studs wrote:further to your discussion can anyone help me settle a dispute
if say just two reds are visible after a foul and neither can be fully seen (ie both sides) but the extreme left of one red can be hit and the extreme right of the other red can be hit ,,,,,,, is this a free ball ????
thanks
Asked and answered in PM but for anyone else's curiosity, copy and pasted:
Hi Studs,
I don't check in to Snooker Island too often these days as I have just been too busy with other things. There is an absolute answer to your query. From the way that you wrote your statement, it sounds like you are incorrect. However, I do admit that it is possible that I am not understanding your situation precisely so I will go into a bit more detail.
I have been very familiar with the game for close to 35 years now. I have been very specifically engaged with thoroughly understanding the Rules of Snooker for about the last 8 years. Prior to that, I had had a "pretty good" knowledge of the rules, but more recently, I received proper referee training from a certified professional so I am much more confident in my knowledge of the modern game Rules. By these very facts, I am guessing that you are an older player of the game like myself...maybe 50 years old or more.
I say this because it does seem to me (though I am not absolutely certain) that "back in our day", the Rule for Free Ball was exactly as your state it....that is that if you can see one side of one Red and the other side of another Red, then it would not be a Free Ball. However, that is not the way that the Rule is CURRENTLY written so I believe it has changed from years past. The way this situation is covered by the Rules today is somewhat buried....you have to go to Section 2. Rule 17., the definition of "Snookered" to understand why it is the way that it is. To try to explain it as simply as possible:
The modern Rules make it very clear that in order to be SNOOKERED, then it must be impossible to see BOTH sides of an INDIVIDUAL ball that is on or could be on. To pile on top of that, it is not possible for a ball that COULD BE ON to snooker a different ball that could be on. Specifically, this means that it is not possible for a Red to snooker a different Red. So when faced with a situation such as you describe, what needs to be done is to select any ball which COULD BE ON (so in your case, consider each of the individual Reds independently) and PRETEND like no other Reds are even on the table. Kind of "make them disappear" in your mind. So when you look at the relationship of the cue ball to that ONE red ball (do not consider any other Reds at all), would the White ball be able to strike EITHER side of that ONE INDIVIDUAL Red? If yes, then no Free Ball. If no, then move on and consider the next Red removing all other Reds (in your mind). Can the White be played to EITHER SIDE of THAT Red? Again, if yes, then no Free Ball. Etc., etc., etc.
When you think about this way, there is a very simple example: Consider a foul on the break off shot. The White is struck and does not touch the triangle of Reds at all. The White rebounds off Black cushion and falls into the Yellow pocket so the incoming striker has Ball in Hand in the "D", the table still in its original set position. Is this a Free Ball situation? The answer is a definite NO because consider one of the corner Reds IF you (in your mind) remove the other fourteen Reds from the table. If you do that, then either one of the corner Reds would be available without a snooker from a position within the D. Remember, a Red cannot snooker another Red.
Getting back to your example, I will take a guess and just say the Pink is on its spot with two Reds close behind it, one on either side, a foul has been committed and the White is, say, on the Blue spot. So the White can see the left side of one Red or the White can see the right side of the other Red because of the Pink blocking the gap between the two. BUT, the White CANNOT see either side of either INDIVIDUAL Red. Therefore, Free Ball.
...................
And the OP did confirm that this was essentially his table situation so that no Free Ball should have been given.
Happy New Year to all!