The World Championship uses a longer format, with matches ranging from the best of 19 frames in the first round to best of 35 for the final, which is played over four sessions of play held over two days. In play, the object is to stroke the cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom, or billiard, which counts one point. This "rolling" list is maintained and updated throughout the season, with points from tournaments played in the current season replacing points earned from the corresponding tournaments of two seasons ago. The responsibilities of the referee include announcing the points scored during a break, determining when a foul has been committed and awarding penalty points and free balls accordingly, replacing colours onto their designated spots after they are potted, restoring the balls to their previous positions after the "miss" rule has been invoked (see Scoring), and cleaning the cue ball or any object ball upon request by the striker.

When the final ball is potted, the player with the most points wins the frame. If the scores are equal when all of the object balls have been potted, the black is used as a tiebreaker. The term colour is understood to mean one of the six remaining object balls that are not red, i.e. yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, what is billiards and black. If the referee has also called a "miss"-meaning that the referee has deemed the opponent not to have made their best possible attempt to hit the object ball-the player has the option of having the balls replaced to their original positions and forcing the opponent to play the shot again. A foul can occur for various reasons, such as sending the cue ball into a pocket, or failing to hit the object ball. Other games were designed with an increased number of object balls in play. If dissatisfied with the position left after a foul, the next player may nominate the opponent who committed the foul to play again from where the balls have come to rest. If, after a foul, the next player cannot cleanly strike both sides of the object ball, the referee may call a free ball, allowing the player to nominate any other ball in place of the object ball they might normally have played.

The referee then tosses a coin and the winner of the toss decides who takes the first strike. Practice English first across the width of the table and then across the length. Jamie Cope was the first player to achieve a verified 155 break during a practice frame in 2005, with other players such as Alex Higgins claiming to have made a similar break. The first is ball-in-hand behind the head string and the second is ball-in-hand anywhere on the table. The head string is denoted by the middle markers or diamonds on either side at the head of the table. If a player pots the cue ball in a side pocket, the opposing player can place the ball anywhere on the table. After the creation of the World Snooker Championship, snooker overcame billiards as the most popular cue sport in the United Kingdom. World Snooker Ltd is responsible for the professional tour which is owned by both the WPBSA and Matchroom Sport. Players on the World Snooker Tour generally gain a two-year "tour card" for participation in the events.

Triple Crown events are valued by many players as the most prestigious. All balls other than the 8 ball are placed at random, but in conformance with the preceding corner ball rule. And high water content in the air can also affect playability by causing the felt or cloth on the table to loosen, which can increase resistance on the balls. Getting the brightness of the light right will help you create the right ambiance for your room while reducing glare and shadows on the felt during a game. In some cases, these soft shadows can "blend" with the darkness of the pockets, creating the illusion that a given pocket is larger than it is - a surefire recipe for missed shots. These are shots that are designed to make playing a legal shot harder, such as leaving another ball between the cue ball and the object ball. Players will often play on even when there are not enough points available for them to win, hoping to force their opponent into playing foul shots by laying snookers. Additionally, "one-year" and "two-year" ranking lists are compiled at the end of every season, after the World Championship; these year-end lists are used for pre-qualification at certain tournaments and for tour-card guarantees.