Break cue.. the most over hyped cue in our bag?

I play and break BK2 that have Z2 Shaft and Elkmaster. That is all i need. I heard Efren plays with same combo. I started using it because i use it 3-cushion too. Normal playing butts are too soft for that.
 
Anyone atest to the Tony layne j/b Cues out of diamondwood? They must be very good hardly see those on the secondary market for sale other than a razz or a flip as in brand new.
 
read the above posts from good players. they lean towards not wasting lots on break cues but concentrating on your break accuracy.

speed is secondary on the break to accuracy after a certain speed. which can achieved with any cue.

but its like the tee shot in golf. all the bad players and average players are trying to drive the ball farther than their ability to keep it in the fairway.
which they dont do enough.
they buy new expensive drivers every year or so looking for the miracle club. just like pool players with break cues.
 
maha said:
read the above posts from good players. they lean towards not wasting lots on break cues but concentrating on your break accuracy.

speed is secondary on the break to accuracy after a certain speed. which can achieved with any cue.
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100%

IMO, a player's already established ability qualifies them for a high dollar break cue. I'd wager the percentage of players that actual gain something from the tech to be quite small. I know many that break harder and maintain their accuracy far better than I. IF they were concerned about the cost, they shouldn't bother with CF. On the flip side, those with generally sporadic control regardless of speed, won't gain anything. The window for performance improvement is very small.

My particular case is mildly interesting. Other than the 'power break', I've got an incredibly straight cueing action. Even within game play, I can hammer shots to generate angles and hold accuracy. However for some reason I just can't seem to do the same on the break. I have zero doubt I could practice this flaw out of my game. Maybe even benefit from the dreaded "instruction" from a experience player/instructor. However after decades of solid but 'not as good' results, I bought the high tech break cue. I know I'm beyond getting any stronger, and my table time is spent learning to compensate for failing eyes. I'm content spending the money, and found enough improvement to justify it for myself. Truth be told though. It could very well just be a placebo...lol
 
Personally I think it's a huge ripoff, but then again I don't have a huge power break. It's pretty average. I guess, maybe for the absolute elite breakers there is something to be gained?
 
A player should have both power and accuracy when winning and losing possibly hinges upon making a ball on the break. Doesn't really matter one way or the other if that takes place with a $80 or a $800 cue
 
The_JV said:
Interesting... I don't agree with any of the above. Other than the weak breaker shouldn't waste their money.
  • Strong break already = no real benefit (great timing and maintains stroke, get by with house cue)
  • Mediocre break = greatest benefit (Solid controlled contact but lacks power)
  • Weak break (likely from stroke) = near zero benefit (needs to work toward 'mediocre' ability before looking for magic pill)
The only performance advantage to a break cue is the additional transmission of power, and this is quite minimal. A break cue doesn't fix a bad stroke. A successful powerful breaker has already figured out how to swing for the fences and keep his stroke clean. The mediocre breaker (me) tends to lose control when attempting to swing for the fences, so having the extra tiny bit allows them to stay in the comfort zone on spd and generate more powerful results. A "weak breaker" is someone who hasn't figured out what they're doing yet, so no amount of money on equipment will get them to a mediocre level. For them it's about fundamentals.

All just my opinion of course
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I play w a female player occasionally who says she's a 4. Her break is strong, imo, for a woman.
I had her break with my snap stick tipped w a 'Bulletproof break tip' and the difference was apparent from the first snap!! She got a much wider spread and more balls fell. We did this on bar boxes and 9 footers.
I don't care for bar boxes, but will swallow my pride since she plays in league every week and she will play on 9 footers to appease me.
Her jury is still out on whether it helps her stroke. Playing on a 9 foot. I promised her it would straighten it, if nothing else.
 
My break has been clocked at a bit over 20 mph, but sometimes I wonder if I have more success dialing it down a bit. I have a tendency to hit my spot on the rack more accurately with better spin that I intend on. It's amazing how well I can pot balls at 3/4 speed.
 
