Snooker Betting Guide: Types of Bets and Popular Events for Gambling

Snooker Betting Guide Contents

In the snooker betting guide you will find the following sections, feel free to find what you are looking for in the list below. 

• Snooker Betting for Beginners

• Betting on Snooker Explained

• Types of Snooker Events to Bet on

• Types of Snooker Bets

• In-Play Snooker Betting

• Snooker Betting Odds Explained

• Where to bet on Snooker

• Snooker Betting Tips and Tipsters

• Further Reading

Snooker Betting for Beginners

If you have not placed a bet on snooker before but are after some help and guidance to show you the way, then you will find a huge amount of information to guide you in this Snooker Betting Guide.

The key part to think about is to keep it simple when you first start betting on snooker, making sure that you understand the key markets that are available. 

It’s important to know every single outcome of the bet you place before you put it on so you know what the outcome will be and what your returns could be. 

Snooker matches will only have one winner with the total number of frames being a odd number to rule out a draw, but there are certain snooker markets where ties can happen so it’s important to read up on that. 

Betting on Snooker Explained

Snooker is one of the top sports in the UK, with a large audience in Asia too. With events such as the World Snooker Championship, which has a total prize pot of over £2,000,000, there aren’t many sports that can prove to be as appealing.

The popularity of Snooker makes it one of the most gambled on sports in the British and Asian markets, with so many different events and markets that you can bet on. 

From the basic win market, to frame betting, to handicap betting and so much more, bookmakers offer a large range of opportunities to bet on the sport.

Our Snooker Betting Guide is going to help you approach betting on the sport from a beginner’s point of view, all the way to becoming an expert. 

From the different events there are, to the basics of the sport itself, to some of the most popular Snooker players, we will look to help you perhaps make a profit from betting on the sport. 

We will also cover the major individual tournaments in the blog section such as The Masters Snooker Preview.

BUGNUT23//shutterstock

How to Bet on Snooker

Betting on Snooker involves making a prediction on the outcome of a specific market on the sport, where odds are provided by different bookmakers. 

You firstly make a prediction from your opinion of an outcome and then select how much you want to put on that outcome. 

Once you’ve decided, you can place a bet with a bookmaker which you then either lose or you can win more than you placed.

The article below is updated regularly so you can always find the best snooker site for your bet. 

ALSO READ

The Best Snooker Betting Sites for 2024

Types of Snooker Bets

There are a huge range of bookmaker betting markets, naturally the best betting sites have the most snooker markets

The most popular markets are as follows.

Outright tournament winner

When betting on the outright winner of a snooker tournament you are predicting who will win the tournament. 

There are many different tournaments that you can bet on, but some of them have a lot more money to be won than others but player [should] take each of them as seriously as the others, especially the triple crown events. 

Most tournaments have a draw that is already mapped out and it can often be seen that some players may have an easier route to the tournament final. 

This can make them a value bet, and even if you don't fancy them when they make it to the final, you can always lay the bet off on a betting exchange such as Betfair or Smarkets to guarantee yourself a profit.

To win a match

A single match in snooker is a head to head between two players over a predetermined number of frames. The first  player to reach the predetermined number of frames wins. This market can have short odd and be a little one-sided and this is where handicap betting comes into play

Handicap betting 

Handicap betting is betting odds available on each player with a handicap attached. Each player will start with a different handicap. The player with the higher starting score will have to win more frames than their opponent in order for them to be successful. 

E.G: If John Higgins is the favourite to beat Matthew Stevens then Matthew Stevens may receive a handicap start of say +1.5 frames.

Should Matthew Stevens win the match or John Higgins win by just one frame, then the bet on Matthew Stevens +1.5 would be the winner.

If you think a match will be very close then the underdog on the handicap can often be a good bet.

Correct score 

One of the most difficult bets to make on snooker such is the unpredictability, especially over long championship matches. Correct score betting is betting on what the final frame score result will be - Very very hard.

Frame winner

It is possible to bet on who you think will win the next frame. This is an element on in-play snooker betting and is not as easy as it sounds. You have to be careful when making this bet.

Total frames

 If you have ever bet on goals on football, this is very similar. The bookmaker will provide a median figure and your bet will be to predict whether there will be more or fewer frames in total over the period of the match, total frames betting is a popular bet on snooker.

Total centuries

Also available as a Total 50+ break option, you simply have to predict the total number of centuries or breaks over 50 that are scored in the match - 

This could be the total of both players or there are often options for a single nominated player too. 

Another way of this bet being presented is by offering half figures, where you would bet either higher or lower than 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 century breaks and so on. 

Highest break

It is possible to make a bet on your prediction of the player that will score the highest break in the match or over the entire tournament.

This is a popular bet for snooker tournaments and it's not uncommon to see the odds on this market change as players progress through their matches.

