Best one pocket break?

O

oncepkt

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Which top op players have the best break?

How would you describe the mechanics of a good break? (assuming the rack is as tight as you can get it) I suppose only a higher percentage break shot is worth practicing.

How often do you see someone sort of masse (meaning that the hit strokes down through the cue ball.) or curve/spin the cue ball into to first and second ball?

Would it be worth while or doable to have "main category" devoted to one pocket?
 
you dont masse into the balls for the fact that the optimal break is to get the cue ball to the rail. This will help protect from him having a shot at a ball that squirts out of the rack towards his hole. assuming you are masseing (sp?) into the rack to freeze the cue ball you will likely sell out a ball into your opponents hole. the only other break I have seen that is good when it works but disaster when it doesn't is kicking into the opposite side of the rack from where you are breaking. but this is hard to master and again you risk selling out a ball. Stick to the old timers break. unless you are corey deuel then break them wide open
 
Cue ball close to the head string, anywhere from the rail up to about a diamond out... inside english, medium soft speed, thin the 1st ball very thin... ideally you'll open 2 or 3 ball to your side, and leave the cue ball frozen around the 2nd / 3rd diamond up from your opponents pocket... to me, this is the strongest break if you hit it good, the stack spreads open and you're giving your opponent a good chance to mess up.

Not a big fan of kicking at the stack or hitting the back balls either...
 
HitHrdNDraw said:
you dont masse into the balls for the fact that the optimal break is to get the cue ball to the rail. This will help protect from him having a shot at a ball that squirts out of the rack towards his hole. assuming you are masseing (sp?) into the rack to freeze the cue ball you will likely sell out a ball into your opponents hole. the only other break I have seen that is good when it works but disaster when it doesn't is kicking into the opposite side of the rack from where you are breaking. but this is hard to master and again you risk selling out a ball. Stick to the old timers break. unless you are corey deuel then break them wide open
Click to expand...

I was not speaking of a traditional masse shot, which is why I qualified the use of that term. I was attempting to describe stroking down through the cb, which can give "sort of" that effect. You still get the cb to the side rail. I guess the traditional break is the safest way to go.
 
oncepkt said:
I guess the traditional break is the safest way to go.
Click to expand...
Swerving the cueball into the rack on the break would be begging for problems. In fact some recommend not even breaking from the rail in order to avoid any possibility of shooting down on the CB. The classic break shot is illustrated very well on onepocket.org under "Playing the Game", "Great Shots!". ~Doc
 
I've seen Corey break very well. He and Alex have an uncanny knack of plopping the corner ball right in front of their pocket and leaving the opponents side of the rack nearly intact. Alex has made the corner ball three times in a race to 4! Jose can tell you all about it.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I agree with not breaking off the rail. I change to bridging on the table surface and can still move some balls toward my hole. It seems to be easier to park the cb on the side rail too. I'll reread the op site . And of course nothing subs for practice. Drat.
 
Here's something you can try that really works for me...you just can't use it to beat me some day!

I have found that some tables really respond to this break (check out the cuetable below for a visual): I place the CB out a little further than typical (my cue usually hovers over point of corner pocket as I am shooting) and I aim directly at the center ball on the rear of the rack (the 9 in this case)with inside, slightly low spin. I try to ignore the other balls and focus solely on that rear ball.

If that does not work, I usually move the CB a bit and try again or aim elsewhere (usually the intersection of two balls).

http://CueTable.com/P/?@3AALW4BCYB3...KDnP3LBjP3MEMO4NBJl3OBal1PRRd1kRRd3kCBT1uBGR@

Here's a cheap little pic to help you understand what I am saying. In the upper setup (as you would see it while breaking from the left of the rack), I am aiming directly at the rear, center ball. If that doesn't work, I'll adjust the CB a little and maybe aim at another ball as shown in the middle setup. If that doesn't work, I'll try the intersection of two balls (the shadowed ones).

This way, I always have a specific target to shoot at. I hear some say, "I aim at the second ball and try to clip the head ball just a little bit." I don't know about you, but I won't leave a shot as vital as the 1P break to something as vague & uncertain as that.

1PAim.jpg
 
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mosconiac.... I appreciate the the time it took for you to post your elaborate response.

Ok then, I hereby agree not to use this technique against the Mosconiac. :D

I like the idea of a "specific target" when breaking and will definitely work on that.

From your screen name, I take it that you are a Mosconi fan too. I met him when I was a kid, when he was a rep. for brunswick. He came to the pool room in the bowling alley where I usually went. There were around a dozen or so of us standing around the table. He asked who was the best shooter and to step up and shoot with him. One of the guys finally was persuaded to step up and he actually got to pocket one or two balls before Willie took over. Ha Willie also demonstrated how to execute a few shots. I had never seen a champion at the time so this was a treat.

btw. I checked out the pic of Hannah. Very cute. Lucky guy.
 
