An introduction to straightpool: Manufacturing breakballs

Straightpool_99

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
I've gotten some decent feedback on my patterns thread, so I decided to make another on manufacturing breakballs. This as an advanced skill which usually develops slowly alongside your other specialized straightpool skills. There are, however, certain patterns which can significantly improve this skill.

1. I start this lesson with the most common and easy of those, Which I like to call the "L" pattern. You will see why in the blue circle in the picture. These ball configurations come up over and over again in the rack area and along the rails, and only your imagination limits how they can be used. This is the basic version of that pattern.
 

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Straightpool_99

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
2. This is an illustration of what you can do if you end up at the wrong side of the ball. In this case, you can push a ball down for a below the rack breakshot, using the same ball configuration.

The angle in the illustration is probably a bit too severe for the result shown. You may want to set up more of a shallow angle if you want to try this.
 

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K2Kraze

K2Kraze

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What a great idea for a thread, _99. I'll tune in, take notes for my drills manual and work the ideas.

Thanks for sharing!



K.


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Straightpool_99

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
3. This illustrates two principles: On the right: When the intended breakball is far away from the primary object ball, you can control where you push it towards, by changing your vertical axis hitpoint on the cueball. Thus you alter the tangent line.

The left illustration shows what you do when you cannot actually change the tangent line. By putting side english (right in this instance) and bouncing the ball off the rail, you can get it lower than you ordinarily would be able to. In extreme cases you can bounce it all the way across the rack for a breakshot on the opposite side!
 

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Straightpool_99

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
4. This is an illustration of a situation that may actually come up in a game. Your opponent has missed, leaving only two balls on the table, and your cueball in this position, or you have ended up here by accident or poor planning. By shooting a stop shot, you can leave the cueball in the rack, while at the same time knocking the 2 out of the rack, and into a nice position. Remember that hitting the object ball full in the face with no spin will lead to the cueball stopping dead in its tracks.

Your break in this case will be a side-of-the rack breakshot from behind the heastring.

PS: It's hard to place the balls accurately with the program, so you need to take this to the table. The illustration in this post can be a nice training excercise, if you sublty change the position on the 2 ball and explore what happens if you use different amounts and directions of sidespin.
 

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K2Kraze

K2Kraze

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Straightpool_99 said:
4. This is an illustration of a situation that may actually come up in a game. Your opponent has missed, leaving only two balls on the table, and your cueball in this position, or you have ended up here by accident or poor planning. By shooting a stop shot, you can leave the cueball in the rack, while at the same time knocking the 2 out of the rack, and into a nice position. Remember that hitting the object ball full in the face with no spin will lead to the cueball stopping dead in its tracks.

Your break in this case will be a side-of-the rack breakshot from behind the heastring.

PS: It's hard to place the balls accurately with the program, so you need to take this to the table. The illustration in this post can be a nice training excercise, if you sublty change the position on the 2 ball and explore what happens if you use different amounts and directions of sidespin.
Click to expand...



This situation you have beautifully illustrated above exemplifies the level of thinking and execution it takes for 14.1 players to get into the "high run" arena so many of us are pursuing.

I'm going to take this one step further by saying it just may be worth putting on any person's list of 14.1 WINNING SOLUTIONS this way: a top player never worries about "seeing" break balls or even key balls on the table - for they know at any time they can "create" the situation they want.

To the table I go with a few ideas...

Thanks _99!

K


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center pocket

center pocket

It's just a hobby, but a fun one.
Silver Member
Keep them coming! I am definitely enjoying these threads.

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acousticsguru

acousticsguru

player/instructor
Silver Member
Great idea for a thread! I love bumping balls… :thumbup:

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
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