How many pockets does a snooker table have?

Snooker is a cue sport played by two players. It is played on a 2.65m x 1.82m (12 x 6 ft) table that is covered with a smooth green cloth called baize. A snooker table has six pockets, one in each corner and one at the centre of each of the longest sides. Each pocket is round with a diameter of 86 mm (3.5 in).

The players use long thin sticks called cues to strike the cue ball (white ball), with the aim of hitting a coloured ball. There are 21 target balls in total: 15 red, 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 brown, 1 blue, 1 pink and 1 black. Each target ball must be aimed or 'potted' into one of the pockets in a particular order: a red ball followed by a coloured, then a red ball again. Each time a coloured ball is potted, the referee removes it from the pocket and replaces it on the table in its original spot. This happens until only the coloured balls are left after which the colours have to be potted in the following order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black. The player who scores more points wins the 'frame'. A match consists of an agreed number of frames.

Snooker was first played by British Army officers stationed in India in the second half of the 19th century. The rules were devised by Sir Neville Chamberlain (1856-1944) while serving with the army. The similarities between his name and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940) are purely coincidental.