Free Ball

[joe2311]

the white has to hit both extreme edges on opposite sides of the red

[The Statman]

the white has to hit both extreme edges on opposite sides of the red

Correct. So if the white and red are very close to each other, hitting one extreme edge is facing in almost the opposite direction to hitting the other extreme edge.

Therefore the green and brown are not impinging on either route.

[joe2311]

it doesnt work like that statman you are top poster and moderator on a snooker site and you dont understand the free ball rule lol

[Manvilla]

Yes and in this case G[R]B the extreme edges are so close when you place cue ball as close to red as possible that neither green nor brown are obstructing the extreme edges from being struck.

[The Statman]

it doesnt work like that statman you are top poster and moderator on a snooker site and you dont understand the free ball rule lol

I am afraid it is you who do not understand the rule.

Do me a favour, when you are next at the club, get a red and a white and put them close together. Judge for yourself which direction you would have to hit the white to hit the extreme left-hand edge, and which direction for the extreme right-hand edge. I would imagine you will find they are in almost opposite directions, looking down on the table, with the white below the red, to hit the left-hand edge you would need to aim at about 10 o'clock on a clock face; to hit the right-hand edge, about 2 o'clock.

Therefore, if there is a green and a brown which are beyond the red in those two directions, then it cannot be a free ball.

I also strongly suggest you get a copy of the Billiards & Snooker Referees' Handbook, and excellent piece of work by my fellow referee John Street – who has 30-plus years' experience refereeing on the professional circuit – and Peter Rook, who is on the WPBSA rules committee. It contains many excellent diagrams covering this and many other intriguing "what-if" situations that crop up at referees' get-togethers all the time.

[The Statman]

it doesnt work like that statman you are top poster and moderator on a snooker site and you dont understand the free ball rule lol

And, by the way, what has the fact I am the top poster (although I'm about to be overtaken) and the fact that I am a moderator (which is not strictly true) got to do with whether I am right or wrong?

(Although I am NOT wrong this time)