Break cue- does it matter?

G

glfgd82

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My mind is already made up on this topic, but wondering what everyone else thinks about this topic, I will as well post my newfound love in a break cue at the bottom.

I hear people from time to time say that any ole' house cue will work as a break stick, or some cheap stick that you can buy off the rack just to beat the hell out of. Others say you need a dedicated break stick but it doesnt have to fit a certain "mold" (ie. taper/tip/weight/joint/pin) one of the stronger players around this area shoots with a Schon and breaks with a pretty nice Joss, which if it was my cue, it would be my player and not my breaker. Then there are the guys who have a players cue and then grabs a house cue to break with, and the last of the guys are the ones who break with their playing cue.

This isnt about whats better, more trying to get reasoning behind each person's theory and what exactly holds more truth (or results) than the others.

That being said, yesterday I got my J&J jump/break cue from Chrisonline, first few breaks were average at best and I really was trying to find the sweet spot so to speak. Then as I grooved in to what was best for myself I proceeded to start dropping absolute bombs on racks of 9 ball, every break was great and the cueball would hop/drop and stop center table. Later in the day, I went on a streak of 5 nines dropped on the break IN A ROW, not to mention numerous 3-4 balls made on the break and one 5 balls on the break. I read another member who posted today that his J&J jump/break cue is tops on his list as well, compared to many other "top" rated break cues. For myself, I would have it no other way now and I personally fit into the "dedicated break cue" group.
 
there are good cues, there are bad cues. maybe some people have never hit with a great break cue.

assuming most people can't tell the difference, a break cue matters if it's pretty, and most break cues are ugly. :)
 
glfgd82 said:
My mind is already made up on this topic, but wondering what everyone else thinks about this topic, I will as well post my newfound love in a break cue at the bottom.

I hear people from time to time say that any ole' house cue will work as a break stick, or some cheap stick that you can buy off the rack just to beat the hell out of. Others say you need a dedicated break stick but it doesnt have to fit a certain "mold" (ie. taper/tip/weight/joint/pin) one of the stronger players around this area shoots with a Schon and breaks with a pretty nice Joss, which if it was my cue, it would be my player and not my breaker. Then there are the guys who have a players cue and then grabs a house cue to break with, and the last of the guys are the ones who break with their playing cue.

This isnt about whats better, more trying to get reasoning behind each person's theory and what exactly holds more truth (or results) than the others.

That being said, yesterday I got my J&J jump/break cue from Chrisonline, first few breaks were average at best and I really was trying to find the sweet spot so to speak. Then as I grooved in to what was best for myself I proceeded to start dropping absolute bombs on racks of 9 ball, every break was great and the cueball would hop/drop and stop center table. Later in the day, I went on a streak of 5 nines dropped on the break IN A ROW, not to mention numerous 3-4 balls made on the break and one 5 balls on the break. I read another member who posted today that his J&J jump/break cue is tops on his list as well, compared to many other "top" rated break cues. For myself, I would have it no other way now and I personally fit into the "dedicated break cue" group.
Click to expand...

Once you get acclimated to it, with speed and how to cue it, it does perform well. Pretty soon you will be getting those comments that have been following me around lately, 'What's up with his break? He never used to break like that'. 'I have to have the break and the 7, you break too good.' The jumping is pretty good with it too, once you get the accuracy
factor worked out.

Just my opinion, but I think you would have to get an XBtreaker to surpass
it's overall performance.
 
It's all about what you think and feel.

One of the best players I've ever seen won a US Open 9 ball qualifier here in New Jersey breaking with a house cue. The guy he was playing in the finals didn't have a chance, no matter what he broke with.
 
did i read that correctly???
you made the '9' Ball on the break five (5) times in a row???

seems like the odds of that almost have to be somewhat astronomical. i'd almost have to have seen that to believe that.

hope your break cue works well for you.

DCP
 
soon after i got my mace, i feel my break was a good 15-20% better, that was amazing to me.

i was using a cheap eliminator before i got my mace, my break just never seemed to improve. i think....

-the quality of the cue is important, the wood etc.
-the taper needs to be comfortable for your breaking, you're pulling back further on the break so you want a nice taper that extends quite a ways back
-a hard, compressed tip is essential imo
-the weight is also very important and is personal, its something you just need to figure out

out of the above, i really feel the taper may be the most important aspect. in short, get a nice cue that feels comfortable when you pull back and thats a good weight for you, and throw a hard ass tip on there. good luck.
 
I've got a matched pair of Meuccis, a PP4 for playing and a PP3 for breaking.

I heard someone say they like a light cue for breaking because they feel they can accelerate the cue faster, and I've heard someone say they prefer a heavy break cue because they feel the weight helps them deliver the cue straighter and more consistently.

I guess it all down to personal preference in the end, and what works for you!
 
