High break ball

D

David_Smith

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I started playing a little this week after not playing for a couple of months. Today I got bad position at the end of the 3rd rack and stopped the cueball in the rack to play this breakshot with ball in hand at the head string. It came out nice and enabled me to get through the next rack. I got straight on the next break ball to stop me at 57 on 4" pockets.

I was wondering what the straight pool experts think about this type of break shot.

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S

sascha

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would have played it high, so the cueball hits 1 of the first 2 balls and comes of to the side of the rack, much easier the your choice.
 
R

rikdee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
David_Smith said:
I started playing a little this week after not
I was wondering what the straight pool experts think about this type of break shot.


Nice shot but low percentage. Any direct hit on the rack, from BIH position, is likely to produce an equivalent spread as your behind the rack hit and at the same time provide a higher percentage shot.
Click to expand...
 
14-1StraightMan

14-1StraightMan

High Run 127
Silver Member
Hard Shot

These shots do come up during matches. Going to the back of the rack looks good on paper, but it is hard to do. Most likely your cue ball will stay low on the table, if not scratch in the corner and it will bump balls out of the rack up table.
It is best to place the cue ball on the other side of that Head Spot and hit the cue ball with follow sending it into either the first two balls of the rack
in this case they are the 14 & 15 ball just as Sascha & rikdee stated.
Great job on the 57.
 
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CreeDo

CreeDo

Fargo Rating 597
Silver Member
If it's possible to do as Sascha said... clip the 15 using a thinner hit and soft follow... I'd want that. You'll only pop out a couple of balls but shots that graze the top two balls seem to always work out and leave you something shootable.

Shots like this are not to be envied. It's a tossup if you get a shot after this break and I can see missing the rack entirely if you hit a few inches higher on the first rail.

If you're forced to burn your break ball and nothing is left but a ball similar to the one ball... this is the shot you wanna play for, if possible:

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Ratta

Ratta

Hearing the balls.....
Silver Member
The break-shot in the first diagram is too hard to be sure on him. Low percentage to be sure to continue even if you make the ball in hittin the rack over 2 rails. I wouldn t try this ball usualy- but it all depends on how you feel and how the game ran for you til such a shot appears. In a team match i would never try it- if i would play on my own in a single tournament it depends on the situation. But it s anyway a low-percentage shot- usualy a no-go :)
 
D

David_Smith

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks for all the replies. I'll set it back up and try going straight into the pack. But it seems to me the chances of either scratching off the side of the pack or sticking on the top of the rack are good. By playing the two railer I felt like I elminated those bad outcomes. Other positives are that the direction of the cueball is far less speed dependent, I get more cueball speed after contact with the object ball, and the distance is shorter between cuball and object ball.

What if you had a choice of cueball positions closer to the object ball but still above it? Would you still choose straight into the pack, or would you like the two railer?

My cloth is old and slow and the rails are fast and take a lot of english so that obviously factors into the shot.
 
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