Break Practice Device

There are threads about the Breakrak dating back as far as 2003.

Do a forum search.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=139
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=2230
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=3109
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=4175
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=22897
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=26290

Charley Bonds, the inventor and owner of Break Rak posts regularly on this forum. His website is http://www.breakrak.com

i wish someone around here would get one of these

(can you hear me Al? hehe)

-s

Cardinal2B said:

Well, OK, I'd never seen one before and I'm sorry then.

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No need to get all sensitive, I'm just stating the facts. Whenever you're about to give a product review, it's always a good idea to do a search first, usually there are already 15 reviews. You've been a member for some time, and I find it hard to believe you haven't seen or heard of the device before. The BreakRak has been posted about several times in the few months I've been here.

Cardinal2B said:

Well, OK, I'd never seen one before and I'm sorry then.

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As well you should be.

How much do these contraptions cost?

You can also tell your lazy ass, internet addicted kids to get off Runescape and come rack the balls for you.

sounds like a hell

of a great Idea..This is the FIRST time I have ever read about this product. Thanks for the heads up cardinal. i will definately give it a look.

I just wanted to let you know that I got the original "Break Rak" when it first came out, almost 3 years ago? I think it is an excellent invention. I would highly recommend it. It was about $130 when I got mine, but I think it is down to $99. Also, it has been revised considerably. I tried out the latest version at Valley Forge a couple of weeks ago, and it was better. The previous one had a tendency to spit the cueball back at you a little more than would be considered "realistic". Here is what I mean: if I hit the rack dead square on the break rak so that it rolls back towards the head rail and stops maybe a foot before it (on an 8' table), that would equate to a dead stop shot on a real 9-ball rack. The new version is better, because the cueball reacts more like it would after hitting a real rack. This device is very effective for learning how to control the cue ball on the break shot. Keep in mind that a 15 mph break with a dead square hit on the head ball (which is required to plant the cue ball in the middle of the table) can be MUCH more effective on a 9 ball rack than a 25 mph break in which the cue ball dances all over the table. This is because if you can't hit the rack square, you are not getting all of your energy into the rack. On my table, about 18 mph is ideal. It makes the corner ball, the 1 in the side, and possibly the back ball in the far right corner, with the cueball dead center. Every table breaks differently, and the break rack makes it easy to learn how to break from different locations, different speeds, etc. Highly recommended.

KMRUNOUT

KMRUNOUT said:

I Keep in mind that a 15 mph break with a dead square hit on the head ball (which is required to plant the cue ball in the middle of the table) can be MUCH more effective on a 9 ball rack than a 25 mph break in which the cue ball dances all over the table. This is because if you can't hit the rack square, you are not getting all of your energy into the rack. On my table, about 18 mph is ideal.
KMRUNOUT

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How can you figure out your break speed?

Devil's advocate

I have tried this, and the more I tried it, the less I started liking it because:

!) It is not close enough to real life breaks, IMHO.
2) You NEVER know which breaks WILL ACTUALLY make balls on the break.
(I mean some people break from 1 spot for 20 years with the same
english, and still only make a ball 2 out of 50 breaks)

There is just not anything like the REAL THING, Baby! .... lol

(It is probably making money just because of convenience though)

Snapshot9 said:

I have tried this, and the more I tried it, the less I started liking it because:

!) It is not close enough to real life breaks, IMHO.
2) You NEVER know which breaks WILL ACTUALLY make balls on the break.
(I mean some people break from 1 spot for 20 years with the same
english, and still only make a ball 2 out of 50 breaks)

There is just not anything like the REAL THING, Baby! .... lol

(It is probably making money just because of convenience though)

Click to expand...

I've only tried it a couple of times at one of the GWA9B Tour but it seemed pretty close to real life reaction to me. Also, as far as number two goes, the whole point is that you should practice at various positions so you're comfortable breaking from anywhere and be able to control the cueball.

to me this is the greatest practice tool there is. Once you get past the "b" level, the break is what separates the players. Hell, everybody can run balls. But with a great break you will start to put packages together.

I just got my BreakRak upgraded and as always CeeBee was great to deal with. I have used it tonight for about 15 min and I love this model. CB told me months ago it is the closest thing to virtual reality and I rolled my eyes. I was wrong. This thing responds just like a rack.

Anybody that gambles should have one of these. How many times have you lost sets hill-hill. You probably would like to have at least one break back. With this you can have a better break in no time and it does pay for itself.

mike athens

I know people who practise the break by using a phone book. When the hit is square, the phone book should move to the rail in a manner parallel to the rail. Does that make any sense?

