Breaking is hit and miss with me, never really practice it. I'm still trying to learn to run a rack, so why learn to break really good first. If you do, then all you are doing is breaking it good for the other guy to run the rack....seems that Bert Kinister said that once.
I think this includes an assumption that the non-breaking player is fairly strong (run-out, or close to run-out player; APA 7-ish).
Matt mentions the non-breaking player being better:
Intentionally giving up the table on the break gives your opponent the advantage. If they aren't skilled or patient enough to capitalize on that, maybe you can get a few wins that way, but I don't think it's a sustainable strategy against higher level players that will take that advantage and either run out or stick you in a worse spot.
It still comes back to what is actually left after the break, but taking the results, while it probably has *more* advantages, it may also be a (hidden) disadvantage.
I think that most players are aggressive, and tend to play for a run-out, even if 1) they aren't particularly capable of it, and 2) they don't have a table lay that really allows it. My point is, that a player will take the lay from a dry break, and then attempt to run balls (not necessarily considering whether the whole rack is out or not, at the time). Odds are--speaking in probability terms--that they will NOT run the whole rack. In that case, the advantage returns to the one who broke, as now there are more potential shots open (clearer table), and likely more defensive/hiding opportunities.
Furthermore, consider that you were playing "2 and hide", where you consistently sink 2 balls, and then play a safe shot. Obviously, it's not always possible, but it's something else one can practice. [Now that I'm typing about it, it seems a bit like a sandbagging technique!...
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Back to the main point.... Playing an up-to-average opponent, who is not likely to run 5-7 balls, it can be an advantage to let them clear room on the table, so that one can take over when they miss.
Sidenote: It can also be advantageous, to miss shots, to set up a later run out, especially if you can do so while denying the other player a run out. For example, I often find that I can win games against stronger players (I am an APA 6), without falling into the trap of running everything but the last ball or two, and then having them run out and/or run to a safe on me--basically, the same scenario as the soft/clustered/bad, dry break, which this thread is about.