Are you Happy with your Break ?

The answer is no.

I play 8-ball primarily. For a while last year, I had my break to a point that I was moderately happy with it. Then it "went away"... I had a difficult time "finding" it.

Then I went and got a break cue for Christmas, one with a phenolic tip, something completely new to me. (I got the cue because I didn't have a dedicated break cue of my own, always breaking off the wall. I didn't get the cue in order to "fix" my break.) Now I'm kinda starting over again. I get a real good spread every time, but I can't sem to find that sweet spot to make even one ball, let alone two or more.

Funny this thread came up today, because now that the holidays are over, I can hopefully get back to my regular Monday routine of going to the club and practicing some. The club is usually very quite on Mondays, so I can work by myself, without turning down offers to play from friends, which I really have a difficult time doing. (Mondays my wife has a friend over to watch The Bachelor, or some such :p I won't be missed at home!) I was thinking about really working on the break tonight as I drove to work, and now here's this thread talking about it. Funny stuff.
 
The Break

If it comes and goes, then you never had it in the first place, nor do you understand how it works, or you could duplicate it most of the time.

What good is a golf swing that misses every fairway one day, hits a few the next day, and now and then works for 9 holes, then tanks again.

That is the swing most have on the break.

Just look around, study those around you, 95% have a break that does not work, it fails, badly.

Balls are flying all over the room.

Its the most important shot in pool. Now try and argue that one with me.

And if that is true, next.

How many non pro players have you seen actually practicing the break.
A: None?

How many have booked a lesson with a real teaching pro that can build a winning break?
A: None?

If you could have found it on your own, or by asking your pals how to do it, you would have it by now. Therefore you are not going to find it. Accept this.

There is your answer.
 
rorywayne said:
If it comes and goes, then you never had it in the first place, nor do you understand how it works, or you could duplicate it most of the time.

What good is a golf swing that misses every fairway one day, hits a few the next day, and now and then works for 9 holes, then tanks again.

That is the swing most have on the break.

Just look around, study those around you, 95% have a break that does not work, it fails, badly.

Balls are flying all over the room.

Its the most important shot in pool. Now try and argue that one with me.

And if that is true, next.

How many non pro players have you seen actually practicing the break.
A: None?

How many have booked a lesson with a real teaching pro that can build a winning break?
A: None?

If you could have found it on your own, or by asking your pals how to do it, you would have it by now. Therefore you are not going to find it. Accept this.

There is your answer.
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Thanks for your contribution, and your encouragement. :rolleyes:

Yes, the answer to everything pool=related is "go get a lesson."

No, I can't really afford to do that right now, and to get to an instructor of any note will take a 5 hour drive and the accompanying time off from work.

So if you don't really mind, I'll just see if I can read some intsruction here and there, ask my buddies, and see if I might get a bit better by practicing on my own.

Wow.... A ray of sunshine on a Monday morning.

***edit*** Yes, I really want to get some serious lessons at some point. I know they will be worth it, when I can arrange for it to happen. No knock on instructors from me. We just can't all go out and "get some lessons."
 
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rorywayne said:
If it comes and goes, then you never had it in the first place, nor do you understand how it works, or you could duplicate it most of the time.

What good is a golf swing that misses every fairway one day, hits a few the next day, and now and then works for 9 holes, then tanks again.

That is the swing most have on the break.

Just look around, study those around you, 95% have a break that does not work, it fails, badly.

Balls are flying all over the room.

Its the most important shot in pool. Now try and argue that one with me.

And if that is true, next.

How many non pro players have you seen actually practicing the break.
A: None?

How many have booked a lesson with a real teaching pro that can build a winning break?
A: None?

If you could have found it on your own, or by asking your pals how to do it, you would have it by now. Therefore you are not going to find it. Accept this.

There is your answer.
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Just because you have a bad day doesn't mean you have a bad break. Pro golfers have bad days and can't hit the fairway. You see it all the time. Go watch Dustin Johnson on the final day of the US Open
 
Desmondp said:
After months of tinkering and watching every decent pro player break in slow motion (actually frame by frame), i've finally got my break to the point where i am mega happy with it

It is now consistent, powerful enough to get balls in most of the time and looks sexy :D

I had the cueball flying off the table a lot before i got the fine tuning down

The break shot is so about timing, it's the timing you need to master, and you need cues (no pun intended) to get your body to do certain things at certain times during the breaking technique
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Well-

You have our attention. And any breaking tips are appreciated also. What better than a sexy hard break??:grin::grin:

-struck me funny while having my morning oatmeal, prunes and hot chocolate.
(geezer humor is unpredictable)
 
I'm pretty happy with it. I usually get balls near my hole and don't sell out a bank or a shot. If the cueball freezes on the rail, that is a bonus, but I usually get it close.
 
