Break and continue
- Thread starter fish2
- Start date
There is no secret. The cue ball tells you what you did wrong on each break.
If the cue ball goes to the left, you need to aim more to the right. If the cue ball runs forward, you need to hit it lower. If the cue ball has a lot of sidespin, you need to hit closer to center.
The cue ball should not hit any cushions, unless it's kissed.
He asked how to leave the cue ball in the middle of the table. Do you feel that's unimportant?
Bob,
I play only 40 x 80 playing surface 8 ball & utilize the second ball break almost 100%.
So yes in my opinion leaving the cue ball in the middle is unimportant especially when measured up against making a ball on the break.
He also said,
"The objective is to break, get a good spread and the CB stays somewhere in the middle and then continue shooting."
Now if you want to say that making a ball is implied with all the above then yes by all means that is correct.
Without making a ball all that other stuff is totally inconsequential.
Ermmmm....You left out the..... "and then continue shooting".....part in your OP.....pretty sure those words have implications.
I forgot one of the most important parts of getting a good spread -- the rack. If the balls are not racked tightly, they won't separate.
Here’s a demo of that you can do as a joke: make sure the nine balls on the sides are not quite touching the six balls in the "core". At the end of racking, press the back corner balls forward and move the triangle forward a sixteenth of an inch. The nine side balls will be moved away from the core. Sometimes only four or five balls move at all on the break.
A template rack should avoid this kind of problem.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
@Bob Jewett is 100% right on this. It's not a secret. Closely observe what the CB does and tweak it until it's correct. He explained it very well but if you need more resources study up on what high/low and sidespin does. The wagon wheel drill would be a good eye opener, as would any drill to do with the tangent line.
On the break 1mm difference on your tip contact can make a huge difference. Couple this with the fact that most people try to absolutely smash the break and getting any consistency on where the CB lands is an exercise in frustration. Definitely use a template for learning because anything less than a 100% perfect rack also throws a wrench into the gears.
Once you understand how it works with a template and are consistent, IMHO you should stop using templates and do rack your own. Racking is a skill that is very under rated and more difficult than many realize. Especially since many tournaments not play rack your own, you will be at a huge disadvantage if you cant freeze the rack.
Another benefit to perfectly freezing a rack is that most people aren't used to it. They are used to a rack with a gap between the second two balls. That second row gap is default for 75% of players. If you give them a correct frozen rack they will struggle to get their break to work. The best offense is to rack perfectly because most people don't know what to do with a perfect rack. You'll often see them scratch or just break dry with a great spread. The gap in the second row is rack manipulation and many people have never dealt with an actually frozen rack. Freeze the rack correctly and perfectly and they will struggle.
Once you have your break repeatable, carefully check the rack, notice gaps. Learn what the gaps do. Even with a ref racking you will have to deal with gaps. It's like a science experiment in a way.
On the break 1mm difference on your tip contact can make a huge difference. Couple this with the fact that most people try to absolutely smash the break and getting any consistency on where the CB lands is an exercise in frustration. Definitely use a template for learning because anything less than a 100% perfect rack also throws a wrench into the gears.
Once you understand how it works with a template and are consistent, IMHO you should stop using templates and do rack your own. Racking is a skill that is very under rated and more difficult than many realize. Especially since many tournaments not play rack your own, you will be at a huge disadvantage if you cant freeze the rack.
Another benefit to perfectly freezing a rack is that most people aren't used to it. They are used to a rack with a gap between the second two balls. That second row gap is default for 75% of players. If you give them a correct frozen rack they will struggle to get their break to work. The best offense is to rack perfectly because most people don't know what to do with a perfect rack. You'll often see them scratch or just break dry with a great spread. The gap in the second row is rack manipulation and many people have never dealt with an actually frozen rack. Freeze the rack correctly and perfectly and they will struggle.
Once you have your break repeatable, carefully check the rack, notice gaps. Learn what the gaps do. Even with a ref racking you will have to deal with gaps. It's like a science experiment in a way.