147 break in the match

This is a prediction of whether the maximum break in snooker (147) will be completed by any player. Expect the odds to be low as this happens more frequently than you might think these days.

Once the specific event or match has finished, your bet will then settle and you will be paid out accordingly. 

If your prediction was correct, you get paid, the value of your stake, multiplied by the odds taken - This is your return which includes your profit + stake

If your prediction was incorrect, your bet is lost, the bookmaker retains the stake and nothing is returned.

On OLBG we also offer many of the above markets in the Snooker Tipping Competition which is free to enter and where every month you can win a share of £100.

How to Bet Successfully on Snooker

There is a difference between betting on Snooker and and betting on Snooker with a bit of success. 

Success in gambling isn’t necessarily about constantly winning, as it is extremely difficult to make profit consistently when it comes to gambling. 

The key to successfully betting on Snooker is shortening the chances of a loss, (any free bets on offer for a tournament will help). 

Part of the fun of gambling on snooker is that each frame can be so different and there is always a chance of your pick coming back. 

This snooker betting advice is to try and help you reduce the amount of losers that you have and hopefully increase the amount of winning bets.

Looking through this guide, your strike rate could improve due to this and if so you could start to make a profit in the long run with the help we provide. 

Learn as much as you can about Snooker

It’s fair to say that the more that you know about sport, the more you can make well informed decisions on gambling on it. 

With the Snooker season lasting all year round, there are constant betting opportunities and always ways to check out specific events in the sport.

This means that there are plenty of different markets and niche opportunities to highlight when looking to bet on Snooker.

It could be that you see the same players hitting more century breaks, or you could see certain players performing in the same tournaments each year but disappointing in others. 

Adding the knowledge of the tournaments, plus the specific players themselves equals the perfect sum to put you in the best position to know when to make the right bet, and when to avoid one to, this is a great way to find a value bet on Snooker. 

Snooker Statistics

As with the majority of sport, statistics can prove to be a big part of understanding your betting when it comes to Snooker.

If you want to learn more about how to bet on snooker check out the snooker tips on olbg.

To read detailed previews on snooker then the snooker blogs on OLBG are a great resource. 

There is plenty of in-depth analysis and statistics to help with your betting.

Know The Players

As with a lot of individual sports, some snooker punters will only follow certain players and only bet on them for specific moments. 

They will only pick these players in certain events or when they’re in good form & by doing this they can find value in the odds when the bookmakers might be over pricing certain outcomes.

Try to narrow down the manner in which you look at players, so you can learn everything about them. 

Start with these possible options which may help pick a winner:

• Players who have won that tournament previously.

• Players who are in good form over the season.

• Players who have won a tournament in the past 24 months.

• Top Ten ranked players.

Think of it like a Horse tracker but for Snooker. You can follow certain players and build a stable that fit specific criteria that you can carry on following for different tournaments.

A good way of becoming a successful snooker punter is being able to be cautious with the predictions you make and therefore being able to bet when the odds are looking in your favour.

Player Statistics

There are plenty of websites where you can find out snooker players’ statistics from a wide range of variables and this may help when it comes to picking your bets.

Cuetracker is a good example of this, which highlights the tournaments that are currently being played and statistics for each players like

• Matches played

• Frames

• 50+ breaks

• Century breaks

• Prize Money

• Tournament wins

• Points & breaks

• and much more.

 Player Form

Snooker is a sport in which players tend to dip in and out of form at any time, with a proper dominating period hard to come across when it comes to major tournament winners. 

Being able to understand when a player is in form or when they are out of form can help you when it comes to betting on that player to win or betting against them. 

A good approach to betting on Snooker would be to find players who tend to have spells of a good form throughout a period each year. 

Consistency is key when it comes to tournaments and could help you find a winner every year. 

UK SPORTS IMAGES LTD / shutterstock

Understand the Importance of Each Tournament

Some tournaments are more important that others, some carrying high ranking points other fewer or none at all

Tournament statistics

You can look at statistics for a specific tournament and this can usually give you a sign about how they’ll perform in future editions of that tournament. 

Look at where a player has come previously in those tournaments and see if they’ve struggled in certain ones too.

Which ones mean something?

There are many statistics in Snooker and there can be the danger of over focusing on them, but some of them will be key. Look at the frames that have been won over the course of a tournament for example and if that instantly means wins. 

Breaks are also a great statistic when it comes to meaning something, with century breaks looking flashy for a player but ultimately a large break only gives you the same amount of frames than winning by a lower break. 