He said
What better than a sexy hard break??

Its like a 300 yard drive that goes deep into the woods to never be seen again.

Hitting the rack hard, with all your power, is the worst thing you can do. Golf, is never taught that way, or with the driver. Pool has this all wrong.

And if you refuse to go find a teacher, or pay out the money, then accept the fact your break will stink and only get worse as you age. You will never find it, none of you ever do. 1% might, thats it.

There is the truth, some of you, cant handle, the truth. :thumbup:
 
Wow, I think I'm going to go figure out how to use that ignore feature on the forums. I've read two posts that you've had replies in and your attitude makes me want to punch through my screen on the odd chance that somehow it would go across the internet and hit you in the face.

Have a happy new year, sounds like you need some cheering up.
 
PaulieB said:
I've read two posts that you've had replies in and your attitude makes me want to punch through my screen on the odd chance that somehow it would go across the internet and hit you in the face.
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LoL! now that's an app that'd make you bigger than that guy that created facebook!!! get on it!!!:thumbup:
 
thefonz said:
LoL! now that's an app that'd make you bigger than that guy that created facebook!!! get on it!!!:thumbup:
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I need an app to teach me how to rack :frown: Then one to teach me how to break !

I thought you were going to the Shack ? If so I'll be there about 1:30 - 2.

Dave
 
Works well for me most of the time considering my level of play.

First I copied SvB's 10-Ball break and it worked from the first time. I get one of the balls behind the apex ball, the 1 floats uptable and a corner ball takes the 4 rail path to the corner it came from. Cueball control is not as good as I'd like it to have. 2 out of 10 it is killed centertable, most of the time it takes a flyer around the table:frown:

With 8-Ball I copied Ralf Souquet's break from his awesome 8-Ball instruction DVD. I usually get a ball behind the apex ball and the cueball bounces back to kill in the center of the table at 50% of my breaks

For 9-Ball I decided to copy Corey Deuel's soft break and it's just awesome but I still struggle to find the right speed to have an easy opener with the 1-Ball.
In my league most tables are tapped or racked with the Magic Ball Rack and there are no break rules so the soft break is perfectly legal

My break is of a much higher standard than my general play though I didn't invest any practice time in it. Just copied what I've seen on DVD and youtube.

Sometimes people say all I can do well is jumping and breaking and sadly they're right most of the time
 
Lets see, I told you that you had to practice and get a coach to learn how to do it and why you are all failing at it. And the truth, you would never find it on your own, and my reward, two of you threaten to punch me out over the internet screen and you begin making fun of my outfit.

Holmes, I paid 98 pesos for that out fit, be impressed. That is first class home spun cotton.
And you are saying, I have a bad attitude. Because I am not giving you a lot of free worthless advice that wont work like all the others here are. This is so typical, give you guys the truth, you cant handle the truth.

I am off this thread, I would not tell you anything about the break now, if my life depended on it.

Mine is perfect, yours is not, you have the problem, I do not.

But I was not cheap, I paid for mine, 20 hours of private lessons so far. And that is what it takes. Again, sorry for telling you the truth. I can see, that does not go over very big here.

I think I will take a little vacation from this place, its beginning to stink.
 
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rorywayne said:
Lets see, I told you that you had to practice and get a coach to learn how to do it and why you are all failing at it. And the truth, you would never find it on your own, and my reward, two of you threaten to punch me out over the internet screen and you begin making fun of my outfit.

Holmes, I paid 98 pesos for that out fit, be impressed. That is first class home spun cotton.
And you are saying, I have a bad attitude. Because I am not giving you a lot of free worthless advice that wont work like all the others here are. This is so typical, give you guys the truth, you cant handle the truth.

I am off this thread, I would not tell you anything about the break now, if my life depended on it.

Mine is perfect, yours is not, you have the problem, I do not.

But I was not cheap, I paid for mine, 20 hours of private lessons so far. And that is what it takes. Again, sorry for telling you the truth. I can see, that does not go over very big here.

I think I will take a little vacation from this place, its beginning to stink.
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Do you, really need, to type, every sentence, like this?

This place stinks a lot less now that you are gone.
 
I use the break rack without the bow. I break and take two seconds to set it back in place and break again.