I've been thru a lot of break cues, ending with the cuetec i use now.

i kind of got over buying tech anything while golfing. I had the best of everything while playing maybe to a 5 handicap. I went out one day with an x-pro and he played with an old set of "blades"...(kind of like an old titleist cue). He shot 3 under....i shot 5 or 6 over,and he was giving me compliments the whole way. i asked...how can you play with those old sticks? he said....if Bobby Jones had these clubs, would he have won more Championships? I was dumb founded...and just agreed with his logic...

technology will go a long way.....skill will go MUCH further!:D

Gerry
 
I went through two stages of evolution to a dedicated break cue. Actually to a J/B cue. I had been breaking with any house cue that happened to be handy wherever I was and had poor to fair results in both 8 and 9 ball.

My first step was to buy a used house cue for less than $20 and put one of Joe Picone's White Diamond tips on it. That made a recognizable improvement in my breaking performance, mostly in balls made with a little improvemt in CB control. I even got a free extra butt for it, cut it off and had a jump cue also, using the same shaft.

My next step was to get a Varney J/B to match my Varney SP. The difference in shaft, joint and tip/ ferrule design and whatever else Kevin puts in these things gave me a huge improvement again, both in balls made and most importantly in consistency and CB control. I can hit this thing so easy that it feels like I am not doing anything and still get a good spread and put the CB in the center of the table.
 
I've never seen a break cue work better because of what name was printed on the butt or how fancy it was or how much it cost.

I have seen break cues work better because of the weight, tip, and tip shape and hold up to wear and tear better if they have a sturdy metal to metal joint, pro taper, and 13mm/14mm shaft size at tip.

So far as weight goes, find a cue dealer who has many different weight cues like from 16 oz to 26 oz. Then try breaking 9-ball racks with each weight. The difference is amazing! And the weight which works the best may not be the best weight for each person. So what works best for one person may not be the best weight for someone else.

Then if you always use the same weight break cue, you can get to be more consistent with your breaks. It can still take years and years, but helps if you're always breaking with the same weight cue.

I feel the best tip for a break cue is a quarter shaped break/jump tip.
 
I just recently had the same very hard canvas resin tip put on a cheapy(freebie) cue. I thought it wouldn't matter hard tip, hard break; right? Wrong, all though the stick does hit and break them up better then a leather(hard) tip, there is no substatute for a stick designed for breaking. Or at least I can feel it.

tjlmbklr
 
Last edited:
A point I want to make ...

Something that has not been mentioned in talking about the weight of a break cue, is that if you play long sessions, money or tournaments, that
fatigue starts to be a factor.

And, IMO, a light break stick (18 or less) will vary your consistency on the break more than a heavier one will. In other words, when you have been playing a long time (usually 10 hours or more), a heavier break stick will 'carry' your break more than a light break stick will, resulting in better consistency of the break overall. With a lighter break stick, losing just
a few mph off your break will have more of an impact on the break, than if
a heavier break stick

I have seen guys use a light break stick, and after a few hours playing, when they get tired and feeling weaker, and they lose a little snap off their break, that their breaks just turn out bad after that unless they muster up some additional strength to hit the ball harder.

If you really want some direction of weight for a break stick, the 'old' guys that having been playing 40 or 50 years and are good can probably give
you the most useful advice.

And remember, sometimes the best is not what you feel comfortable with
at the moment, but what you progress to.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
did i read that correctly???
you made the '9' Ball on the break five (5) times in a row???

seems like the odds of that almost have to be somewhat astronomical. i'd almost have to have seen that to believe that.

hope your break cue works well for you.

DCP
Click to expand...

I have made the 9 Ball twice in a row, the third break it hung in the same corner and I shot the 1 Ball into it. I know a guy who made it three times in a row.:)
 
I had the one piece phenolic tip model of the J and J. When I first got it, I loved it. Great for a low end priced cue. It does break a ton. But in less then three months, I cracked and indented the phenolic tip. Before I cracked it, it came lose from the wood pin and would slide on and off, I superglued it back on as a temp thing.

I upgraded to the X Breaker at Valley Forge last March and have never been happier.
 
The 9-ball going in on the break has more to do with the rack then it does the break.

As far as break cues, I like my Gilbert J/B. It's got a great solid feel that gives confidence. That being said, I sometimes will break with my playing cue as a lot of times I don't feel the need to try to break at maximum speed but at about 70-80%.
 
Snapshot9 said:
Something that has not been mentioned in talking about the weight of a break cue, is that if you play long sessions, money or tournaments, that
fatigue starts to be a factor.

And, IMO, a light break stick (18 or less) will vary your consistency on the break more than a heavier one will. In other words, when you have been playing a long time (usually 10 hours or more), a heavier break stick will 'carry' your break more than a light break stick will, resulting in better consistency of the break overall. With a lighter break stick, losing just
a few mph off your break will have more of an impact on the break, than if
a heavier break stick

I have seen guys use a light break stick, and after a few hours playing, when they get tired and feeling weaker, and they lose a little snap off their break, that their breaks just turn out bad after that unless they muster up some additional strength to hit the ball harder.

If you really want some direction of weight for a break stick, the 'old' guys that having been playing 40 or 50 years and are good can probably give
you the most useful advice.

And remember, sometimes the best is not what you feel comfortable with
at the moment, but what you progress to.
Click to expand...

So what weight would you recommend? 19 oz, 20 oz, 21oz, 22 oz, more? Just curious. My friend has a 23 oz break cue that works very well. My other has an 18 oz that is awesome also.
 
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