored red-and-color sequence before the frame.
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Ideas & Twists
Choose a variation together before you start.
Snooker · See main rules
Suggested house variationAlternate-shot partners
Use four people in two pairs. Partners alternate every stroke, including within a scoring visit; keep each pair's next shooter across changes of turn. Share a team score and the main six-red finish. Discuss the plan before a visit starts, then let the active shooter choose. No extra strokes are created by changing partners.
Snooker · See main rules
Suggested house variationColor declaration before the red
Before each red attempt, announce the color you intend to play next. If the red drops legally, that named color is your ball on even if its position has become awkward. A missed red cancels the declaration. Use the normal clearance sequence once reds are gone. The main scoring and foul rules remain unchanged.
Snooker · See main rules
Suggested house variationThree-shot visits
A visit ends after three strokes even if the third scores. If that last stroke pots a red, return the next player to red while any remain; after the final red, the next player starts on yellow. Otherwise apply the normal color-clearance stage. Keep points already earned and play the same frame to completion. This house limit makes leaving a useful position matter sooner.
Snooker · See main rules
Suggested house variationColor ladder
Whenever reds remain, the first color legally potted in each player's visit must be yellow, their next must be green, then brown, blue, pink and black. A miss or foul resets that player's ladder for the next visit. Re-spot these colors normally. After reds finish, use the ordinary yellow-to-black clearance. Keep normal values and the main finish; positional planning now follows a fixed scoring route.
About this guide
Ball sequence, values and table identity are based on snooker. Six starting reds, universal ball-in-hand after fouls, omitted referee exceptions and all variations are explicit introductory house choices. They must not be represented as WPBSA tournament Six Red rules. Club and coaching directories establish a route to playing, not guaranteed availability.
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