Here is my logic: I'm less likely to practice my break if I know I have to set the bow up. Getting started is the hardest part of anything.

If I just grab the rack part of the break rack off the shelf I'm started two seconds later. Sure I have to walk and reset it but at least I got started.

Anyone who doesn't use theirs anymore might try this.
 
rorywayne said:
Lets see, I told you that you had to practice and get a coach to learn how to do it and why you are all failing at it. And the truth, you would never find it on your own, and my reward, two of you threaten to punch me out over the internet screen and you begin making fun of my outfit.

Holmes, I paid 98 pesos for that out fit, be impressed. That is first class home spun cotton.
And you are saying, I have a bad attitude. Because I am not giving you a lot of free worthless advice that wont work like all the others here are. This is so typical, give you guys the truth, you cant handle the truth.

I am off this thread, I would not tell you anything about the break now, if my life depended on it.

Mine is perfect, yours is not, you have the problem, I do not.

But I was not cheap, I paid for mine, 20 hours of private lessons so far. And that is what it takes. Again, sorry for telling you the truth. I can see, that does not go over very big here.

I think I will take a little vacation from this place, its beginning to stink.
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Quite simply, "the truth" is all well and good. I most certainly can handle the truth about how bad my game is. I see it quite clearly, every time I play.

It's the attitude that you have when you present what you perceive to be "the truth" that is causing you the problems here.

I'm quite sure that I would be much better if I had the time and the money to have 20 hours of lessons. So are you saying that if I can't have 20 hours of lessons, I might just as well give up? Because I'll never "get it"?

Most of us get along real well here, even with differing opinions on many matters. If you observe how that works, you might even get along here, too. And that lesson won't cost you a penny.
 
No matter the game...it is not necessary to crush the rack on the break to get the desired results. I am not saying to soft break either...what I am saying is it is all about accuracy....and making sure you have a tight rack.

If you are exhibiting the same CB control that you do with any other shot, and you hit that CB into a tight rack, the balls are going to naturally spread apart, with the CB remaining on the table in good position. In the case of 8 Ball, you will typically pocket one if not both of the wing balls into the corner pockets...and drift the 8 Ball over to the side pocket. In 9 Ball you will typically pocket a ball in the side or bottom corner pockets. The key is finding that 'sweet spot' in each games' rack, and making sure that that rack is as tight as humanly possible.

Think of the break as an oversized combination shot. When practicing, look at where you want to hit it at (depending on the game) and analyze what the progression of each ball's contact to the other is going to result in, with any given english used. This should give you a pretty good idea of where each ball will wind up on the table, with a controlled, accurate shot. Start off breaking slower, just to see if the spread is happening as you had anticipated...here is where you can do some adjustments and/or fine tuning. When you are feeling comfortable with the results you are getting, then you can begin the gradually increase the speed...but do not increase the speed beyond the point where you are sacrificing accuracy.

While I have used break cues in the past, I have personally found that I get far more CB control breaking with a good ol' fashioned leather tip on my playing cue.

Lisa
 
rorywayne said:
....Mine is perfect, yours is not, you have the problem, I do not.

But I was not cheap, I paid for mine, 20 hours of private lessons so far. And that is what it takes.
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Sounds good, a perfect break from 20 hours of private lessons. Who did you get lessons from ? I am very interested as my break is poor.

rorywayne said:
I think I will take a little vacation from this place, its beginning to stink.
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Ya, you have to pace yourself .... 36 posts can take a lot out of a fella.

Dave
 
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I think the hardest part about the break is adapting to the table. Every table breaks different, and even the same table will break differently day-to-day depending upon the conditions. You don't need to crush the rack to have success. I think the key is finding the right power with which to hit the break on any given table. The "pro cut" Diamonds I play on don't generally accept sledgehammer breaks. Softer breaks (about 60%) have the most success. As long as you spread the balls and pocket one, there's no reason to throw everything you have into it. I only break full speed on barbox Valley's with buckets for pockets.

Control, control, control. That's the name of the game.
 
DaveK said:
rorywayne said:
....Mine is perfect, yours is not, you have the problem, I do not.

But I was not cheap, I paid for mine, 20 hours of private lessons so far. And that is what it takes.
rorywayne said:
Sounds good, a perfect break from 20 hours of private lessons. Who did you get lessons from ? I am very interested as my break is poor.



Ya, you have to pace yourself .... 36 posts can take a lot out of a fella.

Dave
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You shouldn't be so cynical Dave, internet trolls have feelings too ya know.:D
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