So Many Threads About Break Shots

JLW said:

I was just noticing how many of the straight pool threads deal specifically with breaking.

Here's a question for those of you who play a lot of 14.1 at an advanced level. Do any of you spend practice sessions where all you do is practice breaking or setting up a good break shot?

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I believe that Babe Cranfield suggests doing this in his book.

I do.

I try break shots from different angles and I practice different speeds. The speed will vary from table to table, as well as adding in the factor of whether the balls are dirty or clean. I go around the stack so to speak placing the break ball in different spots around the stack.

I also practice playing safe off the break shot, which is an art all to itself. Many times you won't have a workable shot and you need to know how to maneuver the object ball or the cue ball without leaving an opening for your opponent. The illustration below is a great example of a good safety situation you could use when you have virtualy nothing to work with.