9-ball Cut Break - which side do you hit the head ball?

[ChopStick]

I was taught a couple of variations of this. The first one, you are on the right side of the break box or even over to the rail, you hit the one ball like you are cutting the one ball to the first or middle diamond on the foot rail. The cue ball cuts across the face of the one ball and goes over to the long rail below the side pocket and returns to the middle of the table. This cuts down the collisions with the cue ball and object balls and you never scratch in the side.

The other is a safety break when you are not making balls no matter what you do so you give up trying. It is the same except you cut across the one ball more toward the left side and the cue ball goes to the middle diamond on the long rail then the middle diamond on the foot rail. The one ball goes up the middle of the table and settles somewhere in the middle of the head rail. Your opponent is always going to push from there. Some days when it just ain't working you are better off responding to your opponents push than accepting your own break. At least you are going to get a look at the ball and you and your opponent are starting off on even ground, sort of.

 

[ceebee]

I've always understood a cut break to mean you hit the head ball on the right side, if your CB is to the right of the headspot, with low right so the CB rebounds off the right side rail and back towards the center of the table... so that you can "create a more angled shot" to increase the chance of sinking the right wing ball in cases of having to stay within a break box.

Recently, however, someone whose opinion I value said that a cut break from the right of the head spot actually hits the left side of the head ball, and rebounds off the left side rail. I have a hard time imagining how this works, and why you wouldn't just set up the CB to the left of the headspot.

Who's right?

Here's a page from my book. It depicts the proper way to play "the Cut Break " in 9-Ball. If you are not implementing the Break Box, the placement of the cue ball can be closer to the rail. You want the wing ball to be pocketed & the One Ball to bounce off the rail toward the pocket you are breaking from. The cue ball rebounds from the rail you are standing next to & moves toward the opposite rail & the head string. Voila! You have made the wing ball & have a shot on the one ball.

 

[Johnnyt]

There are many ways to break in 9 ball with a tight straight rack that has the one on the spot or using a MR. It depends what you want to happen. Shooting from the far right I make the wing ball and try to miss the 1 ball in the side sending it back to me near the side pocket with CB stopping in the center of the table. It varies on most tables, but I start out with low right and slow-med speed hitting the 1 ball not quite full. I play around with the speed until I get it right. I never change where I hit the CB. Sometimes I need to change where I hit the 1 ball a hair, but most of the time I can get it right by the speed. I find missing the 1-ball and getting a shot on it gives me more runouts. Johnnyt

 

[sfleinen]

I've always understood a cut break to mean you hit the head ball on the right side, if your CB is to the right of the headspot, with low right so the CB rebounds off the right side rail and back towards the center of the table... so that you can "create a more angled shot" to increase the chance of sinking the right wing ball in cases of having to stay within a break box.

Recently, however, someone whose opinion I value said that a cut break from the right of the head spot actually hits the left side of the head ball, and rebounds off the left side rail. I have a hard time imagining how this works, and why you wouldn't just set up the CB to the left of the headspot.

Who's right?

Conventional wisdom says you're right, but there's no harm in trying another approach. I think I'll try it tomorrow and see what happens.

The Reverse Cut Break.

In bowling, they call that -- where you hit the head pin (head ball) on the opposite side of the lane (table) from where you threw (cued) the [cue]ball, a "Brooklyn" or "Brooklyn strike."

In bowling, that looks like this:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yiOmNFP0cHQ
(notice that the bowling ball hits the head pin on the left side for a right-handed bowler).

It makes sense that if you shoot from the righthand-side of the break box, but hit the head ball on the left side, that would be the Brooklyn Cut-break.


-Sean

 

[Lucky_Lew66]

hey Deadstick.we may have a mutual friend that lives in Logansport,In, he showed me what he reffered to as a cut break about 3 weeks ago when we played some in Kokomo,In. He described it as a cut break,and i said yeah thats nothing new people have been using that break for years,trying to hit the one ball,as in 9ball and make it go in either side pocket. So if you line up on the right,you can make it like Corey Duel used to do in the left side with a soft break. He says no that not what i am talking about ,so he has me rack them and breaks from the right side rail and cuts across the one ball like he is trying to back cut it into the right hand corner so it appears he is hitting about a halfball hit on the left side of the rack,hitting it soft,and the one ball comes straight back towards you,on the right side,and close to the side pocket. He says he has watched the pros do this on youtube,i am like ,i watch youtube matches a lot and havent ever heard of it,but hey maybe i missed something. Well i think he is mistaken after reading some of these posts, none of these people described what he said,and some of these people rub elbows with some great players,so i think he misunderstood what they were talking about. Although what he was doing seemed to work,so maybe he is on to something. I would doubt he has come up with something Cory Duel hasnt tryed, he is kind of the break master,but hey if it works use it. actually if you look at where the cueball hits the 1ball from the center of the breaking end,it probably hitting the rack headon,it just looks like the left side because you are clear on the right rail. Cory perfected that soft break years ago,when they used the Sardo racks,people hated to play him because he made the 1ball in the side 75% of the time,Karen Coor did too.

 

[RiverCity]

Parica was the first pro player IIRC to really utilze the cut break from the box back in the PBT days. He was doing it to mimic the rail break by adding extra side pressure on the one to make the wing ball.
Chuck