Break Cue-What's the point?

Whippy89

Registered
Ok I have a question for you guys. For 9-ball players. What's the point of a break cue? I shoot with a viking cue around 19oz. When I break I just use a house cue 18 or 19 oz or my stealth thats about 20 oz. Do I want a 25oz break cue? It seems like that heavy of a cue would be overkill unless you're literally trying to destroy the balls. Or is a break cue this heavy just for breaking 8-ball? I'm thinking about buying one but dont know if I should stick to a light breaker or go heavy. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks
 
break cue

My shooter actualy breaks better then my break cue but it is hard on the tip so I have a JJ jump break.

Lighter cue makes for more speed on the break shot but many prefer a heavy break cue.
 
For most people, their break cue is also their jump cue. The phenolic tip allows for much better transfer of energy than your standard leather tip resulting in a better break. Though you might wanna check your local league, they are banned in some leagues.

Also, a lighter cue gives a better break than a heavier one
 
why do you have different golf clubs?
The break is designed for breaking, it has a harder tip and usually a stronger taper. Most pros have a light break cue that enables a faster stroke and a bigger break.
 
Ok I have a question for you guys. For 9-ball players. What's the point of a break cue? I shoot with a viking cue around 19oz. When I break I just use a house cue 18 or 19 oz or my stealth thats about 20 oz. Do I want a 25oz break cue? It seems like that heavy of a cue would be overkill unless you're literally trying to destroy the balls. Or is a break cue this heavy just for breaking 8-ball? I'm thinking about buying one but dont know if I should stick to a light breaker or go heavy. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

If you were a golfer you would know that golf clubs are getting lighter & lighter. Reason being, it has been shown that the faster you can swing the club (v= m squared), The more power goes into the ball. Same way with a break cue. Lighter cue = more speed on the cue ball. The idea of a 25 oz cue is no longer a good idea...JER
 
If you were a golfer you would know that golf clubs are getting lighter & lighter. Reason being, it has been shown that the faster you can swing the club (v= m squared), The more power goes into the ball. Same way with a break cue. Lighter cue = more speed on the cue ball. The idea of a 25 oz cue is no longer a good idea...JER

lighter and lighter - harder to control. Sure it may be faster, but I don't want the cue ball pulled left, 340 yards into the woods....oops, can't talk about both at once :p
 
My break cue is about 16.5 ounces. I went the complete opposite of "heavy for the break" due to experience and could not be happier with the results.
 
A good Break Cue (not a J/B Cue) has been designed to do one thing... provide you a cue stick, that will give you a rock solid hit & cue ball control. This feat is obtained with a very stiff spine for hitting the ball & a hard leather tip that can give you Cue Ball control...

A good taper provides the stiff spine & balance is a function of the cue's design.

That's all there is to it.
 
Ok I have a question for you guys. For 9-ball players. What's the point of a break cue? I shoot with a viking cue around 19oz. When I break I just use a house cue 18 or 19 oz or my stealth thats about 20 oz. Do I want a 25oz break cue? It seems like that heavy of a cue would be overkill unless you're literally trying to destroy the balls. Or is a break cue this heavy just for breaking 8-ball? I'm thinking about buying one but dont know if I should stick to a light breaker or go heavy. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

My break cues are 18 oz and I can break 8 or 9 ball with either one of them and get a great spread.
 
The Flip Side

If you were a golfer you would know that golf clubs are getting lighter & lighter. Reason being, it has been shown that the faster you can swing the club (v= m squared), The more power goes into the ball. Same way with a break cue. Lighter cue = more speed on the cue ball. The idea of a 25 oz cue is no longer a good idea...JER

I do appreciate the fact that more speed will be generated buy a lighter cue but there is another factor to be considered.
Alot of us pool players are getting on in years and are starting to pay the physical price for past behaviors (I know I'm in this group).
I was struggling with a weak break and thought that was just the way it was going to be. then one night at league the room owner came over to show me some lower end production break cue that weighed 25 oz.
That got me thinking and I made myself a break cue from some lignum with a shaft a good full 13mm.
Now my break still isn't brutal but I get a much better spread and even sink a ball every now & then.
For me there is a great advantage to the heavy cue and an easy back saving stroke.

