9 Ball Break question/problem

[vicdotcom]

Hey everyone!

I have a question about my 9 ball break that I wanted some help and opinions on.

When I set up for my break it is always from the box and I bridge off the rail. I often get some powerful breaks and sink at least 2 balls. But the problem is this, I am trying to work on getting the cue to stay more in the middle of the table. Right now I put bottom on the cue ball on my break to try to draw it back some. But recently I noticed that even though I am putting bottom on the ball, it hits the rack and suddenly has a bunch of topspin that takes it all the way to the top rail in a hurry.

This started happening after I switched to a slightly heavier break cue.

For kicks I tried putting some follow in the cue ball at the break. Then it hits the rack and draws back a little. The problem with giving it follow is that I seem to miscue a lot more.

Can anyone explain why this is happening and offer suggestions to help? Is the cue ball reacting like its bouncing off a rail and reversing the english?

Thanks for taking the time to read and help everyone

 

[Snapshot9]

Breaking ...

from the Kitchen and from the Box are 2 different things ... When I break from the rail on 9 ball, I use a half tip of dead center low. I have improved my breaking by lining up on the head ball, and switching my eyes back to the cue ball and watching where I am stroking the cue ball clear through the hit stroke and follow through. It improved my consistency, especially for cue ball control after the break.

Part of your follow problem could come from raising up some before you hit the cue ball.

 

[TX Poolnut]

When I set up for my break it is always from the box and I bridge off the rail.

Do you mean the cue ball is below the first diamond and your hand is on the head rail so that you're kinda breaking straight from the head of the table?

I've always understood the box to be the area marked "A" here.
START(
%AN7O5%BL7P8%CJ5O4%DL7N1%EM7P1%FK6P1%GK6N8%HM7N8%IL7O4%JK6M5
%KJ5P7%LJ5N2%MK6Q4%NJ5R0%OJ5M0%Pl9O6%Qi7N7%Um0I0%Vg5H9%Wm7U2
%Xm7I1%Yh8V0%Zm5U8%[g5J0%\g5V0
)END

 

[PlynSets]

Hey everyone!

I have a question about my 9 ball break that I wanted some help and opinions on.

When I set up for my break it is always from the box and I bridge off the rail. I often get some powerful breaks and sink at least 2 balls. But the problem is this, I am trying to work on getting the cue to stay more in the middle of the table. Right now I put bottom on the cue ball on my break to try to draw it back some. But recently I noticed that even though I am putting bottom on the ball, it hits the rack and suddenly has a bunch of topspin that takes it all the way to the top rail in a hurry.

This started happening after I switched to a slightly heavier break cue.

For kicks I tried putting some follow in the cue ball at the break. Then it hits the rack and draws back a little. The problem with giving it follow is that I seem to miscue a lot more.

Can anyone explain why this is happening and offer suggestions to help? Is the cue ball reacting like its bouncing off a rail and reversing the english?

Thanks for taking the time to read and help everyone

When your breaking your hitting the cue ball so hard and so fast that your not remotely hitting it where you think you are. It sounds to me like your taking practice strokes to put draw on the ball, but on your final "sledge" stroke you are dropping your elbow and putting forward on the cue ball.

As well when your trying to put follow on your final stroke your elbow is raising a hair and going past the point of center ball and putting a little draw on it.

If you hit the rack dead center ball (dead straight) the Cue ball will bounce back a little bit. I typically break much like Snap Shot with just a hair of draw (damn near stop shot).

I'm sure professional teachers have better methods then this to use, but my advice would be to take an object ball and put it out around mid table with a cue ball 3' minimum away from it. (Corner to corner shot) Hit stop shots starting softly and working your way up to breaking speed. You'll see how much your accuracy is going down. When you can sledge that object ball across the table and into the corner and leave the cue ball within an inch or so of where it should be then your good to go.

Then practice breaking, again medium speed all the way up to Wide Open and when you can get it to hit the rack and bounce right back into the middle of the table and die then you should be good to go on that. After that is when you get into where your going to aim the one to pocket a ball, etc..

Again that's just my advice so take it for what its worth there's guys on here far better then me at both teaching and playing.

DJ

 

[vicdotcom]

When I break from the rail on 9 ball, I use a half tip of dead center low. I have improved my breaking by lining up on the head ball, and switching my eyes back to the cue ball and watching where I am stroking the cue ball clear through the hit stroke and follow through. It improved my consistency, especially for cue ball control after the break.

Part of your follow problem could come from raising up some before you hit the cue ball.

Thats about the same thing that I do, but instead of aiming for the headball, I am actually aiming at the middle diamond on the top rail. Basically right through the 1 ball. I seem to get better acceleration that way for some reason.

I've always understood the box to be the area marked "A" here.

Yes point A is just about the exact spot that I usualy place the cue


So far I am thinking that maybe I am raising my arm or elbow on the followthrough. But if this is the case, then I wonder why I wasn't doing this with my lighter cue. I should try the lighter one again and see how the cue reacts off the break.

 

[Snapshot9]

The Box Area ...

Do you mean the cue ball is below the first diamond and your hand is on the head rail so that you're kinda breaking straight from the head of the table?

I've always understood the box to be the area marked "A" here.
START(
%AN7O5%BL7P8%CJ5O4%DL7N1%EM7P1%FK6P1%GK6N8%HM7N8%IL7O4%JK6M5
%KJ5P7%LJ5N2%MK6Q4%NJ5R0%OJ5M0%Pl9O6%Qi7N7%Um0I0%Vg5H9%Wm7U2
%Xm7I1%Yh8V0%Zm5U8%[g5J0%\g5V0
)END

IS THIS: http://CueTable.com/P/?@3AALe4BCpI3...qI1WOgo1WOJF2XMkU1XOgU2qBjNA&ZZ1tfjP00/00&ZZ@

You were only half right ... lol The whole thing behind the head line is the Kitchen. The box is actually a subset of the Kitchen. The 2 remaining pieces of the Kitchen not in the box, are called the counter. So when you side break 9 ball, from the side rail, is also called breaking from the counter, as in a Kitchen counter.