What do you change first when the break keeps coming up dry?

KINGSCOURT905

KINGSCOURT905

Member
I've been having one of those stretches in league where my break just won't cooperate. I'm hitting it firm, I feel like I'm getting into the rack all right, and then nothing drops. Or a ball hangs right on the edge and I'm left with a tough table and no real shot to start with.

It's frustrating because it feels like the rest of my game is fine once I get a turn, but the break keeps putting me behind before I've really played a shot.

What do you change first when yours keeps coming up dry? Do you move the cue ball, change how hard you hit it, or look at the rack first?
 
consider a safe type break if not making balls on a certain table.

or experiment around changing cue ball position and where you hit the head ball.

are you a run out player where the break means winning most times if you make one from the break?
 
Zhero, thanks — game is mostly 8-ball for me in league, some 9-ball on the side. Switching sides with the cut break in 9-ball is something I have never actually tried on purpose, I just kept hammering the same spot hoping it would come back. I will try the second ball break in 8-ball next night out.

maha, appreciate that too. The safe break idea honestly never crossed my mind, I always felt like if I did not make one I had failed the break. To answer your question, no, I am not a run out every time kind of player. I can run a table when it opens up nice, but mostly I am a few balls and play safe kind of player. That is probably why a dry break hurts me even more, I am giving up the table and the momentum.

When you play that safer break, are you still trying to keep the cue ball in the middle, or are you letting it go a bit more?

Thanks to you both, this gives me a couple of real things to try instead of just hitting it harder.
 
couldnthinkof01, just saw yours after I posted — thank you. Taking speed off first is probably where I should have started, I was doing the opposite and swinging harder the drier it got. Watching what is working for the other guy on that same table is smart too, I am usually too stubborn in my own head to copy it. Appreciate it.
 
For.8 ball I have 3 different breaks that I will use. 2 different 2nd ball breaks and one head ball break. If my main 2nd ball break isn't working I'll try my other 2nd ball break and if that doesn't work then I'll try the.head ball break. If I'm still coming up dry, I go back to my main break and start changing speed to see if that works. It can be hard when all of a sudden the break that was consistently making a ball or two stops working. It does seem to put more pressure on the rest of my game.
 
Thanks for this, Hammie. Having a system like that is exactly what I have been missing. I basically have the one break, and when it goes dry I just start messing with speed and swinging harder, which never ends well.

Having a second 2nd ball break ready to go before you touch the head ball break makes a lot of sense. What is the difference between your two 2nd ball breaks — is it where you put the cue ball, or where you are hitting the second ball?

And you are right about the pressure part. When the break stops giving you anything, every other part of the game suddenly feels heavier.
 
My main 2nd ball is cue ball about 3 fingers off the second diamond rail with a slight low right English hitting the second ball full basically trying to cut the wing ball in the bottom right corner. My other 2nd ball break is cue ball over enough from the second diamond to have only my middle finger bridge hand on the table. High right English hitting the second ball full trying to make the wing ball in the bottom right and have the cue ball come around the bottom of the rack to end up in middle of the table.
 
Hammie, that clears it up for me. So the main one is the flatter setup, three fingers off the second diamond, a touch of low right, and you are cutting the wing ball into the bottom right corner. The other one is the tight one, right up against the rail with only your middle finger down, high right, and the cue ball comes around the bottom of the rack to the middle of the table.

I can picture both of them now. The part I keep coming back to is the cue ball finishing in the middle on that second one. When you play it, are you mostly watching where the cue ball ends up, or are you trusting the high right to do that work and just focusing on the wing ball?
 
KINGSCOURT905 said:
I've been having one of those stretches in league where my break just won't cooperate. I'm hitting it firm, I feel like I'm getting into the rack all right, and then nothing drops. Or a ball hangs right on the edge and I'm left with a tough table and no real shot to start with.

It's frustrating because it feels like the rest of my game is fine once I get a turn, but the break keeps putting me behind before I've really played a shot.

What do you change first when yours keeps coming up dry? Do you move the cue ball, change how hard you hit it, or look at the rack first?
Click to expand...
Always check the balls, but I back off the gas a bit until balls fall, then dial in.
 
Mensabum said:
Always check the balls, but I back off the gas a bit until balls fall, then dial in.
Click to expand...

Mensabum, thanks — checking the balls first is one of those things I know I should do and then just skip when I'm annoyed at the table. And backing off the speed feels backwards when nothing is dropping, but I can see how it works. Once you get a ball to fall at that softer speed, you are actually breaking instead of just smashing and hoping.

When you back off like that, do you keep the cue ball in the same spot, or do you move it too? I've been keeping mine in one place out of habit, and I'm starting to think that's part of my problem.
 
KINGSCOURT905 said:
Mensabum, thanks — checking the balls first is one of those things I know I should do and then just skip when I'm annoyed at the table. And backing off the speed feels backwards when nothing is dropping, but I can see how it works. Once you get a ball to fall at that softer speed, you are actually breaking instead of just smashing and hoping.

When you back off like that, do you keep the cue ball in the same spot, or do you move it too? I've been keeping mine in one place out of habit, and I'm starting to think that's part of my problem.
Click to expand...
Are you an AI?
 
While I haven't read a word of the responses (yet). The question triggers a favorite memory of just that nature.
I was spectator at a weekend 9 ball tournament at the Hunt and Fish in Portland.er uh sub burb maybe. (Think it was Beaverton)
The 7 foot tables were stymie ing the power breakers. The best in the Northwest had power breaks. None could solve the situation, then along came Don Wirtiman. The older Elmer Fud looking guy. He broke about 3/4 speed (top speed for the old guy wasn't that fast either 😉) and the balls just found the pockets. The big table big breakers got a bar box lesson that day.
The velocity and rotation of the balls striking the rails changes the rebound angle significantly. 🤷‍♂️
 
CajunPopeye said:
I like hitting with draw AND follow. Both work pretty good for me. Last weekend I was told I have a good break.
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Good on you for hearing that last weekend, that's the kind of thing that stays with you. I like that you keep both in the bag instead of marrying one of them. When it's going dry, which do you reach for first, the draw or the follow? I'm curious which one you trust more when the rack isn't cooperating.
 
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