This is an interesting question, and watching Efren play in the DCC 1-p made me wonder about his break. My guess is that he uses a more conservative break in that tournament since it's only a race to 3, but I noticed something else that seemed to happen a lot of the time and I wondered if he intentionally tries to do it. Here's the break I'm used to seeing from him in that tournament (sorry, my arrows got all screwed up, but point A is where the cb stops):

CueTable Help



and it seems like about 30% to %50 of the time he ends up with something like this:

CueTable Help



How likely do you think it is that he's playing that shot in an attempt to leave cb behind that edge ball (the 15 ball in this example), and, if we think he's doing it on purpose, how much strength does it add to this conservative break? Assuming that he gets the cb behind the 15, is this break stronger or weaker than if he had put the cueball in the traditional spot on the rail?

Aaron
 
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Aaron_S: You must have been watching the 2006 DCC matches, because he was definitely doing exactly what you diagramed.

His speed was impeccable that week and he was dropping the CB right behind that ball, which cut off most of their return shots. The use of the Sardo helped tremendously. He didn't do that this year as the Sardo was not in play.
 
RE: Arron_S diagram

Could it be that Efren's thinking is that he can spread more balls on his side with this break than he could by using any other break (cb hit) that would park the cb on the rail. I say this because I'm sure he could park the cb on the rail if he wanted to do that, if he could get the same spread toward his pocket.
 
oncepkt said:
RE: Arron_S diagram

Could it be that Efren's thinking is that he can spread more balls on his side with this break than he could by using any other break (cb hit) that would park the cb on the rail. I say this because I'm sure he could park the cb on the rail if he wanted to do that, if he could get the same spread toward his pocket.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, but one thing to note is that he actually hit this break quite a bit softer than he would've had to for a conventional break. Really, the only difference I noticed b/w this break and a conventional one was that he took some speed and spin off of it; the location where the cb hit the rack seemed to be the same. One would think that that would result in the balls not spreading quite as well, but I'm not sure.

If I had to guess, though, I would say that his reasoning for using this break was a combination of a couple of things: a) the use of the sardo rack, as mosconiac noted, should have allowed for a softer break, which would lessen the potential for leaving a ball near opp.'s hole, and b) he noticed that he could get behind that 15 if his speed was perfect, and he, being Efren, was able to successfully exploit that potential advantage.
 
Aaron_S said:
How likely do you think it is that he's playing that shot in an attempt to leave cb behind that edge ball (the 15 ball in this example), and, if we think he's doing it on purpose, how much strength does it add to this conservative break? Assuming that he gets the cb behind the 15, is this break stronger or weaker than if he had put the cueball in the traditional spot on the rail?
Click to expand...
I think Efren is capable of planning to hide the cueball behind the corner ball. This may be a better break than leaving the ball near the rail. However if the ball can be frozen against the rail, then I believe that's better yet, because is takes away the possibility of the opponent being able to use low english on the return shot.

If the tables have new dry cloth and balls, then it's actually very diffcult, if not impossible, to freeze the CB on the side rail using the conventional break. That may be why he used the break that's been illustrated. Come to think of it, I'm going to have to practice that break for when it might be useable.;)

I don't know what the Sardo rack has to do with it in the discussion. Balls can be racked very nicely with a good oak rack.

Doc
 
I found some old video that I think you can benefit from. I was practicing the 1P break detailed above (aiming at the center ball on the rear of the rack with my cue lined up over the corner of the pocket).

The first video helps you recognize when the hit on the head ball is (slightly) too thick. Look for the corner balls (nearest your pocket) to hit the end rail quickly and CB to carry more speed into the end rail. If this happens, you can move the CB a little closer (a ¼”-½” or so) to the rail and shoot at the same target.

Mediocre break…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-eh3MQ5AGE

The second video shows my preferred result. A (slightly) lighter hit on the head ball sends the corner ball right in front of (if not in) my pocket and the CB speed is reduced so it can snuggle up against the side rail. Practice this break a few times and see how your results improve. I’ve made the corner ball three times in a row before. I also made the corner ball in a hill-hill situation for all the marbles too…broke & ran out in Chicago, baby!

Better break…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLJsFg_RiGo

It goes without saying (sorta) that you need a consistent rack to expect this result, but you are checking the rack, right?

BTW, I’ve since learned to break from the opposite side of the table. It’s easier for a righty to reach shots from that side of the table. If your opponent is a righty too, you have a built-in advantage because he will end up in awkward stances on occasion. Further, if they are oblivious to this…they might be fooled into not alternating sides and you can keep them parked there all day…not that I would ever do that to someone.
 
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Good post. Thanks again. You know, it's been a few years but watching your second video jogged my memory. At that time I was experimenting with low inside and I do recall pocketing a ball on the break twice in a row in a short session. Overall I had not used it much. So, as I said before, I'll have to get some practice time in a few days and see what happens. In any case, I'm getting away from the rail on the break shot.

And as doc and Arron mentioned, working on parking the cb behind the corner ball could come in handy. It appears that a new cloth would be where to use it. Good catch Arron.
 
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