14.1 cluster busting

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PoolSharkAllen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yesterday, while practicing my straight pool game, I noticed that quite often when I try to bust open a cluster of balls, I often don't have an open shot to follow-up with (assume there are no insurance balls readily available). I'm puzzled as to what I can do to improve my percentages. Should I hit the cue ball even harder in trying to spread the other balls? I typically use a medium-hard speed on my cluster-busting attempts.

I would hate to avoid cluster-busting attempts but it gets a little frustrating to not have a good follow-up shot as a reward for taking on the risk. Any suggestions on how to do better at cluster-busting would be appreciated.
 
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Blackjack

Blackjack

Illuminati Blacksmack
Silver Member
Go back and read some of the posts I have made about "neat in - neat out". Hitting and splattering the balls all over the table will not solve your problem. Many players eliminate break ball options that way. You merely have to split the balls apart so that they have a pocket. I will not be posting the instruction material or diagrams in the forum anymore, so get with me privately and I will show you some strategies.
 
Joe T

Joe T

New member
Look harder at where your cue is going into the cluster, what ball it is going to make contact with first and what it’s going to do off that first ball. Quite often it’s going to go into another ball but by studying its path, its contact points and its tangent line you should be able to form a good idea of where your cue ball is heading and then look at how the object balls your cue ball is hitting and how they are going to effect the other balls. From there you should be able form an idea of what’s going to happen if you hit the cue ball hard, medium, soft, with top, center or draw and then take the shot you think will give you the best chance of getting another shot. You may be wrong a lot at first but at least you’ll be giving yourself the best possible chance ahead of time and the more you take this approach the better you’ll get at predicting the outcomes.
 
Andrew Manning

Andrew Manning

Aspiring know-it-all
Silver Member
Joe T said:
Look harder at where your cue is going into the cluster, what ball it is going to make contact with first and what it’s going to do off that first ball. Quite often it’s going to go into another ball but by studying its path, its contact points and its tangent line you should be able to form a good idea of where your cue ball is heading and then look at how the object balls your cue ball is hitting and how they are going to effect the other balls. From there you should be able form an idea of what’s going to happen if you hit the cue ball hard, medium, soft, with top, center or draw and then take the shot you think will give you the best chance of getting another shot. You may be wrong a lot at first but at least you’ll be giving yourself the best possible chance ahead of time and the more you take this approach the better you’ll get at predicting the outcomes.
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Nice post!

-Andrew
 
P

PoolSharkAllen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In looking over some of Blackjack's other postings, I gleaned the following:
1. Hitting the CB harder isn't necessarily the best approach to cluster busting
2. I may need to thin the rack even more before attempting a cluster buster.
3. I don't have any other players that I can watch and learn from. So I might benefit from purchasing a videotape or DVD of a match between two good players. From one of Blackjack's postings, it sounds like John Schmidt's DVD is very instructive so I might start by purchasing that one.

Are there any other videotapes or DVDs that someone can recommend that is especially instructive?

(By the way, I've watched the youtube video clips on straight pool and learned a lot from watching them, however, I still have a ways to go.)
 
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