Snooker Events To Bet On

There are many different Snooker events that can be bet on, with some being held in higher regard than others, and the main ranking ones are:

• Championship League (January to March)
• Masters (January) [Triple Crown]
• German Masters (January/February)
• World Grand Prix (February)
• Welsh Open (February)
• Shoot-Out (February)
• Indian Open (Feb/March)
• Players Championship (March)
• Gibraltar Open (March)
• Tour Championship (March)
• China Open (April)
• World Championship (April/May) [Triple Crown]
• Six-Red World Championship (September)
• Shanghai Masters (September)
• China Championship (September)
• European Masters (October)
• English Open (October)
• International Championship (Oct/November)
• Northern Ireland (November)
• UK Championship (Nov/December) [Triple Crown]
• Scottish Open (December)

Betting on the big events

When it comes to big events in Snooker, there are three events across the season that have a total prize pool of £1m or more. These events tend to be the ones that are bet on the most, with the World Championship being the most lucrative tournament. 

The Masters isn’t in the top three of prize money, but is part of the Triple Crown, with the UK Championship being the other one of the three tournaments. 

World Championship

The World Championship is arguably the most popular tournament of the year, with the event being held at the Crucible in Sheffield every year since 1977. 

It is rare that you’ll see a dominant era when it comes to this tournament, with Stephen Hendry throwing that in the air with seven wins in the 90s. Mark Selby won three in four years between 2014-2017 which was the only dominant period in the 21st century, but other than that there tends to be a different winner each year.

The £2.3m prize money for the tournament shows just how big the World Championship is too, with the winner receiving £500k. 

ALSO READ

🎱 World Snooker Championship Preview and Form

UK Championship

With a total prize pool of £1,009,000, the UK Championship is the second most lucrative tournament in Snooker.  

Ronnie O’Sullivan has won the tournament twice in the last five years and holds the record for the most UK Championship wins with 7. 

ALSO READ

🎱 UK Championship Snooker Draw, Trends and Analysis

The Masters

Held every year since 1975, the Masters is the second longest running tournament in Snooker behind the World Championship. 

In 2021, Yan Bingtao became the first debutant since Mark Selby in 2008 to win the tournament and the youngest player at 20 years of age to win it since Ronnie O’Sullivan in 1995. 

ALSO READ

🎱 Masters Snooker Preview, Stats and Betting Guide

The Triple Crown

Only eleven players have won a career Triple Crown in Snooker, with just three (Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams) winning the Triple Crown in a single season. All 11 Triple Crown winners are

• Steve Davis

• Terry Griffiths

• Alex Higgins

• Stephen Hendry

• John Higgins

• Mark Williams

• Ronnie O’Sullivan

• Neil Robertson

• Mark Selby

• Shaun Murphy

• Judd Trump

Triple Crown title wins could be good to note when you’re betting on a tournament as these players have previous form of winning big events. If a Triple Crown winner is featuring in a tournament at higher odds you may be tempted to back them. 

Snooker Triple Crown Finals

World Championship Winners

UK Championship 

Masters Winners

Gamble Responsibly

This guide aims to help you understand the process of gambling on Snooker, what to look for and what to avoid. 

This guide does not guarantee profits when betting on Snooker. 

As with any form of gambling, you should only ever gamble what you can comfortably afford to lose as part of your personal budget. 

If you feel you have a gambling problem, there is help available from BeGambleAware

Editorial Information

The original Snooker Guide was created by Darren Brett one of the team of OLBG Betting Experts. 

Darren Brett

Tipster Competition Manager

Darren has worked in the horseracing and gambling industries for over thirty years and has been writing about sport for most of that time. He has been the Tipster Competiton Manager at OLBG for over fifteen years, as well as overseeing our sister site, Grand National Guide. Darren's specialist areas are National Hunt racing, snooker and golf.

👨‍🏫 Specialist Subjects🔬📚

🏇 🏁 Darren has worked in the horse racing and greyhound racing industry for decades bringing to OLBG for the last 20 years a wealth of knowledge, creating much of our content on these sports. Darren also manages our Grand National Guide and is the go-to font of knowledge for the world's greatest steeplechase.

🎱🏆 Darren is also a huge Snooker fan attending many events every year and a regular player in his free time.

⚽ A QPR fan, Darren also follows English League football with a close eye on the Hoops games.

Nigel Skinner formatted and collated subsequent updates. 

Nigel Skinner

Blog Content Manager

Nigel is one of OLBG's senior editors with 19 years of industry experience. Today he specialises in researching and writing about the betting angles to political and mainstream news stories and being the OLBG in-house expert on 'next football manager' betting markets.

Specialist Subjects🔬📚

⚽️👨‍💼 Nigel is an Arsenal fan first and foremost but has an unrivalled knowledge of English football managers at every level. Meticulously putting together our Next Manager articles, Nigel can quite possibly name you every manager of every club in the land, not to mention a pretty good eye for predicting replacements when changes happen. 

📈📊📉 A long-time exchange trader and spread betting fan, Nigel is our go-to for advice on the subjects and uses them daily in his own betting activity. 

🗳️💼 Finally, Nigel loves his politics and [some would say] has an unhealthy interest in the day-to-day events in the UK's political landscape, contributing to all our Political betting content and new pieces.