is this a foul and miss

[Souwester]

We've played the foul and a miss rule in our league for the last 15 years since it was formalised in the September 1995 issue rule book. Our league has become so casual that most players don't bother refereeing their team mates' games so they referee themselves. I've never yet known a serious disagreement over a suggested miss.

The rules provide that where there is no referee the non-striker is treated as being the referee, and generally players have been quite sensible about what they suggest is a miss: I say 'suggest' because they normally ask if the offender is happy for the Miss to be called. Sometimes a discussion has ensued, but normally amicably resolved within a few seconds.

I've played plenty of casual frames, and more often than not we call misses on ourselves. We know if we could have made a better attempt at getting out of the snooker.

If you haven't been playing the miss rule you really ought to try: it really isn't as difficult as many imagine.

[nevets]

Thanks Souwester. I agree, it would be easiest if players called misses ourselves. After all, only the player knows if he really tried.
By the way, although I always try to hit the ball, I will judge the pace so that if I do miss I have a good chance of leaving the cue ball safe. This is okay isn't it?

[Souwester]

Each case needs to be judged on its own merit, but there's certainly a case for saying that if you fall short then a Miss should be called. Before the rule was clarified in the 1995 rule book, World Snooker's edict was that if an attempt fell short by even a hair's breadth, then a Miss should be called.

[nevets]

Sorry I wasn't clear there. I meant if the cue ball passes the intended object ball, not falling short.

I can tell you're a referee!!!!

[Souwester]

My answer was probably equally unclear. All attempts at getting out of snooker must be judged on their own merit, given the ability of the player, the difficulty of the snooker, the other shot options available, and how close the cue ball was to hitting the object ball.

A cue ball that's on the right line but falls short by a couple of inches is more likely to be called a Miss compared to a stronger paced one that goes two inches to the side of the object ball. There's not really much of an excuse for falling short. The only reason is that you're trying to leave the cue ball safe(r) by not over-hitting it.

[nevets]

At my level I could miss a difficult escape by a foot but still be honestly trying my best! No excuse for leaving it short though.

[jadoma]

Re: foul and a miss

Thanks to all that have replied. I believe I understand the rule now.
one more question though. If I choose to attempt the safer shot and miss the yellow as in this case and the cue ball is re-spotted, can I attempt the same shot over again without conceding the game ( just the 4 pts each time ) I am better than this seems but I did miss and doubt that I would miss on second shot. I have played pool for 45 years but only just getting re- acquainted with snooker and unsure of a few rules. thanks again

[The Statman]

Thanks to all that have replied. I believe I understand the rule now.
one more question though. If I choose to attempt the safer shot and miss the yellow as in this case and the cue ball is re-spotted, can I attempt the same shot over again without conceding the game ( just the 4 pts each time ) I am better than this seems but I did miss and doubt that I would miss on second shot. I have played pool for 45 years but only just getting re- acquainted with snooker and unsure of a few rules. thanks again

If you have a direct, full-in-the-face shot at a colour, you will lose the frame on the third attempt. If you cannot see a colour - i.e. in nontechnical terms you are snookered, then you can have as many attempts as you like until either (a) you make contact with the ball; (b) a Miss is no longer called or (c) you need snookers yourself in which case a Miss is not usually called anyway.

You are welcome to change your mind as to which colour you go for. Let's look at these two situations:

(1) you have a direct shot at the black, but not a pot, and it is awkward and dangerous - so you choose yellow for safety. In this instance, you would be warned for loss of frame when replaced for a third attempt. In this instance, you will probably change your nomination to Black!

(2) going for the yellow, one of your attempts misses the yellow and goes on to hit the green. If the balls are replaced, you would be entitled to change your nomination to green and play exactly the same shot again.