I am sure the break rak is a great product. Please forgive my ignorance and curiosity. Also, please do not take this the wrong way. I really would like to know the answer to the followings:

I know the weight of the two is most likely not the same, but that can be adjusted by adding or deleting pages from the phone book, can it? In that sense, what are the benefits of using the breakrak over using a phone book?

Thank you very much.

Richard

nipponbilliards said:

I know people who practise the break by using a phone book. When the hit is square, the phone book should move to the rail in a manner parallel to the rail. Does that make any sense?

I am sure the break rak is a great product. Please forgive my ignorance and curiosity. Also, please do not take this the wrong way. I really would like to know the answer to the followings:

I know the weight of the two is most likely not the same, but that can be adjusted by adding or deleting pages from the phone book, can it? In that sense, what are the benefits of using the breakrak over using a phone book? Richard

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Hell Richard & thanks for your ideas & questions.

I do know a few things about the Break Shot & practicing the Break Shot. Using a phone book for practicing the Break Shot is a new idea for me. Never having done that, my thoughts would be this. The phone book is being used to completely dampen the energy of the cue ball, so that it isn't becoming a missile. I cannot see the phone book offering any usable feedback, i.e. good cue ball control or response.

The usual method of practicing the Break Shot is by using a rack of balls, however there are perils in using this method.

A. Using any rack of balls, to practice the Break Shot, is like using a sack of variables. We know this to be true, because there isn't a perfect set of balls (The balls are not exactly the same size & some may or may not be perfectly round). If there were a perfect set of balls, they would react very similar, each time the rack were broken up. The final location of the balls could even possibly be very close. The BreakRAK is a constant, it will react the same, everytime.

B. If you do not rack the balls perfect, rack response & cue ball response can be inaccurate, so what you learned from that exercise is minimally useful.

C. Chasing down balls & re-racking takes time, especially if the player is doing the re-racking. This process of breaking the balls & re-racking every 2-3 minutes is NOT a high rate of repetition. Repetition is the only vehicle a human can use, to develop precision motor skills or good muscle memory. Repetition is used throughout sports, music & industry, it is sometimes referred to as practice.

D. Without an accurate stroke, you will not know exactly where you hit the rack, with the cue ball. That means you will not know what caused the good or bad reaction from your shot. Throughout the game of Pool, an accurate delivery of the cue ball is JOB #1.

Developing a great Break Shot Stroke takes practice. With accuracy, you can use your knowledge to work for you. Being very competent in the Break Shot will make a difference, in your competiveness. As 'mikeiniowa" notes, using any good training tool is practical & profitable.

As always, thanks for asking questions. I do wish you all Good Luck.

nipponbilliards said:

I know the weight of the two is most likely not the same, but that can be adjusted by adding or deleting pages from the phone book, can it? In that sense, what are the benefits of using the breakrak over using a phone book?

Thank you very much.

Richard

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The phone book doesn't have a round one ball at the front, so the accuracy of hit on the phone book can have a slightly higher margin of error and still result in a "square hit."

You can't practice the "controlled jump shot" on a phone book. There would be no "squatting the cueball" or even "drawing to the head rail," if that's what you want to practice.

The weight of the BreakRAK is engineered to be the same weight as a 9-ball rack and is made of pool ball material, so the reaction should be very similar. There are ways to falsely make the BreakRAK lighter than a 9-ball rack.

I don't know how anyone can say otherwise, but for what it is supposed to accomplish (the ability to practice and repeat a solid hit with control on the break shot), it absolutely translates well to a real rack. That includes 8-ball and 10-ball as well.

Fred

Snapshot9 said:

I have tried this, and the more I tried it, the less I started liking it because:

!) It is not close enough to real life breaks, IMHO.

Click to expand...

Although I disagree with this, it's sort of a moot issue. The fact that you can practice your breakshot and get important feedback is something that you cannot do with other methods.

2) You NEVER know which breaks WILL ACTUALLY make balls on the break.

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Although this is very important, it's not the intention of the BreakRAK. So, it's not a real reason to like it less.

(It is probably making money just because of convenience though)

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It's a great tool because it accomplishes things that you simply cannot do any other way currently.

For example, just by demonstrating this product, I taught over a dozen people within a half hour that in order to squat the cueball, you need follow, not draw. None of them had any idea that they actually hit high when they squat the ball (even if they aimed super low). You can do this self-diagnosis easily with the BreakRAk because the inconsistent racks are taken out of the equation, and the balls running around and knocking into the cueball is also taken out of the equation. You can key on the cueball, and take a look at the chalk mark you've left after the shot.

It is a great teaching/learning tool.

Fred