8 ball best way to break

[Stickin2it]

PoolFan101 - I haven't played at all in 8 years but am going to be starting up again soon in 2 months.

When I did on an 8 ft. table, I would always line the cue ball up approximately 2" to 3 1/2" from the side rail.

I Hit the Cue Ball CENTER CUE, no up, no down, no left, no right.

If you would like a tip that I won't share with the rest of the world, send me a Private message asking.

thanks PoolFan101. if not, Happy Breaking.

 

[Texas Carom Club]

seems like you get more speed on the cue ball on a 9ft than a bar table with an 8ball break
seems that way anyways to me since i got my break stick with phenolic tip

 

[jokrswylde]

I break off the side of the head wall with draw. It creates clusters on the side of
the table you break from, this way your opponent or you can't run out and it turns to a
strategic game which I'm good at. Break-em up if you want to, but I got tired of giving a
wide open table and what is almost like ball in hand to my opponent.

This is a good point. I went worked for a few months using second ball break from the side. I found that although I kicked the 8 ball in occasionally, most times I was making 2-3 balls on the break, but not getting a good spread.

I switched to a head on power break. Got great spreads with pretty good CB control. My percentage of making a ball, much less multiple balls, went waaaay down. I spent more time in my seat watching my opponent run out as well.

I am now back to the 2nd ball break from the side.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Fast......

and hard...

What's the difference?

pj
chgo

 

[fastone371]

This is a good point. I went worked for a few months using second ball break from the side. I found that although I kicked the 8 ball in occasionally, most times I was making 2-3 balls on the break, but not getting a good spread.

I switched to a head on power break. Got great spreads with pretty good CB control. My percentage of making a ball, much less multiple balls, went waaaay down. I spent more time in my seat watching my opponent run out as well.

I am now back to the 2nd ball break from the side.

I am mainly talking about bar boxes here, even though I have a 9' table at home almost all competition around here is on bar boxes.
I have had the most success with breaking 1 diamond from either side of center at the most and focusing on hitting the head ball square. I do not aim for the head ball but rather I aim for a ball in the rear 2 rows, whichever lines up with the position of the cue ball that takes me thru the center of the head ball, use your cue to determine this. I practice my breaks a lot (I have a Break Rack at home) On a bar box you dont have to smash the rack, a good solid, square hit is much more effective than a glancing blow, just watch the reaction of the cue ball to know if you hit the head ball square, if you are dropping the cue ball in the side pocket you are not hitting square. I think its best to break at 70%-80% of your max speed, slow enough that you can park the cue ball center table on every break, smashing the rack on a 7' table is just not necessary to have success. Some tables just dont break well even though they are identical to the ones beside it, I usually move side to side a half diamond at a time and even try backing the cue ball back from the kitchen line sometimes until I can consistently make a ball, Im not sure why that makes a difference but it can. I will go to a 2nd ball break if I cant find a way to make a ball but I hate that the spreads can be so inconsistent. I have seen 2nd ball breaks where there are 14 balls within 1 diamond of the long rail and I hate nothing more than shooting a safety on the opening shot of an 8 ball rack.

 

[Texas Carom Club]

same for me, 1 diamond from center

that second ball break often throws most of the rack to one side which i dont want personally

 

[DecentShot]

I watched the Chinese guys break (on youtube) and it seemed they didn't hit very hard.

They are playing with brand new everything. Most of the conditions we play in are pool hall conditions (even at home.)

 

[jay helfert]

For the best control on my break I would usually break slightly off center (maybe only 2-3") and aim straight at the one ball from there, so I'm hitting it slightly off center. I could control the cue ball this way and get maximum velocity as well. The end result was balls down on the break and a wide open table.

Once upon a time I could run out rack after rack playing Eight Ball in bars, which was necessary to keep control of the table when there were a dozen quarters lined up along the rail. Some of my fondest memories are winning thirty or forty games in a row for a dollar or two a game, and leaving the bar with both my front pockets stuffed with one dollar bills. That was a score in the 60's!

Many times the guys wanted to beat me so bad that they would choke if they got an open shot. I can remember playing for hours until the bar closed at 2AM and never losing a game. I actually won over $100 a few times and never bet more than $2 a game! This was at a time when a good job paid $125 a week. I never went back to work as an accountant when I discovered I could make more playing pool in bars on Friday and Saturday night than working a forty hour week in an office. And that's the name of that tune.

 

[Texas Carom Club]

Why would you want to make the 8 ball on the break? Yea, I know, VNEA "Option 1," bar rules, APA rules. But not real rules of eight ball.

What are the real rules of 8ball?
Ever played vnea? I think it's the most competitive of league, a win is not the objective, it to make the most points while stopping the other team from making points.while playing beastly shooters than can be 5 times better who do break and run giving you no shot against them since it's 1 game against 5 players on the team
In our vnea it's just a respot it as standard.

Im also trying to get the 8on the break for apa play down.

 

[worktheknight]

I am a league player on 7 foot valley bar box tables, sadly, the plastic racks are usually warped here and there and it is a challenge to get a 8 ball rack the way it's intended. At home, I have a solid wood rack which makes it much easier to get a solid tight rack, but, so much easier as if I am in a hurry, I be my worst enemy of giving myself a poor loose rack.
In my opinion, if you take a little extra time, maybe turning the rack, flipping it, getting a rack from another table, whatever, the few extra seconds taken in assuring a solid rack is more important that anything of where to hit.
My table is not PRO ready and certainly none of the poor maintained league tables, so, in my opinion, a few extra seconds in giving yourself a solid rack will do more than any secret of where to hit the rack. Sadly, but true, a clean cloth and clean balls are the also very high on the list.
Before league night, I vacuum the tables and then clean the balls, do not clean the balls without vacuuming or you are going to have a mess, a real mess.
However, a good solid rack, vacuumed table, clean balls, your break will improve 20 to 30 % in my opinion to where you might have to back off and concentrate on hitting the lead ball more directly than with super human strength.
The key, an establishment that cares enough to do this. None around here, I do it myself as in my opinion, bad racks, poor dirty cloth and unclean ball contact and movement is a hurt for the better player and is a plus for the banger, of course, in my opinion only.

 

[ShootingArts]

seems to be a common theme

I found I had to take my foot off the gas on bar tables. The first couple balls to hit a hole popping back out didn't do me any favors. First and foremost, check the rack for gaps, for best spread, hit towards the side without gaps are with smaller gaps. While I sometimes moved my break around, Jay's just off center break was a favorite of mine too and what I used most of the time. Got a bar table at home now but I haven't been good at following my own advice. Trying to make the things that work on a nine foot Diamond work on a seven foot Valley and it isn't ever going to happen!

Slow way down until you are hitting the cue ball squarely. A medium to firm stroke and a square hit will do more than a full power stroke and glancing blow. A bit unorthodox but I used to like a low hit on the cue ball with a ghost of side depending on where I was breaking from. A deceptively slow break will make a tight rack open up very nicely and often pocket multiple balls.

Something you can count on, if your break isn't working slow down. More breaks fail for not hitting the cue ball where you mean to than anything else.

My opinions, others mileage may vary, yada yada.

Jay, those challenge tables were a blast! When I found one that had five dollars as the standard bet when minimum wage was a buck and a quarter I treasured it.

Hu