I've never had a separate cue just for breaking; always used a house cue for that. I got away from hitting the rack as hard as possible some times ago. Is there any advantage to a cue designed to transfer more energy to the cue ball; ie "break" cue, when you are using a controlled break?
Advantage of a break cue when you're not smashing the rack
- Thread starter Mole Eye
- Start date
I would actually think that if you are breaking in the range of a normal speed shot that actually there may be no real advantage of a cue designed with energy transfer in mind... You could swing even softer but since you are likely already inside the power range that you can control, swinging softer may not add much if anything to accuracy.... I have worked hard on controlling the break at high speed tho so my controlled break IS my hard break... I only soft break in 1pocket and occasionally on a barbox playing 9ball if the conditions are perfect... Ohh I will also soft break playiing the ghost..
The one thing to consider is the speed you can control will translate to a higher break speed with an engineered break cue but that likely won't translate into a more effective break if you are adjusting your controlled break to a low speed that yields results... You could be soft breaking on a barbox and getting the 1ball in front of the corner every time and switching to the break cue which generates more speed would push the cueball past the pocket onto the end rail..... You would have to take even more off...
Chris
I would just use my player if I was not going to break very hard. I can't think of any reason not too,imo. That is a good question and one I had never thought of.Thanks! John B.
Consistency.
If you're playing on a table that doesn't offer a nice spread out break, then you may need to swing harder.
If that happens, you have a constant cue with you that you know will react the same way it always has with minor adjustments.
Is it a necessity? Not at all. I break just fine with a Valley when I'm out, but I get better, more consistent results with a Samsara on my 22oz breaker.
If you're playing on a table that doesn't offer a nice spread out break, then you may need to swing harder.
If that happens, you have a constant cue with you that you know will react the same way it always has with minor adjustments.
Is it a necessity? Not at all. I break just fine with a Valley when I'm out, but I get better, more consistent results with a Samsara on my 22oz breaker.
For me the advantages of using a good break cue even if not breaking 100% is that for any given speed I will get more transfer of power. To the extent that my control goes down the harder I break, this let's me get more control at any given speed. Or put another way, I can dial down a bit using the break cue, get more control but have the same power going into the stack. It also saves my playing tip some from going out of shape, flattening, and mushrooming.
Depends on the tip and how hard the controlled break is... I am assuming a controlled break as he is describing mugh be about the same speed as a long draw shot.... IF thats as hard as you are breaking you are just shooting one more long draw shot each time you break.....
First we must separate the cue tip from the res of the assembly. Once we do this, most of the energy transfer has to do with the hardness of the tip, the weight of the cue, and the speed at which it is accelerated.
Given multiple different cues all weighing the same, the cue tip completely determines energy transfer (to the 98% level). The harder the tip the more energy is transferred.
Given a set of cues varying from light to heavy, there will be an range over which as the cue gets heavier the delivery speed decreases and the extra weight does not cause more energy to be imparted to the CB. This range in in the neighborhood of 18oz-20oz for normal adult males. Inside this range the hardness of the tip STILL determines the overall amount of energy in the CB.
So, in the end, the break is all in the tip (at the 85%-95% level) energy wise.
Given multiple different cues all weighing the same, the cue tip completely determines energy transfer (to the 98% level). The harder the tip the more energy is transferred.
Given a set of cues varying from light to heavy, there will be an range over which as the cue gets heavier the delivery speed decreases and the extra weight does not cause more energy to be imparted to the CB. This range in in the neighborhood of 18oz-20oz for normal adult males. Inside this range the hardness of the tip STILL determines the overall amount of energy in the CB.
So, in the end, the break is all in the tip (at the 85%-95% level) energy wise.
Interesting assessment... There are several variables working and the tip may be the one that impacts the equation most between equally weighted cues...
I have COR reading on most of the existing break tips so it would follow if I was to use the same exact BK2 and install all of them I should be able to see if the speed of the break were to be impacted directly by just the change in the COR of the tip... I think the cue could either enhance effectiveness or get in the way based on ferrule and taper....
I will say this... Harder is not ALWAYS faster if you are talking different manufacturers and processes... A Samsara that measure 90 would be faster than a Samsara that measures 85 but a synthetic measuring 90 will smoke the Samsara at 90... The leather break tip I have been working on in my spare time is actually 5 points softer than a Samsara and 8 points higher in COR....
OK, maybe I ought to clarify. I hit my break most of the time about 65 to 75 % instead of full power. It is not a soft break, but it certainly is not as hard as possible. The goal is to get a good spread, make a ball and put the cue ball in the center of the table. I can accomplish 2 of the three hitting full power, but the cue ball usually ends up in a bad position hitting 100%. As the variable seems to be where the cue ball ends up, should I invest in a break cue?
Get a $39 Lucky cue from eBay and have someone put a phenolic or G10 ferrule and a Samsara tip on it.
If your break doesn't get dialed in better after that, sell it for $30 on the forums here as a cheap breaker and move back to house cues.
If your break doesn't get dialed in better after that, sell it for $30 on the forums here as a cheap breaker and move back to house cues.
There are two main advantages to having a break cue even for slower breaks, as I see it:
1. If you have a soft tip of the expensive variety you will save some wear and tear on it, and it won't go hard quite as fast.
2. Some people prefer to have a slightly flatter tip on their break cue, in order to reduce unwanted spin on the cue ball.
I don't really play rotation games or 8 ball as much as most people, but I use a break cue when I do, no matter what the break speed is.
1. If you have a soft tip of the expensive variety you will save some wear and tear on it, and it won't go hard quite as fast.
2. Some people prefer to have a slightly flatter tip on their break cue, in order to reduce unwanted spin on the cue ball.
I don't really play rotation games or 8 ball as much as most people, but I use a break cue when I do, no matter what the break speed is.
Consistency is what you need to play at the next level. If you use the same cue to break with no matter how hard you break you can "tune" your break and dial it in faster when playing on different tables. Some people break with their playing cues and have great success. Scotty Townsend and several other pro level players break and play with the same cue, but they also play with a hard tip. If I am breaking on a fast table I generally break with my playing cue because you don't have to break as hard. I play with a Wizard hard cut down to 4 layers so I dont have to worry about mushrooming my tip because it is already mushroomed all it is going to. Playing off the wall for is fine and there is nothing wrong with it until your break isn't working and then you start thinking to yourself what is wrong? Where if you were using you cue you always break with you can start eliminating possibilities as to why you are not breaking good. I hope that makes since
Up until I started back a couple years ago, I ALWAYS broke and shot with my playing cue and never had any problems. I actually probably break better with my playing cue, but since I got them all nice and shiny I don't want to accidentally hit one up against the table.
It kind of makes sense to use your playing cue as your break cue if you actually think about it. I've hit shots in pool as HARD as I've broke the balls and I never changed cues for the shot. What is the difference between that and breaking? If I shoot a shot that HARD, it means I THINK I can CONTROL the cue ball and make the shot and for that I want my cue that I trust most for 99% of my shots...my PLAYING cue.
You want the same thing on the break...CONTROLLED power...not brute force.
Aloha.
It kind of makes sense to use your playing cue as your break cue if you actually think about it. I've hit shots in pool as HARD as I've broke the balls and I never changed cues for the shot. What is the difference between that and breaking? If I shoot a shot that HARD, it means I THINK I can CONTROL the cue ball and make the shot and for that I want my cue that I trust most for 99% of my shots...my PLAYING cue.
You want the same thing on the break...CONTROLLED power...not brute force.
Aloha.