Can some one explain "Cut break" ?

Yup your pretty much right. When breaking from the box, you put the cueball on one of the corners of the box and hit it with low outside and go to the side rail and back towards the center usually colliding with a bunch of balls in the process. This break is hit fairly soft or you will lose the cueball and scratch in the side or bottom corner if you don't draw it enough. Depending on where the 2 ball is racked will determine how much to draw the cueball up table, or let it stay towards the bottom rail, or like I always like.....center of the table.

Basically

it means 'slicing' the one ball on the break, or getting a partial hit on the one.

When you do this, the one reacts by going towards the side pocket. Speed of the break and angle you hit the one will determine if the one goes into the side pocket. If you drew a straight line through the 1-9-end ball the length of the table, the slice break from the side would hit the one ball about the 30 degree angle with low english causing the one to kiss off the 2-3 ball in the rack and come back towards the opposite side pocket.

Breaking from the box effects how the one kisses off the 2-3 ball. You have to experiment with this break at different break spots and get a feel for the right angle and speed. Of course, table conditions might vary those a little.

The problem with this break is, although you might be making the one in the side, your cue ball might be further downtable, and depending on where 2 ball is, might not have a shot. Or the other possibility is making another ball, not the one, and the cue ball is downtable with the one uptable, maybe on the end uptable rail.

A soft break can be terrific if it is working, or it can be a total sellout if it isn't. Ask yourself this, in a $1,000 set, hill-to-hill, would you gamble the set on a fairly soft slice break?

Overseas (Philippines, Taiwan, etc.) - They call this 'The Bird Break'.

Snapshot9 said:

A soft break can be terrific if it is working, or it can be a total sellout if it isn't. Ask yourself this, in a $1,000 set, hill-to-hill, would you gamble the set on a fairly soft slice break?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't call it really a soft hit...rather a firm hit...but by no means a power-shot...

and as far as your question goes....if it's tapped table....sure I would count on a cut-break....on normally tapped table a cut-break tends to give you the corner ball 19/20 and 1-ball will either go in the middle or bounce off the rail and travel towards the corner-pocket on the side where you broke from.

Now if the rules were to have 3 balls in a pocket or over the footline, I might have to reconsider....or hit a little harder...but still....the cut-break on a tapped table is almost idiot-proof (has to be if even myself can get a ball/balls in 19/20 breaks )

cheers,
Kimmo

Buddy Hall explains it here: cut break video

AZBtv instructional video

On the one titled: "Tips from the Greats" Kim Davenport describes and performs the cut break.

Jim Eales

Its basically cutting across the front side of the one ball instead of hitting in head on. You have to break a little softer when attempting this or the cue ball will fly off the table.

Southpaw

Newton said:

Wow, thanks all.

Was working and forgot my post and had to read through them now.

Well, as I understand this, my ideas on how this works is correct. If you have to break from the box, cut break could be used to get corner ball or 1 ball side pocket.
However, if you have no rules saying "break box", there's no need to use a cut break to "emulate" the same break as we always use; From the side, studying the balls and knocking in the corner ball??

The discussion was that a person was practicing cut break, even if the rules says free placement of the CB behind the line, hence do as we always do..

Well, thanks for the feedback.

N

Click to expand...

well box or not...if the table is tapped...I'd use cut-break every time....and not only because my 'power-break' isn't all that powerful....you just get so much more control on the cueball AND the 1ball (if it doesn't go to the sidepocket)