Jim
 
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Ok I have a question for you guys. For 9-ball players. What's the point of a break cue? I shoot with a viking cue around 19oz. When I break I just use a house cue 18 or 19 oz or my stealth thats about 20 oz. Do I want a 25oz break cue? It seems like that heavy of a cue would be overkill unless you're literally trying to destroy the balls. Or is a break cue this heavy just for breaking 8-ball? I'm thinking about buying one but dont know if I should stick to a light breaker or go heavy. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

It's basically for the consistency of using the same cue, without beating up your playing cue.

The harder you break, the more difficult it is to control the cue ball - so breaking with the same cue all the time makes it easier. It can be any stiff cue - from a Cuetec to a Dufferin to a real break cue.

Chris
 
Everybody on my 8ball APA team has a break cue except me (they all bought the Power Break II). So when I get up to break I try extra hard to smack the sh*t out of the balls so I can give them crap about buying a $300 stick for breaking when my playing cue does just as good.

As a disclaimer I am considering buying a break cue. Its just fun to mess with them :eek:
 
lighter and lighter - harder to control. Sure it may be faster, but I don't want the cue ball pulled left, 340 yards into the woods....oops, can't talk about both at once :p

No, you got it right, that's my standard 9-ball break.
 
Good God in Heaven, the heavy vs light break cue can of worms has been opened again. Ok, some people say a lighter cues makes a better break. Some say a heavier cue makes a better break. I say this.......the fuller the hit you get on the 1 ball makes the better break. As for heavy vs light, I'm 6' 1 and weigh 360lbs, 2 oz's on a cue isn't going to slow my stroke down enough to make that much of a difference on my break. If anyone's stroke is slowed down by the extra few ounces then I suggest that the girly man in question hits the gym and starts putting some work into his toothpicks.

So, my advice to anyone wanting to buy a break cue is this, find a cue that you are comfortable with and buy it.
MULLY
 
I don't trust house cues for one because I have seen them shatter. Plus I don't want splinters in my hand.

As others have stated: to protect my playing tip. Then again I have seen players shoot as hard on regular shots as they do on the break shot so I don't understand that either.

Lastly because it also a J/B.
 
Everybody on my 8ball APA team has a break cue except me (they all bought the Power Break II). So when I get up to break I try extra hard to smack the sh*t out of the balls so I can give them crap about buying a $300 stick for breaking when my playing cue does just as good.

As a disclaimer I am considering buying a break cue. Its just fun to mess with them :eek:

You can joke about that but I actually do get better breaks with my play cue than I do with my break cue. I find that when I use my break cue I do all I can to smash the rack with as much speed behind the ball as possible, which in turns means I lose control. When I use my JMW to break I don't slam the ball with everything I have, it's more controlled and I get a better face to face hit on the one ball. I don't do a soft break when I'm using my play cue but I don't try to overdo it either.
MULLY
 
for the record (since the golf reference most likely wasn't much help), my playing cue is 18.7 oz and my OB break cue is 18.5 oz....the stronger taper and Samsara break tip make the OB a MUCH better breaker than my player. And, I definitely don't hit the rack at 100% power, so control is still there! :cool:
 
for the record (since the golf reference most likely wasn't much help), my playing cue is 18.7 oz and my OB break cue is 18.5 oz.

FWIW, I like my break cue to weigh roughly the same as my playing cue too, about 19 ounces.

The reasons for my using a break cue is because 1.) I ain't breakin' with my Predator shaft, and 2.) I am a supporter of the billiard industry (I buy a LOT of pool "gadgets").

Maniac
 
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