The_JV said:
100%

IMO, a player's already established ability qualifies them for a high dollar break cue. I'd wager the percentage of players that actual gain something from the tech to be quite small. I know many that break harder and maintain their accuracy far better than I. IF they were concerned about the cost, they shouldn't bother with CF. On the flip side, those with generally sporadic control regardless of speed, won't gain anything. The window for performance improvement is very small.

My particular case is mildly interesting. Other than the 'power break', I've got an incredibly straight cueing action. Even within game play, I can hammer shots to generate angles and hold accuracy. However for some reason I just can't seem to do the same on the break. I have zero doubt I could practice this flaw out of my game. Maybe even benefit from the dreaded "instruction" from an experience player/instructor. However after decades of solid but 'not as good' results, I bought the high tech break cue. I know I'm beyond getting any stronger, and my table time is spent learning to compensate for failing eyes. I'm content spending the money, and found enough improvement to justify it for myself. Truth be told though. It could very well just be a placebo...lol
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Honestly when I read that a certain cte instructor said a normal break with just the speed you can hit the hardest and still maintain control I changed to that and my break became 💯 more consistant. I would say from a 1-10 I hit it about an 8. And I’m not a big guy. 5 foot 5 145 pounds.
 
SeniorTom said:
My break has been clocked at a bit over 20 mph, but sometimes I wonder if I have more success dialing it down a bit. I have a tendency to hit my spot on the rack more accurately with better spin that I intend on. It's amazing how well I can pot balls at 3/4 speed.
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Excess power doesn't equate to more balls falling, unless you consider the statistical fact that balls move around on the table longer w more speed behind them, therefore more chances to drop in the hole.
Other than that, I've always felt there's a sweet spot in every table where if you find it, makes the most balls on the break.
Combination of things when you snap em.
Find that and you're good to go. Just slamming them for slamming's sake seems kinda silly.
Say that 5x fast!! Lol.
 
RADAR said:
Anyone atest to the Tony layne j/b Cues out of diamondwood? They must be very good hardly see those on the secondary market for sale other than a razz or a flip as in brand new.
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My diamond wood jumper sure makes that job easier!!
 
I tend to agree. My break cue is just a sneaky made by the same maker as my playing cue. Hard leather playing tip.
 
look, say there is just one ball on the table.

you hit it head on as hard as you can. it will go fastest/farther the closer you hit to dead center on both the cue ball and object ball . that i hope that we can agree on.

so accuracy to hit the precise spot on the object ball and cueball is the most important thing.

especially if you are not aiming to hit the head ball straight on on your break. then being off your spot hurts even more.
 
After dr. Dave broke the myth that soft tips do not put more spin on the CB than hard tips. I only play with a predator break cue with a phenolic tip.

My main game is one pocket and my predator break cue works just fine with that. As long as I use toam chalk of course.
 
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I practiced my regular break today and then toned it down a bit. I liked the result and will continue trying that slower speed even though it's still quite the snap. I managed to run 3 racks by doing that and was getting decent layouts. I'm in for trying things that'll help.
 
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Texas3cushion said:
After dr. Dave broke the myth that soft tips do not put more spin on the CB than hard tips. I only play with a predator break cue with a phenolic tip.

My main game is one pocket and my predator break cue works just fine with that. As long as I use toam chalk of course.
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Well you are past the one myth that soft tips do not put more spin on the cue ball, but you have fallen to another myth that says expensive chalk spins better than say master chalk. Dr Dave did a spin test with master all the way up to Taom and found that all the chalk generally grabs the cue ball equally, it's just that the more expensive chalk doesn't dirty up the pool table like a cheaper brand of chalk. As far as putting spin on the ball, they are pretty much all equal.
 
trob said:
Honestly when I read that a certain cte instructor said a normal break with just the speed you can hit the hardest and still maintain control I changed to that and my break became 💯 more consistant. I would say from a 1-10 I hit it about an 8. And I’m not a big guy. 5 foot 5 145 pounds.
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Let me add to this a bit. I used to stand up a little higher on my cue and transfer my weight forward As I was breaking for more power. Now I’m down on my cue with chin just about on it and 0 body movement just like any stroke.
 
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