Is It A Maximum?

[chasmmi]

Scenario A:

Player A comes to the table to break off, he clips the blue and the white ends up behind the brown giving player B a free ball.

Player B pots the brown and then pots the blue to move onto six points before playing safe.

Player A then knocks in a long red and clears up taking blacks with each red to record a 147.


Scenario B:

Same happens but After B plays safe. Player A misses the red and Player B makes a 147 break.


Scenario C:

A gives away the free ball but Player B never pots the brown. Player A then makes a 147.

Scenario D.

Despite having a free ball, Player B plays a risky red, pots it and clears up to record a 147 break.


In all these situations there was a point in the frame where a 155 was possible and so does this mean the maximum break ceases to be 147?

[The Statman]

They are all valid maximums.

A maximum can be described as:

EITHER
A break of 147 which includes all 15 'real' reds and no free ball
OR
A break of 155.
IN EACH CASE, assuming there is no mistake by the referee whereby a red is returned to the table.

[Ginger Freak]

C and D are definitely maximums, not too sure about A and B, I would say they were in my opinion

[Ginger Freak]

I wonder if we will ever see the unusual situation whereby player A makes a 147 at the crucible, and player B gets a 154 (the pink being potted after the free-ball)

Player A would get £147,000 but player B would only get the high break prize!

[davis_greatest]

C and D are definitely maximums, not too sure about A and B, I would say they were in my opinion

Definitely all the examples in the opening post are maximums.

[Lee Vilenski]

All of them are maximums as they all scored a break of 147. The only way you couldn't have it is if you had a free ball took the yellow, say, then the black, then cleared and didn't pot the black, that is a break of 147, but wouldn't count.

[Ginger Freak]

All of them are maximums as they all scored a break of 147. The only way you couldn't have it is if you had a free ball took the yellow, say, then the black, then cleared and didn't pot the black, that is a break of 147, but wouldn't count.

Are you sure you dont mean 148?

[Lee Vilenski]

No, Becuase you would have taken a pink somewhere.

[Wity]

None of the examples are maximum breaks.

A 155 is the maximum

A 147 is the maximum without a foul starter.

It's jusr snooker players, commentators, referees, reporters and fans alike are a breed apart when it comes to the English language.

[davis_greatest]

None of the examples are maximum breaks.

Please explain? I feel that there is no doubt that all the examples in the opening post are maximum breaks, in the universally accepted sense in which that term is used in snooker.

[Wity]

Just because most say 147 is a maximum does not make them right does it?

[chasmmi]

Isn't a maximum break seen as the highest break possible at the start of a game of snooker?

So since you cannot make higher than 147, the maximum possible break at the start of the frame is 147 and so that is the maximum break.

148 are freak anomolies that occur from rare loopholes in break building during the midst of a frame but are not available at the start and so anything higher than 147 is not a maximum but just an example of the few ocasions where a plus 147 break is possible.

[The Statman]

Isn't a maximum break seen as the highest break possible at the start of a game of snooker?

So since you cannot make higher than 147, the maximum possible break at the start of the frame is 147 and so that is the maximum break.

148 are freak anomolies that occur from rare loopholes in break building during the midst of a frame but are not available at the start and so anything higher than 147 is not a maximum but just an example of the few ocasions where a plus 147 break is possible.

...except that, if someone were to get a free ball and clear the table, a 147, or anything between there and 154, would not be counted as a maximum but a 155 would be.

[DawRef]

Is it a maximum

Player A breaks off. Player B pots a red but then fouls the black, leaving a free ball.
Player A pots free ball with a black as the colour, then the remaining 14 reds with blacks and all the colours, break=147. Is this a maximum?

[ADR147]

all of these situations would be a maximum break because of the change of players - if a player has a free ball and uses it then 155 would be required.